Best Upcoming Itineraries---Seabourn (or luxury competitor)

[Mr Luxury]

25 minutes ago, Tallante said:

We did Capetown to Singapore in January on the Sojourn.  Reunión and Madagascar very good but then onto Mauritius where we were supposed to overnight but when we arrived back after our tour of the south of the island, we then had to leave at 11.00pm that evening to avoid a major cyclone.  It was just a little bumpy en route to the Maldives!

It all adds to the excitement 😁

[kej1]

If you would consider an expedition cruise Seabourn Pursuit has some wonderful spring and fall trips that go to many hard to reach destinations in the South Pacific with WW2 sites.  We are doing Papeete to Guam in April.  It’s (2) 15 day segments  the second half being more focused on the WW2 sites ( charter flight from Sydney to Honaria, Soloman Islands ending in Guam).  
 

 

[travelwell]

Our favorite cruise among many cruises was in 2010 on the Seabourn Pride. We cruised Hong Kong to Singapore on a similar itinerary to the one you are looking at. I agree totally with the previous posters who reviewed their experience. Adding to this great cruise was the Caviar on the Surf event in Ko Kood, just outstanding. The beach itself picture perfect. I suggest adding a few days at the end in Singapore.

[SLSD]

11 hours ago, CruiserfaeFife said:

Hong Kong to Singapore on Ovation was our introduction to Seabourn, in January 2020, just before the big nasty descended. We enjoyed the mix of shore and sea days. Ports were the same as @SLSD has listed, some thoughts:

 

Hong Kong - we stayed on HK island for a couple of nights pre-cruise. Enjoyed walking around but we were conscious of increased security presence (this was at the time of the protests). 
 

Halong Bay - you should do the cruise round the bay - spectacular islands - rather than visit Hanoi which is some distance away so long coach trip

 

Da Nang - interesting visit to Hoi An which is an old town worth walking around at your own pace

 

Ho Chi Minh City - Ovation docked at the port in the centre of Saigon and we overnighted there. In hindsight we should have been more adventurous - one couple did an evening food tour on the back of scooters, which sounded great fun - but coming from the UK we learned a lot about what locals refer to as the “American War”. 
 

Sihanoukville - best treated as a “sea day”. Only makes sense as a collection point for those who’ve done the overnight land tour to Angkor Wat. 
 

Ko Kood - beach barbeque, idyllic beach, need I say more?
 

Leam Chabang - our first visit to Bangkok so worth it for us but the port is a 2 hour bus tour away from the city and traffic was dreadful so careful if you book your own tour!

 

and finally…

 

Singapore - great city to spend a couple of nights afterwards. 
 

Our next outing is NYC to Montreal in September 2024 - perhaps less exciting for North Americans but for us a mix of familiar (NYC, Boston) and new so can’t wait. 

 

 

Thank you.  Very helpful.  

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, kej1 said:

If you would consider an expedition cruise Seabourn Pursuit has some wonderful spring and fall trips that go to many hard to reach destinations in the South Pacific with WW2 sites.  We are doing Papeete to Guam in April.  It’s (2) 15 day segments  the second half being more focused on the WW2 sites ( charter flight from Sydney to Honaria, Soloman Islands ending in Guam).  
 

 

We will take a look at those.  We are able bodied and capable of expedition cruises but don't always want to exert ourselves on vacation.  I'm following exactly what is involved.  The photos from Venture cruises have been fabulous.  

[SLSD]

18 minutes ago, travelwell said:

Our favorite cruise among many cruises was in 2010 on the Seabourn Pride. We cruised Hong Kong to Singapore on a similar itinerary to the one you are looking at. I agree totally with the previous posters who reviewed their experience. Adding to this great cruise was the Caviar on the Surf event in Ko Kood, just outstanding. The beach itself picture perfect. I suggest adding a few days at the end in Singapore.

We are still considering booking this itinerary.  It is good that so many have enjoyed it.  

[BasandSyb]

Great memories flooding back. Our first Seabourn was HK to Singapore on the Pride in 2010. We also did Athens to Singapore on the lovely Pride.

 

SLSD - picking up on your earlier comment about escaping heat - HK to SNG is extremely hot and humid. At the very least three changes of clothes per day (out and about; back on ship and freshened up; dinner). I’m used to 33-35C with 90% humidity, but the Chu Chi tunnels tour in Vietnam just about did me in - but extremely interesting.

 

Seabourn website - appalling. It’s worth its own thread with the hope the new management might follow this site. I can never find anything even using filters. As we normally book long cruises we look at the before and after cruises with a view to linking if interesting. All we want is a list or calendar of dates for regions and ships. Vacations to Go is our starting place as it provides a list and great filters. If something looks interesting by date, length, starting and finishing ports you can then bring up the map. Looking as the pre and post cruises is a snap. We have been doing this for years. Seabourn could close its marketing department and we wouldn’t notice.

 

Segments of World/Grand cruises - have had no problem joining for a while or people joining us for segments. A tip though - don’t book a segment during a holiday season. We have endured a 10 day segment when the ship was swamped by party people from Europe for a warm weather Easter cruise and it certainly changed the atmosphere on the ship. No sitting by the pool and evenings ended early to avoid raucous behaviour in the bars. I can only imagine this is what doing a long cruise in the Med would be like - having 7 day turnarounds changing the “vibe” would not make me happy.

[SLSD]

10 minutes ago, BasandSyb said:

Great memories flooding back. Our first Seabourn was HK to Singapore on the Pride in 2010. We also did Athens to Singapore on the lovely Pride.

 

SLSD - picking up on your earlier comment about escaping heat - HK to SNG is extremely hot and humid. At the very least three changes of clothes per day (out and about; back on ship and freshened up; dinner). I’m used to 33-35C with 90% humidity, but the Chu Chi tunnels tour in Vietnam just about did me in - but extremely interesting.

 

Hmm... I've been checking  weather norms for January/February and most sites say there is a high of 65 degrees in SE Asia.  Were you there in different months?  

[BasandSyb]

We did the cruise in March. Hong Kong can be cooler in Jan/Feb and also northern Vietnam. However, the further south you travel there is little seasonal variation.

We’ve done the region many times over the years for short breaks (different seasons) and can’t recall much temperature variation except a slight lessening of humidity.

[travelwell]

We packed warm clothes for the Asia itinerary that was in the Jan/ Feb time frame. We were surprised by a wet, cold spell the first few days. We actually had to buy some cool weather tops on the ship. The only negative I can say about the itinerary is the pollution was dense in Saigon but cleared up outside the city, eye drops helped. 

[Mahogany]

On 7/12/2023 at 8:57 AM, Mr Luxury said:

Qui

I went to Antarctica on Ponant's Le Boreal. Fantastique! Abercrombie & Kent had chartered it, so English was the first language. Lovely (clean!) ship.

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, travelwell said:

We packed warm clothes for the Asia itinerary that was in the Jan/ Feb time frame. We were surprised by a wet, cold spell the first few days. We actually had to buy some cool weather tops on the ship. The only negative I can say about the itinerary is the pollution was dense in Saigon but cleared up outside the city, eye drops helped. 

For our recent trip on SB to Norway, I actually packed some cooler weather tops and well as some for warmer weather--so I would pack the same ones if we book this itinerary.  

Edited July 13, 2023 by SLSD

[Khareef]

32 minutes ago, Mahogany said:

I went to Antarctica on Ponant's Le Boreal. Fantastique! Abercrombie & Kent had chartered it, so English was the first language. Lovely (clean!) ship.

How about the cabins? They look pretty small

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, Mahogany said:

I went to Antarctica on Ponant's Le Boreal. Fantastique! Abercrombie & Kent had chartered it, so English was the first language. Lovely (clean!) ship.

My experience was very French and a filthy ship.

[Mr Luxury]

41 minutes ago, Khareef said:

How about the cabins? They look pretty small

Rabbit hutches 

[Laylam]

On 7/12/2023 at 12:35 AM, SLSD said:

I'm searching now for our next cruise.  I'm open to most itineraries beginning with January 2024 as we have several  domestic trips scheduled for the rest of 2023.  We would be most comfortable with what we know (Seabourn), but are open to looking at Silversea, Regent and possibly the new Crystal.  Mr. SLSD doesn't want to do Antarctica (I know) . We prefer at least 14 days and 21 would be even better.   If there is an itinerary you think is fabulous out there--would you share with the rest of us?  

I would suggest adding Scenic Eclipse 11 (better designed than Scenic Eclipse 1) to your list.  We are Seabourn Diamond members, but having been "bumped" from an Arctic trip on Seabourn Venture, we  booked with Scenic Eclipse.  Two days in and we are enjoying it very much.  I think you would find the dining a little more exciting.

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, Laylam said:

I would suggest adding Scenic Eclipse 11 (better designed than Scenic Eclipse 1) to your list.  We are Seabourn Diamond members, but having been "bumped" from an Arctic trip on Seabourn Venture, we  booked with Scenic Eclipse.  Two days in and we are enjoying it very much.  I think you would find the dining a little more exciting.

Spill the beans on what it has to offer in all departments.

Only if you have the time 😁

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, Laylam said:

I would suggest adding Scenic Eclipse 11 (better designed than Scenic Eclipse 1) to your list.  We are Seabourn Diamond members, but having been "bumped" from an Arctic trip on Seabourn Venture, we  booked with Scenic Eclipse.  Two days in and we are enjoying it very much.  I think you would find the dining a little more exciting.

Bumped?  Was your Seabourn cruise cancelled?

[Laylam]

1 hour ago, SLSD said:

Bumped?  Was your Seabourn cruise cancelled?

Yes!!  I think those who had booked on Seabourn Pursuit where given our places on Seabourn Venture.

[SLSD]

8 minutes ago, Laylam said:

Yes!!  I think those who had booked on Seabourn Pursuit where given our places on Seabourn Venture.

What?

[Mahogany]

6 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Rabbit hutches 

290 sq. ft. plus balcony can contain a lot of little bunnies!

[Mr Luxury]

7 hours ago, Mahogany said:

290 sq. ft. plus balcony can contain a lot of little bunnies!

Too small,but I suppose we have been spoilt with better products from other lines.

[Laylam]

14 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Spill the beans on what it has to offer in all departments.

Only if you have the time 😁

Captain Torry Sakkariassen, and Maitre d Manfred ??? are ex-Seabourn (and didn't sound optimistic about Seabourn's future). 

 

Dining experiences, produced by 38 Chefs from 15 different countries ...

ELEMENTS - the main restaurant featuring Italian, steak and seafood

KOKO's - Asian fusion restaurant and sake bar

SUSHI @ KOKO's - "A wonderfully authentic Japanese experience" bookings required

NIGHT MARKET@ KOKO's - alternating between Indian, Asian, Mediterranean and Indonesian.                                                          Seating for 10 only and must be booked.

LUMIERE -Contemporary French fine dining and Champagne Bar bookings required

AZURE BAR & CAFE - Relaxed all-day grazing

YACHT CLUB - Grill restaurant and bar, serving breakfast and lunch

CHEF's TABLE @ ELEMENTS, by invitation only, featuring an 11 course degustation matched to fine wines

SCENIC EPICURE - Culinary Masterclasses

IN SUITE DINING A comprehensive 24-hour menu

 

We haven't been to all nine bars (yet) but the Scenic Whiskey Bar features more than 100 varieties of whiskey.

[Khareef]

3 hours ago, Laylam said:

Captain Torry Sakkariassen, and Maitre d Manfred ??? are ex-Seabourn (and didn't sound optimistic about Seabourn's future). 

 

 

In all honestly, Seabourn might be the one and only  assets on the CCL books that might generate enough interests from some buyers (there have been rumors for some time now). And the two new expedition ships are definitely a valuable addition in that market segment.

 

So maybe the future of CCL ain't that bright with the amount of debt they have, but I would say Seabourn is pretty safe.

[Laylam]

26 minutes ago, Khareef said:

................................................So maybe the future of CCL ain't that bright with the amount of debt they have, but I would say Seabourn is pretty safe.

I hope so.