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Posted

Recently returned from a 14-day Amazon River cruise from Barbados to Manaus. The ship is beautiful, the food was some of the best we've had at sea, the service very good, crew is excellent, and the Expedition team fantastic. Iggy, the team leader, is a joy. As are many of his team. We signed up for another expedition cruise before we left the ship.

My only criticisms:

1. No bathroom anywhere near the stern pool inside or outside, which requires one to walk soaking wet through the Colonade restaurant, down the hall past the elevator, and finally to a head. How could a ship designer allow this to happen?

2. The shower stall in the veranda cabins is very small but the bathroom does have a separate tub. Most would prefer a larger shower stall and sacrifice the tub.

3. The walk-in closets would be better described as a crawl-in closet. The space is very narrow and the closet door won't stay open. Bring a door stop with you. 

4. The two hot tubs at the stern corners of deck 9 have very steep steps that get slippery and dangerous when wet. I took a tumble down them - be careful!

 

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Posted

No1  you can walk up the stairs to deck seven and use the bathroom without going through the Colonnade 

 

No 2  The Panorama Penthouse Veranda has a large shower stall and you can get three others in there with you but I only managed two others.

No 3 I agree I asked for a couple of doorstops from the suite attendant and that worked.

No 4  I heard that you couldn't leave the wine alone during the day.

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

No1  you can walk up the stairs to deck seven and use the bathroom without going through the Colonnade 

 

No 2  The Panorama Penthouse Veranda has a large shower stall and you can get three others in there with you but I only managed two others.

No 3 I agree I asked for a couple of doorstops from the suite attendant and that worked.

No 4  I heard that you couldn't leave the wine alone during the day.

No1 - Pool on Deck 5, while Deck 7 is two decks up - not ideal when I need to go No1 never mind No2! No head shown on the deck plan for 7 -- is it in the spa? Ship desigger still a masochist in my view.

No2 - I loved my Panorama Veranda but our friends in the veranda cabin had to take treatment for claustrophobia upon return home.

No3 - Even two doorstops were not sufficient on a particular rough night. Bring nails and hammer.

No4 - It wasn't the alcohol, it was the dancing in the hot tub that did it. 

Edited by commodoredave
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Posted

The deck seven latrine is indeed in the spa

After you have emptied you can have a sauna and a shower before the treck back to your wine and hot tub 

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Posted

Currently on the Pursuit heading to Antarctica. Ship is beautiful although some areas poorly designed probably due to limited space. Staff overall very friendly and accommodating. Discovery lounge for lectures impossible to see lower half of presentation unless seated in first couple rows due to spacing of rows. Handicap accessible suites (no tub 824& 825)have extremely small closet space and no dining table. But, very large showers and huge balcony which is a trade off.  
We have found the food to be “average” meaning many days menu items are not as described. Could be training new kitchen staff. Realize these are first world problems but didn’t expect issues like these on Seabourn. Jerk shrimp basically no seasoning just shrimp in cream sauce, arugula salad served with iceberg lettuce only. Told this was “Brazilian” arugula. Husbands same salad arrived made of spinach. When shown differences waiter just shrugged his shoulder. Pancakes next morning arrived sprinkled  (hopefully by accident) with baking soda not powdered sugar. 
Agree really need two doorstops to keep doors open. 
Overall would sail Pursuit again. 

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Posted
5 hours ago, commodoredave said:

No1 - Pool on Deck 5, while Deck 7 is two decks up - not ideal when I need to go No1 never mind No2! No head shown on the deck plan for 7 -- is it in the spa? Ship desigger still a masochist in my view.

No2 - I loved my Panorama Veranda but our friends in the veranda cabin had to take treatment for claustrophobia upon return home.

No3 - Even two doorstops were not sufficient on a particular rough night. Bring nails and hammer.

No4 - It wasn't the alcohol, it was the dancing in the hot tub that did it. 

 

How was your trip to Manaus? If I remenber correct, you also asked me about Sao Paulo.

Posted
6 minutes ago, Lirio said:

 

How was your trip to Manaus? If I remenber correct, you also asked me about Sao Paulo.

Spent 1 night in Manaus and 3 in Sao Paulo. Enjoyed the latter more. The fact it was much cooler in SP also helped.

Posted
9 hours ago, peachykiehn said:

Currently on the Pursuit heading to Antarctica. Ship is beautiful although some areas poorly designed probably due to limited space. Staff overall very friendly and accommodating. Discovery lounge for lectures impossible to see lower half of presentation unless seated in first couple rows due to spacing of rows. Handicap accessible suites (no tub 824& 825)have extremely small closet space and no dining table. But, very large showers and huge balcony which is a trade off.  
We have found the food to be “average” meaning many days menu items are not as described. Could be training new kitchen staff. Realize these are first world problems but didn’t expect issues like these on Seabourn. Jerk shrimp basically no seasoning just shrimp in cream sauce, arugula salad served with iceberg lettuce only. Told this was “Brazilian” arugula. Husbands same salad arrived made of spinach. When shown differences waiter just shrugged his shoulder. Pancakes next morning arrived sprinkled  (hopefully by accident) with baking soda not powdered sugar. 
Agree really need two doorstops to keep doors open. 
Overall would sail Pursuit again. 

Have you spoken to the Maitre d' about the food issues?

Posted

Yes, they were quite apologetic and I might say embarrassed. In fact with the issue on the pancakes he tasted them himself. Attributed it to many new staff in kitchen. 

Posted

We were on the Pursuit's sister, the Venture.  In rougher seas, we had to jam the closet door at night with a pillow to keep it from sliding open.  I never thought about asking for door stops - I don't know how many times each day the closet door would slide shut while I was inside - and of course the light goes out every time the door closes.

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Posted
37 minutes ago, jjs217 said:

We were on the Pursuit's sister, the Venture.  In rougher seas, we had to jam the closet door at night with a pillow to keep it from sliding open.  I never thought about asking for door stops - I don't know how many times each day the closet door would slide shut while I was inside - and of course the light goes out every time the door closes.

Next time I'm going to take a tool box and take the door off.

Much easier for all

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Posted

The quality of food is a very personal issue and is based on a wide variety of factors. The quality of food can also vary from cruise to cruise depending on rotation of staff. Having said that, we were on board the Pursuit from October 10 to 24 and the food we had was very good -- not a single complaint. And we are foodies. Born in Montreal and grew up with French food. Taken 82 cruises, including all the luxury lines. Taken many land trips in Europe, including long stays in small French towns. And in comparison to all that, we were impressed with the food and service on our 2-week Amazon cruise. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Thank you for the feedback on the Pursuit.  It is really appreciated. 
 

We will be on Pursuit for 30 days starting April 14th from Papeete to Guam.  We are very excited to visit many places that are hard to get to by land  without lots of crazy flights if at all.

 

We so look forward to snorkeling, seeing the way people live, experiencing the submarine, etc.   we also understand the ship is beautiful thanks to the many comments.  As this will be our first cruise since Feb of 2020 we are concerned about the comments made on poor service and the food.  
 

Although we love good food and seek great restaurants when traveling by land, we don’t expect Michelin stars on the ship.  However we do expect good food as having nice meals is important to us.   Yes we’ve had some disappointments on Seabourn in the past but overall the food has been good.  We have done more travel on land but when cruising we have primarily cruised on Seabourn.  We look forward to cruising more in the future so have high expectations for the Pursuit.  
 

We don’t like buffets.  Just our personal preference.  Have always avoided them at all costs.  Big question:    Is the MDR open at lunch on the Pursuit?  We are happy to eat off the ship in port when it’s possible but where we will be stopping most places this will not be possible per my research. 
 

We are happy to order a burger or something on the patio, but not every day. We don’t eat in the Columnade for example.   Just don’t like the buffet and cafeteria look and feel.  The outdoor space is nice but only go at dinner when table service and  on the rare occasion when we can arrive early and get a nice outdoor table. 

 

I also would love to hear from anyone who has stayed in a signature suite.  We love the rear facing rooms with large patios ( love the penthouse spa suites on the O class), and booking this category that was  the appeal.  I am wondering if there is a problem being right beneath the “club” with noise.  Motion doesn’t bother us at all but noise would.

 

I would appreciate feedback from those of you who have been on Pursuit.  I just want to set expectations.  Thank you!

 

kej 

PS. I’m happy to provide feedback on this cruise once we get going!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, kej1 said:

Thank you for the feedback on the Pursuit.  It is really appreciated. 
 

We will be on Pursuit for 30 days starting April 14th from Papeete to Guam.  We are very excited to visit many places that are hard to get to by land  without lots of crazy flights if at all.

 

We so look forward to snorkeling, seeing the way people live, experiencing the submarine, etc.   we also understand the ship is beautiful thanks to the many comments.  As this will be our first cruise since Feb of 2020 we are concerned about the comments made on poor service and the food.  
 

Although we love good food and seek great restaurants when traveling by land, we don’t expect Michelin stars on the ship.  However we do expect good food as having nice meals is important to us.   Yes we’ve had some disappointments on Seabourn in the past but overall the food has been good.  We have done more travel on land but when cruising we have primarily cruised on Seabourn.  We look forward to cruising more in the future so have high expectations for the Pursuit.  
 

We don’t like buffets.  Just our personal preference.  Have always avoided them at all costs.  Big question:    Is the MDR open at lunch on the Pursuit?  We are happy to eat off the ship in port when it’s possible but where we will be stopping most places this will not be possible per my research. 
 

We are happy to order a burger or something on the patio, but not every day. We don’t eat in the Columnade for example.   Just don’t like the buffet and cafeteria look and feel.  The outdoor space is nice but only go at dinner when table service and  on the rare occasion when we can arrive early and get a nice outdoor table. 

 

I also would love to hear from anyone who has stayed in a signature suite.  We love the rear facing rooms with large patios ( love the penthouse spa suites on the O class), and booking this category that was  the appeal.  I am wondering if there is a problem being right beneath the “club” with noise.  Motion doesn’t bother us at all but noise would.

 

I would appreciate feedback from those of you who have been on Pursuit.  I just want to set expectations.  Thank you!

 

kej 

PS. I’m happy to provide feedback on this cruise once we get going!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I too do not like a buffet or the Colonnade but you will be pleasantly surprised on the Pursuit.

It is lovely and not at all like the larger ships.

I think you'll eat there after trying it out.

Edited by Mr Luxury
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Posted

I don’t remember a Patio for dining on the Venture.    My memory may be failing.    There is a pool on the stern but never saw anyone eating there but this was in Greenland.   Since you are not on a true Arctic/Antarctic expedition it will be interesting to see the changes on a warm weather trip.   

Posted
2 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

I don’t remember a Patio for dining on the Venture.    My memory may be failing.    There is a pool on the stern but never saw anyone eating there but this was in Greenland.   Since you are not on a true Arctic/Antarctic expedition it will be interesting to see the changes on a warm weather trip.   

 

There's "patio" seating behind the colonnade, but it's all in the shade. Not nearly so nice as sitting in the sun

Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

I don’t remember a Patio for dining on the Venture.    My memory may be failing.    There is a pool on the stern but never saw anyone eating there but this was in Greenland.   Since you are not on a true Arctic/Antarctic expedition it will be interesting to see the changes on a warm weather trip.   

There is no Patio Grill on the Pursuit/Venture, but there is an outdoor dining area aft of the Colonnade.  We ate breakfast and lunch out there on most days; only a few were too inclement to eat outside.  In fact, when we said hello to you in the Colonnade, we had come in from eating outside and asked the Hostess if she could show us who you were.

Edited by FlyingScotSailors
Posted
On 12/2/2023 at 3:53 AM, kej1 said:

Thank you for the feedback on the Pursuit.  It is really appreciated. 
 

We will be on Pursuit for 30 days starting April 14th from Papeete to Guam.  We are very excited to visit many places that are hard to get to by land  without lots of crazy flights if at all.

 

We so look forward to snorkeling, seeing the way people live, experiencing the submarine, etc.   we also understand the ship is beautiful thanks to the many comments.  As this will be our first cruise since Feb of 2020 we are concerned about the comments made on poor service and the food.  
 

Although we love good food and seek great restaurants when traveling by land, we don’t expect Michelin stars on the ship.  However we do expect good food as having nice meals is important to us.   Yes we’ve had some disappointments on Seabourn in the past but overall the food has been good.  We have done more travel on land but when cruising we have primarily cruised on Seabourn.  We look forward to cruising more in the future so have high expectations for the Pursuit.  
 

We don’t like buffets.  Just our personal preference.  Have always avoided them at all costs.  Big question:    Is the MDR open at lunch on the Pursuit?  We are happy to eat off the ship in port when it’s possible but where we will be stopping most places this will not be possible per my research. 
 

We are happy to order a burger or something on the patio, but not every day. We don’t eat in the Columnade for example.   Just don’t like the buffet and cafeteria look and feel.  The outdoor space is nice but only go at dinner when table service and  on the rare occasion when we can arrive early and get a nice outdoor table. 

 

I also would love to hear from anyone who has stayed in a signature suite.  We love the rear facing rooms with large patios ( love the penthouse spa suites on the O class), and booking this category that was  the appeal.  I am wondering if there is a problem being right beneath the “club” with noise.  Motion doesn’t bother us at all but noise would.

 

I would appreciate feedback from those of you who have been on Pursuit.  I just want to set expectations.  Thank you!

 

kej 

PS. I’m happy to provide feedback on this cruise once we get going!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am currently on the Pursuit in a signature suite and I have not heard any noise from the club. Sometimes we can hear mumbled voices from the cabin next door. 

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