Kane

My personal take is that it was a less than optimum business decision. Expedition cruises sound very good and, I admit, our Antarctica cruise was a life experience. The problem question is: would we be interested in a second Antarctica visit, or Greenland, or Northwest Passage? Not especially because seeing additional frozen wilderness becomes pretty Meh, and a bit pricey. So, what other areas of the world would entice an Expedition voyage? Tracking down the natives of Papua New Guinea jungles? Would there be enough folks interested in that to fill up a few ships? Animal expeditions accessible from ships? Galapagos is well covered for that. The really good animal viewing is by land safari. The undersea is already pretty well included in the submarines found on the new Expedition ships. To expand this, figuring out how to get hundreds of passengers down six-at-a-time might become a problem. Scuba and snorkeling is easier but pretty well covered, and by ships that are not necessarily expedition equipped. Seems to me that the Expedition market may already be full. Oh well.

I agree that remembering room numbers of hundreds of guests is not a reasonable task. Realize this: once you are at your table, your waiter will have your name on his/her order tablets. Further, he/she will have (and probably mention) any allergies that you may have identified. Segue back to Solis: If you enjoy sessions with one or more of the "Conversationalists" on board, be aware that they cannot attend Solis unless invited by a passenger. They are open to and appreciate such invitations. It could even possibly even get you an additional Solis dinner.

Having recently returned from a Seabourn voyage, I visited this forum to contribute what we experienced on our sailing both good and bad. What I see on these boards make me wonder whether Seabourn could be adrift at Sea. Basically, they have decided that Expedition sailing was the business model of the future and have gone "all in", but it does not seem to be working out. They launched two new smaller Expedition ships and sold the Odyssey. On our cruise (Quest), there was a big presentation of all the wonderful things about the Expedition ships. Luxury cruising, but with smaller limited venues. Daily presentations by the Expedition staff on the area in which the voyage was sailing in a new high-tech lounge. Seabourn seems to have Antarctica nailed down, as our earlier Quest voyage there was well done. Friends of ours recently returned from there on one of the new Expedition ships. The visit was good, but the "luxury cruising" aspect was a bit lacking. The boards now report some alarming developments: 1) Seabourn is chartering Expedition ships to 3rd party companies. What is the deal with this? 2) Expedition voyages outside of Antarctica seem to be lacking in details such as planning and excursions. 3) World class expert "Conversation" speakers on areas visited seem to be missing. 4) Communications from Seabourn is close to absent. What is going on, and will it improve? I feel bad about this. Is it possible that "Luxury cruising" and "Expedition" is an oxymoron?

I've never put this in writing but here is the wrap on how these fiascoes get worked out. Flight Ease is only a mechanism to allow you to get a booking and then go and try to beat the price by making your own arrangements. Once final payment date arrives, if you stay with their offer, your deal is now between you, the airline, and cruise line. We did this on a Seabourn Antarctica voyage that got mucked when United dropped the ball in Newark and we missed the flight to Buenos Aires to meet the Quest. United (sort of) fixed it by routing us to Montevideo via Lima on LATAM one day late to meet the ship. Our luggage, with all our Arctic clothes, did not make it. Think about that, aboard a ship headed for Antarctica with no clothes, winter or otherwise. We were not happy campers and just wanted to go home. This is where Seabourn takes over. They pay for a hire car to take us to a shopping center for a couple of hours to "clothe" ourselves (with our own money). This was a nice gesture. They also give us $100 in shipboard credits to spend in the on-board shop ... that, at least, gave us something to chuckle at. After sailing, the first port was Stanley in the Falkland Islands. We spent the day in the combo supermarket/department store where Stanleyites feed and clothe themselves. Not up to "formal night" standards but we were pretty much able to get ourselves outfitted for Antarctica. The ship provided or loaned us the rest. Our luggage caught up with us in Ushuaia after Antarctica. On return home, we spent months filing claims with the airlines. In the end, we did get refunds from them. Ours might have been and extreme case, but Seabourn most likely deals with such incidents on a regular basis. We were not made whole, but I must say that it could not have been handled much better than it was. Being a Karen and pounding on the desk will not make an impossible situation disappear. One needs to work toward and live with the best possible outcome.

I would suggest that you CAREFULLY read the documentation. We have been through this issue. The cruise line say they will help you (coordinate) if the airline screws up and you don't make it to the ship in time for embarkation. They DO NOT say they will wait for you or make you financially or emotionally whole. Basically, if the airline screws up, the cruise line will not bear responsibility for such screw up.

Here's a tip contra to the complexity of Solis: Take a look at the daily menu summary and pay special attention to Earth and Sea, which is the Patio in the evening. It's informal and al fresco with basically only two entrees. Note: if the entree appeals to your liking, be aware that it is EXCELLENTLY DONE. The only downside is that you have to choose nights that agree with your taste in cuisine. As stated, it is an informal setting but fun. They jazz things up with a special foo-foo smoky starter.

We were placed in the W hotel for our pre-sailing night. Quite nice. Friends of ours (on same voyage) took the Rome pre package and were placed in the Rome Grand Hotel Palace right down the block. Also a nice hotel. Both, of course, included all airport and ship transfers.

We were on the Tokyo prelim at the Hilton last year. There are LOTS of restaurants in the immediate area located in the basements of the high-rises around the hotel.

The ships these days don't have large computer centers because most folks are using mobile phones for most tasks. The business center on the Explorer class ships have at least four to six desktops and a printer. The IT "guru" is also there during his/her hours to trouble shoot for folks having mobile phone connection problems. The desktops get the most use near the end of the cruise when folks begin to submit their reviews, which is a hassle on a mobile phone.

This does seem quite an odd development that makes corporate direction a bit discombobulated. We just returned from a Seabourn voyage where public goodbyes were made for the upcoming Odyssey departure. This was offset by a slick theater presentation of the new Venture ships as the future of Seabourn, which may now be smoke and mirrors? Huh?

We just returned from the Quest. In our experience the Solis cuisine is the best on the ship but, in fact, does have drawbacks. The main drawback is that it is of a size that will only permit one meal per week because of the size of the venue. The Solis menu is poorly organized overly complex. It's probably done that way to make it seem special, but the diner has difficulty determining where each of the meal classifications are; e.g., appetizers, types of mains, sides, etc. Too foo-foo and confusing. Comments about wine upsells are true. No mention of included wines are made unless asked. With Solis being the best, cuisine in Restaurant and Colonnade are somewhat meh. The transition from what is on the menu to what appears on the plate somehow gets lost. There are, of course, some very good exceptions but generally, a high level of consistency is not there. It takes about a week to learn to read the menus in the morning and select the best options for the day. We, of course, were never hungry and left the ship having eaten more than we should have.

We disembarked the Quest a few days ago. When we boarded, they asked about any allergies. I casually mentioned an allergy to crustaceans (shrimp, crabs, lobster), although I am not to the point where I need to carry an epi-pen. They obviously input these things into their system because the servers have this information on their order tablets. They mention the allergy almost every time they take a meal order. I've never seen this level of detail and awareness on any other cruise line. You should be well taken care of.

We just disembarked Quest a few days ago. Sushi in the Club is excellent but not a meal. There are basically five things you can order: 1) Sashimi, 2) Nigiri, 3) Maki (Nori rolls), 4) Rolled (no Nori), and 5) Hand rolled (in cone-shaped Nori). Tip: If the Earth and Ocean items appeal to you that day, sushi at the Club is a great stop for appetizers.

Whatever your position on this issue, I think everyone will agree that it is orders of magnitude better than it was 10 years ago. I remember having to spend the last two days of a cruise chasing down staff all over the ship to slip each of them a gratuity. It was enough to really leave a bad taste in one's mouth about cruising.

I don't think you can change the TT number at the airport. According to Google: "No, you cannot change your trusted traveler number at the airport. These programs, like TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, are managed by separate government agencies and require updating your information online or through their designated channels."