Suitability for children - Legend med.

[seapenarth]

I did write that the Seabourn Sun WAS Royal Viking Sun. I know that. But Royal Viking Sun was Cunard, not Seabourn (I think).

I agree off topic, but it was a great ship for children as well (on topic again!). No really, the Seabourn Sun was a great real Seabourn ship, but bigger. One assigned seating, but no rush. Drinks not included though.

We loved it! We once went back on the Prinsendam, but it wasn't the same. Our one and only Holland America cruise (so far).

Marja

 

A great ship was ruined when the Royal Viking Sun (a rose by any other name ) was eventually turned into the Prinsedam. A large part of the dining room became was turned into cabins with the result smaller dining room meant 2 sittings. We sailed on it when it was the Seabourn Sun and thought it a first class but it could not be marketed with the Seabourn trio and moved for a short time to Cunard where it was too small. Hense it`s sale to Holland America wher it probably is there best ship.:rolleyes:

[PeaSea8ch]

Seapenarth,

I totally agree with you - making the Prinsendam a two-seating ship was a deal-breaker for me. After studying the deck plans of the "new" (not Nieu) Prinsendam, another deal-breaker that assured I would never sail on her was the replacing my favorite and best utilized lounge the all day and night Midnight Sun Lounge into two deluxe suites or penthouses. :(

 

Oh, the wonderful days of cruising on Royal Viking Line! The only good thing to come out of RVL's demise was that Chairman Warren S. Titus came over to Seabourn (maybe Signet at the time) to be Chairman of Seabourn. :)

[harrodsfan]

A great ship was ruined when the Royal Viking Sun (a rose by any other name ) was eventually turned into the Prinsedam. A large part of the dining room became was turned into cabins with the result smaller dining room meant 2 sittings. We sailed on it when it was the Seabourn Sun and thought it a first class but it could not be marketed with the Seabourn trio and moved for a short time to Cunard where it was too small. Hense it`s sale to Holland America wher it probably is there best ship.:rolleyes:

Of course you all are right....When my boys first sailed it was the Royal Viking Sun. They first went with my mother in 1991....

Then we all went on the Royal Viking Queen...and then several more cruises on the the Sun. At some point it became Cunard and then Seabourn.

We all just loved the Sun...

We traveled with our boys from the time they were very little.I think that makes a difference..They loved traveling and were very willing to curb any normal rambunctiousness when it was appropriate..They knew when they should be seen and not heard. And they loved dressing up...

Think the issue of supervision is critical...When bored and left to their own devices...kids will be well kids...

That being said I do understand why Seabourn now wouldn't be a good ship for most children.

[lord of the seas]

lord,

 

That's unfortunate.........have you tried them with a bit of mustard and roasted peppers?;) Jack

 

Thanks for the recipe Jack,but I don't think that I could eat a whole one:eek: :eek:

[seapenarth]

Thanks for the recipe Jack,but I don't think that I could eat a whole one:eek: :eek:

 

 

It`s of course ( excuse the word course ) W.C.Fields :D

[ssfrance74]

Ahoy Seabourn Cruisers!

 

I’m almost afraid to admit this, but my wife Eileen and I and our two teenage sons (almost 17 and 15) are booked on the Seabourn Legend for Spring Break, sailing from St. Thomas on Easter Sunday, March 23. This will be our first Seabourn experience, having cruised as a family many times on Celebrity and Holland America, and then once each on Princess and Royal Caribbean with a QM2 transatlantic for good measure. As you Seabourn regulars might imagine, that one Royal Caribbean cruise (Freedom of the Seas, second cruise from the maiden) was Eileen’s and my LEAST favorite but near the top on our sons’ list! Interestingly, the rather formal QM2 transatlantic was close to the top for our sons as well.

 

We are concurrently excited and apprehensive about going on Seabourn with our teens, but Eileen’s luxury travel business really requires her to understand the Seabourn experience. Our busy lives leave few windows for the four of us to vacation together, and we really only have two spring breaks left, traditionally our greatest family experience of the year, before our high school junior goes off to college and his own spring break experiences!

 

Like pretty much all of the other kids discussed in this thread, our teens are well-behaved and well-traveled. They enjoy adult company (except ours a lot of the time!), and they both have their own tuxes. They love fine dining, look forward to the beautiful ports and beach time, hope to ride jet skis off the water sports platform, and know they’re going to be watching a lot of movies in their suite in the evenings. They have no expectations of the teen Freedom of the Seas experience, or the magical Movies under the Stars on Princess this past Christmas.

 

I suppose the point of my posting to this discussion is to ask any 3/23 Legend cruisers to give my sons a chance, because Eileen and I are completely sensitive to this issue. There is no way we want to ruin anyone’s wonderful Seabourn experience!

 

All the best,

John in Chevy Chase, MD

[Iamboatman]

If I was to pick a cruise and a younger age group to give it a go, it would be your cruise and your age children. You..and everyone else...should have a great time; and I wouldn't bet against there being a few kids their age.

 

Enjoy.

[PittsburghJack]

John,

 

I'm not booked on that particular voyage, but can be fairly certain those two gentlemen will not be running and screaming through the alleyways, crying at the dinner table because there are no McNuggets, urinating in the hot tubs or throwing themselves upon the deck because they're bored. (Although I've seen some adults exhibit these behaviors:eek: .)

 

I'm speaking of the "tweens" and younger. Although my children are grown, I would have never subjected them to a situation where there was limited or no appropriate age entertainment...................the same thing goes for my grand children.

 

My grand daughter is darling, well mannered, articulate (fill in appropriate adjective) but we would never put her in a situation where she had to act "grownup" for a week or more even with a nanny. After all she is just that, a child. Just MHO.:) Jack

[johnnycruise]

Like pretty much all of the other kids discussed in this thread, our teens are well-behaved and well-traveled. They enjoy adult company (except ours a lot of the time!), and they both have their own tuxes. They love fine dining, look forward to the beautiful ports and beach time, hope to ride jet skis off the water sports platform, and know they’re going to be watching a lot of movies in their suite in the evenings.

 

Seabourn doesn't have jet skis, so their hopes will be dashed - perhaps you can reset their expectations accordingly. (You might be thinking of Sea Dream.) Your boys are not quite old enough to enjoy Seabourn since alcohol is omnipresent at all evening events - they will feel left out. That said, your port-intensive itinerary may save the week. I do look forward to reading your perspective when you return.

[Seabourn-nail]

John and Eileen,

I hope you and your boys will have a great cruise! I suppose you are going for one week? I don't know all the islands well that you are visiting, but I'm sure the boys will love Virgin Gorda. And it could all work out well. The most important thing is, that you two enjoy yourselves the best. If the boys are not that happy, just leave them be, don't let it ruin your holiday. I'm sure you will have good parts of the day together. Another thing is that the crew usually takes very good care of youngsters, they like to speak to them and the other way around. I speak from experience with our children. Our son always had his favorite waiters and bartender and our daughter just loved all the attention. It is a true thing though that alcohol flows abundantly, but there is hardly ever a problem. And maybe your boys are allowed to drink a glass of wine during dinner? Or is this an inappropriate question?

Anyway, go and have the time of your life. I know how difficult it will be to plan a holiday together in the future. If it is not school or university, it will be work or children of their own.

Marja

[dmb707]

Hi John

 

I will be on board the same week as you and look forward to meeting you all, I am sure all of you will have a fab time and don't worry about your teenagers, they will have a wonderful time.

 

deb

[JaneBP]

>"Your boys are not quite old enough to enjoy Seabourn since alcohol is omnipresent at all evening events - they will feel left out.'

 

I doubt that. Mostly I drink ice water or Diet Coke. No one pays any attention to what one orders. Alcohol is omnipresent most of the day, but except for the occasional loud-mouth, it's rarely an issue.

 

Personally, I enjoy chatting with teen-agers. (I was one soooo long ago). And I am still waiting for one to explain the xbox and gameboy.

[CruisinMatt]

And I am still waiting for one to explain the xbox and gameboy.

 

You're actually the type I had pegged as owning a wii - guess not! :rolleyes: :D

[JaneBP]

You're actually the type I had pegged as owning a wii - guess not! :rolleyes: :D

 

LOL. I am assuming that's not an upscale brand of shoes, is it? However, I can program my VCR.

[RachelG]

John, I will be interested to know how your sons enjoy Seabourn. Our youngest is 17, and I am looking at one of the Caribbean cruises on Seabourn for our last spring break with him at home next year (this year we are hiking along the Amalfi coast). He has been on several Regent cruises, and yes, he is allowed a glass of wine at dinner in countries where the culture is accepting of that. I would do Regent again then, but none of their dates in March will work for us.

Please report back.

[ssfrance74]

To Boatman, Jack, Johnnycruise, Marja, Deb, Jane and Rachel,

 

Thanks so much for your helpful responses and words of encouragement. Both Eileen and I now feel better about our choice for this cruise, our apprehension has dissipated and we're more excited than ever. I will definitely report back on our experience after the cruise.

 

Johnnycruise, thanks for the warning about the jet skis, I will reset expectations accordingly. I was in fact thinking of Sea Dream, as Eileen and I toured the Sea Dream II when we were in San Juan over New Years.

 

Marja, we do (like Rachel) allow our boys to have a glass of wine at dinner in countries where it is accepted although our 15 year old usually turns it down which of course is fine with us! We were, in fact, discussing this while dining at a terrific restaurant this weekend here in Washington DC. The server brought a glass for our 17 year old and asked if he would be enjoying the wine with us. He turned her down, of course. We told her that he was only 17 and she said she would have asked for ID! That's when we wondered if Seabourn allows teenage wine enjoyment?

 

Deb, we look forward to meeting you as well! You'll recognize us because we will be the ones with the teenagers.

 

Rachel, we spent two spring breaks ago on the Amalfi Coast and it is like heaven on earth. We were staying in Ravello, and one day we hiked down, down, down to Amalfi and then up, up, up back to Ravello. Another day we hiked down, down, down to Minori and then up, up, up back to Ravello. It was a terrific way to wear out teenage boys (and their 40-something parents)!

 

All the best,

John in Chevy Chase, MD

[wripro]

SSFrance74,

 

I just have to comment on your nickname as 74 was the year the SS France went out of business. I was booked on her to sail back to NY from Southampton as I had done the previous year, when she anchored 3 miles off shore, disgorged all her passengers, and remained there. What a disappointment that was! Just wondering why you chose that name.

[cands]

>"Your boys are not quite old enough to enjoy Seabourn since alcohol is omnipresent at all evening events - they will feel left out.'

 

I doubt that. Mostly I drink ice water or Diet Coke. No one pays any attention to what one orders. Alcohol is omnipresent most of the day, but except for the occasional loud-mouth, it's rarely an issue.

 

 

Jane,

I can't tell you how glad I am to know that. Chris and I rarely drink and are quite accustomed to being around people who do. It's good to know that nobody is going to question our teetotal (almost) ways.

We are looking forward to testing the bar people with lots of reqests for mocktails in the evening:) .

 

Cheers,

Steve. (and Chris)

[johnnycruise]

Steve & Chris,

 

Shirley Temple Black is the godmother of the Seabourn Pride. I am sure the bartenders are adept at making her "namesake" beverage as well as any other non-alcoholic concoction you desire.

 

johnny

[cands]

Steve & Chris,

 

Shirley Temple Black is the godmother of the Seabourn Pride. I am sure the bartenders are adept at making her "namesake" beverage as well as any other non-alcoholic concoction you desire.

 

johnny

 

Well, the things you learn!

 

Thanks.

[ssfrance74]

wripro,

 

Thanks for asking about my User Name. The answer is interestingly on topic for this thread!

 

In the summer of 1974, my parents took my younger sister (age 11) and me (age 14) to Europe sailing both eastbound and westbound on FRANCE. Our August westbound was her second to last. We were in First Class with my parents in the Perigord suite eastbound and the Franche Compte westbound. My sister and I shared an adjoining inside single with the upper and lower berths.

 

As you might imagine, this was a life-changing experience for me as a teenager and fueled my life-long quest for ocean travel. Of course there were very few children of any age in First Class and five full consecutive sea days! I recall spending a lot of time gazing out at the wake over the tourist class pool enclosure from the terrace aft of the smoking room. On the eastbound crossing, however, I remember fondly the attractive young lady who convinced me that the evening action was down in tourist, or "left bank" as it was advertized at the time. Unfortunatly for my sons, there is no "left bank" on Seabourn!

 

How incredibly heartbreaking it must have been for FRANCE to be empty and anchored off shore when you were supposed to be enjoying an incredible voyage home! And it's bittersweet to relive these memories at the very time that the BLUE LADY (former NORWAY, former FRANCE) is being torn apart on the beach in India.

 

All the best,

John in Chevy Chase, MD

[wripro]

ssFrance74,

 

What a wonderful story. I was a bit older than you when I first crossed on her in 1973, but still very young and she made an impression I will never forget. I too was in First Class but we sneaked down to tourist every night after dinner because that's where all the "fun" was. Much as I love Seabourn nothing will ever compare to that great liner.

[RachelG]

Too bad we're not cruising this spring break with you, John. Sounds like our sons would get along famously.

My younger son, the 17 yr old, often gets offered wine when we order here. He is very tall, so looks older.

The older son, who is now 21 actually prefers beer to wine. Go figure. He says wine is wasted on him. Of course, he is a Marine, so that may have something to do with it.