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The Joy of Sea Days


koalapanda
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We are Cruising a part repositioning on the beautiful Encore from Dubai to Athens. There will be many sea days which we quite like. A repositioning from Istanbul to Singapore of 30 days quite few years ago on Azamara gave us a taste for sea days.

Over 60+ days sailing with Seabourn we have probably only had one sea day per Cruise.

May I enquire from seasoned Seabournians, does Seabourn do multiple days at sea well? Re entertaiment etc, we know we will thoroughly enjoy the ship.

BTW those joining us please join our roll call Encore April 22 2018.

Edited by koalapanda
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Enjoy your cruise koalapanda. We have done a few multiple sea day cruises and Seabourn do include various lecturers, cooking demonstrations, trivia and other events. Sorry, no belly flop or best hairy leg competitions :'). I'm just joking :).

 

With the lecturers as with all things it can be hit or miss whether they are discussing topics of interest to you. Sometimes you need to be open minded as we found the lecturer who did portraiture for the royal family etc was much more fun then we expected.

 

Julie

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We had only one at sea day on our last cruise, but were careful to choose a voyage with four (in 21 days) for our next Seabourn cruise. We enjoyed our sea day on Encore and attended a cooking demonstration by the executive chef as well as a lecture and piano recital.

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Sea days are great, especially on transatlantics. Relax, no need to rush anywhere, socialise at the sky bar, around the pool deck or the square, have a swim, read a book, go to a talk, play trivia, gaze out to sea to catch sight of dolphins or flying fish, or fishing boats. Have a long, leisurely, lunch. Take afternoon tea. Think about a session in the gym. There are often extra events. Take some private time in your suite or on the veranda...

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We specifically choose itineraries with as many sea days as possible. The whole point of being on a ship is being at sea with all the sights, sounds and sensations that brings. There are events and activities to occupy you, but we use the time to relax and recharge. It's very cathartic.

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I concur with frantic36 - we personally LOVE sea days, can't be enough of them. Having done multiple TA's plus a few back / forth across the Pacific (great days on the Pacific) there are different options each day. Demos, lectures, pool parties, etc. A cruise with multiple sea days will usually have multiple lecturers. You can sleep in as no need to go see XXX, get up early and watch the sun rise, catch up on reading, linger over breakfast / lunch, enjoy a conversation with a fellow traveler, get the bar tender to make you new concoctions etc. For me personally, I don't understand why every cruise does not have at least one sea day so you can enjoy the amenities of the ship.

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We are so pleased to read many guests with the same feelings about multiple sea days. Thank you for your info re: extra activities, it is nice to know from 1st hand experience.

It seems many of us exhale aaaahhhh at the thought of such relaxation.

 

The ports on the first part of this 19 day Cruise are Abu Dabi, Doha, Muscat, Salalah,Aquaba, Ashod and Haifa are interesting. The two final Greek ports we have visited quite a few times, Santorini & Athens.

Any insights to these ports would be welcome from Seabourn guests who have cruised this itinerary.

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We cruised the reverse of that trip last year and bizzarely we almost struggled to find enough hours in the day!

 

Bridge lessons in the morning, Trivia at noon, some lectures, lunch, art classes, board games, a chat in Seabourn Square over coffee and cake, a dip in the pool, a snooze, afternoon tea, a moment in the gym (looking for the afternoon tea & cake :) ), then get ready for dinner, pre drinks in the TK bar or Observation lounge, a show.....

 

There is as much or as little as you want there to be. Dance lessons with the dance pair, a music quiz, each trip will be unique. The arts and crafts team for instance on our trip did a great job and had a solid core of attendees, my wife included.

 

Henry :)

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I fully appreciate that so many people - including my good friends Frantic and 2sailingnomads - love sea days but I have to admit that we are in the other camp of those who don’t look forward to them. One here and there is perfectly acceptable - in fact it is nice to have one on the first full day (to catch our breath as we have usually been busy precruise with a land trip) and even on the last day (makes me focus on packing etc.). But having a cluster or two of them is not something to which I look forward. I was apprehensive about this on our Antarctica cruise where we had a couple of 3+ sea days and I survived and I again have a couple of 4 in a row sea days on our upcoming cruise which does not thrill me.

 

It is not that there are not plenty of activities it is just that after a couple of days of not walking on land I go stir crazy. I need to get off of the ship and walk and explore. Yes, I do laps every day (I am used to waking outside year round and not on a treadmill) and I often join in for trivia. Okay now what about the rest of the day? I will occasionally attend a lecture (though I am more likely to do this on a cruise where it will be presented by one of the Venture’s tram and focus on the natural world), I am not a bridge player, and the cooking demos is fine but it is usually a repeat of one the same dishes cruise after cruise (can you say white tomato soup and truffle risotto?) We do love socializing with our fellow passengers but I find that means I spend too much time (and calories) eating and drinking and not enough time moving.

 

 

 

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Chairsin, I don't know that I would like four sea days in a row either, but I am excited about 4 sea days sprinkled through an upcoming 21 day cruise. I think a sea day every third or fourth day would be just about perfect! Disappointing to hear that the cooking demonstration often repeats dishes! Our demonstration was indeed truffle risotto, but also included a tiramisu.

 

Personally, I would love more lectures--but recognize that they are not always well attended. Hmm....this gives me an idea. I wonder if my husband could volunteer to give a lecture? He has presented at Oxford and that particular lecture has some appeal as it involves a voting scandal. The issue would be whether or not it would appeal to global passengers. But, it is the kind of lecture I would love to have the opportunity to hear --here and there.

 

One funny thing from our one day at sea. I had saved a casual pretty dress to wear on the ship that day (when not in the hot tub) and had several passengers ask why I was so dressed up. To me, coming from Dallas, it was just a very casual dress. I just don't own clothing as casual as what many wore. I guess next time I can run around in my swimsuit coverup (which is another pretty dress).

 

Ahhh...days at sea. I wish I was there right now.

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SLSD

I think the saving grace on my upcoming cruise is that it will be a warm (ok, hot and humid!) weather cruise so at least on sea days, unlike my Antarctica cruise we won’t all be huddled together in Seabourn Square

 

 

 

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Thank you Henry for your 1st hand information. We shall take your advice and especially to " think about going to the Gym" , Panda nods in agreement. Koala is a Pilates person, I definitely need to earn my afternoon tea and or Tapas in the Observation Bar pre dinner.

Chairsin I understand your view also, we do enjoy Port intensive cruises also.

We now like to have an alternative cruise where the concentration is enjoying the ship.

This cruise we are looking foward to enjoying Encore and at the end of the journey visiting our dear friends in Athens.

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We love sea days and ocean crossings with lots of sea days. On Seabourn our sea days included the lectures, some terrific art classes, and lots of time at the fitness center. Oh, and Seabourn's stateroom television has virtually unlimited selections controlled by you, so you could become a sea couch potato. But I must say that compared to some other cruise lines, the sea day activities on Seabourn are somewhat limited, so be prepared with your own hobbies or favorite activities.

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Unless you really like the few activities offered on board ( cooking, trivia, and working out in a packed gym on a sea day) may I suggest:

 

1. pre-download the many books you always wanted to read but never got to, or wish to reread, same with movies

 

2. Do not count on internet working reliably enough at sea to do #1, work conference calls, or picture uploads. Our last two SB cruises on sea days in our suite internet did not work at all, we had to go to SB Square to get anything done at all, sloowly, while listening to the pounding overhead music and the crowds there talking about their internet problems. I like to be able to use my suite peace and quiet. The tech gal smiled sweetly but accomplished nothing to assist with the problem, mostly dodged issues.

Sea days could be much better if pax had good internet, it is 2017, we could use them to research ports, history of where they are coming and going, post live blogs and photos of their trips, and otherwise interface with the world about the trip. Some market lines have been able to get good internet in the middle of an ocean, but luxury lines such as SB still have not made that investment.

 

3. DH hates sea days as there is little new for him to photograph, ( his main focus on traveling is taking awesome pictures) though he does get to the crowded gym when I push him and surprise him with a massage or he meets people in the jacuzzi. I love them, as I always come prepared, slowly soak in bubble baths while reading, read while drying off, write my blogs, and otherwise ionize. If seas are very stormy, however, eating and drinking and even reading gets limited, not so much fun then.

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Yes Chairsin, our cup runneth over with sea days on the next cruise - I've counted 15 which includes 2 x 4 days!

 

We do love our sea days and certainly need them as we are still working crazy hours and like to have some proper R & R while on holidays. We enjoy reading, sleeping, the odd game of shuffle board, a possible lecture and of course the eating, drinking and socialising with amazing people. Agree the cooking demo gets very repetitive (mention of the risotto and the white tomato soup made us laugh).

 

While this doesn't apply to KoalaPanda's cruise, the other fun sea day activity is the Equator crossing party. Lots of fun and photo opportunities of crew capers. I stumbled across our Equator crossing certificates recently and wondered whether to keep them or not with our 5th set due next year. All lovely memories.

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We took several issues of The New York Review of Books--great reading on a sea day with a lot to discuss. A leisurely breakfast in the MDR was fun and a relaxing lunch on the veranda of the Colonnade. A dip in the hot tub followed with a drink (or two). Next time, we'll try trivia. And hopefully, the chef will decide to demonstrate something new.

 

Tea at four was also a must do for us.

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Chairsin....thinking of actually doing the Anarctica cruise in Dec 2018, any thoughts on best deck to be on?

Thanks

SLSD

I think the saving grace on my upcoming cruise is that it will be a warm (ok, hot and humid!) weather cruise so at least on sea days, unlike my Antarctica cruise we won’t all be huddled together in Seabourn Square

 

 

 

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