SEABOURN SOJOURN REPORT

Overall Impression

The Seabourn Sojourn is a very classy ship with light and bright décor and soothing atmosphere. The cabins are well designed and the public rooms are spacious with comfortable furnishings. The public rooms are all at the aft of the ship and cabins forward.  The new Seabourn ships are featuring this layout rather than focusing around a center atrium or having all public spaces on the same decks.  The advantage is that there are no aft cabins but that also means those that enjoy an aft cabin with a big deck cannot find that type of cabin on this type of ship design.  Only exception to the aft location for public rooms is the Observation Lounge which of course is forward on the top passenger deck. There is a circular stairway between decks ending with a large sky light in the center of the ship. Food was very good.  Overall this is a wonderful product.

Standard Cabins – 300 sq. ft interior space and a 65 sq. ft balcony

The décor features light woods, with brown and beige coloring for the accent pillows, couch and drapes. A clock is mounted on the wall, and that makes no noise. The bedside lamps are mounted on the wall with a small flexible reading light attached which is very handy.

Storage and usable space

This is the best storage we have seen in a cabin of this size.  Across from the bed is a narrow wall storage unit. This is probably about 14” deep and about 7’ long.  There are three set of doors and two shelves the length of the cabinet. Lots of storage space plus a counter top that is very handy.  There are two triple compartment cabinets.  One houses the refrigerator, mini bar, fruit and glasses.  The second cabinet houses 3 drawers, the television and two shelves.  The vanity table has 30” large drawer, one 110 and one 220 outlet. No mirrors to see the back of your hair.  The closet has two 4’ single hanging racks and one 4’ single hanging rack, 5 drawers, two shelves and a safe that is about 18” x 12”.  End tables are about 18” feature a shelf and two drawers.   There is no desk but a 3’x 2’ table with a chair on each side.   It is a little high for a computer table or for dining but works well enough. A small cube slips under the desk that also features a wooden removable top.  This actually was very handy and the stewardess uses this to hold the nightly paperwork on your bed.

Walking around space is also very good.  The distance between the end of the bed and wall cabinet is about 30” quite adequate. The living area feels more spacious than most cabins of this size. There is a 5’ couch and two small leather arm chairs but these are not oversized and this probably helps with the space. The bed next to the wall is the only problem this is very tight probably only about 12’ from the bed once the bed is made up and you feel like you are going to bang into that wall.

Bathroom is very nice.  A white and brown granite combination, double sinks, full size bathtub and separate shower.  Storage features two small shelves and one wall medicine cabinet plus a shelf under the sinks on both sides.  A large free standing magnifying mirror is in the bathroom.

Other details on the standard cabins

As with most ships there are not enough outlets in the cabin.  At the table on the floor level is a plug outlet that is difficult to reach with a 110 and 220 volt plugs.  At the vanity table there is a 110 and 220 plug, the 110 outlet does not work for all hair appliances depending on the configuration of the plug some plugs will not fit.  In the cabinet housing the mini bar is a 220 outlet. With all the computers, camera and cell charging, and other electrical appliances this is just not enough outlets for a new ship.

The flat screen TV is a little small and the shelf holding the TV does not extend out far enough to give the best angle for viewing from the bed.  The on demand entertainment system features a nice range of movies and TV shows.  BCC, CNBC, CNN, FOX are the offered news channels and there are two euro sport channels.

PENTHOUSE SUITES – 436 sq. ft. interior space with 98 sq. ft. balcony

These are wonderful accommodations with an entirely different layout. There is a long desk area along the wall with plug outlets for computers and electrical appliances along the side.  The bedroom area is in a glass enclosed square in the center of the cabin with a large flat screen TV and vanity area with side mirrors so you can see the back of your hair.  The glass surrounding the bed area has a pattern and of course a drape can be drawn for more privacy. The lounge area is also large with nice furnishings and a secondary large flat screen TV and table with four chairs.   The bathroom is an entirely different configuration and is much larger.  The toilet with a sink area is accessible to guests without entering the entire bathroom area. The bathroom features a whirlpool tub and larger walk in shower and double sinks. This suite also features a larger walk through closet between the bedroom and the bathroom area.

THE WINTERGARDEN SUITE – 914 sq. ft. with 183 sq. ft. balcony

This is probably the nicest large suite I have ever seen.  The living area is very spaciouse with a large circular sectional sofa, a big screen TV, a dining table with six chairs and a wall desk unit. There is a walk in wet bar complete with espresso machine.  The large balcony features two separate areas. Off the lounge is a sunning area with table and chairs for four, and lounge chairs and off the bedroom is a large freestanding bathtub with sofa and chairs with blinds for privacy in port. The bedroom also has a large flat screen TV and the adjoining bathroom is big and features a huge round whirlpool tub, larger glass enclosed shower, and double sinks. The closet area is also much bigger. It would certainly be a wonderful experience to stay in this cabin on a cruise.

RESTAURANTS AND FOOD

The Restaurant

A long walkway with lighted white columns on each side leads the way to the main restaurant featuring a white and cream décor.  There is one small bench in the large area outside the restaurant that could only seat about three to four people. There should be more seating here and probably that will come in the future. On all the tables there are white roses in a contemporary low glass container. They look great – they are not real roses but the effect is wonderful, many thought they were real roses.

The dinner menu is laid out in the following way.  They have FIRST COURSE then MAIN COURSE.  The FIRST COURSE has three appetizers, two soups and two salads. There is no clear division between these items so guests at our table thought you could only order “one” first course. MAIN COURSE selections are four mains and a vegetarian dish. A simplicity section offers the same items each night, chicken breast, salmon, pasta, lamp chops and a filet mignon.

The lunch menu features basically the same items that are offered upstairs in the Colannade.  We did not see any items on the lunch Restaurant menu that could not be found at the Colannade.

The large breakfast menu has all the offering one could wish for similar to all the other luxury cruise lines.

Restaurant 2

The décor is dark featuring red, black and brown with almost a contemporary Asian flair. This is a small reservations only restaurant that only seats about 50 people.  This restaurant offers a set tasting menu of 7 courses with most courses featuring 3 items.  The servings are tiny, two bites at most.  The dinner is served with explanations about each items and finishing touches added at the table.  A unique idea and everything was excellent, fun for a night. There are seven different menus featured.  At this time reservations are only accepted 48 hours in advance. That means you have to keep calling when they open at 6.00 pm each night hoping for a reservation for that night or the next night. This seems an ineffective way to handle this and probably the system will change with time.

The Colonnade - casual dining

The Colannade Restaurant is a very nice venue featuring a warm and inviting earth tones décor with a combination of normal tables and chairs and a high counter bar with stools and an outside on deck area.   This restaurant serves a buffet breakfast and lunch during the daytime and a la carte dining at night. 

The breakfast buffet offers almost everything you could wish for all the traditional items along with made to order eggs. 

The lunch buffets are excellent.  A square serving island features salads, cold seafood and deserts with a choice of four different ice creams. Six large chafing dishes feature hot dishes and another small area features a carving station and about eight additional hot items. Each day a featured pasta and fish dish along with simplicity items such as chicken breast, hamburgers and salmon are offered by table service.  The selection of hot dishes is superior to most cruise lines I have experienced, however the desserts are more limited in selection and no hot dessert is offered. The salad and cold seafood offerings are similar to those on other luxury cruise lines.

For dinner the theme changes each night and features different ethnic cuisines.  On a formal night an “elegant” theme is offered so you can dine without having to dress in formal attire and the Colannade restaurant features the same prime items offered in the main Restaurant.

The Grill

Outdoor dining featuring the normal salads and cooked to order simplicity items are featured at breakfast and lunch.  In the evening the grill is open for outdoor deck dining and features a more upscale menu with a Filet Mignon, Rib Eye, Lamb Rack chops, fish of the day and a vegetarian option.

The Seabourn Square – a wonderful concept

A wonderful addition to any ship and I believe this concept is going to be very popular on any new builds in the future.  A combination coffee shop with light fare of cookies, pastries, sandwiches, ice cream and specialty coffees and teas coupled with the computer center, tour and guest services facilities, library books and the shops. This is a large space with extensive seating with all the tables featuring an orchid in a contemporary low glass container.  Again silk not real orchids however I like the look and found it very appealing. 

The front wall of the square is the coffee shop. The back wall of the square is all glass with a wonderful view from the back of the ship. In front of this area are many chairs and tables and some remote control lounging chairs that are very comfortable.  In the center of the room is a secondary square that internally houses the tour desk and guest services desks. On two of the outside walls of the center square are the two banks of computers – four on each side with a printer in the middle.

Probably a highlight on this new ship, the extensive seating with all this activity available in one space is really convenient for the guests.  There was a long line for the tour desk that backed up to the coffee counter and a slight alteration in traffic flow may adjust this situation.

Afternoon Tea

This is held in the Club on deck 5.  Exotic teas and a single area for an afternoon treat featuring sandwiches and pastries.  There are also two warm offerings, scones and then a daily special such as crepes or cheese blintzes.  On a sea days it appeared this was the same situation no gala afternoon teas.  The scones were absolutely terrific. Light and fluffy best scones I have had in years.

Comments on the food and service staff

The food overall was very good, of course food is very subjective to each person’s tastes so these comments are only my opinion.  I believe lunch in the Colannade is better than most ships. The hot items were the difference with five chafing dishes a carving station and eight other hot offerings.    The desserts were not as plentiful or as inspiring as we would have expected. The main restaurant dinners were the same as other luxury ships. Some items exceeded our expectations some items were not as good as we have had in the past. There is an effort to go a “step beyond” in the style of serving for example pouring the soup at the table instead of prior to serving.

No self service coffee espresso machines anywhere on the ship.  The lack of the self service machines created delays for service in the coffee bar and I think would speed things up if offered. This is true particularly for people who simply want tea or a basic coffee and do not need a drink made to order. I think the desire here to offer more service by having everything done to order actually detracts from the overall experience as you have to wait for service instead of just making your own tea or coffee that many people prefer to do. The only place I saw any self service was outside the lounge for lectures there is self service cold drinks and thermos coffee and hot water for tea

The service staff was very good with a huge contingent of South Africans on board along with Europeans. We did not see one food or housekeeping service person from the Philippines a common source for staff on both Regent and Silversea. Although friendly there is a distinctly more formal service atmosphere on board.

DRESS CODE -There are three dress codes after 6.00 pm in the evening.

Casual: No jacket required,

Elegant Casual:  Jacket required but tie optional

Formal Optional: This was the most contradictory situation based on the information we got from the Seabourn reservation center, the web site and then once on the ship.  Once here we discovered that to eat in the dining room you MUST have either a tuxedo or black suit on formal night nothing else is acceptable. For those who prefer not to dress formally the Colannade Restaurant with the prime items from the formal dinner is available.

There is definitely a higher standard dress code here. A man would have to bring a jacket.

In contrast Regent’s Elegant Casual does not require a man to wear a jacket at any time.

PASSENGER MIX

We sailed on an active Baltic’s itinerary.  The mix of guests ranged from the wheelchairs group to probably mid fifties, a few children that were no issue at all.  What was surprising was the number of Europeans and Australians on board.

The ship has subdued and more formal attitude.  This starts with the upscale décor through out with solid colored leather chairs and no wild colors or fabrics. Afternoon tea people speak softly, even in the Seabourn Square it is quieter than one would expect with that many people around.   Sitting in the Observation Lounge is very tranquil. This is not a negative it is simply a different atmosphere that many may appreciate and prefer. 

Self service laundry rooms

Two laundry rooms are offered on deck 5 with two sets of machines per laundry room.

THE SPA

A lot of space is devoted to the spa. The exercise room offers about six treadmills and other equipment and is open to all guests.  

A $300 per person charge offers access to the facilities of the spa for the voyage. This includes a steam and sauna room and a beautiful area with a small walking pool filled half with hot water and half cold water surrounded by lounging chairs including stone heated loungers. A private sun deck and whirlpool is available for spa guests.

A private spa villa featuring a Balinese style bed, large bathtub for bathing rituals, two treatment tables, a dining table and a private deck area at the front of the ship.  Prices start at $650 for 2 ½ hours and if you take the spa villa for four hours or more you can have a meal in the villa.

Of course any treatments are at an additional cost and the lounging areas are available pre and post treatments for a specified time period.

THE INTERNET PACKAGES

Explorer: $9.99:        

One hour actual on line time used as you please over multiple days or sessions

Business User: $39.99:

Good for unlimited access for 24 consecutive hours from initial log in

Always Connected: $234:

Unlimited access for seven days

Loyalty: $399:           

Unlimited access during your cruise of any length

The internet is a little faster here than we have experienced before but there are far fewer people using the internet probably due to the cost.

ENTERTAINMENT

There is a nightly show, comedian, guitarist, singer etc. They do not do the big broadway type shows that are on larger ships but do have a group of singers. There is duo that play and sing dance type music in the club and a pianist in the observation lounge.  Quiet piano music is present at tea time.

CARD ROOM

A large card room features many tables and bridge is of course the primary usage for this room.

CASINO
Small with a craps and roulette table, some blackjack tables and a wall of slot machines, it was not very busy on our trip.

TRIVIA

Seabourn ships only held trivia on sea days at 12.00 noon.  Teams can be up to 12 and the answers are given by each team following a set of three questions.  Fifteen questions altogether.  About 30 people turned up for trivia. The winning team received Seabourn bookmarks.

SEA DAY LECTURES AND GAMES

On the sea days there were guest lecturers that were related to the area we were travelling.  There were also a few games available.

DECK WALKING

You can not walk totally around the ship. On deck 5 you can do a horse-shoe type walk turning around and returning in the direction from which you came and do the majority of the ship.

DECK FOR YOUR CABIN

Deck 4 offers forward non balcony cabins and the only other public room is the dining room.  Deck 5, 6 and 7 are the only decks where you can go from the front to the back of the ship without having to go outside over the decks.  Deck 8, 9, 10 you can access public aft rooms by taking the elevator to 5, 6 or 7 and crossing over.