MarciAnn

Nancygp, good to know. I just booked through Flight Ease for the first time since my cruise included a substantial air fare credit but I had to book through Seabourn which I have never done before. The flights were $1500 per person cheaper in business class than if I had booked directly with the airline (Delta) but only if I flew out on the day before the cruise (cruise includes one night in a hotel) and flew home the day the cruise ended. When I tried to book a flight for a day earlier and leaving a day later the prices has no discount even though they were the same on the airline website. Anyone have this experience? Can I still deal directly with the airline if there is any issue?

Has anyone done this 15 day cruise or one similar to it? Would lover to see the Chilean Fjords but I am clueless about the itinerary. Thanks in advance

Thank you all for your thoughts., Jazzbeau, very helpful! Thanks for doing the research. Wonder why some of the top cruise lines use their oldest ships for Australia/New Zealand?

This will be our first SS cruise, having sailed Seabourn almost exclusively. We would like to do an Australia/New Zealand 14-16 day itinerary in 2024 but there seems to be different itineraries for this route with different numbers of sea days. Not knowing much about this area of the world, can anyone suggest which itinerary is preferable to the others? Some of the cruises are on the Muse (a smaller ship) and some on the Whisper. Any insights you could provide would be most appreciated. Thx.

Thx!!

The description of veranda cabins on the Ovation states that range from 246 to 305 feet. Does anyone know which cabins are only 246 feet and where the space is taken from in that ccabin? Thanks so much.

I did not mean to offend any Viking cruisers by my post. The fact is that I saw the great itinerary, knew Viking was highly rated, and saw that there were exactly five cabins left (a few DVs and a Penthouse junior suite) for the date we wanted, So we put down our $25 deposit, booked the larger cabin because we are used to a bigger cabin and THEN I did my extensive research including seeing some very inciteful reviews on you tube. Realized this wasn’t the right cruise for us. I did read that the entertainment, which I took to be the enrichment talks, were at 8 pm. I’ve also never been on a cruise with 1000 people as opposed to less than half that amount so that also gave me concern. Not used to having to make dinner reservations and getting up at 5:00 am to book them when they open up. I never go on a cruise without making sure it is the right one for me.

I hate to burst anyone’s bubble but while Seabourn allows children I have never seen more than 2 or 3 very well behaved children on any of the 10 Seabourn cruises I have taken. There is nothing for kids on a Seabourn cruise—no water slide, kids club, kids’ activities, etc that you would find on a mass market cruise line. If you are not taking a Seabourn cruise because you think kids are onboard then you are really missing out.

We cancelled our Viking ocean cruise to Norway for many of the same reasons. We do not like bus tours with dozens of people and following a guide with a flag. We like to book private guides in each port as we see much more and can determine our itinerary ourselves. They bus tours are included with Viking and we were paying for them. This in and of itself would not have caused us to cancel but the reviews on the food and the lack of any entertainment or activities concerned us. We noted that port talks were at 8 pm. When do people eat dinner? We like a leisurely dinner at 7:30. Also, the rooms were much smaller than we were used to on other ships. (We have primarily sailed Seabourn and Regent). We had to book a penthouse junior suite to get the cabin that were standard on these lines. Accordingly the price was virtually the same as if I had booked these much more upscale cruise lines which have a lot more inclusions including gratuities. I get the sense that Viking is more geared to those cruisers who want the cruise line to make all their arrangements for them, i.e plane, transfers, hotels, tours, etc. Just not for us. Not knocking the cruise line, just not right for us. its too bad because it was a great itinerary.

We have only cruised Seabourn before but really like the Majestic Iceland and Norway itinerary. Is there anyone who can tell us how Viking Jupiter compares to Seabourn? I know that Viking is not all inclusive but I was wondering more about the service and food. Thx in advance

We are considering this cruise but I have read so many negative reviews of the Antartica cruises that I am having trepidations. I know it has not sailed this itinerary yet but I am wondering if anyone else has booked and what the general consensus is. Thanks in advance.