Sojourn - West Coast and Caribbean

[Qld13]

Hi

 

We are looking at the 33 day Panama Canal and Caribbean Gems from LA to Miami in October 2020 and have a few questions hopefully you guys can fill us in on. Not been on Sojourn before, have noticed she has not been refurbed since 2017, does anyone know when her next dry dock is? Have been on Odyssey are they exactly the same?

Never cruised the West Coast of America and Mexico before, what are sea conditions like? Is it generally a smooth flat sail? What is the weather like temp wise?

We love the Caribbean but usually in Jan/Feb are weather and sea conditions much different in Nov?

Will we have missed the Hurricane season in the Caribbean by Nov?

What are your thoughts on the itinerary?

 

Thank you and look forward to your replies and advice

 

[Qld13]

No one got anything???

[LMB01]

We are doing this 33 day LA to Miami cruise.  Our first Seabourn cruise was earlier this year on the Sojourn - we did11 days Vancouver to Seward early to mid June.  It was very cold and rainy but we still enjoyed Alaska and want to visit again.  The 33 day cruise stops in all the ports in Alaska that we liked.  The ship did show a bit of wear in some places but overall was a very enjoyable cruise.  I am not sure when it is scheduled for drydock.

 

Having only been on the Sojourn, I can't be 100% sure but from looking at the Seabourn website and the ship deck plans, I believe the Sojourn and Odyssey are the same.

 

We also wanted to do a Panama Canal cruise no Seabourn.  We had done one on a mass market line but would like to experience it on a smaller ship.  We had given up cruising on mass market lines and thought we might be done with cruising until we discovered Seabourn.

 

We have also done many Mexico/West Coast cruises but it has been several years.  As I recall, the seas can be a bit choppy depending on the time of year.  One of the websites I used to plan our Alaska cruise is Accuweather.com.  You can see by month/day what the historical averages are for a particular city.  Then as time gets closer, it provides the actual forecast.  

 

Hurricane season does not end until Nov. 30th each year so technically we will be in the Caribbean during the final few weeks of the season.  However, the likelihood of encountering a hurricane at that time seems unlikely based on history.

 

The best news about this cruise is it had a price drop a little over a week ago and we were able to get our reservation adjusted for the lower price.

[Isklaar]

Sojourn and Odyssey are virtually identical. There's a difference in the spa but I can't remember what it is. 

 

We did Miami to LA on Odyssey a few years ago, over Christmas and NY. It was shorter than your cruise at 21 days so I don't know what your ports are.  We definitely could feel 'the motion of the ocean' quite often on the cruise but it was nothing too bad. 

Temperatures in the Caribbean were as expected, high 20s to low 30s. Once we arrived at the Panama Canal the temperatures crept up to mid 30s and as expected in that area, higher humidity.  Same for the ports in Costa RIca, Guatemala and Mexico. 

 

I can confirm that Sojourn was in dry dock in 2017 as we were on board the second cruise after. I was going to answer your question about dry dock by saying it would be in at the end of next year, as SB usually has a fairly strict 3 year cycle for the dry docks. However I checked Sojourn's itineraries for Nov/Dec next year and there are no gaps. I had a quick look at earlier months and again couldn't find any gaps.  So, no idea, sorry! We're boarding next week, I can try to find out for you. 

[LMB01]

I misstated which 33 day we are doing.  We are doing the 33 days that starts in Vancouver and ends in Miami.  I did not realize there was another 33 day that started in LA.  We will be on the 21 days of LA to Miami with you if you decide to book.

[Qld13]

Hi

 

Thank you for your replies, if we go ahead, the west coast of US is an area we have not cruised before. I do suffer with seasickness at times but know that I am OK in the Caribbean as we have cruised there plenty of times. Would be nice if Sojourn was dry docked prior, we went on Odyssey in July just after she had her new fit out and everything was amazing.

[SLSD]

We were on Sojourn for 23 days in May/June 2019.  Sojourn is a good ship, but she is not a new ship.  She is well maintained but that does not mean you won't see areas that need painting  with a bit of rust showing through.  While we were onboard, there was ongoing work to the swimming pool and to the deck, so those two areas should be in good shape.  

 

Those of us who love sailing on Seabourn often have different views on which ships we prefer and why.  I know that many who sail often love Sojourn and her sister ships and prefer them over the newer Ovation and Encore.  Their slightly smaller passenger number may mean slightly better service.  I do love the cozy  atmosphere of the TK Grill on Sojourn.   I also found the Club to be just right.  At the same time, the newer ships have the wonderful TK Grill bar which is delightful. They also have a more flexible schedule which worked for me as I like enjoying as much evening as I can before 11pm.  

 

You will enjoy the Sojourn even if she is not new and spiffy and is a bit overdue for dryadic (in the opinion of some). 

[mraven]

We're recently off the Sojourn and had a bridge tour. They stated there was a drydock in 2020 for them where whey would be getting all new instrumentation for the bridge. Also said the pool deck would be fixed correctly and get rid of the 'plugs' that are currently used to hide the screws. We also found the veranda furniture to be rather tired and needing replacement. I suspect the drydock is after the world cruise.