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Difference between Venture and larger ships

dalliowner

By dalliowner,
in Seabourn Cruise Line

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bspill

bspill

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A totally different experience. Entertainment consists of a daily briefings every afternoon.  No Thomas Keller.  Lectures are all about local issues such as wildlife and scenic experiences. In most cases, daily expeditions on zodiacs,  our present voyage to Greenland included several wet landings ( boots provided).

 

 

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dalliowner

dalliowner

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It is not an expedition cruise going from St Johns Newfoundland to Barbados with lots of sea days ( we like them ) so Iwonder if there will be some entertainment and quiz compo.

, I am not worried about Thomas Keller having done that many times.

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markandjie "Live from...." Rare

markandjie

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1 hour ago, dalliowner said:

Iwonder if there will be some entertainment and quiz compo

 

Our Iceland/Greenland itinerary had a strong quiz competition scene with lots of prizes. For entertainment we had three itinerary-relevant guests: the ship's godmother, a NASA astronaut who has done both space and undersea missions, and a European Space Agency doctor who over-wintered in Antarctica. They were interesting, but not entertaining in a singing and dancing sort of way. 😉

 

The MDR is spacious and we felt the meals were excellent. Sushi in the club is outstanding, just perhaps skip it the first day or 2 when it gets slammed. Love the vibe of the small ship.

 

 

 

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DanJimmy

DanJimmy

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On 8/26/2023 at 6:13 PM, dalliowner said:

We have just booked the Venture for next year, what are the main differences we will find after sailing in the larger ships. I am hoping it will remind me of the Spirit. 

 

One of the major differences is that it's much cozier and more intimate as the number of people on board can be around 200 or sometimes even less. There is almost a 1-to-1 ratio between the passengers and the cruise staff onboard, which is great as you get more attention.

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Mr Luxury

Mr Luxury

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44 minutes ago, DanJimmy said:

 

One of the major differences is that it's much cozier and more intimate as the number of people on board can be around 200 or sometimes even less. There is almost a 1-to-1 ratio between the passengers and the cruise staff onboard, which is great as you get more attention.

The service on Pursuit is noticeably improved on the regular ships.

Had a look at lunch in the Colonnade today.

Selection good and food from a local Spanish Market as we are in Majorca today.

Excellent cheese and charcuterie 

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DanJimmy

DanJimmy

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50 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

The service on Pursuit is noticeably improved on the regular ships.

Had a look at lunch in the Colonnade today.

Selection good and food from a local Spanish Market as we are in Majorca today.

Excellent cheese and charcuterie 

 

I am glad to hear that. Hopefully, Seabourn will keep up with their improved services in all the ships moving forward.

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Khareef

Khareef

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I talked to a lot of crew members, they all seem very happy to be on the Venture, less people and people with a different attitude make their life much easier, there is a nice more relaxed vibe at lunch and even dinner.

 

I think the average guest age might also be a bit younger.

 

The only problem I see so far is that they are still not a full expedition ships, they are in a limbo as they probably think their demographic is still too old and traditional for more adventurous activities. So the daily schedule or the activities are a bit too soft for my liking. While I love the ship everything felt a bit too easy and I spent way too much time on board, I was hoping for more time inland exploring and hiking.


 

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Covepointcruiser

Covepointcruiser

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We were on the Venture last year for 14 days to Greenland.   The hiking activities were definitely not soft.   Four hour hike at one village, up a very Rocky Mountain.   In Nuuk they offered a seven hour hike and quite a few took the hikes.   We are talking about non groomed trails.    Guess you didn’t go to Greenland.

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Khareef

Khareef

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10 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

We were on the Venture last year for 14 days to Greenland.   The hiking activities were definitely not soft.   Four hour hike at one village, up a very Rocky Mountain.   In Nuuk they offered a seven hour hike and quite a few took the hikes.   We are talking about non groomed trails.    Guess you didn’t go to Greenland.

just came back from greenland -) i did go to all those mentioned hikes and i found out that in reality a 5 hours hike was really a 2 hours hike (7 km was our longest in Nuuk i think). 

 

I was talking to a lot of the expedition guys and they said they would love a push more the expedition part and have more challenging activities but they feel the guests are not ready yet although they are noticing that the guests age  on the expedition ships is now a bit younger 

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Hobar

Hobar

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Upcoming Antarctica cruise on Venture has white water rafting on Petrohue, being marketed as Class III-IV, and hopefully more IV than III.  Even came with warnings that you must be able to handle it and that the leader will assess fitness and you might be turnedaway  Hopefully that is a sign of more diverse excursions to come.  Up to now, have found those marketed as “strenuous” have not been except for the occasional outlier (one in particular was an off-road bike ride that was at least an intermediate trail).  Most excursions can only go as fast as the slowest in the group, although there are those that let one go at their own pace, as I found on a hike in Iceland a couple of weeks ago, or there is more than one guide that can split the group into different levels, but those excursions are rare.

Edited by Hobar
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Khareef

Khareef

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21 minutes ago, Hobar said:

Upcoming Antarctica cruise on Venture has white water rafting on Petrohue, being marketed as Class III-IV, and hopefully more IV than III.  Even came with warnings that you must be able to handle it and that the leader will assess fitness and you might turn some away  Hopefully that is a sign of more diverse excursions to come.  Up to now, have found those marketed as “strenuous” have not been except for the occasional outlier (one in particular was an off-road bike ride that was at least an intermediate trail).  Most excursions can only go as fast as the slowest in the group, although there are those that let one go at their own pace (as I found on a hike in Iceland a couple of weeks ago) or there is more than one guide that can split the group into different levels, but those excursions are rare.

Rafting in Antartica sounds awesome, they didn't offer that when we went down there!!! 

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Hobar

Hobar

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8 hours ago, Khareef said:

Rafting in Antartica sounds awesome, they didn't offer that when we went down there!!! 

Yeah, SB didn't offer on S. America cruise I was on a few years ago that also stopped in Puerto Montt where we pick up the excursion.  Hoping this is a sign of more ambitious excursions.

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Khareef

Khareef

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7 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Just FYI

Breakfast in the Restaurant this morning were six guests

Lunch today in the restaurant there were eighteen guests.

It's not surprising that they close the restaurant especially when in port.

Today is a sea day on Pursuit.

How is the restaurant at lunch time? I heard a few guests saying it wasn't worth it.

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SLSD

SLSD

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49 minutes ago, Khareef said:

How is the restaurant at lunch time? I heard a few guests saying it wasn't worth it.

We really like the restaurant at lunch and have had consistently great food there at lunch.  I think many would enjoy it.  It is not at all like "feeding at the trough" as one of our Seabourn friends calls the buffet in the Colonnade.  One of my favoirte dishes was a Mongolian beef stir fry.  There is always shrimp cocktail, good salads, different entrees and desserts.  Lunch in the restaurant is part of what makes our SB cruises a luxury experience.  For us, it is very much worth it.  Everyone is different.  On our June Ovation cruise, both breakfast and lunch were well attended in the Restaurant.  

Edited by SLSD
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Khareef

Khareef

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1 hour ago, SLSD said:

We really like the restaurant at lunch and have had consistently great food there at lunch.  I think many would enjoy it.  It is not at all like "feeding at the trough" as one of our Seabourn friends calls the buffet in the Colonnade.  One of my favoirte dishes was a Mongolian beef stir fry.  There is always shrimp cocktail, good salads, different entrees and desserts.  Lunch in the restaurant is part of what makes our SB cruises a luxury experience.  For us, it is very much worth it.  Everyone is different.  On our June Ovation cruise, both breakfast and lunch were well attended in the Restaurant.  

My guess is that on the expedition cruises things are a bit different since most of the time there are expeditions at lunch time and there is hardly anyone in the restaurant. Actually when we were in Antartica the restaurant was always closed at lunch. In Greenland it was open but hardly anyone attended it and there were very limited food choice which might explain the negative reviews from the guests.

In any case it is a nice option to have if you get tired of the Colonnade.

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Hobar

Hobar

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@SLSD

Likening to farm animals those who enjoy a casual buffet rather than a long lunch being doted upon is not kind, and judging others is an awful trait that permeates so many posts.  

Edited by Hobar
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