Alaska - Ventures by Seabourn Experience?

[Jess219I]

Hello! I'm planning an Alaska trip that will involve both mine and my husband's first cruise, and Seabourn's 7 Day option from Juneau to Vancouver (https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A4S07B/4442.html) is on my list of possibilities! We are both active and in our early 30's and our priorities for this trip are both learning about and getting up close with Alaska's beautiful scenery and wildlife, and actively exploring these places. What attracted me to this itinerary was the smaller boat that's able to get to more remote locations and ports and the Ventures by Seabourn program. The excursions themselves seem pretty straightforward to incorporate, but I was wondering how prominent the expedition team members are on the ship and how frequently the "Seabourn Conversations" programs occur?

 

Lastly, I'm on the side of being thrilled that they are no longer banning "elegant jeans" from the dining room, but reading through the comments on that post on here made me worried that our travel style/demographic would not be welcomed on board and we would not be surrounded by like-minded travelers, so I'm hoping to hear from someone who had similar goals and if they feel that Seabourn is the right choice?

[skybluewaters]

I love this itinerary!  You get three tiny, authentic ports and equally important, you forego the extremely commercialized larger Alaska stops.  Instead of being berthed next to Monstrosity of the Seas, you'll most likely be the only ship in port. 

 

We have been to all three of these ports with SB and enjoyed just walking for hours in each one.  We weren't looking for exotic wildlife and weren't interested in an expedition, so you'll have to look through the excursions offered and see if they meet your needs.

 

Regarding elegant jeans, I sincerely doubt that anyone will notice, much less care what you wear.  There may be some strong voices regarding this topic on Cruise Critic, but once onboard things are much more mellow. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by skybluewaters

[Techno123]

For me, a dress code is something everyone should be expected to adhere to - if some people are allowed to 'get away with it' then it can cause bad feeling with some of the other passengers. Now that 'elegant' jeans have been incorporated into the dress code then there is nothing for others to grumble about as you will be sticking to the dress code 😁

Seabourn was our 'first' too and holds a special place in our hearts. We have booked onto the Norwegian Fjords cruise which also departs in July and we are hoping to try some of the more active excursions too.

[robertmartha]

SkyBlue

 

So EXCITED to read your post.

Will be sailing late May on this same itinerary with DW, DD's and their significant others --- so looking forward to this sailing. Would really appreciate your thoughts / experiences on the ports (if by chance they are the same as ours) Wrangell, Alert Bay BC and Prince Rupert. We are on the same page - laid back sailing - zodiacs and kayaks and then quiet ports where we can possibly do a hike and explore.

Years ago did the "traditional" Alaskan sailings on HAL (one out of Seattle and then one out of Seward...which is when we said we would definitely do the inside passage again in depth)...but what better way to do the inside passage then Seabourn to be able to get up close ... or as close as we can I should say!

 

thanks so much

Bob

[Dusko]

18 hours ago, Techno123 said:

For me, a dress code is something everyone should be expected to adhere to - if some people are allowed to 'get away with it' then it can cause bad feeling with some of the other passengers. Now that 'elegant' jeans have been incorporated into the dress code then there is nothing for others to grumble about as you will be sticking to the dress code 😁

Seabourn was our 'first' too and holds a special place in our hearts. We have booked onto the Norwegian Fjords cruise which also departs in July and we are hoping to try some of the more active excursions too.

We did the round trip Vancouver/Vancouver to Alaska in June last year and loved it. Because it was a longer trip we did take in the larger ports like Ketchikan but the highlights were definitely places like Wrangell and Misty Fjords. It was phenomenal to get in among the ice near the glaciers with the venture team in both zodiacs and kayaks. The team were great, readily available at all times to chat, point out wildlife and share photos.

 

You are really going to love the Norwegian fjords. Hopefully you are going as far as the North Cape to meet up with the Sami and enjoy some very different scenery. Pulpit Rock is not to be missed! We did this cruise in 2019 and this year wanted something special. We looked back and decided that the Norwegian trip had been one of our favourites [along with the Amazon] and have booked Iceland/Greenland this year.

[MBP&O2/O]

We too have an Alaskan cruise booked and I can see me falling out with the fashion police 🙂 or vice versa 🙄

 

If I wear a jacket then I wear a tie .... and on Formal nights I usually wear a tux.

 

Will be interesting to see the reaction of some people 😄

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by MBP&O2/O

[Dusko]

Just wear a mask and a lifejacket at all times and nobody will notice the rest. 😉

 

[galeforce9]

1 hour ago, robertmartha said:

SkyBlue

 

So EXCITED to read your post.

Will be sailing late May on this same itinerary with DW, DD's and their significant others --- so looking forward to this sailing. Would really appreciate your thoughts / experiences on the ports (if by chance they are the same as ours) Wrangell, Alert Bay BC and Prince Rupert. We are on the same page - laid back sailing - zodiacs and kayaks and then quiet ports where we can possibly do a hike and explore.

Years ago did the "traditional" Alaskan sailings on HAL (one out of Seattle and then one out of Seward...which is when we said we would definitely do the inside passage again in depth)...but what better way to do the inside passage then Seabourn to be able to get up close ... or as close as we can I should say!

 

thanks so much

Bob

We did this on Sojourn in 2017.

Wrangell -potter around, some First Nation buildings (I think), unspoiled town, walk up the forested hill for great views and along the coast to see petroglyphs on the shore.   

 

Alert Bay  - brilliant group of totems in the town.  Booked an independent whale watch trip on a small fast boat and it was great.  Saw breaching humpbacks.   Much less crowded than the seabourn zodiacs.  
 

Prince Rupert - small marina with cafes where you dock.  Town ok.  Visited an interesting museum with First Nation artefacts.   Got a taxi (difficult to find) to an area where we were hoping to see bears. Can’t recall the name but had a nice walk through a reserve in the rain. 

[Techno123]

35 minutes ago, Dusko said:

You are really going to love the Norwegian fjords. Hopefully you are going as far as the North Cape to meet up with the Sami and enjoy some very different scenery. Pulpit Rock is not to be missed! We did this cruise in 2019 and this year wanted something special. We looked back and decided that the Norwegian trip had been one of our favourites [along with the Amazon] and have booked Iceland/Greenland this year.

We are indeed right to the North Cape. We were supposed to be doing a 4 week Asia cruise with another cruise company (very like Seabourn but they include the excursions 😜😜) however they cancelled the China elements so we are doing Japan to Bangkok in November with 'them' for 14 nights and returning to Seabourn to do another bucket list trip for 14 night in July. So looking forward to trying the Ovation.

[DTtravelers]

On 2/13/2023 at 1:18 PM, Jess219I said:

Hello! I'm planning an Alaska trip that will involve both mine and my husband's first cruise, and Seabourn's 7 Day option from Juneau to Vancouver (https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A4S07B/4442.html) is on my list of possibilities! We are both active and in our early 30's and our priorities for this trip are both learning about and getting up close with Alaska's beautiful scenery and wildlife, and actively exploring these places. What attracted me to this itinerary was the smaller boat that's able to get to more remote locations and ports and the Ventures by Seabourn program. The excursions themselves seem pretty straightforward to incorporate, but I was wondering how prominent the expedition team members are on the ship and how frequently the "Seabourn Conversations" programs occur?

 

 

My wife and I did the 14 day Vancouver to Vancouver last August, and we are repeating it again this year.  The Ventures team is very accessible.  Part of their job is to promote the program and you can always find them around Seabourn Square and they are happy to have you join them for breakfast or lunch.  The itinerary and the Ventures program are why we chose Seabourn.  For kayaking trips, everyone is issued a dry suit for safety.  We observed the kayaking activity of another cruise line and everyone was wearing whatever they brought with them: a real hodge-podge.  The Seabourn approach as it is way more professional. 

 

There was a young couple from Switzerland sailing with us last year, and they took advantage of every Zodiak and kayak opportunity.  Just smile and say hi and you will make new friends.  Always works for me!  :)

 

btw: nobody cares what you wear - it's Alaska!  But it is nice to dress up for Keller Grill. 

 

 

 

 

[Hobar]

On 2/13/2023 at 2:18 PM, Jess219I said:

Hello! I'm planning an Alaska trip that will involve both mine and my husband's first cruise, and Seabourn's 7 Day option from Juneau to Vancouver (https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A4S07B/4442.html) is on my list of possibilities! We are both active and in our early 30's and our priorities for this trip are both learning about and getting up close with Alaska's beautiful scenery and wildlife, and actively exploring these places. What attracted me to this itinerary was the smaller boat that's able to get to more remote locations and ports and the Ventures by Seabourn program. The excursions themselves seem pretty straightforward to incorporate, but I was wondering how prominent the expedition team members are on the ship and how frequently the "Seabourn Conversations" programs occur?

 

Lastly, I'm on the side of being thrilled that they are no longer banning "elegant jeans" from the dining room, but reading through the comments on that post on here made me worried that our travel style/demographic would not be welcomed on board and we would not be surrounded by like-minded travelers, so I'm hoping to hear from someone who had similar goals and if they feel that Seabourn is the right choice?

You will love the AK cruise on SB.  That itinerary has a younger demo than the usual for SB, but you will still be on the younger (youngest) side - but fear not as most everyone is quite active, and the excursions were fun.  (The ATV is a blast, specially if you go as fast as you can.) The scenery is gorgeous - beyond beauty.  I didn’t attend the SB Convos, so can’t answer.  As for “elegant jeans,” I’ve been wearing them (a/k/a designer jeans) for years on SB, although mostly stay out of The Restaurant out of respect when they were “banned,” but did find myself on occasion in The Restaurant.  Got a couple of snooty looks, which I thought was comical considering the attire of those who were sneering.  Go have fun.  Most of us are.   

[robertmartha]

DTtravelers - those photos are amazing ... where were they taken? We are only doing the one way - Juneau to Vancouver...counting down the days (leaving third week of May).

[DTtravelers]

Hi robertmartha:

 

The top photo was Endicott Arm, the bottom was Misty Fjord.  Here are a couple more.  Don't drool!  🙂

 

Top: Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier

Bottom: Misty Fjord

[robertmartha]

Amazing - TY!