whystayhome

Looking, not she king

Just for fun I looked up the flights I booked on Flightease for an upcoming cruise, arriving in Lisbon 3 days early and leaving Stockholm 3 days after we get off the Quest.

Business on Flightease was ~$3700, when I booked the cruise, quite a bit in advance, much better than I could get booking on line, and I couldn’t do it with miles, so I grabbed it, knowing I didn’t have to pay until final payment.No transfers included as we’re going early and staying late.

Kept she king to see if I could get a better deal. Price for the same flights a few months later was ~&6000 each. Flightease price held firm.  Felt smug.

Today’s online price: ~$10,500 each

what a world, what a world

Linda

Same problem with email for diamond members.  I always call Seabourn to book and then transfer to my travel agent who gives me a lovely percentage off and often a nice complimentary excursion.

Linda

We do this frequently, but when we have unused refundable OBC, I go to Seabourn Square the night before we get off the ship and ask for my refund in cash.  Works every time.

Linda

I had my nails done this summer on the Quest. The tech told me all she gets is the 18%. Some days the techs don’t have much business and may earn $10 or even nothing.   It was $80 for the gel manicure + $20 to have the old gel removed + 18% tip.  So, $118 for a manicure, which took about half an hour.  I had a £10 note left over from the England portion of the cruise, so I gave her that, too, as I was feeling sorry for her.

linda

We just asked for pigs in the blanket for tomorrow’s hors d’oeuvres and were told it couldn’t be done.  In the past, that has never been a problem.

Linda

It’s 5:40 on the Quest. Just returned from an excursion into the Costa Rican rainforest, sprawled on the bed in our suite, catching up on Cruise Critic, and working on getting up the energy to get dressed up and wander over to the pre dinner lecture before tonight’s hosted table in the MDR.

Linda

We have been satisfied with Flight Ease and have gotten some great fares for one-way TA flights.  When our same day arrival in Copenhagen was delayed 6 hours, the Seabourn rep helped us get our luggage, hustled us into a cab, and Seabourn was waiting for us on the curb at the pier after a hair-raising ride when we arrived 5 - 10 minutes before scheduled departure. They grabbed our suitcases and raced us through check-in and on to the ship. If we were traveling independently, that wouldn’t have happened. 
 

On the other hand, we fly out of Washington Dulles and one time a Flight Ease rep booked us back to Seattle, Washington.  Good thing I caught that in time. 

Linda

I called Seabourn in the Uber on the way to the port and the agent told me in which terminal the Quest was docked. We were in the first boarding group and were allowed to board at 12:40.  Suites were ready.  As we couldn’t book the TK grill beforehand, we immediately found the maitre d’ and booked our 2 allotted slots without having to wait. Later in the afternoon, the line was long.

We are getting off 12/19 and will try to save some beverages for you.

Linda

Hi.

Currently on the Quest, 2-week R/T Miami sailing along Central America as far south as Colombia.  So far, one very enjoyable day trip and one so-so experience.

Cozumel:  Small Group Punta Sur Eco Park.  5 hours. Two large vans with 6 or 7 people took our group to the park, which was beautiful and has a lot to offer.  The ride was not excessively long.  There were a few stops in the park followed by a couple of hours on the beautiful beach with a surprisingly good light lunch included. Everyone seemed very satisfied with the day.  Because of time constraints, we were unable to take advantage of some of the park’s attractions, so if you’re feeling adventurous, it might be better to arrange your own transportation and plan to spend more time there. Definitely better than walking around Cozumel’s tourist traps.

Grade: A-

Belize City. Mayan City of Alton Ha and Belize City. 4.5 hours.  We had been to Belize City recently so we were not expecting much from the panoramic tour of the city. However, we were not expecting to be herded like cattle onto a crowded, indoor line/mob scene/super-spreader event before being corralled onto large, jam-packed buses.  It took forever to get to the Mayan City, with not much to see along the way.  The ruins were interesting and the guides were good, but we had only about an hour at the site. Around 2:30 we stopped for a skimpy lunch (one anemic chicken leg, rice and beans, and cole slaw - beverage not included) in a rundown venue. People were not enchanted. From the time we gathered in the Grand Salon for the tour until we got back on the Quest, 6 hours had elapsed for 1 hour of sightseeing.  
 

Grade: C

Linda

Also, the night before you get off the ship, I recommend going to Seabourn Square and requesting your refund in CASH.  That can avoid drama later and you keep the credit card points you got paying for the excursions up front.

Linda

We walked to Quidi Vidi - beautiful village - then hiked the “easy” trail to Signal Hill and staggered back down to the Quest.  Quality time in the hot tub was required, but it was a great day.

Linda

"Prepared table side" probably means they carve it or slice it up in front of you. How will we survive without béarnaise?

The dishes described in the Solis launch press release do not sound that appealing to us 😞. We like the TK Grill. 
 

Linda

15 hours ago, jsiegel said:

Many of us complained about the tour when we returned to the ship and we did receive a partial refund.  I'm surprised they are still using that tour company and not providing a guided tour

I finally got a complete refund for the tour (I was really peeved) and was surprised that they used the same company when we returned to the port 2 days later. Amazing they were still using that group a year after your unsatisfactory experience.

linda

Shipless: We had Alaska booked twice and pre-booked mostly Seabourn excursions.  Both times the cruise was cancelled by Seabourn due to the pandemic.  If we try again, would you recommend taking the Seabourn excursions you booked?  Or were some of them simply forgettable, that is, a waste of time?

That some of the other lines include the excursions in the up front price may be convenient, but we were in port with a Regent ship and saw 40+ people climbing on to a tour bus, which didn’t seem all that appealing. Would Regenteers weigh in?

Linda

Think of how many Seabourn passengers ARE grandmothers.

Linda

I always look forward to posts from Mr. Luxury.  What a card!

Linda

I can't book the Grill for either my 12/5/23 or 6/11/24 sailings on line.  When I called Seabourn mission control, I was also told they couldn't book it either and told me to book when I got on board, a real PITA.

Linda

The night before we disembark, I go to Seabourn Square and have them check what my refundable balance is.  Then, I ask for it in cash.  No fuss, no muss.

Linda

Go for it!  When we have had a penthouse, we enjoyed having the semi-separate living room we used for hosting cocktail parties for friends we made on board.  The toilet is also separate from the rest of the bathroom, which is very helpful. The closet is huge. For $1000 each, live it up.

Enjoy yourselves no matter what you decide.

Linda

Hi everyone!

I'm sure you've noticed that the cost of Seabourn excursions has skyrocketed.  But, has the quality kept pace with the increased cost?  Don't think so. Another issue:  There is often limited correspondence between the write up of the excursion and what actually happens.

I thought it would be helpful if people would post their impressions of excursions they've taken to help all of us pick the winners and avoid the losers.

Here are some recent excursions we did, and our assessment of them on a 1-10 Scale with some annotation:

Stornoway, Scotland:  Ancient Lewis and the Blackthorn Village:  9 - terrific day and great guide

Saguenay, Canada: Zodiac in Saguenay National Park: 9 - beautiful ride on a beautiful day

Quebec, Canada:  Train to Baie St. Paul: 2 - Boring train ride. Mediocre snack stop. Commercialized town with not much to do if you're not interested in buying things you could get on line if you really wanted them.

Trois Rivières, Canada: Hiking the Cascades Trail: 1 - The bus driver didn't know how to get to the park, which was also not in the Cascade mountains.  This was supposed to be a 2-hour guided hike.  The "guide" pointed in the direction of the trail and told us he would meet us at the picnic area in an hour.

Trois Rivières, Canada:  A tour of the city and a visit to the Old Prison: 8 - The tour of the prison by an on-site docent was excellent.  Our guided tour around town was pretty lame.

Boston, Massachusetts:  American Presidents Kennedy and Adams: 10/3 - dual rating. The guide was excellent and made the best of the day. The Kennedy Library was terrific - if you haven't been there, go.  The John Adams house was closed that day, so we couldn't tour the interior.  Seabourn should have known that and not included the house tour in the tour description.

Please consider sharing your impressions of the Seabourn excursions you've taken.  Thank you.

Linda

Hello First Time Seabourn Cruiser

I can get you $250 OBC if you are sailing before 6/11/2024. Please contact me at 

Lsmeadephd (at) aol (dot) com

Enjoy your cruise.

Linda

I was seeing up to ~6500 in business for our multi-city flight on line. The “cost” in miles was insane. Flight ease was ~$3700, nonstop to Lisbon, one connection back from Stockholm (they don’t  have a contract with SAS this time).  This price had the $1,000 flight credit baked in.  I asked 2 different Seabourn reps and the Flight ease agent if their quote included the thousand off, and everyone said it did and there was no more discount possible. 
 

if you learn anything different, please let us know.

thanks

Linda

i was told the price you see on Flightease incorporates the $1000 p/p credit

Linda