A few questions from a regent regular.

[OrpingtonT]

Although regular cruisers on Regent, we have never travelled on Seabourn previously but have now booked on Sojourn leaving Southampton on 27 April. I have a few questions which I cannot find answers to on Seabourn’s website.

 

Shore excursions. If I book a shore excursion online, is payment required upfront, or can the cost be debited to any OBC? And if for some reason, I have to cancel beforehand are there penalty charges?

 

Dining. I cannot find sample menus anywhere. Do they exist? In particular, I would appreciate the menu in Restaurant 2. Is there a reasonable menu for vegetarians in each of the outlets?

 

Southampton. Any old timers know which terminal in Southampton Seabourn uses?

 

Wheelchair. My wife uses a small lightweight wheelchair which I push. Any wheelchair users to offer any thoughts or tips?

 

I would appreciate any information on these points; perhaps some others may come to mind later.

[JaneBP]

YOu can charge your excursions to your on board account. I think there might be a fee charged if you cancel at the last minute, but I am not sure. Usually, it's waived in my experience.

There are plenty of vegetarian options available, but the menus in restaurant 2 are fixed and might not be appropriate. I do think others will have had experience with vegetarian options and hopefully they will chime in. Others have posted menus but not sure where they are 'hidden' here in the forum.

[WesW]

Hi Tom (and Barbara); look forward to hearing from you once you're on board the Sojourn. We booked the Quest's maiden crossing in November (embark Malaga..hope to see more of Malaga this year since we went to The Alhambra two months ago when we were all on the Voyager)

[Roxburgh]

We are regular Seabourn cruisers but just completed our first Regent cruise; 17 days Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco. I am in the process of writing a comparative review which you might find interesting. I will probably post it early next week.

[JaneBP]

Don't forget that if you want a particular vegetarian selection once or every day, that can be arranged through the MD and chef with a day's notice. They are very accommodating. I do think I remember someone who had adjustments to the Restaurant 2 menu, but can't seem to find it. But I think that would be a tad more complicated, given the specific 'mission' of that restaurant.

[rafinmd]

I'm no authority here but I think Southampton terminals are assigned pretty randomly based on the day's activity. The (very imcomplete) schedule is here, promised to be updated by the end of the month.

 

http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/cruise_ship.asp

 

The only ship listed so far is at Mayflower terminal. Cunard is not on the schedule at all but according to there schedule they will not be there that day. My best guess is that Seabourn would use the Ocean terminal but it's just a guess. I'd look back at the SH ports listings in a couple of weeks for a better idea.

[wripro]

I believe you can cancel excursions up to 48 hours prior. There is no charge upfront.

[OrpingtonT]

JaneBP. Thanks for the info. I, too, thought I had seen menus or at least a link to see them but cannot find them at the moment. I guess there will be vegetarian options. Is Restaurant 2 themed and if so does the theme change regularly. As reservations are required and as they cannot be booked in advance, there is presumably a rush to do so once on board.

 

Thanks also to you and wripro for your input on shore excursions.

 

Roxburgh. I look forward to reading your comparative review.

 

rafinmd. I had wondered whether anyone who had sailed from Southampton could say which terminal was used. As we shall have a wheelchair we want to drive as close as possible with our luggage, though it is a long time off yet.

 

Colonel(Ret.)Wes. Hi to you and Ida. Your booking on Seabourn Quest made us look at their itineraries and finding a Southampton departure persuaded us to try Sojourn. It will take a magnificent cruise to better our Voyager Transatlantic last November and magnificent entertainment to better Ida's dancing with "Michael Jackson" and his canoodling with you on the night of Krew Kapers.

[margbem]

You can reserve Restaurant 2 48 hours before dining there but there is no choice of menu - it's set and themed. We've eaten there a few times when it's been Tasting Night but there's been plenty of fish and meat. I don't know whether they could accommodate a veggy if given notice, but ask, as they try to help wherever possible.

 

You can book shore excursions online if you go into 'Already Booked' on the website. You do not pay upfront. If you decide to cancel there is a cut-off point which, I think, is given in the daily news when on board.

 

Enjoy Seabourn!

[WesW]

Hi Tom, happy we helped nudge Barbara & you book SB...pls check this review (tho of the Odyssey) very thorough (even has video 4+ min long) deck plan very close to or same as Sojourn/Quest:

 

http://www.cruisereport.com/crReview.aspx?id=2111

 

ps..have no idea what canoodling u are referring to.

[sfvoyage]

You can reserve Restaurant 2 48 hours before dining there but there is no choice of menu - it's set and themed. We've eaten there a few times when it's been Tasting Night but there's been plenty of fish and meat. I don't know whether they could accommodate a veggy if given notice, but ask, as they try to help wherever possible.

 

Yes, Restaurant 2 can accommodate vegetarians if given advanced notice. In my case (on the Odyssey), they modified the regular menu by replacing the meat & seafood elements with veggie items. That meal was, however, NOT the highlight of our culinary experience on the cruise.

[OrpingtonT]

Hi Tom, happy we helped nudge Barbara & you book SB...pls check this review (tho of the Odyssey) very thorough (even has video 4+ min long) deck plan very close to or same as Sojourn/Quest:

 

http://www.cruisereport.com/crReview.aspx?id=2111

 

ps..have no idea what canoodling u are referring to.

 

Thanks, Wes. I found that very interesting and useful. Though I am puzzled about the costs quoted for internet access. It suggested a daily fee rather than a per minute fee as other threads have claimed. The video brought the ship to life too.

 

Yes, Restaurant 2 can accommodate vegetarians if given advanced notice. In my case (on the Odyssey), they modified the regular menu by replacing the meat & seafood elements with veggie items. That meal was, however, NOT the highlight of our culinary experience on the cruise.

 

Thank you for that. I will talk to the Maitre'd about this when trying to book a table.

[WesW]

Your welcome Tom...here is a SB tip, go to the referral thread at top of SB page and post that you would a referral coupon...why?

 

If u haven't made final payment yet, and are a first time Seabourn cruise passenger, the coupon will give both you and referrer a $400 cabin credit, good for anything on board (shore excursions, spa services, gift shop, internet access, etc.).

[OrpingtonT]

Your welcome Tom...here is a SB tip, go to the referral thread at top of SB page and post that you would a referral coupon...why?

 

If u haven't made final payment yet, and are a first time Seabourn cruise passenger, the coupon will give both you and referrer a $400 cabin credit, good for anything on board (shore excursions, spa services, gift shop, internet access, etc.).

 

The OP on that "sticky" you referred to is my son who went on, after getting a referral coupon from a kind CC member, to do a couple of Seabourn cruises. I successfully referred him to Regent and now he he has repaid the favour and we have his referral coupon to submit on final payment for our Sojourn cruise.

[Fr8K9]

Hey Roxburgh... Welcome back. This is your neighbor from Alaska on the Sojourn cruise a few months back. We enjoyed ourselves so much we just booked the Sojourn again. We are going to do the segment 3, HKG to SIN next month. It just won't be the same without seeing you two everywhere we go. We will try to hold up our end with the trivia. I've been brushing up on my Led Zepplin. Cheers.

[Anna B.]

We are regular Seabourn cruisers but just completed our first Regent cruise; 17 days Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco. I am in the process of writing a comparative review which you might find interesting. I will probably post it early next week.

 

Looking forward to reading your review. (Miss you guys!)

[Roxburgh]

Hey Roxburgh... Welcome back. This is your neighbor from Alaska on the Sojourn cruise a few months back. We enjoyed ourselves so much we just booked the Sojourn again. We are going to do the segment 3, HKG to SIN next month. It just won't be the same without seeing you two everywhere we go. We will try to hold up our end with the trivia. I've been brushing up on my Led Zepplin. Cheers.

 

Great to hear from you and glad you enjoyed the cruise so much you have signed up for another! Had we known we might have booked the same one as you :D But, instead we booked the Quest maiden voyage from Barcelona to Athens. Any Led Zeppelin questions just ask Susan :cool:

[Roxburgh]

Looking forward to reading your review. (Miss you guys!)

 

Guess you got home safe and sound. We had a lovely 3 days in San Francisco but were glad ... eventually ... to get home. Off skiing on Friday :cool: Review is nearly done but I need to get Susan to read it and give me her comments.

[JaneBP]

We sailed on the Odyssey with friends and shared a day's worth of Internet access. Of course that means you need their card for a swipe and vice versa. We bought one day and they did another. Worked well for us.