My review of our Mumbai to Athens on the Sojourn

I've also posted it in the Reviews section. It is long and detailed so skip to areas of interest to you:

We just returned from a fantastic Middle East cruise on the Sojourn. The cruise could not have been better despite an ominous start due to a late change in the itinerary which left out all Egyptian ports and substituted them with a second day in Israel, a day in Kusadasi and a day in Mykonos (something we managed to solve by organizing a pre-cruise short trip to Cairo and Luxor).

This was our third cruise on Seabourn (Odyssey in 2009 and Spirit in 2012) and the best one yet. In fact, we saw significant improvements, particularly in the service and in the attention paid to the small details; something we truly appreciate and which makes us much more likely to cruise with Seabourn going forward rather than return to Crystal, our line of choice for the past seven years.

There were approximately 360 pax on the 18 night cruise from Mumbai to Athens. There were as many sea days (mostly at the beginning) as there were port days, which we like, as cruising is our way to see the world but also to recharge our batteries from full-time working lives.

Service - attentive, genuine. From our stewardess Nikolett who was prompt and thoughtful and did many little things to make our experience even nicer, to baristas Monika and Reesi serving lattes at the Square with big smiles on their faces, Maria Paula, Paulo, Eugenio and many others from dining services who were calling us by name and remembering our preferences from day one. Handre, our cruise director, is a gem; always there, always helpful and happy. The officers, including the captain, were all very approachable and congenial. Our stewardess was at our cabin within minutes of us embarking and had a chilled bottle of champagne, a fresh appy and the selection of soaps. I told her I really enjoyed taking baths and she immediately brought extra Molton Brown suds for me.

Cabin - perfect. We had a V6 midship (had booked a V1 guarantee) which proved to be in an excellent location for accessing all areas of the ship. The cabin was spotless, spacious and we particularly enjoyed the walk-in closet which kept all of our clothes and shoes organized and out of the way, and the bathroom with its soaker tub which we really appreciated when we were battling a nasty cold or after a long day in port.

Food. Generally very good, a few excellent meals and a couple of not so good ones. We really enjoyed the Colonnade for breakfast and lunch almost every day; sometimes from the buffet and sometimes ordering a la carte from the set menu. The Restaurant food is mostly very good but is missing something; a bit more creativity in the selections and presentation perhaps? We did not go to Restaurant 2 as the week during which the menu seemed to our liking was also the busiest with lots of long days in port. This is perhaps the only area where we felt there is quite a bit of room for improvement the recent announcement regarding the partnership with Thomas Keller should solve these issues.

Outdoor areas – great and varied. Our very favourite is the whirlpool at the front of deck 6 from where we enjoyed many sunsets with a cold cocktail in hand. There are cold drinks, chilled towels and sunscreen regularly brought about. It is always easy to find a nice spot to lounge with a good book, particularly the areas on aft decks 5 and 7. We (and many others) made good use of the jogging track (deck 5) as the weather was very good throughout.

The Ship – in great condition. Did not see any significant wear and tear, minor maintenance being done all the time. The ship is due in dry-dock in May and I understand they will be mostly adding the “Spa Suites” which the other two ships now have and some fixes to the fitness centre which has poor ventilation/air conditioning and repairing/replacing some of the fitness equipment. Not sure what else is scheduled to be done. I must add that I found the size of the ship just about perfect, nothing more than a couple of minutes away and plenty of venues for everything.

Seabourn Square – handy and pleasant. Great place for an early morning coffee and pastry, reading the news or working on my blog in the comfy recliners at the back. Also the go-to place for anything and everything. Lost my reading glasses? no problem, here is a loaner pair for the rest of the cruise.

Music and Dancing – plenty and good. No shortage of venues and opportunities for dancing or simply listening to the guitar (Eli) or piano player (Wayne).

Entertainment – commensurate with the size of the ship. The shows were enjoyable although not high caliber. The entertainers were talented and pleasant but not extraordinary. Two of the three lecturers on board were very good (one not so much) and had really interesting and well-presented lectures or “conversations”.

Fellow passengers – pleasant and friendly. A nice mix with the majority in their 60s and 70s, a small number in their 50s and almost none below that. Generally lively and active, lots of folks in the gym regularly.

Shore excursions – well done. We did a number of them on this itinerary and found them well organized, every tour guide was knowledgeable and spoke very good English. There was cold water available all the time and the group sizes varied between 15 and 25 or so. Although the ship excursions are more expensive than if done independently, we felt we got value for our money knowing that we were in a region where unexpected events happen (for example the horrible the attack on tourists at the museum in Cyprus the week before we left) and wanted to make sure we would never be left behind if returning late to the ship or get any assistance we could need on shore, for example.

Signature event – Beautiful evening concert at Ephesus. This is a very nice complimentary event put on by Seabourn. Approximately 350 pax attended as the Aegean Chamber Orchestra played a lovely program with the Amphitheatre in the background. Wine was served continuously and small spreads of olives and nuts waited at nicely decorated tables for four. As night falls the monuments are illuminated and the character of the site changes completely from that during daytime. When the concert was over we were loaded onto buses for the half hour ride back to Kusadasi. There was a big “Welcome Home” party waiting on the dock with the band playing, hot chocolate and baileys in Champaign flutes handed out. It was really very nice.

Embarkation - weird. This is the first time we've ever experienced embarkation in Mumbai. Contrary to every other port we've been to, the entire process seemed to be in the hands of the Indian military and not Seabourn personnel. It wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t great either.

Disembarkation - painless. Got off the ship quickly and just as quickly retrieved our luggage. We had purchased the transfer to the Athens airport (cheaper than hiring a taxi) and it was very smooth.

To summarize, was everything perfect? Of course not, nothing ever is. There was a missed port (Crete) due to losing an entire day waiting to transit the Suez Canal (weather on the Mediterranean was holding up the south-bound convoy). The captain (and other officers) handled the entire thing very well giving timely information and proper explanations when asked. My fish was overcooked one time, every other time it was cooked to perfection. One night I didn’t care for the white wine offered so I asked for another one; no problem.

Everyone’s experience is different however, including a couple who had a horrible start to the cruise when the ship left Mumbai without them two hours earlier than scheduled (they had been delayed arriving from Katmandu but could have made it to the ship had it departed at the scheduled time). They were ultimately satisfied with Seabourn’s handling of the situation and the efforts made to compensate them (they were only able to embark in Oman four days later) and I don’t know how I would have reacted in their circumstances. Tony and Paula I hope you had a nice and safe trip home!

A big negative, smoking on board. The smoking policy needs to change; there are still many areas of the ship (including cabin verandas) where smoking is permitted and this often has an impact on non-smokers’ enjoyment of the cruise. We made sure to include this in the post-cruise survey.

We are looking forward to our next cruise on Seabourn and excited about their upcoming new ships.

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. It sounds like the cruise was very good, and that is what I would expect from Seabourn. I have enjoyed that Ephesus experience a couple of times and love the return to ship party almost as much as the concert!

Lovely, informative review. Thank you, Claudia.

Thanks for asking, Claudia. Just to add to our adventure, we were bumped from our business class return on United but they were able to get us on a British Airways business class flight just an hour later. Arrived in Houston almost on time. Not to be outdone, BA lost our luggage. It showed up several days later safe and sound.

Thank you for your review. We are thinking of taking a similar cruise next year, and I would appreciate your commentary about what occurred --if anything-- during the Gulf of Aden/Bab-el-Mandeb/Red Sea passage. Were there obvious security personnel stationed about looking for potential pirates? Any naval escort vessels?

Many thanks.

Excellent, honest review.

Thank you for your review. We are thinking of taking a similar cruise next year, and I would appreciate your commentary about what occurred --if anything-- during the Gulf of Aden/Bab-el-Mandeb/Red Sea passage. Were there obvious security personnel stationed about looking for potential pirates? Any naval escort vessels?

 

Many thanks.

When we left Oman there were two (I think) individuals dressed in some sort of uniform/fatigues and carrying big cases who joined the ship and (rather non-obtrusively) kept an eye on the seas at all times from the open decks. The aft portions of deck 6 were roped off and a couple of pirate-repelling noise devices were installed. I also observed that there was not a moment when an officer on the bridge was not scanning the seas with binoculars during those days. After three days they (and the extra equipment) disappeared. There were no naval escorts at any time that I could see although I believe that all convoys transiting the Suez canal do have escorts.

Thankfully there were no incidents and there was a good presentation put on by one of the lecturers which explained the decline in pirate attacks in the region due to all the learnings of the past few years which have resulted on various standard procedures implemented to avoid them/protect against them.

We did watch "Captain Phillips" on board :)

When we left Oman there were two (I think) individuals dressed in some sort of uniform/fatigues and carrying big cases who joined the ship and (rather non-obtrusively) kept an eye on the seas at all times from the open decks. The aft portions of deck 6 were roped off and a couple of pirate-repelling noise devices were installed. I also observed that there was not a moment when an officer on the bridge was not scanning the seas with binoculars during those days. After three days they (and the extra equipment) disappeared. There were no naval escorts at any time that I could see although I believe that all convoys transiting the Suez canal do have escorts.

 

Thankfully there were no incidents and there was a good presentation put on by one of the lecturers which explained the decline in pirate attacks in the region due to all the learnings of the past few years which have resulted on various standard procedures implemented to avoid them/protect against them.

 

We did watch "Captain Phillips" on board :)

Thanks for the feedback.. Was the movie shown in the theatre, or did you just download it for your own viewing? :)

Thanks for the feedback.. Was the movie shown in the theatre, or did you just download it for your own viewing? :)

Just on the in-suite entertainment :) showing it on the theatre may have freaked some folks I suppose.