notjaded

Interesting topic, SLSD.

I tend to have pretty high expectations about things, but have learned from my earliest days on Cruise Critic to have low expectations of the cruise experience.,,

...Especially food. I'm really delighted when Seabourn or other lines actually serve me food that is equal in quality to food I can get at my local restaurants. It is rare that this happens, but I don't expect it so I'm not disappointed.

I do expect a clean cabin and great housekeeping service, and mostly I get it. On my last two Seabourn cruises in PH cabins, there were remarkable service failures that I brought to the attention of management. They were corrected, and great cruises were experienced.

Looking forward to my next Seabourn voyage in two weeks!

Madly love the Seabourn putting greens. I haven't been on the Sojourn since my initial Seabourn cruise back in 2016.

Is the putting green still there? In decent shape? (The last O-class ship I was on was the Odyssey, and they let that one go unrepaired).

Many thanks!

I'm contemplating a cruise (less than 30 days) that will cost close to $100,000 for my wife and I. Is there one particular insurer that you recommend for this hefty amount?

Thanks!

On 8/13/2024 at 4:05 AM, AlexsDogPound said:

We absolutely love Odyssey and Sojourn and the small intimate feel of both of the ships. Is there a noticeable difference in the size of Encore or Ovation?

The increase in passengers? Waiting for tenders? 

 

Thank you all for your input.

We have been contemplating taking a Zodiac-intensive cruise on the Pursuit and having a PH suite. We notice that the zodiacs are stored above the PH suites, so wonder how much noise or other disturbances are experienced by PH suite occupants?

Many thanks for sharing your experiences.

7 hours ago, deec said:

we were able to do a tour before the charter flight to EZE.  Sometimes it is a long wait to check in at the airport (counter did not open until 5)  I would really recommend doing  a post extension unless you on't mind cooling your heels at the airport.  Could not even go to the lounge since it was past security.

 

I think you will enjoy this cruise I am sorry we did not opt for the cruise that included South Georgia Island.  We really enjoyed the pre-extension of Parana Delta and post at Iguaza Falls.  Buenos Aires is also a great city to spend time in

Thanks for your response!
 

Re the tour before the flight back to EZE: That was a Viking tour of Ushuaia before departing?

I just found this thread after reserving a Viking Octantis Antarctica-South Georgia Island trip. I'm hoping that those who have done the Antarctic with Octantis might be able to answer some questions:

1. After returning to Ushuaia, how is the charter flight back to B.A. handled?

2. What time does one get back to B.A., and does Viking take the plane to EZE or AEP?

3. If AEP, do they bus you to EZE?

4. What time do you finally arrive at EZE to catch one's return flight home?

Many thanks!

@Australia08, many thanks for your trip report. Very interesting!

Questions about your transit from Ushuaia to B.A.:

You mentioned you were on a regional jet charter that had to refuel. Was this true for the other passenger planes that made this journey?

Also, I know that after B.A., you went to a hotel and then took a post-cruise extension. Were all passengers provided with a hotel for the night, or just those going on the post-cruise extension?

Thank you.

Can anyone tell me the name of the Guest Services director currently serving on the Sojourn?

Thank you!

Thanks all for the name of the cruise director! Can anyone tell me the name of the Guest Services director?

Thank you. 

@Jenny2121

Can you provide feedback about how the transport actually worked?

Thank you.

@highplanesdrifters: Many thanks for your thread and posts. We are contemplating a Svalbard trip next year and appreciate all your information!

15 minutes ago, SLSD said:

The current cruise director is Robert Brendan.  He is excellent.   Robert has an outstanding singing voice and we occasionally get to hear him sing!  

Thank you!

OP, many thanks for your review. Still considering this ship....

If anyone knows, who is the current cruise director on the Sojourn?

Many thanks!

On 7/28/2024 at 3:02 AM, gynyphurr said:

For those who did private tours to find the lights -- were there any restrictions on when you had to be back to the ship? Thinking specifically of the overnight stays. I read somewhere that they sometimes have to tender from ship to shore and that the tender doesn't run all night. Would love feedback from folks who actually experienced it. My fear of course with doing the private tour is being stuck on shore in the middle of the night!

On 7/28/2024 at 3:02 AM, gynyphurr said:

For those who did private tours to find the lights -- were there any restrictions on when you had to be back to the ship? Thinking specifically of the overnight stays. I read somewhere that they sometimes have to tender from ship to shore and that the tender doesn't run all night. Would love feedback from folks who actually experienced it. My fear of course with doing the private tour is being stuck on shore in the middle of the night!

No tendering on our NL cruise. 
 

We did ship’s excursions, so can’t help you with other concerns. 

9 hours ago, ctrous said:

Can anyone give me a general idea of the costs for the evening excursions to hunt for the northern lights on the Viking cruise and what time they generally leave the ship and return. I can't get this information until my booking time opens. Also approximate costs of the sledding with huskies or raindeer.

The ones we were on left around 6:30 and return about 4 hours or so later. Cost probably averaged $250-$350 pp. 

On 5/18/2024 at 6:51 AM, imcpa said:

My wife & I recently cruised Silver Muse for 16 nights from Bali to Yokohama, Japan.  After spending two weeks in Japan, we then cruised Seabourn Odyssey for 23 nights from Kobe, Japan to Vancouver.  These are my silly observations and thoughts in random order.

 

·         This was our fifth SS cruise (Cloud 2010, Spirit 2015 & 2017 and Moon 2022) and fourth SB cruise (Sojourn 2018, Ovation 2022 and Encore 2023).  We will on SB Venture late this year.  We love SS but love SB more now.  It is a better fit for us.

·         The SB cruise was the last leg of the Grand Voyage.  I was told there were 220 on board for that and that 100 people boarded in Kobe when we boarded.  Everyone we spoke with was nice and we never felt like we were invading their party.

·         The worst part of SS ships is the lack of a lively, quality Observation Bar.  The worst part of SB ships is the lack of a quality outdoor running track.  We use the gym every day.  I ran outdoors on SS many days, but never did on SB.

·         The worst part of the SB Odyssey class ships is the small gym with a weird layout.  It can easily seem crowded.  Lucky for us on this cruise, we were the only ones in there most days.  The gym on Ovation/Encore is a huge improvement.  We do tend to go to the gym at odd times compared to others.

·         We loved the SB sail away events.  SS did nothing similar. 

·         From the outside looking in, I think SB has the coolest looking ships. 

·         The SS cruise director was Bob (don’t recall his last name).  He was rarely seen around.  The SB CD was John Baron.  He was easy to talk to and visible every day as were many of the SB officers and entertainment staff.  Not so much on SS.

·         The captain on each cruise was visible most days and easy to talk to.  The SB captain was more outgoing in that he would approach people to start a conversation.

·         The guitarist (a big deal for me) on SS was good but used too much backing tracks.  The piano player on SS was terrible with a worse voice.  I still can’t believe SS hired him.

·         Mike Lee was the entertainer in the SB Observation Lounge and was excellent.  The trio in The Club was excellent too.

·         Jobert on SS was the best butler we have ever had (including two Crystal cruises with a butler).  Our suite attendants on SB did a great job and were friendly.

·         On both cruises, we used room service for a simple, light breakfast.  It was nice having the butler deliver it on SS, but the room service staff on SB are excellent too. 

·         On SS, we ate most of our lunches at La Terrazza and had a standing order of plain salmon wraps with the salmon cooked well done and blackened and a side of steamed broccoli instead of fries.  It was always delivered timely and tasted great and we also would sample some food on the buffet.  We dined outside as much as possible.

·         On SB, we ate most of our lunches at Colonnade and had a standing order for a veggie burger (Impossible Burger) served plain and cooked well done with steamed broccoli instead of fries.  It was always delivered timely and tasted great and we also would sample some food on the buffet.  We thought the food quality and variety was better on SB than SS.  We dined outside as much as possible, many times with multiple blankets and had the whole area to ourselves.

·         On both cruises, we ate most of our dinners in the MDR (Atlantide on SS).  For both, we had a standing order of grill salmon cooked well done and blackened with a side of steamed veggies (extra veggies).  Both did a great job with dinner and service was great in both.

·         On SB, we dined at TK Grill (since it is still on Odyssey) five times.  We ordered the excellent crab cakes as our appetizer then again as our entrée.  Service was always great.

·         We ate a few dinners at Hot Rocks on SS but had the same standing order and had them do all the cooking in the back.

·         Put me in the category of those who think SS has too many informal nights (vs casual), especially on warm weather cruises.  A nice pair of slacks and a nice, collared shirt should be enough most nights.

·         We had a standard balcony suite on each cruise.  The SS suite was great but I prefer the layout of SB suites.  I love having the fridge and extra drawers/storage stacked on both sides of the suite between the sleeping area and the living area.  With this layout, there is also a large couch and dining table.

·         On SS Muse, I think the idea of the TVs in the mirrors is a great idea.  There is one in front of the bed and one on the living area.  When they are off, you see nothing but a mirror.

·         On SS Muse, I hated the TVs in the mirror.  The remote was very iffy and if there was any light coming into the suite it created a terrible glare on the screen.    

·         IMO, SB should stop the CD morning announcements at 9:30 AM to go over the highlights for the day (as if we can’t read the paper Herald, read it on our TV or read it on our phone).  

·         It seems SS has a new policy (at least on this cruise) for serving champagne at La Terrazza during lunch.  Instead of keeping a bottle in the ice buckets outside, they kept it at Silver Note.   When we would order a glass of champagne (which we did every lunch), it seemed to take close to 10 minutes to arrive and even then, the glass was barely half full.  After finishing that, it seemed to take many more minutes to get a new glass that was barely half full.  After a few days of minor frustration, I trained Rodger and Jayson (two great Sommeliers) to just grab a new, cold bottle and bring it to the ice buckets as soon as we entered La Terrazza.  They then did a great job of keeping the glasses full.

·         We did two included excursions on SS and they were adequate.  We did not do any SB excursions.

·         SB did an officer Q&A (including the captain) on the Venetian lounge one day and it was very interesting and fun.  I don’t recall this on prior cruises.

·         Both cruises had a guest comedian do two shows and we enjoyed all of them.  The other guest entertainers on SS were OK and the other guest entertainers on SB were good to great.

 

That’s all for now. I may add more if I think of more worth adding.  We loved both cruises and hope to cruise SS again (as well as Regent) and new Crystal for a first time (since we loved old Crystal).

 

Thanks for your post. I am curious about what time was your schedule Yokohama arrival and what time were you able to debark? I'm trying to decide on what time to schedule an intra-Japan flight from Haneda, with a private car bringing us to the airport.

 

Thank you!

On 10/31/2023 at 11:09 AM, notjaded said:

We are on this cruise. My concern is the possibility of deferred maintenance issues, but Ms Notjaded thinks it will be a fun sail 🙂

Just cancelled this cruise. Decided to sail off in a different direction. 🙂

We are scheduled to debark in Yokohama at 6:30 AM. We will have come from another Japanese port.

For anyone who has an experience that might inform: What time will we be able to disembark?

Thank you!

9 hours ago, kej1 said:

We have stayed almost exclusively in the Penthouse spa suites.   On the O class we prefer the corners although as mentioned if the area is windy the deck is not as usable as the inner suites.  Our neighbors who we met on board in 1091 preferred the inner suites as they use it for sunbathing and it’s more

protected.  The window on the side in the bedroom is small ( compared to the suite we are in now on Pursuit where it’s a full half wall of floor to ceiling windows) so to me it’s nice but the thing we really enjoy is the deck although we don’t mind  bundling up if it’s cool or windy.  So a lot depends on if you want more space and wind protection or prefer the side with the peak around the corner view and the small window in the bedroom.

 

On the larger ships the views are not as good as they only have the smallish door and window that is identical to all the smaller rooms.  We actually moved our couch under the tv as we could see out the smaller windows that way.  The inner suites were configured differently with the furniture better located to take advantage of the view.  Anyway we aren’t crazy about the larger ships so prefer the O class.  And do remember there are stairs to get up to the room.  There is an electric chair but I’ve never seen it used.  On one cruise a gentlemen was injured and it was broken so they had to move his room.  So keep that in mind too.  There is an elevator to the spa suites on the larger ships.

Have you found the bedroom window curtain to effectively block sunlight?
 

Many thanks for all your insights. 

9 minutes ago, kahuna21 said:

We had 1090 on Quest. Our traveling companions had 1091, interior, so we saw it.  The closet setups are different and I think the interior suite had a larger closet. The veranda on the interior suite is larger, due to the bump-out. But, I definitely prefer the outer unit 1090 for the window in the bedroom (love this) and the balcony bending around the side. Feels much more open air. We did not have a wind problem.  We have booked the same 1090 for Australia and New Zealand, next January. I imagine you are aware there is no elevator to this level.

Mahalo for your review!  Did you or your friends in 1091 experience any noise from the fitness center below?

9 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

On the Quest a sistership, the 1090/1093 suites have a side window which is quite nice.  They also have the ability to peek around the corner from the veranda, a more open feel. At times there might be a tad more wind right at the corner. This could be a positive or negative depending on the weather. A nice breeze in a tropical location or howling wind in the poles.   I have not been in the 1091/2 suites.

 

Where are you headed?  Look forward to your report.

Thanks for the information. We are doing a circle-UK cruise.

Did you feel that the bedroom window shades adequately blocked light?

Very helpful thread. Might anyone have any pictures or videos displaying the corner suites?

Many thanks!

My wife and I just booked a PH Spa suite on the Soujourn. We are located in one of the outermost suites (1090/1093), rather than the interior suites (1091/2). I'm curious if anyone has experienced both, and which was their favorite location and why?

Many thanks!