Hi! First-timer with some questions...

[akafurby]

We've been planning our first-ever Seabourn trip for years (literally) and now that the 2013 itinerary has FINALLY opened up, we have our eyes on the prize: the 14-day Transatlantic in October 2013. Yay! :)

 

First things first...when to book? From my reading on these boards, I know Crossings are popular but how far out do they sell out? We can't book our flight until a year out (we're doing our darndest to get there on FF miles).

 

What Barcelona hotel recommendations might you have for me? This will be my first-ever trip to Europe, so we're going to go out a few days early to sight see (and make sure no flight mishaps keep us from the ship!). Where should we look?

 

Also, how can we best 'fit in' with our fellow Seabourn travelers. The crossings have, at times, sounded a bit 'clique-ish' on here - lots of friends doing repeat travel. We're newbies - will we stick out like a sore thumb because we don't know the lingo or have a familiar face? We would love to make some new friends and hear everyone's stories.

 

It it helps, we're in our early 40 and worker bees looking forward to a glorious vacation, freedom from the daily grind. This is a true splurge, so I want to make sure we're well-informed (read: I'm sure I'll have 8 million more questions, so forgiveness is appreciated!). We're trying to save, save, save so we retire early so we can do more of this kind of travel. ;)

 

Thanks for your tips!

[Patti22]

Hi, akafurby, We did our first Seabourn trip in January. Santiago to Ft.Lauderdale. Had a wonderful time. It is easy to start a conversation at breakfast, pool bar, just about anyplace and people were very friendly. We went to dinner with several couples we met that way.

As for Barcelona, we finish a Regent trip there in Sept. and have booked Le Meridien Hotel. Have stayed at these in London and Budapest. Happy sailing!

[JaneBP]

I stay at the Hotel Colon in Barcelona. It's well situated with a good restaurant and outside cafe. If you are flying in with an early arrival, you might consider booking a car and driver guide to show you the city and then drop you off at your hotel at a time when your room might be ready and you will probably be ready for a siesta.

Just relax on Seabourn, that's what we all do. It's friendly and with good service and great food. Yes, there are crossing regulars, and lots of irregulars, too. Trivia, however, is a blood sport on the crossings, but great fun as well. Great way to meet new friends.

The rule of thumb is that everyone should 'fit in' with your personalities, not the other way around. It's easy peasy and don't sweat the small stuff. There is way too much posturing on thee boards to take anyone seriously!

[Roxburgh]

We stayed at the Hesperia Presidente last time we were in Barcelona and liked it a lot. We got a great deal through Amex. My sister lives in Barcelona so we know it quite well. We do not like to stay in the touristy areas but in a more 'local' area. The Presidente is well situated on the Diagonal with lots of shopping, cafes and restaurants nearby. The touristy areas are within easy reach just not on top of you.

[chessie4588]

I'd recommend the Hotel Del Mar Barcelona. Nice hotel, many rooms with balcony. Best part is location and price. A short (5 minute) walk from train station so can take the RENFE train from the airport right into town and then walk to hotel. One-half block to metro station and easy walk to good restaurants, the old town and Ramblas. Price should be about $130/night.

[ibnoland]

AKAFURBY: Our first Seabourn cruise was Transatlantic on the Spirit this past November. To answer a couple of your questions:

The ship was only about 80-90% full, so my guess is you can safely wait until the Frequent Flyer window is open before signing up. We booked our air with Seabourn, and I felt we got a fair and reasonable price, so don't fail to check with them. Plus, they put us on our preferred airline, so we got more FF miles to use some other time.

We had absolutely no trouble as newbies. In fact, although most of our fellow passengers said they had been on Seabourn and/or crossed the Atlantic before, they didn't act any less excited or more knowledgeable than we did. No snobs were aboard. T'was great fun!

Can't help with Barcelona hotel suggestions.

[BrittaniMV]

akafurby-Make sure you check the referral board and get your $400 shipboard credit!

[pvrick]

We just got off our first T/A cruise and our first Seabourn cruise. Did not find it "clubby" as you indicated. You could get as involved or non involved as you wished. There were some folks who had "grouped up" but for the most part everyone was very friendly, easy to get to know.

 

I have traveled all over the world on business and some pleasure and I must say this was the first time that my expectations were actually exceeded! Cabin, service and food, food, food was unbelievable. The meals were world class and for us, just kept getting better. Only thing we were a bit disappointed on was the red wines. It took us until 3 days before the cruise ended to find a red that was decent. They tried to introduce some "different" reds (i.e Columbia Crest Two Vines Cab. Retails $6.99 a bottle) We could not find any reds that tasted like traditional Cabs or Merlots, dry, tannin, etc. It is a shame because there are enough adequate reds out there for $10-12 retail that they could serve.

 

Other than that. FANTASTIC

 

Re hotel, I like to use TripAdvisor as a guide for finding hotels where I have no familiarity. Used it for our hotel in Ft Lauderdale and Nice, France and both were better than expected.

 

Enjoy!