Seabourn - March 2008 Carribean

[stuschick]

Hi All,

 

Let me introduce myself I am Sharon and a first time cruiser from the UK.

 

My husband and I previously booked another cruise but after very long discussions we decided to cancel and book the Seabourn Legand (St Thomas to St Thomas for 14 nights in March 2008).

 

A couple of questions as we are on deck 4 (is their a lot of motion felt whilst you are in your cabin)?

 

During the cruise does the boat tend to dock in more secluded places ie where the big ships don't go ?

 

Any other information anyone has would be appreciated, apologises if I am asking the same questions that have already been asked before!

 

Thanks again

Sharon

[crystal808]

Hi Sharon, and welcome to the SB board!

 

My 3 SB cruises have all been 7-dayers in the Caribbean, and have each been wonderful.

 

Deck 4 is the lowest of the passenger decks, so any movement will be less there than the decks above. Except for bad weather, there shouldn't be a whole lot of motion, anyway, but one never knows!

 

SB docks, usually, where the "big boys" do, or they anchor in harbors and tender their guests to shore where ports necessitate.

 

Do your homework on the ports for your cruise (see also the Ports of Call board here on CruiseCritic for a lot of info), and choose what interests you. My only "complaint" (which is a real stretch on SB!) is that there is often only 1 sea day any given week, and I love being onboard! Of course, one doesn't "have" to get off ship at any given port...and I've been known to "pass" on a port or two!

 

If you're lucky, you will be treated to the Beach BBQ each week, and, weather permitting, a Marina day as well. The BBQ is not to be missed, as the crew really outdoes itself to make the beach an extension of being onboard, and the amount of work it takes boggles the mind! Of course, there's also the Caviar in the Surf preceding the BBQ!

 

If possible, I'd plan to arrive in St. Thomas at least a day ahead of sailing, in order to relax before boarding. The airport can be quite congested, and it's best to get that out of the way!

 

Enjoy your cruise! You've got a lot o' pamperin' to experience! ;)

 

Paul :)

[stuschick]

Hi Paul,

 

Thank you for the info provided it is appreciated, I really cannot wait only 11 Months to go and counting !!:)

[LaPaloma]

Paul mentioned that Seabourn stops where the "big boy" do--this is true in some cases, I have found most of my days in the Caribbean we have been the only ship in port--this will not be true at San Juan, St Thomas, and St. Martin. WE really like the fact that you are not visiting the Island with your 2,000 best friends. We lived on Grand Cayman for many years, and "Steam Ship" day (that was Tuesday) was not the day to go to town. I don't know your exact dates, but you will probably be on the Legend--we were on the Legend for 11 days a few weeks ago--the staff--from top to bottom--was outstanding. You are going to love your cruise! Don

[SantaAna,CA]

Hi Sharon.

 

My first cruise on Seabourn was on the Legend as well. If you have a minute and would like to look it over, I posted a review on CruiseCritic. You can find it under "member reviews" and then choose "Seabourn Legend". It goes into a lot of detail about my experience of my Caribbean cruise.

 

You can't go wrong on Seabourn. It is an enchanting line with stellar service and interesting, fun passengers. You'll have the time of your life!

 

Best wishes,

 

Jane :)

[stuschick]

Hi Jane,

 

Thanks again, I will have a good look at your review.

 

Regards

Sharon

[blackbird71]

I was on the St. Thomas to St. Thomas on the 4th of March for 7 days. Some pictures in my signature line. Also there is a couple threads on here one with Blackbird in the title and the cruise did by Paul the following week.

 

I would also suggest flying in a day early and I would recommend the Holiday Inn. There are lots of other hotels down there that have their pluses, but for only one night IMHO the HI can not be beat. :)

 

In Virgin Gorda, you tender on one side of the island to get your tours and the ship moves to the other side for the beach BBQ.

[dmb707]

Hi Sharon

 

You will love the 14 day cruise St Thomas to St Thomas, i did nearly the same cruise last year and would have done it again this year if personal circumstances had allowed it, I am in fact just about to book i assume the same cruise as yourself next March as great being in the Caribbean when the weather in the UK is not at it's best!!

 

Have you booked your flights yet? I flew LHR to Miami then had a long stop over there before flying down to St Thomas that evening, next time i would stay the night in Miami and fly down to St Thomas the next morning so as not to have to hang around for 6 hours or so, not sure if that helps?

 

Any questions you have please ask

 

regards

 

deb

[stuschick]

Hi Deb,

 

We are going on the 9th March for 14 nights (yes lovely to get away when the weather in the UK is not good) !!

 

At the moment have not booked any flights but starting looking not sure which option to go for ie ?

 

LHR - Miami - STT (on the same day and stay the night in STT)

 

or

 

LHR - to either Barbados or Antiuga and then use Liat to get a flight to STT

 

Its confusing but I would rather book myself then I know exactly what I am doing.....

 

Do you know if Seabourn offer upgrades when you actually board?

 

It just seems so far away at the moment but cannot wait !!!

 

Hope you get yours booked !!

 

Regards

Sharon

[stuschick]

I was on the St. Thomas to St. Thomas on the 4th of March for 7 days. Some pictures in my signature line. Also there is a couple threads on here one with Blackbird in the title and the cruise did by Paul the following week.

 

I would also suggest flying in a day early and I would recommend the Holiday Inn. There are lots of other hotels down there that have their pluses, but for only one night IMHO the HI can not be beat. :)

 

In Virgin Gorda, you tender on one side of the island to get your tours and the ship moves to the other side for the beach BBQ.

 

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for the info, great pictures looks lovely !!!!

[JaneBP]

>"Its confusing but I would rather book myself then I know exactly what I am doing..... "

 

It seems most of us make our own flight arrangements. If I had a very tight connection to an out of the way departure port, I might use Seabourn, but haven't yet. Do try and get to STT a day early; sometimes weather in an odd location can upset air traffic around the world. (I am thinking of the Christmas fog around London, for example.)

 

One thing that annoyed me in STT was that the taxi vans fill up before leaving the airport. I had to argue (and pay more) to get one for the two of us. Now, perhaps I am the only one that was annoyed with this, but I was. Heading for the hotel (Frenchman's Reef) there were enough of us going to Seabourn that we made up a van of our own.

 

You will have a wonderful time; no doubt about that.

 

The 'other' aka East Coast Jane

[CruisinMatt]

. Now, perhaps I am the only one that was annoyed with this, but I was.

 

 

It annoys me as well. Luckily both times we had to use the taxi-vans, we had to share them with decent people. I chalk it up to "that's just the way it is".

[JaneBP]

It annoys me as well. Luckily both times we had to use the taxi-vans, we had to share them with decent people. I chalk it up to "that's just the way it is".

 

It certainly isn't whether or not the people are 'decent' or not (and I don't think that's what you really mean). I just don't want to be squashed into a minivan; I want the ability to converse with my partner and perhaps the driver and ask questions and not stop anywhere before my destination. I found that even though 'that's the way it is', that 'way' (with some $$) can be done another way.

[CruisinMatt]

It certainly isn't whether or not the people are 'decent' or not (and I don't think that's what you really mean).

 

Actually it is what I mean. I'd prefer not to share a cab with a bunch of rowdy spring breakers and/or foul-mouthed drunks, both of which I don't consider decent! :D :rolleyes:

[JaneBP]

Actually it is what I mean. I'd prefer not to share a cab with a bunch of rowdy spring breakers and/or foul-mouthed drunks, both of which I don't consider decent! :D :rolleyes:

 

>"Decent–adjective

1. conforming to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc., as in behavior or speech.

2. respectable; worthy: a decent family.

3. adequate; fair; passable: a decent wage.

4. kind; obliging; generous: It was very decent of him to lend me his watch.

5. suitable; appropriate: She did not have a decent coat for the cold winter.

6. of fairly attractive appearance: a decent face.

7. Informal. wearing enough clothing to appear in public.

8. Slang. great; wonderful."

 

LOL, you win! I was using the second definition rather than the first.

[stuschick]

>"Its confusing but I would rather book myself then I know exactly what I am doing..... "

 

It seems most of us make our own flight arrangements. If I had a very tight connection to an out of the way departure port, I might use Seabourn, but haven't yet. Do try and get to STT a day early; sometimes weather in an odd location can upset air traffic around the world. (I am thinking of the Christmas fog around London, for example.)

 

One thing that annoyed me in STT was that the taxi vans fill up before leaving the airport. I had to argue (and pay more) to get one for the two of us. Now, perhaps I am the only one that was annoyed with this, but I was. Heading for the hotel (Frenchman's Reef) there were enough of us going to Seabourn that we made up a van of our own.

 

You will have a wonderful time; no doubt about that.

 

The 'other' aka East Coast Jane

 

Hi Jane,

 

Thanks - I think the best thing will be to go LHR to Miami then to STT all on the same day which will mean we have the night in STT ready for the cruise the next day.

 

How far is the Frenchman's Reef from the actual Port? I presume you can get a taxi from the hotel down to the port with no problems?

 

Regards

Sharon

[JaneBP]

>"How far is the Frenchman's Reef from the actual Port? I presume you can get a taxi from the hotel down to the port with no problems?"

 

Frenchman's Reef was close (actually everything is close) to the airport and the port (although sometimes more than one port is used). It's easy to get taxi's, they are everywhere. FR was very nice for a few days. It was over Easter Weekend, so there was a minimum 3 day stay, I think. Thanks to the La Palomas advice, we got a good deal.

[blackbird71]

The only minus on the St Thomas vans was it added around 20 minutes doing hotel stops to get to the airport from the hotel Paul and group were staying at. But I had tons of time. Now the best van was from the Holiday Inn to the Legend. Full of smiling Seabourn cruisers.... :)

[stuschick]

Hi All,

 

Thank you all very much for the info provided, I have now gone ahead and booked my flights (a day from the UK to STT) but at least we will be their the night before, we booked the Frenchmans Reef for the night, so fingers crossed the port is pretty near !!!

 

Ok a question you probably have heard on quite a few occasions ! my husband is asking about the dress code we have looked at the Seabourn website so have some sort of idea (well we think anyway) !:D

 

This is what we think is corret:-

 

Men

 

Formal Night - Tux or Suit with Tie?

Normal Night - Can smart shorts be worn we just a shirt????

 

For me

 

Formal Night - Dress

Normal Night - Dress

 

I am 36 years old and I have totally lost the plot with what really is expected (I am thinking along the lines of my Wedding Dress) :D

 

 

Seriously though if any one does have any good tips it would be appreciated and I apologise for repeating this question.

 

How days left cannot stop looking at their website (wishing your life away is not good !!)

 

Thanks again All !!

[crystal808]

Men

 

Formal Night - Tux or Suit with Tie?

Normal Night - Can smart shorts be worn we just a shirt????

 

Formal night is fine; either tux or suit & tie.

 

No, shorts are not allowed in the dining room, or the Veranda in the evening. Long pants are required.

 

If there's a deck BBQ, he might get away with shorts, but only then; and most men will wear slacks, even then.

 

Hope this helps...

Paul

[stuschick]

Hi Paul,

 

Thanks - at least this gives us a good starting point when packing, its a same about the shorts though (thought I would have more room for my shoes if he did not have to pack a suit) LOL

 

 

:D

[lord of the seas]

I do not think that shorts should be worn for the deck BBQ.

After Six O'clock, Evening dinner attire should be worn in all public areas.

Let us not let standards slip.

[PeaSea8ch]

I agree with His Lordship. On my 7 Legend cruises where we had the deck BBQ and subsequent Rock The Boat show, the gentlemen all wore either slacks or Dockers (cotton, full length pants) and the ladies wore either dresses or slacks.

[Host Dan]

I agree. I've never seen shorts worn to the deck bar-b-que.

 

Host Dan

[stuschick]

All,

 

Thank you for your responses !

 

The shorts will be left for the day ! but great to know exactly what is expected.

 

Regards