Just returned from 10 nights on Sojourn in the Caribbean

[Vacationv]

LeapZip

Page rank

 

 

 

 

 

My wife and I are in our early 60’s and have cruised more than twenty times, mostly on Celebrity, with one other luxury experience on Paul Gauguin. We just disembarked from our first SEABOURN experience. All we can say is WOW!

 

 

What a pleasant surprise to sail with other professional people, many still working like myself. While we saw plenty of older folks on this sailing, it was refreshing to cruise with others who shared similar interests and weren’t looking for the “party night and say” experience. We’ve been disappointed on recent 14 night cruises on Celebrity which found us among the youngest passengers on the ship. Seabourn provides a perfect mix of ages within an “adult only” environment.

 

 

We realized the “Seabourn difference” within the first moments of our very easy embarkation from Fort Lauderdale. Crew members whom we had never met addressed us by our last name and this treatment continued throughout the cruise.

 

 

Our veranda cabin on Sojourn was about the same size as a SKY SUITE on Celebrity and these cabins are the majority of cabins on the ship. With walk-in closets and marble bathrooms, Seabourn had us from the moment we opened our cabin door on deck six. A spacious walk-in closet, a large marble bathroom, and a wide array of luxury toiletries gave a welcome, upscale feel to our home at sea. The mini bar was well stocked with our pre-ordered list of alcohol and mixers. While the selection of TV stations is weak at best, we were pleasantly surprised to discover a selection of nearly 100 movies on demand at no cost per showing.

 

 

 

FOOD is a big focus of Seabourn. My wife and I are not “foodies” so we were less impressed with ultra-gourmet offerings of Restaurant Two and found ourselves very comfortable dining on the fantail of Sojourn at “The Colonnade Restaurant”. Here we found high quality food at lunch and in the evenings. We especially enjoyed theme nights featuring Indian and Asian cuisine. The Colonnade is more an upscale bistro than buffet, with impeccable service. We started each day with breakfast from room service which was always perfectly on time and quite enjoyable. Make sure you go to the “Galley Buffet” in the main dining room for lunch. It was a fun event and provides a great behind the scenes look at the galley.

 

 

Like most cruises we have experienced, the only low marks fell in the area of onboard entertainment. I know we aren’t alone in thinking ALL cruise lines needs to “freshen” their nightly entertainment options. The average age on this cruise was probably sixty, yet the presentation of the music was still stuck in the “Broadway” style of singing and dancing. There was a so-so comedian and a “fair” illusionist we had seen on a Celebrity cruise several years ago. Let’s be honest- Many silver haired passengers today grew up with the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and other rock and roll acts. Our youth marked some of the best music in a century, yet the cruise lines seem fearful of bringing classic rock acts to Baby Boomers. I just don’t understand this thinking. And with all of the TV talent shows filling prime time, surely Cruise Directors can snag some of the top ten contestants to modernize a very boring and stale cruise entertainment scene. We did enjoy a female vocal impersonator who was quite good.

 

 

The only other negative I will mention is the cheap pool and deck chairs. We were expecting an upscale pool experience as well, with comfy lounge chairs with thick padding instead of low end, inexpensive pool chairs. Despite the shoddy furniture at the pool and on our balcony, the SERVICE was spectacular poolside and across the ship. We loved the fact we didn’t have to endure frequent ship wide announcements over the PA and enjoyed the “quiet” environment poolside, free of loud music and annoying contests.

 

 

We are highly independent travelers so I can’t comment on Seabourn’s excursions, as we made our own plans. Make sure you don’t miss Seabourn’s private island if you visit the Dominican Republic. The crew did an amazing job provisioning the island and making sure passengers had a wonderful time, despite rain and clouds.

 

 

There were no children or teens on our Caribbean cruise. Frankly, we enjoyed the all-adult experience. Seabourn is not for the “party” cruiser.

 

 

 

We found the Sojourn to be a relatively quiet experience, which appeals to us. Even what appeared to be a rigid dress code became more relaxed as the cruise progressed, and I was fine with the resort-casual attire most evenings.

 

 

The Sojourn is the perfect sized cruise ship. At 30,000 tons and under 500 passengers, we never felt crowded or rushed. We met some interesting people and thoroughly enjoyed our first Seabourn cruise.

We are booked on a 14-night Asian cruise on Celebrity in 2014, but you can be sure we will be back on Seabourn in the future.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Vacationv

[Keith1010]

Thanks for taking the time to write this review and I am glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Keith

[lincslady]

Vacationv - Thanks for a very insightful and well thought out report on Sojourn: I think it will resonate with many Seabourn aficionados, and also give a good picture of what to expect to anyone thinking of trying Seabourn out for the first time.

[oregon50]

After your time on Sojourn, do you still consider Paul Gauguin a luxury experience?

[LEESRE]

Many thanks for taking the time to post your review, we sail on Sojourn in just over two weeks time.

It was interesting to hear about the dress code, we have sailed Seabourn before, what I would like to know please is how many nights were there where Gentlemen wore jackets to dinner. I would have thought being in the Caribbean that they would not have too many in the warmer climbs.

 

I do not wish to pack too many jackets as the weight restriction on airlines these days is quite rigid.

I know there are 1 formal optional and I suspect that the first night and the last will be resort casual.

 

Perhaps you could comment please.

[nolatravelgirl]

Interesting. I was on that sailing (hoping to write a trip report) but I didn't think the dress code was all that rigid. On formal night I saw very few men in tuxedo and most women went with a sparkly top. The rest of the nights were evenly split between "resort casual" and "elegant casual" and frankly the biggest difference in the two were men wore coats on elegant casual nights. I stayed away from florals on elegant casual as it seemed too casual but otherwise "elegant casual" fit the majority of what I would wear on a weekend summer night out for dinner.

 

I have never cruised but it definitely seemed to skew younger than I thought. I am a late 30 something and saw a fair amount of people in their 40s and 50s.

 

Agree that the shows were ho hum. The comedian was just plain tasteless. The magician was mildly funny. I don't think we will see an improvement in entertainment on a ship that only has 450 guests. You are never going to please everyone and frankly people know the entertainment will be very average and is never the reason you book a small luxury ship.

 

My biggest annoyance with the shows were that "The Band" accompanied most of the shows so you had to wait till 11pm before any decent music in the club. The only club music was "sleepy time guitar" with Danny if you wanted to be in the club prior to 11pm.

 

I see your point that you wanted "fluffy" seats by the pool but they are impractical and impossible to stack in bad weather. I also liked the mesh type as it lets the breeze through them. When I lay on those pillowy loungers I just get hot because it didn't allow air to circulate when sitting in the sun.

Edited November 11, 2013 by nolatravelgirl

[jenidallas]

Many thanks for taking the time to post your review, we sail on Sojourn in just over two weeks time.

It was interesting to hear about the dress code, we have sailed Seabourn before, what I would like to know please is how many nights were there where Gentlemen wore jackets to dinner. I would have thought being in the Caribbean that they would not have too many in the warmer climbs.

 

I do not wish to pack too many jackets as the weight restriction on airlines these days is quite rigid.

I know there are 1 formal optional and I suspect that the first night and the last will be resort casual.

 

Perhaps you could comment please.

 

I answered this elsewhere but we had 1 formal, 4 elegant casual, and 5 resort casual evenings. (Our resort casual were first and last nights as well as the evenings of the St. Barts, Cruz Bay, and Isla Catalina ports, if I recall correctly.)

[frantic36]

Interesting. I was on that sailing (hoping to write a trip report) but I didn't think the dress code was all that rigid. On formal night I saw very few men in tuxedo and most women went with a sparkly top. The rest of the nights were evenly split between "resort casual" and "elegant casual" and frankly the biggest difference in the two were men wore coats on elegant casual nights. I stayed away from florals on elegant casual as it seemed too casual but otherwise "elegant casual" fit the majority of what I would wear on a weekend summer night out for dinner.

 

I have never cruised but it definitely seemed to skew younger than I thought. I am a late 30 something and saw a fair amount of people in their 40s and 50s.

 

Agree that the shows were ho hum. The comedian was just plain tasteless. The magician was mildly funny. I don't think we will see an improvement in entertainment on a ship that only has 450 guests. You are never going to please everyone and frankly people know the entertainment will be very average and is never the reason you book a small luxury ship.

 

My biggest annoyance with the shows were that "The Band" accompanied most of the shows so you had to wait till 11pm before any decent music in the club. The only club music was "sleepy time guitar" with Danny if you wanted to be in the club prior to 11pm.

 

I see your point that you wanted "fluffy" seats by the pool but they are impractical and impossible to stack in bad weather. I also liked the mesh type as it lets the breeze through them. When I lay on those pillowy loungers I just get hot because it didn't allow air to circulate when sitting in the sun.

 

Darn it! That was something that frustrated me a little on our Odyssey cruise. I was hoping that it was just an aberration. On the little ships they use a duo which plays a lot more upbeat music. I don't see why they can't do this on the big ships as well.

 

Just my opinion but if after dinner all I have is listening music I get tired, I would much prefer to have something up beat as I like to dance. There is the observation lounge for easy listening music after dinner.

 

I commented on this issue on my commentary card on board but maybe a follow up email is in order.

 

Julie

 

Vacationv thank you for posting about your cruise……it was a great overview.

[nolatravelgirl]

Darn it! That was something that frustrated me a little on our Odyssey cruise. I was hoping that it was just an aberration. On the little ships they use a duo which plays a lot more upbeat music. I don't see why they can't do this on the big ships as well.

 

Just my opinion but if after dinner all I have is listening music I get tired, I would much prefer to have something up beat as I like to dance. There is the observation lounge for easy listening music after dinner.

 

I commented on this issue on my commentary card on board but maybe a follow up email is in order.

 

Julie

 

Vacationv thank you for posting about your cruise……it was a great overview.

No, it was pretty bad. I have nothing bad to say about the shows in general, but if you sit through dinner, then sit through a show I get sleepy and just want to go to bed. There just didn't seem to be anything that got passengers moving in the evening after dinner. After dinner I really wanted something lively and fun, verses sitting/drinking. Agree that the observation lounge is where you should go if you want easy quiet listening, but the Club should have something more fun. Heck I would have taken a DJ over more sleepy time guitar music.

[frantic36]

No, it was pretty bad. I have nothing bad to say about the shows in general, but if you sit through dinner, then sit through a show I get sleepy and just want to go to bed. There just didn't seem to be anything that got passengers moving in the evening after dinner. After dinner I really wanted something lively and fun, verses sitting/drinking. Agree that the observation lounge is where you should go if you want easy quiet listening, but the Club should have something more fun. Heck I would have taken a DJ over more sleepy time guitar music.

 

I totally agree re the DJ rather then sleepy time music. On the Legend this July the demographic sounds similar to what you experienced and The Club was a fun place to be in the late evening even though the cruise was port intensive. I am mid 50's by the way so no spring chicken ;):D.

 

It is one of the things that I love about our Seabourn cruises and will just have to hopefully encourage them to transfer the upbeat music to the big ships.

[FKGirl]

Frankly, the observation bar was much more upbeat and fun than guitar guy - by a mile. The pianist, David, was terrific and we had a couple of passengers that sang with him as well... it got the room engaged, for sure.

 

(That being said, nolatravelgirl, jenidallas and I have discussed onboard, and I agree with all the above).

[Vacationv]

Yes, but in a more laid back sort of way.

The food was amazing on Paul Gauguin. We never had a bad meal. But the service is not up to the high level set by Seabourn and the ship is not in the same caliber as Sojourn. Seabourn cabins are much nicer and more upscale.

 

Yet, the itinerary was amazing with some of the most beautiful spots in the world before your eyes. PG really knows this part of the world. But for sure, this is not the same luxury experience as Seabourn.

[Vacationv]

You are correct. One formal night only. I saw some gents in coats nightly, but many left the jackets in the cabin as well, especially those dining in the more relaxed Colonnade Restaurant. Those eating by the pool each night actually wore shorts on some nights.

 

One jacket can suffice, with two if you want to pack a bit more :)

[jenidallas]

Frankly, the observation bar was much more upbeat and fun than guitar guy - by a mile. The pianist, David, was terrific and we had a couple of passengers that sang with him as well... it got the room engaged, for sure.

 

(That being said, nolatravelgirl, jenidallas and I have discussed onboard, and I agree with all the above).

 

I wrote a long paragraph about this on my post-cruise survey yesterday... they definitely should have had Sleepytime Guitar in the OB and the pianist in The Club. And I should also point out, the guitarist was VERY talented - he just was not "lively". It was wonderful to listen to him at the Pool Grill or during afternoon tea. I contrast him with Michael Burke from Sojourn this summer... he was very lively and kept us fired up and entertained every night until The Band played.

[jenidallas]

Also on the topic of entertainment, I let Seabourn know that I did not think that strings of tasteless jokes about yeast infections and such were at all appropriate for an upscale travel experience. I don't doubt that comedian probably does great on the more mass market ships but it's a case of "know your audience"!

[Roxburgh]

The average age on this cruise was probably sixty, yet the presentation of the music was still stuck in the “Broadway” style of singing and dancing. There was a so-so comedian and a “fair” illusionist we had seen on a Celebrity cruise several years ago. Let’s be honest- Many silver haired passengers today grew up with the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and other rock and roll acts. Our youth marked some of the best music in a century, yet the cruise lines seem fearful of bringing classic rock acts to Baby Boomers. I just don’t understand this thinking. And with all of the TV talent shows filling prime time, surely Cruise Directors can snag some of the top ten contestants to modernize a very boring and stale cruise entertainment scene. We did enjoy a female vocal impersonator who was quite good.

 

Just want to agree with you on this. I think that part of the problem is that the Cruise Directors mainly come from a Broadway or West End tradition. And while I have always enjoyed Broadway, it wold be great to have some acts from the days of my misspent youth in the 1960s and early 1970s.

[Jalex63]

Thanks for your report. Our experience will be much like yours, that being our first "upscale" cruise following many Holland American cruises, we sail on the Soujourn this Sunday for the same cruise itinerary. I hope that we get the same WOW impression that you had because frankly we have become somewhat bored with HAL, along with finding their quality deteriorating over the last few years.

 

One thing I am particularly interested in is the dining aboard Seabourn. I am definitely not in to fancy entree's and am happier with just a good steak for dinner. I hope that I will find a place on board where that can be accommodated?

 

Jim

[stamfordian]

I am definitely not in to fancy entree's and am happier with just a good steak for dinner. I hope that I will find a place on board where that can be accommodated?

 

Jim

Every single night in the Main Dining Room if you so wish. The menu includes a page of classic dishes which are always available in addition to the evening's daily menu selections. Steak is always on that list, along with lamb chops, salmon, caesar salad and one or two others. Fear not. But try some of the other dishes as well - you may finish up with a new favourite or two!

[johnnycruise]

Thanks for your report. Our experience will be much like yours, that being our first "upscale" cruise following many Holland American cruises, we sail on the Soujourn this Sunday for the same cruise itinerary. I hope that we get the same WOW impression that you had because frankly we have become somewhat bored with HAL, along with finding their quality deteriorating over the last few years.

 

One thing I am particularly interested in is the dining aboard Seabourn. I am definitely not in to fancy entree's and am happier with just a good steak for dinner. I hope that I will find a place on board where that can be accommodated?

 

Jim

 

You shouldn't worry. Besides the Restaurant, there are the more casual options of the Colonnade and the Patio Grill have great service and less "fancy" entrees for you to enjoy - just check the menus in the daily Herald. You will not want to miss the Steakhouse night. Eating outdoors during a warm weather cruise is great in any case, and Seabourn will not disappoint. Also, don't forget that you can also request your favorite cut of beef with just 24 hours notice - the chef can prepare a great filet wrapped in bacon or whatever else you might want.

 

Your comment about HAL brings up a recent memory ... I know what you mean. We cruised with family on the Ryndam the first week of September. The itinerary was the best but the food was not. I found on HAL that the simple, comfort food-type dishes at dinner were much better than the specialty/"fine dining" dishes. My family couldn't believe I ordered turkey and dressing (which we prepare very well at home) until their food arrived and they wished they would have followed my lead. My goal is to move our next family cruise over to Seabourn!

[tv24]

Vacationv: Thanks for taking the time to write up your review. We are on the Sojourn for 68 days this coming January and are excited, however cautionary. Your comments on the entertainment are interesting, although not surprising. We've have similar experiences on Azamara wtih very tired old fashioned quasi-Broadway entertainment. The option of movies on the TV en-suite is good to have, plus there always is the casino, I guess...

[Tony & Trevor]

Enjoyed reading the review. Very informative.

 

 

 

Thank you,

 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Tony

[Jalex63]

Well that is really great news regarding the menu's availability of fairly simple food. Honestly I am what is referred to as a "Meat and potato's guy". But, I am willing to try different things from time to time and have found quite a few meals that are quite good.

 

I am thinking we are really going to enjoy Seabourn, but unfortunately not often. Besides the price, which is a bit of a stretch for us, they only offer a few cruises out of Florida (we only live about 125 mi from Port Everglades) from the last of Oct. to the first of Dec. Unfortunately I am averse to flying at any time, but definitely anything over about four hours is almost out of consideration because I get such severe leg cramps on long flights.

 

While HAL has definitely gone down hill these past few years, they still offer some of the best itineraries out of the USA, such as the Hawai/Tahiti voyage we made last year. In fact we are booked on the Prinsendam for the Holiday cruise, but alas I am afraid that we have been almost everywhere in the Caribbean and it is growing a little stale.

[Nigella]

As we have no future cruises booked just at the moment, I'm very much enjoying reading good reviews that bring back great memories.

Thank you for your review, it was a pleasure to read.