Sea days - too much of a good thing?

We are looking at the 29 day Route of the Conquistadors for March to April 2015 and are sorely tempted. It runs from Manaus, down the Amazon, up to the Caribbean, on to Fort Lauderdale and then transatlantic to Barcelona. However, my only reservation is the transatlantic section, from Fort Lauderdale to Funchal, Madeira, which is nine straight sea days, then a day in Funchal and a further three sea days before reaching Barcelona.

Now, I've very much enjoyed sea days on Seabourn, even when there have been a few together, but is nine too many? Obviously not everyone will think so, or they wouldn't run the cruise, but are we likely to go stir crazy? Trivia, even with elaborations like fancy dress, can only take up so much time. I do love to read and sew, and would try to spend at least part of the time editing photos etc, and DH would work on his Open University course. I certainly think the full internet package (with all its limitations) would be a necessity, for us at least. And we would have to make an effort to get some exercise.

We need to check DHs work commitments before deciding, but I don't want to go and feel trapped on board, IYKWIM.

So, what do you think?

We are looking at the 29 day Route of the Conquistadors for March to April 2015 and are sorely tempted. It runs from Manaus, down the Amazon, up to the Caribbean, on to Fort Lauderdale and then transatlantic to Barcelona. However, my only reservation is the transatlantic section, from Fort Lauderdale to Funchal, Madeira, which is nine straight sea days, then a day in Funchal and a further three sea days before reaching Barcelona.

 

 

 

Now, I've very much enjoyed sea days on Seabourn, even when there have been a few together, but is nine too many? Obviously not everyone will think so, or they wouldn't run the cruise, but are we likely to go stir crazy? Trivia, even with elaborations like fancy dress, can only take up so much time. I do love to read and sew, and would try to spend at least part of the time editing photos etc, and DH would work on his Open University course. I certainly think the full internet package (with all its limitations) would be a necessity, for us at least. And we would have to make an effort to get some exercise.

 

 

 

We need to check DHs work commitments before deciding, but I don't want to go and feel trapped on board, IYKWIM.

 

 

 

So, what do you think?

You will no doubt get many enthusiastic comments from the many CCers who love transatlantics and their sea days. Some pick cruises with many sea days because they are a bargain .My DH and I fall into the other camp of cruisers who try to find cruises with few to no sea days. Whenever we have been on a cruise with two sea days in a row we have almost gone crazy.Yes there are lectures --- usually less than interesting IMHO.We are not trivia buffs. And while I love to read I can only sit for so long.We are very active but since we find gyms boring we do laps(which are only slightly less boring). And so we tend to drink and eat more than usual.We love ports because we can wander around a town or hike up a hill.The bottom line is you have to know yourself and not just take advice of those with different interests. We started to get caught up in the excitement of the final Pride cruise---a transatlantic--- and looked into booking it before we came to our senses.We are cruising on the other two small ships this year and thought adding the Pride would complete a farewell trifecta. Then we realized even with the great crew, wonderful festivities, and no doubt many fellow longtime SeBourn cruisers we would be miserable. If your gut tells you it may be too many sea days maybe you should listen to it.

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We did this same trip in2013, and enjoyed the sea days however we did have very good weather, warm and flat calm apart from the 24 hours before Funchal.

Everyone has to clear the ship in Fort Lauderdale and we took a cab to one of the many malls to have a “change of scenery” prior to re boarding and again in Funchal spent as much time as possible off the ship.

We had two excellent lecturers on board but I would say that on average they attracted around 50 passengers for each lecture, I enjoyed the activities such as golf and shuffle board again however less than 10 passengers participated in each. As ever the gregarious nature of fellow passengers means the time flies by as many happy hours can be spent over lunch or enjoying a drink in the sunshine.

As Chairsin says it’s horses for courses and if you have the time it beats flying back to Europe, if you have any specific questions about the trip please ask and I will try to help

We are looking at the 29 day Route of the Conquistadors for March to April 2015 and are sorely tempted. It runs from Manaus, down the Amazon, up to the Caribbean, on to Fort Lauderdale and then transatlantic to Barcelona. However, my only reservation is the transatlantic section, from Fort Lauderdale to Funchal, Madeira, which is nine straight sea days, then a day in Funchal and a further three sea days before reaching Barcelona.

 

Now, I've very much enjoyed sea days on Seabourn, even when there have been a few together, but is nine too many? Obviously not everyone will think so, or they wouldn't run the cruise, but are we likely to go stir crazy? Trivia, even with elaborations like fancy dress, can only take up so much time. I do love to read and sew, and would try to spend at least part of the time editing photos etc, and DH would work on his Open University course. I certainly think the full internet package (with all its limitations) would be a necessity, for us at least. And we would have to make an effort to get some exercise.

 

We need to check DHs work commitments before deciding, but I don't want to go and feel trapped on board, IYKWIM.

 

So, what do you think?

I'll be doing close to that many sea days (8 in a row) from St. Thomas to Barcelona on one of the smaller sisters. It will be interesting trying to stay entertained.;)

We were on the same Quest cruise last October and we enjoyed the sea days, but I think we only had four consecutive ones on that cruise. We have been on other cruises on much larger ships with as many as seven sea days in a row. Frankly, we found that by day 5 or 6 we were ready to be on dry land for awhile despite the many activities offered.

.. and DH would work on his Open University course. I certainly think the full internet package (with all its limitations) would be a necessity, for us at least. And we would have to make an effort to get some exercise.

 

We need to check DHs work commitments before deciding, but I don't want to go and feel trapped on board, IYKWIM.

 

So, what do you think?

My DH is also a University Professor and needs to stay connected for his research.

He would go wild if connections were not optimal in so many days. If this is not the case, go for it and enjoy!!

We love both port days and sea days. I think this is so much a matter of individual taste, need for stimulation, and need for relaxation. We spend many of our Sea days consolidating the friendships that we've made on board. I'm university professor myself, and so do end up carving out parts of most Sea days for work on the Internet. The unlimited Internet access package is one of the great bargains on Seabourn!

You will no doubt get many enthusiastic comments from the many CCers who love transatlantics and their sea days. Some pick cruises with many sea days because they are a bargain .My DH and I fall into the other camp of cruisers who try to find cruises with few to no sea days. Whenever we have been on a cruise with two sea days in a row we have almost gone crazy.Yes there are lectures --- usually less than interesting IMHO.We are not trivia buffs. And while I love to read I can only sit for so long.We are very active but since we find gyms boring we do laps(which are only slightly less boring). And so we tend to drink and eat more than usual.We love ports because we can wander around a town or hike up a hill.The bottom line is you have to know yourself and not just take advice of those with different interests. We started to get caught up in the excitement of the final Pride cruise---a transatlantic--- and looked into booking it before we came to our senses.We are cruising on the other two small ships this year and thought adding the Pride would complete a farewell trifecta. Then we realized even with the great crew, wonderful festivities, and no doubt many fellow longtime SeBourn cruisers we would be miserable. If your gut tells you it may be too many sea days maybe you should listen to it.

 

 

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I think Chairsin's advice is excellent. So some serious soul-searching before making the commitment. That having been said (typed?), I love at-sea days, but I bring lots of hobbies with me to pass the time. I love to sleep late and let the day roll out in front of me. I do spend an inordinate amount of time at the fitness center, and internet is an absolute necessity. I do admit, however, that after a transatlantic, I am ready to hit the road running.

I agree with the others that it is certainly personal taste!! And personally, we prefer little to no sea days. However my husband and I did have the opportunity to sail on the Sojourn in the Caribbean this fall. The itinerary had two sea days on each end with 5 port days in the middle. As luck would have it, all 5 of our port days were rain, hence, we had mostly sea days on the ship.

We did enjoy sleeping in with no schedule, but the days tended to revolve around lounging on deck, reading, doing computer (we did have the internet), trivia etc, all planned around breakfast, coffee, lunch, tea, cocktails before dinner, then dinner. Lots of eating and "haningout". While very enjoyable, I did go a bit stir crazy, and we will be sticking to port intensive in the future...!

We just finished the first part of this trip -- Manaus to Fort Lauderdale. Take a careful look at the ports. You will find that several on the Amazon portion, and Devil's Island, are quite short. So you will probably have quite a few "half sea days."

We found this an enjoyable trip, but not my favorite. I think I am a more port intensive type.

Sea days are definitely a personal thing, as others have expressed. For me, bring them on, I like the freedom of just enjoying what the ship has to offer with no constraints on be back by..., but have also done port intensive cruises. We did a similar cruise last year as mpfund - and were disappointed with the ports in Brazil, not so much for the time there, rather for what there was to actually see or do. But totally loved seeing the Amazon, something I never imagined I would get to experience.

Thank you all for your replies. I can see the point of those who feel stir crazy at the thought of such a prolonged sea-leg, but I think we're leaning towards taking the trip. We have done a Cunard Southampton to NY and back, which is six days each way, without a problem (although I think our then teenage son was a bit bored, our also teenaged daughter was perfectly happy) and the TA leg is such good value, with no luggage restrictions! I predict a bit of excess baggage payment in Barcelona for the final flight home!

We've still not committed, but definitely leaning towards it. DH would work on his dissertation and I would take sewing and crafting supplies, as well as as many eBooks as I can fit on my iPad and Kindle! It would be a good opportunity to do a self-paced photography course, or learn the intricacies of digital scrapbooking, I suppose!

When we first started cruising (oh, so many years ago now!!), we avoided cruises with sea days. Now, some 30 years and 61 cruise later, we love days at sea and look forward to cruises that offer them as we find them to be very restful and allow us to enjoy more of the ship, crew and fellow pax.

As for sea days in a row, we've done a number of trans-atlantics on the QM2 that take 7 days with no ports of call. It's our absolute favourite way to cross the pond and we do it whenever we can. And we will have quite a few days at sea on our next b2b Seabourn cruises from Athens to Singapore.

Just a few caveats: we always buy a big internet package as the ability to keep in touch makes sea days more useful. We make an effort to do and see more on the ship during sea days when we are less tired from shorex. And we tend to drink more on sea days as it is always better to enjoy a hangover when one doesn't have to wake up early to take a shorex!!

We just returned from the Quest FL to Barcelona and had a wonderful time .. our experience is that you will be with a ship full of like minded travellers who love the sea days .. :)

Yes, we stopped at Funchal but would have been just as happy to sail on by .. :)

Allan

After a TA crossing I've come to the conclusion that the sea days went by rather too quickly for me even without attending lectures, playing games or the like. At that same time by the end of the cruise I was looking forward to being on land again.