Laylam

my sense is the referral certificates do not expire. However, once you have referred someone and receive your $400 OBC, that expires 24 months from the time of it is issued.

Yes, I think you could be correct. There is no date of issue on the actual referral certificates.

Do the referral coupons expire? I just sent one in to Seabourn which I received in 2015 for new-to-Seabourn friends who just made final payment and didn't read the fine print on the back :(

 

It just occurred to me that there may be a time limit.

 

Thanks,

I've just read the covering letter from Seabourn and it states "The referral certificate will be good for two years from the date of issue..."

Just so I'm clear-

If another thread, someone mentions that they are getting ready for their first Seabourn Cruise, is it breaking the rules to offer them a referral coupon on that thread?

The etiquette is that you refer first time cruisers to this "Sticky thread".

We usually do the reverse. If it is full, we go to a table that is not fully occupied, introduce ourselves and say "mind if we join you?" Haven't been turned down yet, and it's the Seabourn way of meeting new people. Some of these chance introductions have led to our having some new friends - at least for the rest of the cruise!

Stamfordian, having joined us for breakfast in the Colonnade a few years ago, my husband learned that you could order "British Bacon". He has toasted your memory at every Seabourn breakfast since!

It's very simple. If Seabourn is paying for the OBC in any form or fashion you cannot combine more than one, Your TA can five you a fifty thousand dollar OBC if he/she wishes and is willing to pay for it an it is combinable with whatever SB gives you.

That isn't always true. Because of a price drop, I received this confirmation from my TA, that Seabourn WOULD combine a Seabourn credit with the OB referral credit.....

................

I have now received a response from Seabourn, they have advised that unfortunately they are not offering a reduction in the price on this occasion and the offer of $366 per person of on board spend is the only offer.

 

They can confirm that this is combinable with the referral on board spend once they receive the referral voucher and the on board spend is added to your booking............

No strings at all.

 

From what has been posted on here the first 2 cruises were deliberately under booked leaving vacant cabins. I have no idea whether the upgrade was applied shoreside or shipside.

 

No contact was made. Ems checked in and was allocated the cabin. In fact Mrs Able Seaman thought it was a typo as there was 10 numbers difference to our cabin, 620 instead of 630. She did everything to give the thing back questioning check in staff as well as the concierge on board !

 

All this has no bearing on my comments here. I post my true beliefs & am no ones lap dog. To claim otherwise is actually quite offensive.

Able Seaman H, I have always found your posts informative, fair and often VERY entertaining. You should not have to explain/justify your upgrade.

How did you get bumped out of business class with a confirmed reservation/seat?

 

 

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It wasn't United was it??

We are excited to be taking our first Seabourn cruise, embarking on July 22. Today we made our final payment. Does anyone have a referral coupon that we can use? We are U.S.-based so would prefer a fellow U.S. cruiser. Thanks much!

seanms

Yes, I have one., although am in Australia. We are also embarking on July 22, you aren't on the Quest by any chance? You can email me at phasmann at cyberspace dot net dot au

Laylam

We are talking about the policy in the UK not Australia or the US or anywhere else. What your TA told your for Australia may be correct --- but doesn't affect the OP or other U.K. Bookings. In the U.K. once you book you make a 10 percent non refundable deposit. This is different from the US where your deposit is refundable if you cancel within a few month period prior to the cruise.

 

 

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Yes, I do understand that Chairsin. We also used to pay a non-refundable deposit (until recent changes to Australian Consumer Law), BUT, have always had price drops honoured. This thread suggests that there has/had been a change in Seabourn's policy, and until we heard from a US resident, and now from Seabourn in Sydney, who knew it only affected UK residents?

I contacted Seabourn's Sydney office, asking if there had been a change in policy, as I had read on here there had been. The reply in part reads,

Thank you for contacting Seabourn.

 

The information you have seen is not correct.

 

Whilst a booking is outside cancellation period and there is still availability, Seabourn can change to the lower promotion price in most cases. Of course this will always depend on the individual circumstances of the booking and voyage.

 

Once inside the cancellation fee period, Seabourn is unable to reduce pricing, however we look at other options on a case by case basis to see what other options are available.

I understand the OP's cruise is still 7 months away, well outside the cancellation period.

_______________________________________________________________________

Not sure what is going on with U.K. customers and Seabourn but DW an I are on this sailing as well as the previous from Miami and when I noticed the price drop last week, contacted our US based TA and that afternoon had a revised booking with a $5k decrease and $400 pp OBC. this after a $12k decrease in December. Strange way for a company to do business.

 

Galeforce still waiting to hear back from you regarding tours from discussions on roll call. Hope you get this all straightened out.

That is VERY interesting. It seems strange that Seabourn would have a different policy for particular nationalities.

Wow - if all that you say is true, galeforce (and I have no reason not to believe that it is) then this just sounds like spitefulness!! I have never known a so-called OB to be allocated so many months before. And such a poor one.

 

I suppose there is no chance you can cancel, book the Antarctic with someone else, and use your deposit for another SB cruise?

YES lincslady, that is what I was thinking - try the Bournemouth option.

https://www.seabourn.com/Savings-Program?legacy=true

This new policy seems to fly in the face of the above, where Seabourn claims to "..........reward their guests who book as early as possible with optimum upfront savings............"

We'd lose our £2k each deposit! Unlike in the us!!

/quote]

I once questioned the Reading TA about Seabourn's cancellation policy as it applied in the UK. I was told that to avoid losing your deposit you had the option to transfer it to a different sailing at least 90 days prior to departure. Also, the new cruise must be at least half the duration of the current cruise booked.

I realise this is no help in your current situation, but handy to know anyway.

Whilst on this cruise I made comments on several posts so if I repeat myself, I apologise........

..............................................We loved Encore, crew were wonderful, food good, wines ho hum, entertainment ok, but they now have shows at 8:45 and 10:15 which suited us. We will be back.

Thanks Joc123, very informative. Pleased you enjoyed your cruise (and escaped the cyclone - just!!)

They've been offering guarantees at various V levels, with pricing accordingly. What's confusing is that a V1 guarantee (as opposed to reserving a specific suite) seems to be the same as an OB the minimum suite level is V1 either way.

Yes, that is it exactly. Our Reading TA has, under Cruise Details, listed the Category as "V1" and the Suite as "Guar.".

It is not quite the same, at least on the well known UK TA's site. Each verandah grade is at a different price (obviously increasing from V1 to V6), and I think the quoted price is for a guarantee in that particular grade. An OB used to mean it could be anywhere from V1 upwards, and often you did get a higher grade of verandah suite. Well, we were usually lucky!

I think we are booked with the same well known UK TA, for the 2018 42 night Pacific Arc. We are booked as a V1, which I understand to be a Verandah suite anywhere of Seabourn's choosing, which we will be notified of a week before sailing.

We were on that sailing. I will say two things:

 

1) I 100% absolutely believe the poster that this experience happened. We had a small handful of separate encounters with incredibly rude individual behaviors similar to the one the poster described. (Once, a passenger told my very petite mother that she was standing in his wife's way and physically *moved* my mother to gain access to where she was standing. Another time we were very rudely told we were unwelcome to sit down in an otherwise empty area of The Club because a lady was saving it for "all her friends". You learn, generally, to brush off rude or dismissive people but I know if one is a member of a group that is often marginalized that it can feel like a microaggression.

2) The rude behavior was certainly the exception and not the rule. The crew was exceptional and there were many gay couples on board. I barely recognize these two - I think I saw them once - but we would have no doubt loved to dine with them. It's a pity we never had the opportunity.

WOW!! Thanks Jenidallas, I've made a mental note to self not to be so quick to judge. Thankfully, in almost 200 days, we have never seen behaviour like that. It is a pity though that Seabourn gets a such a bad review because of a few rude guests.

Yesterday, I read this review of Quest's transatlantic crossing last year......

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g1-i10703-k9760650-Review_of_Seabourn_Quest_a_Dehumanizing_Experience-Cruises.html

I found it VERY difficult to believe

What do y'all mean by "rulings"?? Assuming you mean the guidance of the Dress Code......But I will not be surprised, angered or disgusted (and actually could care less) if anyone wears jeans (black, blue, or any other color of the rainbow) that evening................

Apologies for being off topic, but why do you (and many others) use the term "could care less" when you obviously mean you could NOT care less?

We are taking a Seabourn cruise that disembarks in Valpariso after first visiting Antarctica. Seabourn is offering a post-cruise trip to Machu Picchu, but the itinerary has us staying in Cusco, and just visiting the lower-altitude Machu Picchu for a day trip.

 

Being quite concerned about altitude sickness, we have learned that it may be prevented by quickly departing Cusco's 11,200 ft altitude and using hotels in the Sacred Valley. This is our objective.

 

Has anyone used a private tour operator to help them plan a private/semi-private journey like this?

 

Many thanks in advance!

We used KB Tours, located in Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley http://kbperu.com A car met us at Cusco airport and drove us to our hotel in Ollantaytambo. Very reasonably priced and easy to communicate with online. After a few nights in the Sacred Valley we caught the train to Machu Picchu, leaving the bulk of our luggage at our Ollantaytambo Hotel. and organised with KB Tours for a car to meet us at the train station on our return, collect our luggage from the hotel and drive us to Cusco, via Moray, the Salt Mines and other scenic spots.

We haven't sailed Seabourn for a few years but have been tempted back by the new ship and itinerary we like. Last time we were on for 28 days and I believe bought a $400 unlimited package. Does that still exist? What other options are there?

 

Thanks.

There have been a number of articles recently about a new pricing policy for Carnival ships, including Seabourn. However, they were meant to be in place by 2016 and that doesn't seem to have happened.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/cruise-ship-wi-fi-ranking

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3268288/The-WiFi-tide-turned-Cruise-ship-giant-slashes-internet-charges-90-guests-able-log-just-3-day.html

Was also on the TA with Heather as CD. She is phenomenal.

You might enjoy this then

Good to hear from you guys! Hope all well in Oz. When are you going to hit the high seas again?

We are joining the Quest in Copenhagen in July and can't wait.

We were specifically asked to stay away :)

 

Henry :)

Henry, You do make me laugh LOTS.