Venture stabilizer issues - now

[highplanesdrifters]

31 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

I will say that the lack of an all-day drink/snack venue like the Arts Cafe on the newer SS ships (or Seabourn Square on the Seabourn ships) is something we noticed. The lack of a bar in the forward Observation Lounge is a big design miss

Hear hear!

We've suggested they remedy this numerous times. A "pantry" would easily fit in Panorama or OL, doesn't have to be a full blown arts cafe or Seabourn square. OL needs a bar, even with limited service or self service country club style. Heck, even if it's just mixers and ice. We arranged several Champagne evenings evenings up there. Delightful.  The Cloud and Wind need help competing with all the shiny things out there.

[cruiseej]

54 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

OL needs a bar, even with limited service or self service country club style. Heck, even if it's just mixers and ice.

 

On the mid-cruise comment card, I tried to note a few things which were actionable by the staff (as opposed to complaining about slow Internet or lack of an Arts Cafe). One of the things I noted was that the Observation Lounge has a tea and coffee machine, but there were no other beverages. It seemed easy for them too put out a tray with carafes of water, cans of soda, and a bucket of ice. I was very impressed that these things appeared the very next day! Kudos to the hotel director or F&B manager. It's not a real bar, but it was a nice step forward. On a larger scale, I think they could pull out the racks for books in the Observation Lounge, moving those books to the existing Library, and then use that space to put out some self-service snacks in addition to water and soft drinks, or even a limited bar during select hours.

[highplanesdrifters]

12 hours ago, cruiseej said:

. On a larger scale, I think they could pull out the racks for books in the Observation Lounge, moving those books to the existing Library, and then use that space to put out some self-service snacks in addition to water and soft drinks, or even a limited bar during select hours.

Exactly. The pantry on the Venture is a perfect example. Add a mini bar and were good to go.

[Heidi13]

On 12/16/2022 at 7:27 AM, florisdekort said:

So according to “live from” posts on Facebook’s Seabourn Sailors, after leaving Ushuaia last evening on its 24 night Holiday cruise to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica, the Captain casually announced the cancellation of South Georgia due to issues with the ship’s stabilizers. Apparently a mini-revolt broke out amongst passengers, and the ship is now back in Ushuaia because quite a few passengers demanded to be allowed to disembark.
 

I’m not on board, but I do find it highly questionable that Seabourn didn’t announce this major change until shortly after sailing. 

 

Seabourn is offering $1000 OBC plus 15% of a future cruise - which seems somewhat low given that South Georgia sailings tend to be 50% more expensive than regular Antarctica sailings. 

 

And of course this now triggers the question - is a dry dock needed to fix this issue? There are no gaps in Venture’s schedule, so that would require (a) cancellation(s). 
 

Floris

 

 

Yesterday, my wife read a very interesting article from a pax on a cruise ship in this region, about the time of this incident.

 

They reported coming across Drake Passage in rough seas back to Ushuaia and the ship experienced a failure of a stabiliser. They didn't mention the ship's name, but I haven't heard of any other ships in that region having issues.

 

If the ship knew about the issue prior to arrival Ushuaia, but didn't advise the pax on the next cruise until after departure, that is deplorable.

[jjs217]

I was on the Venture cruise where lack of full deployment of the stabilizers was announced after we left port.  Not a great decision on Seabourn's part.  However, I believe they have been more than generous in compensation for that mistake.  We will be going back to Antarctica next January - albeit on the Quest.

[rearseatpilot]

Just wondering if anyone has actually received the promised future cruise credit yet, into their accounts?

[Travels with Lisa]

1 hour ago, rearseatpilot said:

Just wondering if anyone has actually received the promised future cruise credit yet, into their accounts?

We did fairly quickly after cancelling our February cruise.  

[jjs217]

17 hours ago, rearseatpilot said:

Just wondering if anyone has actually received the promised future cruise credit yet, into their accounts?

Not yet.  I was told that I would receive it by the end of February.  I'm willing to wait another week, and then I will be on the phone asking where the credit is on my account.  That is a huge chunk of change.

[rearseatpilot]

It would be good to know when this starts to come through for people who missed South Georgia on the Christmas cruise.  As you say, it's a huge chunk of change!

[jjs217]

I'm going to be out of the house this AM, but I will call later and see what they say, and let you know.

[jjs217]

On 3/13/2023 at 7:35 AM, rearseatpilot said:

It would be good to know when this starts to come through for people who missed South Georgia on the Christmas cruise.  As you say, it's a huge chunk of change!

I was just told, "Please give us one more week."  

[rearseatpilot]

22 hours ago, jjs217 said:

I was just told, "Please give us one more week."  

Thanks for trying!

[2SailingNomads]

supposedly the stabilizers actually fell off, not sure how accurate that report is but from a TA who used to know a lot about Seabourn.

[jjs217]

On 3/15/2023 at 7:46 PM, 2SailingNomads said:

supposedly the stabilizers actually fell off, not sure how accurate that report is but from a TA who used to know a lot about Seabourn.

I was on the Holiday Cruise with the stabilizer issues.  No, they didn't fall off.  They were at 50% capacity.  If they had fallen off, I doubt we would have ever left the port.

[florisdekort]

16 hours ago, jjs217 said:

I was on the Holiday Cruise with the stabilizer issues.  No, they didn't fall off.  They were at 50% capacity.  If they had fallen off, I doubt we would have ever left the port.

Well, there’s 2. Maybe 1 fell off? There’s your 50% capacity 🤣

[G Oliver]

This is from the letter we got after the cruise- 

Shortly before your voyage, we began experiencing an issue with the ship’s stabilizers. While in port in Ushuaia on your embarkation day our technical teams were able to explore below the water line and conduct a more thorough investigation, and discovered the stabilizers were working at a very reduced capacity.

[jjs217]

On 3/15/2023 at 7:54 AM, rearseatpilot said:

Thanks for trying!

I looked this morning, and the correct FCC amount was applied to my balance.  Click on Manage Payments and you will see the FCC has been applied there.  

[rearseatpilot]

On 3/21/2023 at 1:21 AM, jjs217 said:

I looked this morning, and the correct FCC amount was applied to my balance.  Click on Manage Payments and you will see the FCC has been applied there.  

Many thanks. Nothing for us yet but we now know the ball is rolling.