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Ovation sailing from Athens this summer

wesport

By wesport,
in Seabourn Cruise Line

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Covepointcruiser

Covepointcruiser

Posted
Posted

We have looked into the required testing.   Greece is not requiring a PCR test [as of today) if you have proof of vaccination.   We will arrive on 7/8, two days before sailing.    Plan to get a free PCR test locally on 7/7, as we drive to the airport.   If Seabourn still requires the negative PCR test on 7/10, we will get one at Dulles airport on 7/7 before we board.   This is a fast PCR test (20 minutes) but it is expensive.   Many international airports have companies offering the quick PCR test.   I believe it will be just under $200 each if we get this at the DC airport.   I am hoping Greece will also offer PCR tests as they will be less expensive.

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sfvoyage

sfvoyage

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Plan to get a free PCR test locally on 7/7, as we drive to the airport.   If Seabourn still requires the negative PCR test on 7/10, we will get one at Dulles airport on 7/7 before we board...

 

According to information on seabourn.com:

 

https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/health-safety/guest-protocols.html

 

In particular, this passage from the above link:

 

Enhanced Health Screening

We’re taking steps to implement COVID-19 appropriate pre-embarkation screening, including:

  • Mandatory enhanced pre-embarkation health screenings, including 100% testing for COVID-19 prior to embarkation, touchless temperature checks and health questionnaires, in accordance with the latest guidelines

 

It seems Seabourn will be doing its own Covid-19 testing for passengers prior to embarkation, in which case passengers won't need to bother with finding a way to do so 72 hours prior on their own.

 

Granted, the wordings "We're taking steps to..." may denote intention and objective rather than certainty at all ports for all sailings at this point.  I do hope Seabourn will provide more definitive guidance and make this just-in-time testing a reality for all passengers soon.

Edited by sfvoyage
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marazul

marazul

Posted
Posted

Well, we are taking a chance and rebooking our September Encore cruise out of Rome to a mid-September Greek cruise.  We may keep on rebooking until some cruise finally sails.  

 

No word yet on proof of vaccination taking the place of the rapid tests.  That would make traveling easier for us.

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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, SLSD said:

It says that all bars and restaurants will be closed except for takeaways.  

Apparently this is one of those constantly changing issues.  Greece has been in a very stringent lockdown since November, but is still experiencing a surge on COVID.  Many things of interest to tourists such as Bars/Cafes and restaurants remain closed (except for takeout).  There have been indications that the government will soon start to ease off on the restrictions but there are no guarantees.  So it is possible that tourists will arrive in Greece to find many desirable things closed and a restrictive 9pm curfew  Then again it is possible that most things will be open by mid-May.  Their government recently published information on opening hours for many museums, ruins, etc.  

 

I mentioned in another post that DW and I were on the verge of booking a 14 day Ovation cruise in late July and we also intended to stay in Greece after the cruise and spend 1-2 weeks doing some island hopping.  However, after carefully looking at the COVID situation, then tendency of the Greek government to lockdown, the strong possibility that the only way off the Ovation would be on cruise ship excursions (a deal breaker for us), etc. we decided not to book.  It seemed like an awful lot of financial commitment (on our part) with too many uncertainties.  Perhaps things will change in the next few weeks but there is a much reason for pessimism as optimism.

 

Hank

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SLSD

SLSD

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hmm... I am wondering if the Greek Island cruises are not selling all that well.  A discount travel agent has put together a package (14 days--two 7 day cruises back to back) for $7900 (and this includes airfare) and a two day package in Athens prior to the cruise.  .  I don't know (because I haven't looked) if this is a good deal or not.  They are touting that this will begin with the 4th cruise for the summer for Seabourn in this area--the implication being that the kinks will be worked out.  The email does say that the ship (Ovation) holds 600 passengers--and there is no mention of the number of passengers being capped due to the pandemic.  There IS mention that everyone MUST be vaccinated and that no unvaccinated children will be allowed and that no one will be exempt from the vaccination requirement.  I am not a huge fan of discount deals, but that's just me I think. 

 

Edited by SLSD
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SLSD

SLSD

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, SLSD said:

Hmm... I am wondering if the Greek Island cruises are not selling all that well.  A discount travel agent has put together a package (14 days--two 7 day cruises back to back) for $7900 (and this includes airfare) and a two day package in Athens prior to the cruise.  .

 

I finally looked at the SB website to compare prices and as best I can tell, the discount price is about $1,000 less person and includes two nights in Athens at a hotel and transfers.  The really weird thing is that the dates are not the same as between the email from the discount TA organization and the SB website.  

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tv24

tv24

Posted
Posted

The Greek Covid curfew will be somewhat relaxed starting Monday, May 3.  Curfew hours will begin at 11:00 PM.  And outdoor seating will be allowed at "catering establishments."  This should be attractive to cruise passengers, both pre- and post-cruise stays, as well as day excursions while on board.

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Neverlookback

Neverlookback

Posted
Posted

We are on the Greece cruises for 3 weeks starting July 17th.  While not the first week of cruising it still feels like being part of reopening and we look forward to embracing adjustments.  It's safe to assume there will be a large turnover of Seabourn staff although possibly they will move other boat's staff to the Ovation until the other boat's have itineraries.  We consider ourselves thankful, easy going travelers that have always loved Seabourn.  When issues have arisen they have always been addressed in a fair manner by Seabourn.  We have never expected perfection and more so now with the world trying to reopen.  Within our Seabourn account I can see the fairly normal excursions available at each port which appears to be a good sign although we don't do these often.  There appears to be no indication that we won't be able to stroll on our own as some of the excursions are basically transportation to drop you off into the city.  We have purchased our tickets into Athens and normally don't buy the Seabourn transfers to and from the airport, but decided this made sense this time.  It will be interesting to see how crowded Athens is in July.  I see other cruise lines are starting up, but later in the summer. 

 

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sfvoyage

sfvoyage

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 4/29/2021 at 10:21 AM, SLSD said:

I finally looked at the SB website to compare prices and as best I can tell, the discount price is about $1,000 less person and includes two nights in Athens at a hotel and transfers.  The really weird thing is that the dates are not the same as between the email from the discount TA organization and the SB website.  

The package includes an overnight flight and 2 hotel nights, so the sailing should be on 31July.  However, I cannot find a 31Jul sailing date on seabourn.com, which must be an oversight.  There are sailings on Jul 3 & 10, as well as Aug 7 & 14.  Not sure why not on Jul 31...

 

BTW, I was on a Seabourn cruise a few years ago with a contingent from that group, which made quite an impression.  Some of them dressed in Hawaiian shirts at dinner (not the end of the world, I know, and I don't mean to sound snobbish, but it wasn't a tropical or island cruise, and it was in The Restaurant) and loudly and proactively bragged about what a great deal they got through their agent.  I promptly signed up for their newsletters afterwards in order to know which cruises to avoid booking in the future. 

Edited by sfvoyage
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sfvoyage

sfvoyage

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, marazul said:

Look again.  There is a July 31 "Heart of the Aegean" sailing with plenty of room.

 

Would love to know which TA's cruises to avoid. 😉

 

Still do not see a July 31 sailing for 2021.  I do see one for 2022.  I'm logging on from the US.  Can someone provide a link to that sailing?

Edited by sfvoyage
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SLSD

SLSD

Posted
Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, sfvoyage said:

The package includes an overnight flight and 2 hotel nights, so the sailing should be on 31July.  However, I cannot find a 31Jul sailing date on seabourn.com, which must be an oversight.  There are sailings on Jul 3 & 10, as well as Aug 7 & 14.  Not sure why not on Jul 31...

 

BTW, I was on a Seabourn cruise a few years ago with a contingent from that group, which made quite an impression.  Some of them dressed in Hawaiian shirts at dinner (not the end of the world, I know, and I don't mean to sound snobbish, but it wasn't a tropical or island cruise, and it was in The Restaurant) and loudly and proactively bragged about what a great deal they got through their agent.  I promptly signed up for their newsletters afterwards in order to know which cruises to avoid booking in the future. 

Yes, I think I met the same contingent of that group--and signed up for the newsletter for the same reason you did.  I am not a snob either, but found the bragging about the great deal to be awkward.  My main complaint is that SB discounts their cruises, not offering the same prices to their loyal clients.  

Edited by SLSD
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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

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I went to tread carefully, but we do have that July 31 cruise (and the following cruise) booked.  We did not book through a package and are doing our own thing (including spending some post cruise time island hopping).  But I do have some issues with a few of the posts.   I will not get upset if some fellow passengers wear Hawaiian shirts (whatever turns them on).   If some folks want to be snobbish we are also not concerned as we will steer a wide berth.  As to some folks whining about discounting on SB, that is the nature of the cruise/travel industry.  Unsold berths are "opportunity lost" economic dollars and all cruise lines do what they must to try and maximize the sale of berths.  For those folks who want put Seabourn on some kind of pedestal I would just remind them that SB is part of Carnival who has all levels of cruise lines.  

 

A couple of years ago we were on a delightful Soujourn cruise in Alaska and listened (for several days) to some passengers whining that the cruise was "too cheap" and "not typical" of SB.  Now we are hearing the same thing (right on this thread) about the Ovation cruises.  So perhaps those folks would be happy to donate double their cruise fare to my own onboard account so they will not feel too bad about what they are paying for a cruise.

 

Come on folks, get over the snob thing.   Seabourn is simply one more cruise line product that does their best to maximize revenue.   Like most cruises there are always ways to find lower prices (we often post suggestions here on CC).   If folks want to pay the highest possible prices then we salute them since we are stockholders and benefit from their generosity.  If others are smart enough to find discount deals then we salute them even more because they are smart enough to shop around for the better deals.  

 

I do not mean to offend some of the SB fans who relish paying the highest possible price for a SB cruise.  But some of us (no matter what our personal assets) do think it is appropriate to seek out good deals.  Where I come from that is called being a smart consumer.   Now I will go back to my expansive wardrobe area and contemplate how many Hawaiian shirts to bring to Greece :).

 

Hank

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SLSD

SLSD

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I went to tread carefully, but we do have that July 31 cruise (and the following cruise) booked.  We did not book through a package and are doing our own thing (including spending some post cruise time island hopping).  But I do have some issues with a few of the posts.   I will not get upset if some fellow passengers wear Hawaiian shirts (whatever turns them on).   If some folks want to be snobbish we are also not concerned as we will steer a wide berth.  As to some folks whining about discounting on SB, that is the nature of the cruise/travel industry.  Unsold berths are "opportunity lost" economic dollars and all cruise lines do what they must to try and maximize the sale of berths.  For those folks who want put Seabourn on some kind of pedestal I would just remind them that SB is part of Carnival who has all levels of cruise lines.  

 

A couple of years ago we were on a delightful Soujourn cruise in Alaska and listened (for several days) to some passengers whining that the cruise was "too cheap" and "not typical" of SB.  Now we are hearing the same thing (right on this thread) about the Ovation cruises.  So perhaps those folks would be happy to donate double their cruise fare to my own onboard account so they will not feel too bad about what they are paying for a cruise.

 

Come on folks, get over the snob thing.   Seabourn is simply one more cruise line product that does their best to maximize revenue.   Like most cruises there are always ways to find lower prices (we often post suggestions here on CC).   If folks want to pay the highest possible prices then we salute them since we are stockholders and benefit from their generosity.  If others are smart enough to find discount deals then we salute them even more because they are smart enough to shop around for the better deals.  

 

I do not mean to offend some of the SB fans who relish paying the highest possible price for a SB cruise.  But some of us (no matter what our personal assets) do think it is appropriate to seek out good deals.  Where I come from that is called being a smart consumer.   Now I will go back to my expansive wardrobe area and contemplate how many Hawaiian shirts to bring to Greece :).

 

Hank

I think you are misunderstanding our comments.  I am saying two things:  that I don't like to be put in the situation of an in person/onboard conversation (that in some cases is difficult to immediately escape) that centers on dollars spent or not spent on a cruise in a bragging and boastful kind of way.  I find it awkward.  Second, if there are empty berths, why doesn't SB offer the great prices to their loyal customers.  Just my point of view--and not a snobby one.  

 

One more comment--there are appropriate ways to talk about good cruising deals.  It's all in the tone and motive of having the conversation.  We have discussed discount travel with other guests who have tried to be helpful and share information. There is a difference.  

Edited by SLSD
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marazul

marazul

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Heather White said:

How do you see the occupancy of a particular cruise?

Do a fake booking.  Click on Book Now and you will be assigned a suite to begin with. Then click on Edit Suite Details and pick Select Your Own Suite in the next screen.  Then play with it for different decks,  position,  prices, etc

Edited by marazul
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