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ernieb
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Have done both Seabourn and Regent.  Laundry was easier on Seabourn but I have to admit that I got up early (0600) and did  the wash with a latte.  You could "cheat" the opening time on Seabourn but Regent was pretty rigid (locked the laundry room doors) and a line formed outside. 

We llike the TK grill, but the food at all location are great.  Miss the sushi available on Ovation and Encore.  The TK nights at the Colonade are super - never turned down for a reservation and it is family style so a good group is very fun.  Italian is not a big part on Seabourn - more on Regent but the main dining room and the Colonade had many good Italian nights. 

My one trick is that on TK nights that we get to reserve in advance I book for 4 and invite someone to join us.

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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Tom47 said:

Does Seabourn have formal nights?  We don't do formal.  TIA

Tom

Seabourn does have formal nights, but you can always eat in the more informal Colonnade or Earth and Ocean if you don't want to dress up. Also, there's a real variety of levels of dressing up. You'll see some men in tuxes in the Restaurant or TK Grill on formal nights, but many men wear a suit or sports coat and tie. Some women have amazing gowns, and some dress in nice, but simpler dresses, or even dressy slacks with a sparkly top. 

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1 hour ago, Tom47 said:

Does Seabourn have formal nights?  We don't do formal.  TIA

Tom

Yes, SB has formal nights, but you need not fret about them.  You can have dinner in a venue other than the main dining room and dress in your usual manner.  As for us, we don't obsess about formal night and dine wherever we please.  My husband wears a conservative blazer with bow tie.  I wear a black dress and all is in order.  We have never felt underdressed even if seated next to someone in tux or ball gown.  I think the expectation of formal night can be met with some classic choices of dress.  

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2 hours ago, Tom47 said:

Does Seabourn have formal nights?  We don't do formal.  TIA

Tom

From Seabourn site FAQs....  And I’ll add that it also depends on where your sailing.  Expedition type itineraries (think Alaska, Antarctica, etc) tend to be less formal, in our experience.  Hope this helps.

How Should I Pack?

Attire During the Day:

  • During the daytime, casual, resort-style attire, including shorts and jeans, is welcome in all lounges and dining venues. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for poolside, on deck or in the spa and fitness center.

In the evening (after 6pm) there are two different dress codes:

Elegant Casual

  • Men: Slacks with a collared dress shirt or sweater; Jacket Optional. Ladies: Slacks / skirt, blouse, pant suit or dress. This is the dress standard for all dining venues
  • Jeans are welcome in all dining venues during the day, but not appropriate in The Restaurant after 6pm.

Formal

  • In the Restaurant, Men: Tuxedo, suit or slacks and jacket required. Ladies: evening gown or other formal apparel. Dress in other dining venues is Elegant Casual.
  • Jeans are welcome in all dining venues during the day, but not appropriate in the Restaurant after 6pm.

The itinerary in the preliminary document booklet will inform you of the number of Formal evenings to expect during your voyage. As a rule of thumb, Formal evenings are scheduled as follows:

  • Cruises up to 13 days: One Formal evening
  • Cruises of 14 to 20 days: Two Formal evenings
  • Cruises of 21 or more days: Three Formal evenings

(Note: Extended Explorations, Holiday voyages and crossings may be scheduled differently.)

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5 minutes ago, SLSD said:

Yes, SB has formal nights, but you need not fret about them.  You can have dinner in a venue other than the main dining room and dress in your usual manner.  As for us, we don't obsess about formal night and dine wherever we please.  My husband wears a conservative blazer with bow tie.  I wear a black dress and all is in order.  We have never felt underdressed even if seated next to someone in tux or ball gown.  I think the expectation of formal night can be met with some classic choices of dress.  

Thanks to both(Sunshine also)of you.  I own a sport coat and tie, but not a tux.  DW is still angry about snooty British women on a Celebrity cruise r/t Southampton who looked down at her in dress top and slacks. They were wearing formal gowns with low cut backs.  She was grossed out by back fat hanging out.  There will be no more cruises out of Southampton.  Most of the British drove to the port and could exceed airline baggage weight limits.  Some of the women had 7 or 8 different dresses.

We are considering r/t Montreal.  We want to visit National Parks  in Newfoundland.  We can drive to Montreal.  Other trips to NF are 1 way.

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9 minutes ago, zelker said:

From Seabourn site FAQs....  And I’ll add that it also depends on where your sailing.  Expedition type itineraries (think Alaska, Antarctica, etc) tend to be less formal, in our experience.  Hope this helps.

How Should I Pack?

Attire During the Day:

  • During the daytime, casual, resort-style attire, including shorts and jeans, is welcome in all lounges and dining venues. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for poolside, on deck or in the spa and fitness center.

In the evening (after 6pm) there are two different dress codes:

Elegant Casual

  • Men: Slacks with a collared dress shirt or sweater; Jacket Optional. Ladies: Slacks / skirt, blouse, pant suit or dress. This is the dress standard for all dining venues
  • Jeans are welcome in all dining venues during the day, but not appropriate in The Restaurant after 6pm.

Formal

  • In the Restaurant, Men: Tuxedo, suit or slacks and jacket required. Ladies: evening gown or other formal apparel. Dress in other dining venues is Elegant Casual.
  • Jeans are welcome in all dining venues during the day, but not appropriate in the Restaurant after 6pm.

The itinerary in the preliminary document booklet will inform you of the number of Formal evenings to expect during your voyage. As a rule of thumb, Formal evenings are scheduled as follows:

  • Cruises up to 13 days: One Formal evening
  • Cruises of 14 to 20 days: Two Formal evenings
  • Cruises of 21 or more days: Three Formal evenings

(Note: Extended Explorations, Holiday voyages and crossings may be scheduled differently.)

Thanks

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6 hours ago, Tom47 said:

 

We are considering r/t Montreal.  We want to visit National Parks  in Newfoundland.  We can drive to Montreal.  Other trips to NF are 1 way.

Based on my fairly limited experience, I would suggest that Newfoundland and its NPs is best seen from a road trip, not a cruise, unless the St Lawrence seaway is also a major draw. 

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10 hours ago, Fletcher said:

Based on my fairly limited experience, I would suggest that Newfoundland and its NPs is best seen from a road trip, not a cruise, unless the St Lawrence seaway is also a major draw. 

Thanks, but that would be several days driving and 2 ferries.  Seabourn doesn't stop near either of the 2 national parks.  However, HAL does a Quebec to Boston cruise with a port stop at Cornerbrook, near Gros Morne NP.  We are in our 70s and now prefer cruising to road trips.  DW wants to visit PEI and NS, so probably 2 cruises.

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15 hours ago, Tom47 said:

Thanks, but that would be several days driving and 2 ferries.  Seabourn doesn't stop near either of the 2 national parks.  However, HAL does a Quebec to Boston cruise with a port stop at Cornerbrook, near Gros Morne NP.  We are in our 70s and now prefer cruising to road trips.  DW wants to visit PEI and NS, so probably 2 cruises.

I quite understand.  Our cruise, on Regent, stopped off at Cornerbrook as a substitute for PEI which had banned cruise traffic because of a pod of whales in the channel.  A tour of Cornerbook was offered and also a very expensive long drive to Gros Morne NP.  We took the Cornerbrook tour which should have lasted ten minutes but was stretched to three hours.  Maybe the worst port of call ever, the town dominated by a vast paper mill that was shutting down due to the decline in the demand for newsprint.   The people who went to Gros Morne reported that it was a massively long drive, an hour in a visitor centre, then a massively long drive back.  They saw nothing apart from trees and a souvenir shop.

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6 hours ago, Fletcher said:

I quite understand.  Our cruise, on Regent, stopped off at Cornerbrook as a substitute for PEI which had banned cruise traffic because of a pod of whales in the channel.  A tour of Cornerbook was offered and also a very expensive long drive to Gros Morne NP.  We took the Cornerbrook tour which should have lasted ten minutes but was stretched to three hours.  Maybe the worst port of call ever, the town dominated by a vast paper mill that was shutting down due to the decline in the demand for newsprint.   The people who went to Gros Morne reported that it was a massively long drive, an hour in a visitor centre, then a massively long drive back.  They saw nothing apart from trees and a souvenir shop.

Thanks for your comments.

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3 hours ago, Fletcher said:

My photo of Cornerbrook -

 

IMG_7297_Detailed.jpg

I have done some research.  This is the shore excursion offered by HAL    Your tour will take you to the National Park Visitor Center, Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse, Norris Point Lookout and the communities of Norris Point and Rocky Harbour.

It looks like about 120k 1 way--perhaps 90 minutes.  The ship is scheduled 10-5pm If Canada reopens to cruising, we may pick this one in 2023

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  • 1 month later...

It’s a little over a year out from our cruise and I’m beginning to wonder about reservations.  It appears that reservations for the TK Grill are now open. I have seen discussions of reservations for the grill, that appear contradictory. The brochure indicates there is only one reservation available for the entire cruise. I have also seen a discussion that it is actually one reservation per week and also  that it is fairly easy to make reservations once on board. I also understand that the Colonnade has TK theme nights which also require reservations.  My questions are:

  • can I currently make only one reservation or can I make a reservation for each of the three weeks of the cruise?
  • is there a possibility of making more TK reservations than the allotted number once on board?
  • If the Colonnade presents a theme night we would like to attend which conflicts with a TK reservation we hold, will it be easy to reschedule the TK reservation?

Thanks for your help.

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her is the policy on Seabourn website

For Booked Guests: Dining reservations for The Grill by Thomas Keller can be requested online prior to sailing, subject to availability.  Online reservations close 15 days prior to sailing. Due to high demand, online reservations are recommended, however, reservations can also be made on board. One reservation permitted per voyage. For additional details or to make a reservation, log in and customize your itinerary.

I think remember getting more than one reservation for a cruise but it was 51 days long - so expect only one.  

It is hard to get more than one on the smaller ships -Quest/Sojourn and easier on the Encore/Ovation as the area is bigger. The bar associated with the TK grill on the Encore and Ovations was the place to be - pre dinner. Great mixologist and a great piano!

It is easy to get additional reservations on board but sometimes not the best time. Sea days are always booked in advance

We now always make one for 4 and try to spread the fun.

We liked the TK grill but for us it was not the be all to end all. The TK night in the Colonade are very good and many times served family style so again 4-6 Seabourn folks around a table was really fun. On those night you do need to make a reservation for the Colonnade as well but never saw them turn someone away.  It was easy - we just looked at the menu the night before and as we went in for breakfast made dinner reservations. 

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I can only comment on the first question. On our 14 night cruise on Ovation last January we were able to make two online reservations for TK Grill beforehand, ie one for each week. As the previous poster says, TK Grill is good but we enjoyed Earth & Ocean, Seabourn’s “pop-up” on the patio, just as much - obviously weather-dependent. 

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3 hours ago, ernieb said:

My questions are:

  • can I currently make only one reservation or can I make a reservation for each of the three weeks of the cruise?
  • is there a possibility of making more TK reservations than the allotted number once on board?
  • If the Colonnade presents a theme night we would like to attend which conflicts with a TK reservation we hold, will it be easy to reschedule the TK reservation?

Thanks for your help.

 

The website only allows you to pre-book one reservation per guest per booking code.

 

However, once you get on board, it's often easy to change and/or add more reservations.  Don't overthink or worry about this.

 

Having said this, things may change with new covid protocol.  We'll have to see what will transpire.

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the other thing to remember is that if you are on the Encore or Ovation you can still hit up the TK Grill bar and then do a little "lurking" or "vulture" for an open an open TK Grill seat.  For us it was is the view better at the OBS bar or the music at the TK Grill.  I am a great fan of the Quest but have to admit that the bigger TK Grill bar is a very nice add. Not to mention I love sushi.  I just hope we can get back on the ships soon.

 

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If you ask the maitre d', in the main dining room, he will have any meal prepared especially for you, as long as they have the ingredients on board and enough notice (usually 24 hours).  

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hopefully one year from today we will be sailing out of Miami heading for Los Angelis on the 21 day Panama Canal Passage. This hopefully is a mute question, but with the way the Caribbean cruises will be starting up with limited passengers for social distancing, if a cruise is fully booked and the limitation of passengers is still in effect, how will they determine who goes and who doesn’t?

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Although we always make reservations in advance on line, we have always had good luck stopping by the TK grill and asking if there were any openings. On one cruise, we got in so many times that by the third week we got tired of the sole, sundae, filets, sides, etc. and stuck to the main restaurant and colonnade for a few days.

 

Linda

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/28/2021 at 12:50 PM, ernieb said:

Hopefully one year from today we will be sailing out of Miami heading for Los Angelis on the 21 day Panama Canal Passage. This hopefully is a mute question, but with the way the Caribbean cruises will be starting up with limited passengers for social distancing, if a cruise is fully booked and the limitation of passengers is still in effect, how will they determine who goes and who doesn’t?

 

It's likely that the cruise is not sold out currently, and they simply aren't accepting bookings beyond a certain capacity. But for a cruise a full year away, any talk about capacity restrictions is purely guesswork. There's a plausible chance that there won't be capacity restrictions at all a year from now. But there are so many variables about the ongoing development of the virus, about rates of vaccination both at home and around the world, and about ever-changing safety practices, that it's really anyone's guess what the world and the state of cruising will be in April 2022.

 

For now, sit back, enjoy the anticipation of your voyage, don't let each new Covid development stress you out, and hope we'll be living in a world that's substantially back to normal by next spring. 🙂

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