Best Time to Book A Transatlantic on Seabourn

When is the best time to book a transatlantic on Seabourn? Far out, or wait closer until the sail date. Have been looking at several in 2016 and 2017. Do they normally lower the price after final payment? Thanks

When is the best time to book a transatlantic on Seabourn? Far out, or wait closer until the sail date. Have been looking at several in 2016 and 2017. Do they normally lower the price after final payment? Thanks

The TA's are so cheap anyway that it pays to book early and get the suite that you want,usually mid ship and low down just in case of a bad crossing.

If you wait you could get a suite at the bow and then you'll now about it.

If you don't get sea sick then I suppose anytime although you do take the chance the price will go up.

For the reasons Mr. Luxury mentioned I would book right away as I prefer rooms that are more mid ship and on a crossing would not want to take a chance being all the way forward and in rough seas.

Keith

I find it sickly amusing to read what people on Seabourn should do from those that either have never sailed with Seabourn or haven't sailed in say the last 10 years.

I find it sickly amusing to read what people on Seabourn should do from those that either have never sailed with Seabourn or haven't sailed in say the last 10 years.

Just so you know, I have sailed Seabourn multiple times and the last time I sailed Seabourn was less than 10 years ago.

I have also sailed crossings many times.

And while ships may change, and cruise lines may change, the seas are pretty much the same and the advice has been given is spot on for a trans-atlantic crossing. :)

And on a crossing where seas are very unpredictable the advantage of booking early is indeed to get a suite that is more midship, unless you have no fear of getting sea sick. :eek:

Keith

Just so you know, I have sailed Seabourn multiple times and the last time I sailed Seabourn was less than 10 years ago.

I have also sailed crossings many times.

 

And while ships may change, and cruise lines may change, the seas are pretty much the same and the advice has been given is spot on for a trans-atlantic crossing. :)

 

And on a crossing where seas are very unpredictable the advantage of booking early is indeed to get a suite that is more midship, unless you have no fear of getting sea sick. :eek:

 

Keith

Since you mentioned it, and I haven't done a TA on a big sisters, could you tell me what the difference is motion wise and activity wise between the big and wee ships as sadly all were left with are the bigger sisters?

Since you mentioned it, and I haven't done a TA on a big sisters, could you tell me what the difference is motion wise and activity wise between the big and wee ships as sadly all were left with are the bigger sisters?

If you are prone to seaif the seas are rough then you will feel it no matter what size the ship is and that even includes an ocean liner.

Always wise to book early if you are bothered by the seas no matter what size ship you sail.

Where's a PM feature when you want one? Curious if you've been on the bigger sisters (I haven't:eek:)

Were you perchance on the Harmony for the Fiesta & Jazz cruise out of New Orleans in 1997?

I have some Crystal Q's but this is the wrong forum:)

I agree with Mr. L and Keith: the best time to book is when you decide on your cruise; I have never known Seabourn to lower prices after final payment and I have sailed Seabourn trans-Atlantics for 15 years.

AND to Joe:

I have sailed on all three of the present Seabourn fleet, as well as he three "little sisters"; the larger ships are much more stable since they are 1) newer and 2) larger.

As had been said by two very experienced cruisers, accommodations low and mid-ships are the least likely to be affected by rough seas. Most trans-Atlantic cruisers know this and they also know you cannot predict the motion of the ocean.

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread but I have a somewhat different pricing question. I am considering the December 2016 Odyssey TA and tried a mock booking. My general philosophy is most any cabin is ok on the best ship I can afford so I was looking at oceanview suites.

The first prices I saw for a solo were "from $5248" but when I went to actually select a suite the lowest was $5,598. Is this typical for Seabourn?

I did also try a booking for 2 and the voyage was "from $3,199" on the list of cruises. At the booking stage where I got 5,248 the price shown was 2,999 but the final price of 3,199 matched the initial price quoted; it looks like no attempt to lowball the offering price but the programming seems a bit sloppy.

I have a followup question. The offering was for either a selected cabin or a guarantee. I handle rough seas pretty well; is the chance of an upgrade on a guarantee sufficient to justify having my cabin assigned.

Thanks

Roy

I have a followup question. The offering was for either a selected cabin or a guarantee. I handle rough seas pretty well; is the chance of an upgrade on a guarantee sufficient to justify having my cabin assigned.

On three past OB guarantee bookings, I have been assigned (respectively) a V5, V6, and V4. All three offered buy-ups to a penthouse suite prior to suite assignment.

We have done two TAs on Quest. We booked early, and then watched prices. As the prices dropped (before rising again) we got our agent to contact Seabourn and upgrade our suite. We went from an Ocean View to a V5 Veranda. On the second we went from a Veranda V2 guarantee to a V4.

There is a bit of motion crossing the Atlantic, but the worst we ever experienced was early one morning going into Casablanca - we hit really bizarre high waves and the ship lost HUGE amounts of crystal in the dining rooms and bars, and significant numbers of shower doors! We crawled (not possible to walk, even holding on to the walls) to the bathroom and wedged ours with a towel. The whole episode was decidedly strange, but only lasted a few minutes. ANY ship would have had problems.

We were on that cruise and I heard it was the Pilot who got it wrong and had the ship in the wrong position. The captain was not pleased.:D

We have done two TAs on Quest. We booked early, and then watched prices. As the prices dropped (before rising again) we got our agent to contact Seabourn and upgrade our suite. We went from an Ocean View to a V5 Veranda. On the second we went from a Veranda V2 guarantee to a V4.

 

There is a bit of motion crossing the Atlantic, but the worst we ever experienced was early one morning going into Casablanca - we hit really bizarre high waves and the ship lost HUGE amounts of crystal in the dining rooms and bars, and significant numbers of shower doors! We crawled (not possible to walk, even holding on to the walls) to the bathroom and wedged ours with a towel. The whole episode was decidedly strange, but only lasted a few minutes. ANY ship would have had problems.

Same happened on Regent Voyager a few years back leaving Puerto Chiapas in Mexico. Captain turned the ship to let the pilot off subjecting us to a significant Pacific swell. Boat was rocking all over the place, crockery and glasses smashed and the loudspeaker for the band which was on wheels went racing across the deck but was, fortunately intercepted by a passenger before it crashed into anyone. More seriously, there were two children in the pool and it got very dangerous for them. They had to be rescued by a crew member. The (Italian) captain then came on and tried to make out that this was normal rather than caused by his misjudgment.