Seabourn Odyssey Transatlantic, December 7, 2016

It’s a long way off but I want to get this thread established before I leave home this week. This will be my first voyage on Seabourn but in the meantime I have a transatlantic and cruise with Cunard.

The Odyssey makes only one stop on it’s way from Lisbon to Ft. Laudredale. It will be my first planned visit to Funchal. I was there in 2009 on the Wind Surf when some supplies were too late to reach the ship in Lisbon, but there were no tours planned.

My style is narrative with a companion blog https://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com/ which will pictures and copies of menus and programs. I will link to a few selected photos in my posts.

I will respond to questions, but you may need some patience. When I buy internet by the minute I try to go online once a day and can usually wrap things up in about 30 minutes. In that case I will download replies to the thread by an email digest and respond the following day. If there is good and/or unlimited internet I should be a bit more prompt.

I love transatlantics; Odyssey will be my 24th on everything from a freighter to Wind Star to Allure OTS. I leave home Thursday and will board QM2 Saturday. If anyone may be interested here’s my Cunard thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2420717

Roy

I love transatlantics; Odyssey will be my 24th on everything from a freighter to Wind Star to Allure OTS. I leave home Thursday and will board QM2 Saturday. If anyone may be interested here’s my Cunard thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2420717

 

Roy

Wonderful Roy. Have always thought transatlantic could be fun but have been worried about rough seas.... what do you love about them?

Bon voyage Roy.

See you in Lisbon.

Roy is a terrific blogger. Roy has a terrific blog on the Northwest Passage on the Crystal Serenity a couple of months ago. I can't wait to follow your Seabourn blog.

Will see you on-board Roy. Welcome to the Seabourn way of sailing. Cheers!

Thank you Suite Travels, zentraveler, 2SailingNomads, and FlyingScotSailors. zentraveler, I love sea days, just being at sea. Things will vary by ship but if on the right ship you have a great choice of lots of activities or time to chill, read, and watch the sea go by.

2SailingNomads, and FlyingScotSailors, I hope to see you by the Yellow Balloon in the Observation Bar at sailaway. I have just one concern about that. I know there will be no new smoke; just a bit apprehensive that there will be some lingering effects for the first day or two. I suspect Seabourn has that pretty well in hand.

Roy

Roy - Bon voyage and certainly looking forward to following along again

It seems Seabourn is "on the list" for many of us who frequent Crystal - the current poll @ http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2420522 on options to Crystal has Seabourn at the top

We will be keen to hear your views and a comparison between the two

zentraveler, I love sea days, just being at sea. Things will vary by ship but if on the right ship you have a great choice of lots of activities or time to chill, read, and watch the sea go by.

Roy

Thanks Roy. That is just what I figured, and I also love at sea days. Am assuming the Atlantic crossings are not rough in the open sea or I don't imagine people would like it so much. For some reason I always though that was a common thing or at least a likely risk.

Thanks Roy. That is just what I figured, and I also love at sea days. Am assuming the Atlantic crossings are not rough in the open sea or I don't imagine people would like it so much. For some reason I always though that was a common thing or at least a likely risk.

I'll try to keep my eyes our for that but I may not be a very good source. I think I have pretty good sea legs. Sea conditions are somewhat predictable but also quite random. In additions, the ride is highly affected by the size and design of a ship. Finally, the North Atlantic tends to be rougher than the southern route from the Med to Florida.

I have done fall transatlantics the past 2 years, in each going East on QM2. The first year my return was on the Wind Star from Lisbon. The second was on the Allure of the Seas from Rome. On the Allure the greater size and southern route pretty much made a wash in sea conditions vs QM2. I was pretty lucky on the Wind Star but the evening we left Lisbon things got so rough they lost quite a few dishes. You never know.

My thought is that if this is a concern to you you might start off with QM2 which is both huge and very well designed for rough seas.

I'll try to refine that opinion as this trip unfolds.

Roy

Roy, to answer your question re: lingering smoke. Despite the current policy allowing smoking in the Observation Bar after 8, and it sometimes being rather full of smoke, I have never experienced a lingering smoke smell the next day. Luckily the policy changes in Lisbon.

Zentraveler: We have done multiple crossing on Seabourn and never had very rough seas, on one the actual TA part was more like a lake - the Med was much rougher, but of course one can't predict the weather.

I'll try to keep my eyes our for that but I may not be a very good source. I think I have pretty good sea legs. Sea conditions are somewhat predictable but also quite random. In additions, the ride is highly affected by the size and design of a ship. Finally, the North Atlantic tends to be rougher than the southern route from the Med to Florida.

 

I have done fall transatlantics the past 2 years, in each going East on QM2. The first year my return was on the Wind Star from Lisbon. The second was on the Allure of the Seas from Rome. On the Allure the greater size and southern route pretty much made a wash in sea conditions vs QM2. I was pretty lucky on the Wind Star but the evening we left Lisbon things got so rough they lost quite a few dishes. You never know.

 

My thought is that if this is a concern to you you might start off with QM2 which is both huge and very well designed for rough seas.

 

I'll try to refine that opinion as this trip unfolds.

 

Roy

Thanks Roy and 2SailingNomads. Glad to know and Roy have a great trip!

Yes, I am still on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth for another week but I had a surprise as we entered port this morning. I had thought we would be the only ship in port today but found I was mistaken. Just ahead of us was a smaller ship that I thought could be Seabourn. After checking the schedules I found that it was MY Seabourn ship, the first time I have seen her live.

Near the end of my tour we stopped at a hotel overlooking the 2 ships

As we sailed away I got my final (for now) look at the Odyssey

About 10 days to go.

Roy

Nice photos, Roy. Have a great time! I was one of your vicarious fans from your Northwest Passage voyage.

Great photos Roy. Looking forward to your adventure on Seabourn. A belated Happy Thanksgiving.

Miles

Hi Roy. I really enjoy your blogging style and look forward to following along on your Odyssey transAtlantic. I know you enjoy all the cruise lines you sail, but I'll be especially keen to hear how you like Seabourn relative to Crystal. Each are special in different ways and both are tops with us. Till then, happy sailing on Cunard.

Adding my subscription to this thread to follow along Roy ;)

Looking forward to your impressions of Seabourn and how she does on TA crossing. Hope you enjoy her when you get on board :)

Thank you Suite Travels, TV24, kazu, and Mighty Quinn. Yes, I’m still on Cunard but temporarily VERY close. There is construction at the Lisbon port (a bit of a mess) but I think I am docked exactly where the Odyssey will be in 6 days. While I have quite a bit of travel in the upcoming 6 days, one of my bags is resting comfortably in the Avenida Palace hotel.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/avenida1.jpg

When I arrived this morning I felt a bit like royalty as the concierge greeted me by name, graciously stored my bag and even offered me the loan of an umbrella. I don’t know if he meant for 6 days but in any case I graciously (I hope) declined.

The terminal is directly across the street from the Santa Apolonia Train Station where I will arrive Wednesday morning. From there it is an easy 3-stop Metro Ride to the Avenida Palace and back to the ship..

In the meantime, I am hoping for better weather December 6-7 than we had today.

I will pick up regular reporting here once I disembark Queen Elizabeth on Sunday.

Roy

Looking forward to your posting Roy. We've wanted to take an Atlantic crossing on Seaboard but haven't yet found the right itinerary. I wonder how we missed the one you will be on? We will be crossing on the QM2 just after you, Dec. 15.

Looking forward to your posting Roy. We've wanted to take an Atlantic crossing on Seaboard but haven't yet found the right itinerary. I wonder how we missed the one you will be on? We will be crossing on the QM2 just after you, Dec. 15.

Have a wonderful crossing. Looks like you will be midway across when I dock in Ft. Lauderdale.

Roy

Roy, we are all looking forward to your report. I think the only thing you will miss from Crystal is the full promenade deck. What everyone here will love are your reports and you did them so well on your NWP cruise recently.

For those of you who don't know Roy, he could have his own show on the Travel Channel as he travels on so many different lines and when Roy posts you are really intrigued with his travels and musings. You will see his posts and I hope you enjoy them as we did when he did the NWP on Crystal.

Roy, we hope you have a great crossing.

Miles

Roy you had wished us well on our first Crystal voyage last year . I wish you well on your first Seabourn voyage. Our favorite Seabournite Martha had a dinner and cocktail toast that is appropriate to use . "The best islands in the world ....are those that float and move ...The Odyssey, The Sojourn, The Quest , (and now) the Encore" Salute ! :p

Thank you Miles and Archipeligo.

I disembarked Queen Elizabeth about 9 and my transfer had me at London’s St. Pancras Station about noon.

I was over cautious in booking my train; a 4PM departure. After getting a bit of lunch I investigated the possibility of an earlier train (my ticket said changeable with fee). The train that would work best was an additional 150 pounds, so I decided to wait. St. Pancras is not a great place to wait although there are a few benches. I grabbed one and sat for about an hour. I checked at 2:30 and checkin didn’t open until 3 so sat some more. Once my time had come, I scanned my ticket at the entrance gate and went on through security (airline style) and the British and French passport control, This took about 20 minutes leaving another 20-minute wait (in more comfortable seats) until boarding started.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/stpancras.jpg

I am in “Standard Premier”, effectively First Class with a few less perks. I am in Coach 1, in this case the last car of the train. Soon after leaving dinner came around, not great and a little early but still civilized.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/dinner.jpg

My go to site for train travel is http://www.seat61.com. While waiting in the terminal I did a quick check and reviewed details of my transfer in Paris. I also learned that Paris Metro tickets were sold in the bar car, eliminating the need to deal with that while fully loaded in the Metro station. The train appears to be about 16 cars, with the bar in the middle. Cars 1-4 were all first class, then the next 3 were economy. 2 and 1 seating vs 2 and 2 seating makes a real difference. Three were enough feet extending into the aisle that walking through economy was a bit of a challenge.

We arrived in Paris Gare du Nord just about on time at 7:20. The Metro ride to Montparnasse was a bit more than I was planning on. The train was extremely crowded, something I really didn’t expect on a Sunday evening. I did get a seat but it was narrow and I had to bend totally forward to fit my pack into the space. Otherwise, I would have been absolutely on the edge of my seat. Once at Montparnasse I think I walked something longer than I should have finding my hotel (Ibis Montparnasse) and was really ready to relax once I arrived. Eurostar was excellent but the ends of the trip, especially the Paris end, were a bit much.

I’ll close with a few words on my style. I have a companion blog that may have taken on a bit of a life of it’s own but really started as a place to keep pictures and documents. I write pretty much the way I like but will be open to requests and suggestions. The blog (http://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com) has tabs at the top for programs and menus where I hope to post those items as we get them (learning exactly what that means for Seabourn is a work in progress for me). I give the photos on the blog cryptic titles to describe what they are and I will post links to some of the photos. They will show up as links and you can decide from the little title if you want to click on the link and see the photo or not.

Despite my penchant for cruising I am a cheapskate at heart. I usually use about 30-40 minutes of internet a day. Based on 2SailingNomads thread, I will probably go for a couple of $40 4-hour internet packages rather than $400 for unlimited. I don't spend a lot of time reading threads (even my own) but will look at comments off line from a daily email digest I get from Cruise Critic. I will try to respond to questions but the process will take some time.

2 more sleeps before the Odyssey.

Roy

Enjoy Paris, Roy. We were there for 3 weeks in November. BTW, after having lived in Paris, we learned that, with luggage, it always makes sense to take a cab. The Metro is often crowded and usually involves quite a few stairs. The line you took is the busiest of all. A cab to your Montparnasse hotel would have cost less than 30 Euros. And now Uber is offering lower rates. Anyway, just my two cents. Have a great couple of days. I hope you catch a good exhibit or two. We enjoyed "The Color Line" at the Quai Branly and the staggering Russian collection of early 20th Century French art (first time in Paris!) at the new Louis Vuiton Foundation. Or just go sit in a pretty cafe!

Thanks. Actually, Paris is just a brief stopover on my way to Lisbon. My train leaves noon today.

Roy

Safe travels to all inbound to Lisbon. Me, myself and I arrived yesterday and are now planted on a patio with vinho in hand. Gorgeous weather upon arrival and forecast to stay sunny and warm for the next few days. A lovely city, Lisbon is, I'm already in love.

On a related matter, can anyone suggest which terminal/port Seabourn likely uses?

Cheers.