Joc123

We have sailed on many Seabourn inaugural cruises and actually like being the first onboard with everything brand new. This of course, was before Covid. Many of our cancellations were a result of the delay with the launch of the Venture (we still haven’t been on her) and this is why I was asking as many people as I could about the progress of the build prior to booking (I started the thread with the question). I didn’t know about the problems with SS inaugural cruises. This cruise fitted in perfectly with the family holiday and that’s why we booked. We can’t stay an extra month in Europe, we can’t come home to Australia and then back to Europe a month later, it’s simply too far. We continue to look for a cruise that ends in Rome around 3rd August so we can keep our flights but so far there is nothing. I’m not really blaming anyone for the delay, but I suspect SS might have known things were behind schedule back in September. It’s incredibly frustrating and disappointing.

Here we go again! This is our 9th cruise that has been cancelled and I’m starting to wonder if we will ever sail again. Before we booked, SS assured us everything was going to plan and the inaugural cruise would go ahead. We are now trying to find another cruise that fits in with our flights and dates which is proving to be a nightmare. If we change our flights it will cost us nearly $7000 due to increased fares and taxes. Nothing we can do and moaning is not going to achieve anything.

Is it a later than usual start to winter? We lived in Hamilton Ontario in 1979/80. I remember our first snowfall was in October, we were all so excited (our boys were 2 and 4) It was the first time we had seen snow and it was so pretty. By December, we were totally over it, LOL. Meanwhile, here in South Australia we are waiting for summer to arrive.

On Encore in 2017 (I think). Lady was travelling in the Owners Suite and had a ‘toilet’ area set up on balcony.

Thank you for the recommendation, that is one company we found online but thought it sounded like Uber. It helps to hear from someone who has actually used them. Several years ago we used a company to drive us from Como to Venice but I can’t for the life of me remember who it was.

Might take you up on that JP - are you available 2nd July - 14th?

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but I will anyway 🙂 Has anyone used private drivers/cars in Italy, Switzerland, Germany? We are travelling with our kids and grandkids (10,13) next July, flying into Milan. Then we go to Bellagio, onto Zurich and end in Munich. This is where we part company, we fly to UK to sail on Nova’s inaugural cruise, they fly home. If anyone has any recommendations it would be greatly appreciated. We have booked through Am Ex, they use Blacklane who get mixed reviews.Looking online just adds to the confusion.

Thank you for your reply, I agree with everything you say, hence the concern. We had our cruise on Venture pushed back 3 times before we decided to cancel altogether. As I expected, we will have to find a plan B

We are looking at the inaugural cruise on Nova, Southampton - Civitavecchia, 15th July 2023. Has anyone heard if the build is on schedule? I can’t find any information other than the usual promos. As the first leg is the very first cruise I can see for her, would this be considered a ‘shakedown’ cruise or is it the actual inaugural with naming ceremony etc. I’m well aware many people wouldn’t touch inaugural cruises with a 10 foot pole, but we have sailed several on Seabourn, have never had any problems with things not finished, and in fact, enjoyed the parties and celebrations that go with them. This itinerary allows us to join family while they are also in Europe so it would really upset a lot of plans if the ship was delayed. Any information is appreciated.

Thank you everyone for the information, very helpful. We usually sail on upper decks, hence the concern, but it seems deck 6 will be fine. We are really looking forward to sailing on this beautiful ship. As far as the GP goes, our days of sitting all day in the sun are over, so probably won’t book that.

Sorry I obviously didn’t explain myself - I definitely don’t expect to be given an upgrade. I was wondering if an upgrade became available due to a cancellation, should we pay for it or are the larger suites not really worth the extra. I guess it’s a personal thing, just interested in what people who know the ship think. Please don’t think we want everything for nothing, we don’t.

Our first and last SS cruise was on Shadow in 2013 and sadly we were less than impressed - remember the food stored in crew cabins saga? That’s the cruise we were on! We were Seabourn sailors prior and have been since but over the last 3 years we have been stuck on land. During this period, we have booked 6 cruises with Seabourn (always hoping things would settle down) and 6 cruises have been cancelled (5 by Seabourn, 1 we changed our mind). The last cancellation (Venice - Dover July 2023) is the one that has us coming back to SS - Seabourn have chartered the ship! We have found a very similar itinerary May 2023 Venice - Barcelona and although it’s probably a little earlier than we wanted, it’s on the Moon which looks to be a lovely ship. It’s already heavily booked and can only get a suite on deck 6 (637)- any thoughts about this? Should we try/ hope for an upgrade? On this trip we will be staying overnight in Monte Carlo for the Grand Prix. Does anyone know if SS usually have any packages for the race? We are not car racing fans but it’s such an iconic event, if we are there, we should enjoy the experience. Any advise will be appreciated.

Fully understand that the Commonwealth Games have little interest to most people on this board but being the Mother of swimmers I love these games. It’s when Australia is on top - I know, very self indulgent.

Adelaide would love to have you here - it is freezing (8c), but to a Canadian it’s a lovely spring day!

My DIL is an RN and works in our main public hospital. She had Covid, did her 7 days isolation and when all symptoms had gone she went to have a PCR thinking she would have to have a negative test to return to work. Her test came back positive. She rang the hospital and was told if you don’t have symptoms don’t test because you could return a positive result for up to 8 weeks!!! The message was, we need you, come back to work. I sincerely hope you don’t continue to test positive, but it can happen. Have to say, if we had been stuck in a cabin (sorry suite) for that long we would not be smiling - well done you.

Haha!, We will both be free in September - sorry to hijack your thread. Hope you are ok.

I’m so sorry to hear you have been hit by the dreaded virus. (AFL results won’t help) If you have to be isolated, probably on Seabourn in the Med isn’t too bad but 7 days will feel like an eternity. Hang in there.