Isklaar

In the past Sojourn has departed from E and frequently from J.

We have friends who were also on this cruise. They do have an account here at CC but have not contributed for several years. Now that they're back home in France I have asked them to post about their experience onboard with the dog but they are reluctant to do so because of the negative comments from some quarters. They have written to their TA, one frequently used by CC members, and direct to SB. I will try once again to persuade them to post when/if they receive a response.

Seabourn always late to announce future schedules.

Our friends who just left Sojourn said it seems to be exactly as you say. Very unfortunate that this situation has occurred on a TA, not forgetting the addition of the canine issues.

Our friends who were on Sojourn have written to their TA and direct to Seabourn.

Now that is cute. The purple brings out the colour of his/her eyes!

I am a dog person who made the mistake of marrying someone who is hideously allergic to dogs (cats and horses too!). Apparently poodles are not allergenic (wrong word?) so I assume they do not shed much.

Our friends on the ship have seen it twice in Seabourn Square and they said that both times the owner was seated at least a meter away from the dog.

Even nice looking dogs should not be permitted to sit on chairs in a public space. What owners choose to do in their own home is fine, but this is just a lack of respect for fellow guests.

Oh my goodness!

We have friends on Sojourn right now who, along with two other couples, asked about this and they were directed to the SB website, section about accessibility. So yes, a rather vague answer. I'm not sure who they asked, it definitely wasn't the HD. They will be making further contact with SB when they are back at home.

It's been three long years, I'm forgetting too many details. My favourite things in the ship during the holidays are the gingerbread houses and the little toy train on a track that is on deck 4 at the entrance to MDR. I will look for some photographs to post here.

I haven't been onboard a ship since January 2020 when we disembarked Sojourn after the holiday cruise, so things may have changed but in the previous decade we had been onboard a Seabourn ship for the holidays nearly every year. TKG was never a different menu. NYE is a usually a 7 course gala dinner in MDR. In my experience Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner can vary depend on itinerary. A festive Christmas dinner is usually served, often it's one of the formal nights. The ship is decorated for the holidays, nothing too flamboyant, usually quite tasteful. Christmas Eve there is often carol singing and after dinner a special Christmas show. on Christmas Day after breakfast there have often been 'elves' running around the ship with gifts for the youngsters on board. Santa usually makes an appearance on the pooldeck with cocktails.

Friends onboard Sojourn confirm that the dog is being allowed to sit on chairs in the public areas. This is very disappointing. I love dogs but even a service dog does not belong on a chair in a public space. It's not hygienic. I know of no reason why any service dog would have to sit on a chair. If there is a genuine reason why the dog requires a chair then the owner should have one of those small portable chairs for it. .

What does the tour description say about the sites you will visit? I spent a week in Luxor and felt it wasn't enough time. If there is a choice of temples to visit at Luxor I would pick Karnak over Luxor, but perhaps they plan to take you to both. I agree with others, if this may be your only opportunity to visit Luxor don't miss it.

I'm watching a very interesting programme on BBC 4 right now, called Immortal Egypt. This is the third programme in the series, definitely I recommend watching this episode on catch up. Lots of Luxor/Karnak in this one.

The reason that we choose the Colonnade for breakfast and lunch most days is because at home we rarely have the opportunity to dine outdoors. So we take a table outside as we like to make the most of warm weather and sunshine on holiday. The closure of the MDR at lunch is not a new or recent thing. I have copies of the Herald from a cruise in 2014, MDR was closed every day.

Hi Julie, yes I've been to Fort de France a couple of times. The other port in Martinique that we visited with Seabourn is Trois Ilets. The cruise port in FdF is close to the main sites in the town. We walked there and found the town itself to be very walkable as it's quite compact. If you like history and/or architecture there's an interesting library building and a church that you will see from the port, it dominates that part of town. There's a fort too (hence the name!). During a different visit we did a tour to the botanical gardens, Jardins de Balata. It was very interesting for us northern European types but depending where you are in Australia it may not be so for you. It's a bit less than a 30 minute drive from the port. I prefer Trois Ilets because it has a couple of delightful beaches and is a smaller town. It's across the bay from FdF and there is a ferry but other cruisers who used it described the experience at the pier as 'chaotic'.

Fabulous photos. So good that you actually made Gibraltar look half decent! Cartagena is on my bucket list and your photos didn't disappoint. Thank you for sharing them.

Thanks for expanding, I wasn't clear whether you were looking for advice about cancellation possibilities or more itinerary focused. Horse riding is definitely possible on the beach in Anguilla. I expect that St Kitts will be Carambola Beach for Caviar in the Surf and BBQ. St Kitts is on your list twice, is one port showing as Charlestown, Nevis? Nevis is a separate island. Guadeloupe could be one of three ports. My favourite there is Ile des Saintes but Deshaies is nice too. If you watch the BBC programme Death in Paradise, it's filmed there. Martinique, could be one of two ports, Fort de France or Trois Ilets. I haven't been to Grenada. For me, dependent on the actual ports visited in the countries you listed, this is a lovely itinerary for cruisers who enjoy the less well known Caribbean islands and ports. It's great for beach and water lovers, plus the opportunity to see some less commercial ports with a peek at the 'real' Caribbean. Edited to add..if Martinique port is Trois Ilets, our friends did horse riding there on a trail through the rain forest. It was in 2017 so may have changed now but if you're interested in that I can find out from them which company operated the trek.

Could you give a little more detail, what are the changes? Many posters here are very familiar with Caribbean ports and may be able to make suggestions etc. Alternatively, discuss with your TA if you may cancel without losing deposit, if the TA is UK/EU/EEA this may not be possible. When is final payment due? Even if cancelling the cruise is possible, depending how you booked flights they may not be refundable.

Breakfast and lunch works like this - Find your table, sit down.Wait to be offered drinks and order anything from the menu or the day's specials, then head to the buffet. It does get busy, and I don't like crowds, but I have to say that with hundreds of nights on SB, the vast majority of the time on full to capacity ships, I haven't generally found the Colonnade to be as awful as many other posters. It could be because we eat breakfast and lunch fairly late, perhaps the 'rugby scrums' being described on this thread take place earlier. On one cruise , at breakfast one day the Colonnade was worse than a zoo. We were docked, the weather was awful and as a result all excursions had been cancelled. It seemed that everyone on board turned up during the same 10 minute period. A decision was made to accommodate some guests in TK Grill, right next door. Worked well. In the evening, at least pre-Covid, you will be shown to a table either indoors or outdoors, according to the weather and your preference.

Excursions are not included on Seabourn. I for one would be happy if it stays that way!

I must have missed it, and am almost afraid to ask, but could someone tell me more about 'the music changes due nexrt year' ?

It's not suite category dependent. The small bottles are being phased out across the fleet. It's taken more time than expected because of, you guessed it, Covid. The large bottles were initially introduced at the end of 2019 on Sojourn.