28 Day Norwegian Fjords & Icelandic Intrigue on Sojourn - July 27th through August 24th - Our Experience

[SLSD]

The Restaurant was open for lunch today as we are having a sea day.  There were at least 12 tables of diners--some with two diners, others with four.  Here's the menu of specials (there were also classic offerings), and one of our entrees  (fish and chips) and one of our desserts (a sherry trifle) --we forgot to photograph the others.  

Edited August 11 by SLSD

[Isklaar]

Those chips look seriously overcooked! 

[lincslady]

And seriously not enough of them!  'Twas ever thus; Seabourn's idea of making a great British institution more elegant.

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, Isklaar said:

Those chips look seriously overcooked! 

And a bit oddly shaped I think.  I'll ask Mr. SLSD how they were.   

[SLSD]

44 minutes ago, lincslady said:

And seriously not enough of them!  'Twas ever thus; Seabourn's idea of making a great British institution more elegant.

I have noticed that most servings are quite small--but not all!  I was served beef cheeks at Earth and Ocean that could have served four people generously.  

[Robisan]

9 hours ago, SLSD said:

I apologize that my narrative of this cruise is not entirely chronological.

Being on holiday means never having to apologize. Enjoy the second half of your adventure.

[SLSD]

3 hours ago, Robisan said:

Being on holiday means never having to apologize. Enjoy the second half of your adventure.

Not really apologizing-just explaining that this narrative is not chronological.  We certainly are on vacation, but with plenty of downtime to share a few words here.   

Edited August 12 by SLSD

[SLSD]

Last night, we dined at Earth and Ocean, our favorite restaurant on Seabourn ships.  It was Formal Night and we were tempted by the tasting menu in The Restaurant, but, in the end, Earth and Ocean won out.  We are never sorry when we dine there.  It is very relaxing, and seems to us what is best about cruising,  Mr. SLSD and I shared the huge 16oz Cowboy Ribeye steak.  It was excellent, grilled to perfection to medium rare, just as we ordered. I had the endive salad, while Mr. SLSD had the pasta first cours.   We both had the baked apple dessert.  

[SLSD]

Today is another enjoyable day at sea on our way to Trondheim, Norway.  We began with breakfast in the dining room.  I will not be ordering pancakes again.  They arrived listless and cold.  The shared fresh fruit plate was fresh and good.  The bacon undercooked...

 

I attended two lectures today--one on the resistance movement in Norway during WWII  (in the morning) and the other asking the question, "Can you have an authentic travel experience on a cruise ship?" (the afternoon lecture)   Of course the answer is yes.  Both lecturers do a very good job.  

 

We had a tasty lunch in The Restaurant.  The staff confirmed that there were exactly 57 diners in the The Restaurant for lunch today.  There is only one empty suite on the ship for this two week sailing. 

 

This afternoon was billed as a "High Viennese Tea" in the Observation Lounge.  A very freshly baked apple strudel was served along with the usual tower of treats.  This is the first time this trip we have allowed ourselves the tower.  I'm happy to report that we did NOT eat everything.  The scones were my favorite thing.  We will not be having the tower again--have to cut calories somewhere!  Toward the end of tea, a fellow passenger alerted us to a whale spouting close to the front of the ship.  It continued to spout for quite a few minutes and this was enjoyed by all. 

 

We plan to dine at Earth and Ocean again tonight.  Short ribs are on the menu.  

 

Tomorrow, we dock in Trondheim!  

 

 

 

 

Edited August 12 by SLSD

[nancygp]

47 minutes ago, SLSD said:

 

I attended two lectures today--one on the resistance movement in Norway during WWII

We watched a fascinating multi-episode show on PBS a few years ago on this subject.  The show was Atlantic Crossing.  It’s worth checking out

 

all sounds great on the sojourn.  Can’t wait to return to Norway

 

Nancy

 

 

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, nancygp said:

We watched a fascinating multi-episode show on PBS a few years ago on this subject.  The show was Atlantic Crossing.  It’s worth checking out

 

all sounds great on the sojourn.  Can’t wait to return to Norway

 

Nancy

 

 

The speaker mentioned Atlantic Crossing in her presentation today!  We will look for it!

 

We are in Norwegian waters now!  

[maryogreen]

@SLSDHi Susan, Herb and I have been enjoying all your posts from the Sojourn. A great trip, it seems, even with a brief bout of Covid! I hope your Norway segment is as wonderful as last year's, even if we're not on board this time😉. Happy travels to you and Josiah!

 

Mary

The Modern Postcard

[SLSD]

Just now, maryogreen said:

@SLSDHi Susan, Herb and I have been enjoying all your posts from the Sojourn. A great trip, it seems, even with a brief bout of Covid! I hope your Norway segment is as wonderful as last year's, even if we're not on board this time😉. Happy travels to you and Josiah!

 

Mary

The Modern Postcard

Thank you Mary.  There is no doubt that the trip would be better if you and Herb were here, but we are confident it is going to be great.  I'll report on Trondheim late tomorrow.  

[speech1102]

If you dine at Earth and Ocean on formal night are you required to dress formally?

[nancygp]

9 minutes ago, speech1102 said:

If you dine at Earth and Ocean on formal night are you required to dress formally?

the  Restaurant requires formal dress on the formal evening. All other dining venues are elegant casual attire on those night

 

Nancy

[SLSD]

A pretty sunrise near Trondheim this early morning,  The high temperature is supposed to be 75 degrees fahrenheit today.  Right now, it is VERY cold out on our balcony, but of course it is not quite 5:30am.  

Edited August 13 by SLSD

[SLSD]

Newsflash--for those who care about this topic:  The Restaurant is going to be open for both breakfast and lunch while we are in port at Trondheim.  Mr. SLSD is teasing me and saying that it must be the note I left in Seabourn Square which tipped the scales and made Seabourn change its mind about opening The Restaurant.  

[SLSD]

Last night's dinner at Earth and Ocean was quite good--as always.  Both Mr. SLSD and I had the seed encrusted salmon.  It was cooked to perfection.  The maitre d' came by and asked if it was moist and cooked correctly.  We could tell him that it was.  

Edited August 13 by SLSD

[2SailingNomads]

Great pix!  Hopefully when we board the Encore in 5 days the MDR will be open for breakfast and lunch when in port although most days we will have lunch in port.

[SLSD]

A few nuts and bolts items:  The beds are made up with a fitted bottom sheet and a comforter with duvet cover.  If you want a top sheet, be sure to ask for it.  

 

If mattresses with valleys and significant lumps bother you, be sure to request that a plywood board be put under your mattress--especiallly if you are prone to back issues.  This made a world of difference for my husband and I found the bed significantly more comfortable after the plywood was in place. 

 

Yesterday, the director of The Restaurant told me that the The Restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch EVERYDAY on cruises that are longer than 7 days.  This is good news.  HOWEVER, Seabourn breaks many cruises down into 7 days segments and The Restaurant will NOT be open for breakfast and lunch on those segments.  An examplae, we booked a cruise that was adverstised by Seabourn as a 28 day cruise (see title of this thread--as that was the advertised name).  From the beginning, I recognized that the last 14 days of the cruise was its own segnment.  At some point, the first 14 days of the cruise was broken into two seven days segments.  When that happens, The Restaurant will not be open for breakfast and lunch on either of the seven day segments.  SO--those of us who sign up for a 28 day cruise, do not get that benefit.  Just stating a fact here so people will know what to expect--no matter how long your advertised cruise is.  We avoid the Colonnade for two reasons--one, we really don't like buffets and two, we don't like the ambience of the indoor dining in the Colonnade.  We do sometimes dine on its Veranda and order from a very limited menu there.  

 

If you ask for bottled water in your suite, it will be provided for you.  We have been given large bottles of Evian.  The water provided by the ship's water purification process is what you will find in your suite to begin with.  It is in large awkward washable plastic bottles.  These same bottles in a smaller size are provided for passengers getting off the ship in ports.  These LEAK!  They are awkward to drink from.  Many don't care for the test of the water.  I find it just ok, but Mr. SLSD really doesn't like it at all.  We buy, from time time, plastic bottles of water onshore to take with us when we leave the ship at a port.  Others bring their own water bottles from home and fill with the water of their choice on the ship. 

 

We have room service breakfast almost everyday.  We have found that it works best for us to have the waiter set the entire tray on the small low table beside the larger table that we dine upon.  It saves his time AND we prefer to leave some of the tray items on the tray because when all placed on the larger table, it is terribly crowded.  We put the white tablecloth on the table ourselves and then bring up items from the large tray as needed.  This may not be what everyone prefers, but we find it easier and more pleasant.  

 

We met passengers last night that cruise a lot more often on Seabourn than we do, but did not realize that when you get onboard, you can use Onboard Credit (OBC) to pay for excursions EVEN IF you have prepaid for them.  To do this, you go to Seabourn Square on 7 and ask that your OBC be used.  You will be refunded the previously paid amounts to your credit card.  

 

 

 

 

[SLSD]

Someone asked for the name of the hotel director.  Currently on Sojourn, the hotel director's name is Larry Ter Horst.  

 

Yesterday, Sojourn held its infamous Block Party for the first time during our 28 day voyage.  Some people really dislike this "signature" event while others tolerate or even like it.  We fall into the latter category as we tend to be friendly and up for meeting our neighbors.  Our next door neighbors on this 14 day segment are from Switzerland and others are from Australia.  We had some good conversations as appetizers and some pink punchy stuff was passed through the hallways.  I don't care for the pink punch with alcohol, but the gesture is a nice one.  In addition, ship's officers passed through the hallways to say hello.  We had a nice chat with the assistant cruise director--now called entertainment director.  She is from South Africa and previously worked for Crystal Cruises.   After Crystal was purchased and began running again, she went back to Crystal, but has found a new home on Seabourn now and prefers it to Crystal she told us.    

Edited August 14 by SLSD

[nancygp]

5 hours ago, SLSD said:

Yesterday, the director of The Restaurant told me that the The Restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch EVERYDAY on cruises that are longer than 7 days.

Great news.  Is this for all ocean vessels or just the Sojourn?  

 

Nancy

 

[Isr45]

6 hours ago, SLSD said:

Yesterday, the director of The Restaurant told me that the The Restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch EVERYDAY on cruises that are longer than 7 days.  This is good news. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just done 3 consecutive 10 day cruises on Ovation. Restaurant only open for lunch on sea days.

[SLSD]

3 hours ago, nancygp said:

Great news.  Is this for all ocean vessels or just the Sojourn?  

 

Nancy

 

I would assume it is for all the Seabourn vessels.  I will ask when I have the opportunity.  

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, Isr45 said:

Just done 3 consecutive 10 day cruises on Ovation. Restaurant only open for lunch on sea days.

I will ask about 10 days segments when I get a chance.  The Dining Room director only mentioned the 7 day segments to me as not having The Restaurant open for breakfast and lunch.  

Edited August 14 by SLSD