7 Nights North Iceland Fjords Cruise

Would recommend if at the right price

We are experienced cruisers - top mariners with HAL, Elite Plus with Celebrity and also travelled with RCL, NCL Princess and Paul Gauguin. First time however with Seabourn. We did not know what to expect and had a very open mind. First impressions of the ship is that is old, although efforts are made to continuously maintain it, it needs a full dry dock refurbishment. Every aspect of the ship needs to be updated. The staff were exceptional and nothing was too much trouble. Always willing to help and make the trip extra special. The officers were easily accessible and it was very nice to be able to chat to any of them inc. the Captain without any problem. The food in all the dining venues was wonderful however, I cannot say it was any better than that we have experienced on Celebrity in the Retreat Luminae or on a Holland America Ship. The lecturers were very interesting and again it was appreciated that they were all so accessible. The general entertainment in the Grand Salon, and the other venues such as the Club were good, not outstanding. We were irritated that trivia was scheduled for the middle of the day on a sea day which interrupted the day. All other lines we have been on, it has been in the evening before the meal. The Liar's Club which we had wanted to go and see was scheduled at the same time as a religious Friday evening service which was slightly insensitive. The big question is would we go on Seabourn again? We would if the price was right. We stay in a suite on Celebrity and on Holland America. I cannot say that the service, food or public areas were superior on Seabourn at all. We had a marvellous time and enjoyed it immensely but I would always want to check the price of a suite on Celebrity vs Seabourn for a comparable sailing before committing to one or the other. The obvious difference between the two lines are the number of passengers. Seabourn without a doubt being so much smaller is more intimate and staff recognition of guests is very quick. I would say however from our experience staying in the Retreat on Celebrity that the same level of service is given. We very much felt that after the evening show which finished at 10pm that there was really nothing to do if one didn't want to drink. We had a verandah room on deck 7. It was spacious and had plenty of space to store items of clothing and other personal items. A walk in wardrobe/closet. A fridge which could be stocked with whatever drinks one wanted. Again although there was nothing specifically wrong with the room it was old fashioned and "tired". Compared to a Sky Suite on Celebrity there is just no comparison. The Sky Suite is modern and bright and airy. The door to the veranda slides and can be left open whilst moving, the door on Seabourn to the veranda opens outwards and cannot be left open without propping it open. All lighting/heating and curtains on a Sky Suite can be controlled from the phone. On Seabourn it is the traditional buttons and pulling of curtains. Embarkation and disembarkation worked well without any issues. I would not hesitate to recommend Seabourn if it was an itinerary that could not be found on another line, or if the price per night rate was the same as a Celebrity Sky Suite or Holland America Neptune Suite. If there was a choice between all 3 offering the same itinerary and rates, I would probably go to Celebrity as our first choice.

Excellent, but something intangible missing

Earlier this year I wrote a review of a 72 day cruise we’d taken on the Sojourn. In it, I referred to something intangible, which we couldn’t quite put a finger on, being missing compared to previous Seabourn cruises, despite an overall excellent experience. We have just completed another short two week cruise on the Sojourn, and although we again had an overall excellent and enjoyable experience, we disembarked with an increased feeing of that something intangible being missing. Having said that, the ship itself has been refreshed internally, the Captain was as usual exemplary(Captain Kyriakos Karras), our V4 suite faultless, and service generally very good to excellent. We would sail with Seabourn again without hesitation (we have a long cruise booked next year) and will continue to recommend Seabourn. If I were compelled to identify the negative issues I would probably highlight three relatively minor factors, and one more significant. First, service standards were overall very good to excellent, but we encountered occasional ‘rolled eyes’ from a few service crew members. Never seen that before on Seabourn. Second, while the food was also overall very good to excellent, we found the menus in the Restaurant repetitive, with an emphasis on red meat. Third, the quality of the guest speakers was not up to the usual standard, with one simply reading from prepared notes and slides - ‘death by PowerPoint’. This too is unusual, and we have in the past always been impressed by Seabourn’s guest speakers. But now for the more significant issue. I know we all rely on our ‘Smart Phones’ these days, but on this cruise their use by fellow passengers (and even crew members/entertainers on a few occasions) in public areas was way too intrusive, and we had to ask for a volume reduction, or move, too many times. Loud telephone conversations and video clips were frequently clearly audible in public spaces, even one evening in the Colonnade during dinner when we had to ask the Hotel Director to intervene - which in fairness he immediately did. This is clearly not a problem which can be attributed to Seabourn, but as with Smoking, some way must be found to restrict this inconsiderate behaviour in public areas in the interests of the majority of guests who really do not want their peaceful enjoyment of cruising to be disturbed by loud conversations with colleagues or relatives. Maybe restricting phone use for conversations to inside suites is necessary, or simply mandating use of earbuds as a start? But I would encourage anyone looking for a very high standard cruise experience to use Seabourn.

Another great voyage on Seabourn, but….

We joined the Sojourn in LA and disembarked in Taipei at the end of the second segment of the World Cruise 72 days later. Our last trip on the Sojourn had been the last two segments of the 2023 World Cruise from the Seychelles to Barcelona, and we now have about 200 days with Seabourn. We rated the 2023 voyage overall a 9.5/10. This years we would rate an 8.5+ to 9/10, still excellent. Why lower? Not easy to say - just a subjective feel that we cannot quite put our finger on. The Crew and Service was still very good to excellent, food was still very good, wines were very good, welcome improvements had been made to the Room Service Menu as a result of guest feedback, the Cruise Director was as superb as he was last year, the same Captain was outstanding, yet something small and intangible was missing. We still really enjoyed the trip, and we’re not disappointed or complaining - we have booked another cruise on Sojourn in the summer, and a longer one again next year. The one readily identifiable issue though was other guests using smart phones on speaker in public areas for calls or playing video clips. That inconsiderate behaviour needs to be somehow curtailed. As does the playing of music of the “thumper thumper” variety at high volume at times - not always - in F&B outlets, notably at lunch in the Colonnade and at the Patio/Earth and Ocean.It does not suit the demographic of Seabourn guests. In fairness, volume was reduced to acceptable levels when we (and others) complained. Having said all that, Seabourn remains a very attractive option, overall a great product, and the positives significantly outweigh the few negatives - we have no hesitation recommending Seabourn to anyone considering a top of the range cruise.