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Looking at Seabourn


staysealee
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So we just finished our first cruise with regent on the explorer barcelona to venice. Nice cruise and a nice experience since its been a few years since our first cruise on princess........

 

Was looking at seabourn for there greek island sailing 14 or 21 days next year. so the questions are:

 

1. Is the crowd a little.....aaa.. younger than regent. we are in our mid 50'S and would like a bit more night life I guess?? a little less critical I don't know..We meet some great folks on regent

 

2. We had a concierge suite that was nice. What suites are comparable on Seabourn as to size and how do the balconies compare size wise.

 

3. Has anybody taken either of the greek island cruises 14/21 day?

 

4. How is there air service. We might use our air miles to keep the cost down. The wife really liked the included business air. uncorked that bottle>>> my bad and that is pricey even using points....

 

5, We used a local TA for regent and paid full boat... I believe and talking to others on the ship and on CC we might be able to lessen the hit a bit...local TA would give us 375 OBC each for the 21 day sail... she still seems a bit high on a per day basis.....online... big TA?? I know talk to friends just don't have many that need one..I know cant recommend a ta......

 

Any replies would be appreciated and thanks in advance

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We just completed an eighteen day Seabourn cruise that went from Venice to Barcelona. During this trip we visited 6 Greek ports. Two days after this trip we boarded the Regent Navigator for a TA to New York.

 

There is no question that Seabourn had a more upbeat atmosphere with a younger mix of passengers. The comparison between the two was dramatic. If you are looking for fun go with Seabourn. If you want to relax with peace and quite go with Regent.

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We just completed an eighteen day Seabourn cruise that went from Venice to Barcelona. During this trip we visited 6 Greek ports. Two days after this trip we boarded the Regent Navigator for a TA to New York.

 

 

 

There is no question that Seabourn had a more upbeat atmosphere with a younger mix of passengers. The comparison between the two was dramatic. If you are looking for fun go with Seabourn. If you want to relax with peace and quite go with Regent.

 

 

 

Wouldn’t disagree but remember transatlantics traditionally have a different passenger mix to port intensive med cruises

 

 

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Hi, I'm a newbie to Seabourn, haven't sailed yet. But I'm a Regent veteran.

 

I would have thought the demographic on Seabourn would skew even older than Regent, so I'm surprised to see comments to the contrary (we're late sixties and mid-seventies.)

 

If you are "young" and adventurous, and want to see Greece, my suggestion is not to do a cruise at all, but to do it by land, with appropriate ferries and/or flights. Rent a car when appropriate, see the real Greece. You can't do that with day-stops in Santorini. You can luxe it up as much as you like, and many Greek towns are known for their night life.

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On our recent cruise on Odyssey it was noticeable that there was a much younger element- quite a few passengers in their forties or even thirties. I think Seabourn is trying and succeeding in attracting a younger element - at least on Mediterranean cruises.

 

I think, however, if you are going by dividing up numbers by ages Regent may score lower , as on our last cruise on Mariner there were quite a few children, which you see more rarely on Seabourn. One of the many reasons we prefer Seabourn!

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We sailed on the Seabourn Encore in late September/early October 2017. We are 65 and 66 years old and thought that we were on the younger end of the age spectrum on our cruise. While we did meet a few couples in their 40s (maybe three), most passengers appeared to be at least 60 with the vast majority of them being in their 70s. The passengers are fairly sedate--which doesn't bother me one bit!

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Hi, I'm a newbie to Seabourn, haven't sailed yet. But I'm a Regent veteran.

 

I would have thought the demographic on Seabourn would skew even older than Regent, so I'm surprised to see comments to the contrary (we're late sixties and mid-seventies.)

 

If you are "young" and adventurous, and want to see Greece, my suggestion is not to do a cruise at all, but to do it by land, with appropriate ferries and/or flights. Rent a car when appropriate, see the real Greece. You can't do that with day-stops in Santorini. You can luxe it up as much as you like, and many Greek towns are known for their night life.

 

Thanks wendy,

 

 

Cruising is soo much easier, I find I like it!! That's why we went on a port intensive cruise on regent to see all the ports and where we might want to return and focus on in the future. I was thinking the same way on the seabourn 14 or 21 day greek island cruise, port intensive but I wouldn't feel so guilty if we wanted to stay on board a couple of times or do a short day in any of the smaller ports. The tours on regent that we did were fine just getting back to the ship, a glass or two, shower, more drinks, dinner and bed time for 9 days out of 10, not much time to chill, some of the tours were rushed especially rome and 1 other...Smaller ship and smaller ports I think on seabourn might give us a little more time to relax and explore....maybe:)

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I did a 14-day Greek islands on the Odyssey this summer and will try to stay away in the future, as much as possible, from summer and/or school holiday cruises in the Mediterranean, which are much more likely to feature children and big families. They also tend to feature a younger demographics and more newbies to Seabourn.

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As others have noted, the itinerary, length of cruise, dates of the cruise and I think degree of discounting (that is, cost per night) have strong impact on the demographics. We are 54 and 66; Took our first Seabourn Cruise something like eight years ago and felt perfectly comfortable with everyone on board and made some enduring friendships. You lie

 

Two ways to save money. Let me know and I’ll be happy to get you a referral coupon, which will provide $400 in onboard credit.. Buy 100 shares of carnival stock and you’ll get additional, combinable credit. I think it something like $250 for longer cruise. It definitely pays to shop around a bit for travel agents. We ended up with an additional $250 credit for our upcoming 12 day cruise.

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As someone with quite a few Seabourn cruises under our belts, on a variety of itineraries - but no experience on Regent - I will say the demographics can vary based on the particular cruise. In general Seabourn attracts a well off clientele that is mostly 50+ (as we are) and we have met wonderful folks from 30-95 age range. (The most interesting we ever met was a gentleman who is now in his mid 90's who I still keep in touch with and many long time SB cruisers know) On most of our cruises I would guess (YES GUESS ) that the average age would be around 60 If you do a cruse over the Holidays or 7 days in the Med in Summer you may / likely will have a younger pax mix - including the dreaded children :) [no replies necessary] - otherwise I doubt you need to worry about age.

 

Seabourn for the most part has very interesting fellow passengers who are easy to talk to. The entertainment is somewhat limited if you are used to a big ship I suppose but for us that is not the draw, rather it is the itinerary and especially the CREW that are what keep bringing us back. There are sometimes very good entertainers on-board, but as a rule we ae not fans of the Seabourn in-house shows. Depending on the CD, you might have a special treat if they do a show.

 

We did a 34 day cruise a few years ago that went to multiple Greek islands and liked all the ports but one. As for a TA we can not recommend one on CC, but if you are paying full fare I would respectfully suggest you look around as there are better options, some will give you an OBC and/or discount on the fare.

 

I have no experience with the airfare option, SB does not offer it from my departure city and I have a ton of FF miles.

 

Post on the referral thread once you near final payment and someone will be glad to assist you with a referral coupon that will get you 400 OBC.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a question for those who have been on a Seabourn cruise particularly a Mediterranean one. Can you provide an idea of the cruise line excursion costs? We really love the itenenerary and the "all inclusive" aspect except that there is no info about the price of the excursions, which are not included. Even my TA could not help with this info. Thanks!

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I don't have the exact costs in front of me right now--but as far as I remember there was a range of costs--anywhere from about $80 per person to about $120 per person. I wish I could be more helpful, but this is my best recollection.

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I don't have the exact costs in front of me right now--but as far as I remember there was a range of costs--anywhere from about $80 per person to about $120 per person. I wish I could be more helpful, but this is my best recollection.

 

 

 

This helps! That is about what I was expecting. I have also noted (after I posted this [emoji5]) some threads where many passengers booked excursions on their own so I will look at that too. If anyone has some excursions they enjoyed on the Venice to Athens itinerary I would love to hear about them! Thanks!

 

 

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I was on the Seabourn Sojourn 2 weeks in Alaska this summer. I am 63 and the majority were about my age. Very friendly group. When your cruise is very port intensive many go to bed after dinner as they have a long day coming up. I found the SB passenger more friendly that Silver Seas or Regent.

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If anyone has some excursions they enjoyed on the Venice to Athens itinerary I would love to hear about them! Thanks!

 

What ports are you stopping at? I have noticed the ports vary on this itinerary and may be different to the ports we stopped at.

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Some of the SB tour prices we were given in the Med were:

 

Malta's Capitals: Mdina & Valletta: A UNESCO Partner Tour $67

Vintage train in Mallorca $98

Sea Kayaking in Sete $120

Victoria Secrets in Gozo,Malta $67

Swim/sail in Gozo, Malta $120

Picturesque Positano with lunch $188

My Etna in Taormina $161

The Vatican tour Rome $238

Avignon Photography all day Tour $279

 

The excursion with lunch or those which require water craft were dearer.

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One should always consider private tours anyway. You set the schedule, can change it at will, you're in a private car with your guide/driver and not on a bus with forty other people, one or two of whom always keeps you waiting. And in the end it's usually not more expensive and sometimes less so.

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Some of the SB tour prices we were given in the Med were:

 

Malta's Capitals: Mdina & Valletta: A UNESCO Partner Tour $67

Vintage train in Mallorca $98

Sea Kayaking in Sete $120

Victoria Secrets in Gozo,Malta $67

Swim/sail in Gozo, Malta $120

Picturesque Positano with lunch $188

My Etna in Taormina $161

The Vatican tour Rome $238

Avignon Photography all day Tour $279

 

The excursion with lunch or those which require water craft were dearer.

 

A couple of comments ....

 

We went to Mdina. It was our second time in Malta the first having been for a work conference. As a result, we knew that we could get a local bus there and back which we did.

 

Total cost 98 cents each round trip.

 

We then invested a few Euros in an excellent guide book.

 

I wouldn't do the Vatican again. It was so crowded that it was impossible to get much out of the tour. St. Peters, on the other hand, was excellent. But you don't need a tour to do that.

 

I will defend the photography tours. I took one in Juneau and our guide/professional was excellent. I learned a few good tips and techniques and my photography has benefited as a result.

 

So, even if you prefer to do the official Seabourn tours, a little research can go a long way and save a lot of money. For most of the Mediterranean ports, doing your own thing is very realisable.

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It you find yourself in Malta, be sure to go to Mdina. What a wonderful place and yes, you could take a taxi there. We will do that next time, but did enjoy hearing what our guide had to say about that ancient city.

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