10 Day Caribbean Sojourn Review

[nolatravelgirl]

*** I know this cruise is being reviewed by several people, sorry if it is dull and repetive.***

10 Day Caribbean Seabourn Sojourn Review

Depart: October 28, 2013

Return: November 7, 2013

 

Itinerary

Day 0 – Travel Day

Day 1 – Embarkation – Resort Casual

Day 2 – Sea Day – Formal Optional

Day 3 – Sea Day – Elegant Casual

Day 4 – San Juan, PR

Day 5 – Gustavia, St. Bart’s (Tender) – Resort Casual

Day 6 – St. Johns, Antigua – Elegant Casual

Day 7 – Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (Tender) – Resort Casual

Day 8 – Isla Catalina, DR (Tender) – Resort Casual

Day 9 – Sea Day – Elegant Casual

Day 10 – Sea Day – Resort Casual

Day 11 – Disembarkation

 

Cruise Director: Heidi

Assistant Cruise Director: Sophie

Captain: Sigurd Darbakk

 

Pre-Trip Stuff

Me - 39 – first time cruiser, single female, consultant with a significant travel experience, so definitely not a kettle that will be impressed at every turn

Jenidallas – 41 – second Seabourn cruise,consultant, world traveler

 

We booked a Virtuoso Voyager sale rate with a GTY Veranda. About a month pre cruise was got an offer of $299pp but it didn’t seem worth it. About 10 days prior to departure we got a $99pp upgrade to V6 which we jumped on due to the location of room 829

 

 

Day 0 – Travel Day

I have to say I was really excited about this trip so I had zero trouble getting up that morning. My plan was to finish packing and get to airport to start my vacation off right. Things didn’t go exactly as planned. I stuffed the last of the items into the suitcase and as I went to zip my big suitcase shut the zipper broke. (Ack!!!) Not to freak out, I pull out my two 22 inch rollaboard suitcases. While not as efficient I figured I wouldn’t be hauling my bags far it was a suitable alternative. Nice thing was with 2 suitcases I had a bit of extra room, so being a girl I went back to the closet and stuffed 4 more dresses in for “just in case.”

 

Sister came and picked me up and we pulled up to curb side check-in at Houston shortly there after. Waved over a porter to sister’s mom-tastic “swagger wagon” minivan. The porter removed my bags and tagged them quickly so I tipped him $5 and made my way inside the terminal. I travel frequently for work and have elite status so I got to use the TSA Pre check line which was super short and quick and doesn’t require that liquids or computers be removed and shoes stay on your feet. After pre check I made a bee line to the United Club and ran into my favorite bartender where I ordered up a glass of Vueve Cliquot champagne to start the trip off right. I managed to make it from car to the bar in less than 10 minutes. Not bad!

IMG_0855 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

Boarding started on time for my 2pm departure and it was a relatively uneventful flight. Domestic first on United is pretty mediocre. We were outside the meal time window so we were served a cold plate and some spectacularly bad wine. The FA in First was really sweet and we chatted for a bit mid-flight. We landed pretty much on time and the walk to baggage claim was short. I didn’t see any porters so I hauled my bags off the belt and made my way to the taxi line. FLL porters are missing out. Don’t they know women travel with way too much on cruises and will pay for assistance! It was $17 plus tip to go from the airport to the Hyatt Pier 66 hotel.

 

I had used some of my Hyatt points for a room at the Hyatt Pier 66. Due to elite status we were upgraded to a two double bed room on a high floor overlooking the water. Not wanting to hang out in the room I headed to bar while I waited for Jenidallas to arrive. She arrived about an hour later and we met some fun people at the bar, which led to some lively conversation and shots of some variety with cinnamon red hot flavored liquor. Needless to say they weren’t on Seabourn. It was good night, well at least I think it was based on our bar bill.

IMG_0859 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

 

Day 1 – Embarkation

Even though there was the questionable red hot liquor shots, I had absolutely no problems jumping out of bed. I threw open the curtains about 7am and the sun was gloriously shining.

IMG_0857 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

Spent a bit of time checking email, lounging and downloading assorted things on my ipad knowing that I didn’t want to burn my ship internet time on such things. We quickly got ready and headed down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. The breakfast was standard hotel fare and would be completely over-priced if it weren’t free due to elite status. Back up to the room and a quick call to the bellman we were on our way.

 

 

We were asked if we needed transport to the port and indicated yes. The porter went to put us into a large van for $8 per person. I was about to say “no way jose” I am not riding in a stuffed van. It was a slow day since there was only one other ship in port that the driver said it would be a direct ride for just the two of us to the port. “Onward” I said! On our way to the port I asked the driver to make a quick detour through the Walgreens. I ran in and grabbed a 12 pack of Diet Ginger Ale and Diet Dr. Pepper. The ship ended up stocking Diet Ginger Ale so it wasn’t necessary to pack my own, but the Diet Dr. Pepper was not, so I was a happy camper that I had afternoon caffeine rush. The 12 packs were $5.99 in case anyone cares.

 

We got to the port about 11am and we were not the first ones there. I would say there were maybe 30 people waiting ahead of us. The porters took our luggage and we were directed inside where there was a waiter pouring glasses of sparkling water, juice or flat water in glass champagne glasses. We were then directed to a set of seats. They kept bringing by more glasses of water and more passengers started filling up the seats. We were given copies of the Herald to review and the seated passengers were all eyeing each other up.

 

At 11:30am they began the process of boarding. Everyone stayed in their arrival order (other than one couple who thought that the rules didn’t apply to them and jumped to the front.) We were directed to an agent who processed the paperwork and took a terrible photo from an awkward angle (computer photo taken with a view from under your chin) and then gave us our room key cards. We then headed up the escalator and were scanned onto the ship.

 

Rooms weren’t ready so we were directed up to the Colonnade where lunch was being served. This was the only time I ever felt like things were a bit chaotic. The line seemed disorganized and a bit frantic. We snagged one of the last outdoor tables and had an enjoyable lunch. I don’t remember anything terribly memorable about the lunch food, but it was satisfactory and once we had a waiter he kept our glass full with nice cold white wine. The disorganized service became a bit of a trend for us in the Colonnade, though the only other times I went to the Colonnade were for breakfast and one other lunch. The Colonnade was my least favorite venue, since it was a mish mash of buffet/waiter service at breakfast and lunch. I would have preferred it be one or the other. I didn’t want to get up and grab food unless I knew my drink was on the way.

 

At about 1ish they made the announcement that rooms were ready. We collected our hand luggage and headed straight across the deck to room 829. If you plan on spending a lot of time on the pool deck then I highly recommend a room on Deck 8. It was two doors from the pool but when in the room it was perfectly quiet. I loved not having to use the public lavatory while relaxing on the pool deck or running back to the room if I forgot something! The room was in good repair and was accurately reflected in the photos.

 

Our bags were waiting on the bed and shortly after entering, our suite stewardess Andrea was knocking with two glasses of champagne and a tray with 4 bars of soap. Thankfully she didn’t make us choose one soap. She said “Two women, you get to take them all so you don’t have to choose.” I am not much for using bar soap, but there was this amazing smelling Hermes soap that smelled like an uber sexy guy. Now to just find the guy that uses that soap! For the next 10 days I would periodically pick up that bar of soap and drink in that scent.

 

Hermes Soap by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

We made quick work of unpacking and managed to get everything unpacked fairly quickly. There was plenty of space for our clothes, but we did have to request some additional hangers which were cheerfully supplied by Andrea. There was more hanging space than needed, but it would have been nice to have a few more drawers. There is also a set of drawers under the TV, so it all ended up working out. Another little cubby of space is under the sink in the bathroom. There are two ledges that helped get makeup cases out of the way and off the counter.

 

The bathroom was plenty big and had ample room for two people to stand at the mirror. The shower was pretty tiny and didn’t have awesome pressure. Shaving while in the shower was interesting. I figured out that if you opened the glass door you could prop your foot on the toilet and it made shaving a whole lot easier. I just turned the shower wand towards the wall and it didn’t make a mess.

 

Our next stop was a tour of the spa where we each spent $150 for the cruise long access to the serene area. I am not sure I would have spent “real” money on this, but we each had $400 OBC to burn thru so it seemed like a good use. Down to Seabourn Square we went where we made a Restaurant 2 reservation for our second sea day and signed up for an internet package.

 

It was getting close to sail away and we were meeting some other cruise critic folks for sail away. We popped just outside to the pool deck where Melanea and the band were jamming out some fun tunes. The CC meetup was at the Sky Bar on Deck 9. The weather was gorgeous and we set out into the wild blue yonder where the waiters kept our champagne glasses full. They were also passing around small appetizers of assorted yummy things.

 

Time really does fly on the ship and the sail away party was dying down. It was time to get back to our room for some relaxation and get ready for dinner. Being a bit indulgent we ordered two glasses of champagne, a cheese plate and a caviar plate for pre-dinner in room appetizers. (Tip: caviar is not on the room service menu, but is gratis and readily available all day every day!) They set it up on the veranda table where we read a bit and ate our apps.

 

Tonight was resort casual and I didn’t feel the need to change out of my navy sleeveless sundress so we headed down to the MDR for dinner. We asked to be seated with others and met the sweetest older couple from Pennsylvania who were lovely conversationalist. We saw them several times throughout the cruise and they were always holding hands like two love struck teenagers. Too cute! I ordered the scallops for my main and I was really underwhelmed and left most of it on the plate. Not a big deal since I ordered cheese for dessert (this is a trend, you can ban me from the chocolate but don’t take away my cheese!) which went nicely with the port.

 

Feeling that I should do it all we headed to the Club for after dinner drinks. Probably should have headed to the pool deck for dancing (read the Herald better!) and instead got lulled to sleep by Danny on guitar. The band finally made it to the Club, but at that point I was long overdue for some sleep and threw in the towel and headed to the room for some much needed sleep!

 

Day 2 – 1st Sea Day – Formal Night

 

I think the two previous days caught up to me along with a lot of lack of sleep from the past few months of work catching up to me. Don’t remember what time we woke up but it was fairly early and I thought a hot tea would do me well. I donned some yoga pants and t-shirt and headed off to Seabourn Square. I knew it was going to be bad as I headed down the steps. I could feel the rocking of the boat and started to get hot and flushed. I got a cup of tea to go, but felt really green. Worried that this feeling might last for the next 9 days I freaked out and headed back to the room. I popped a nausea pill, put back on my PJs and crawled back under the covers.

 

Thankfully the sleep and nausea pills did the trick. Deciding that I could finally face the day, I put on a swimsuit and headed out to the pool deck. I grabbed one of my Diet Ginger Ales from our fridge and asked Claudio for a glass of ice at the pool bar. This is where I found out that they did stock DGA, which became my morning beverage of choice since it helped settle my stomach.

 

I seem to recall eating lunch at the pool bar. It was fine by pool bar standards and included some mini paninis, pizza, grilled shrimp, tortilla chips and a scoop of ice cream for dessert. Not sure I remember much about the afternoon. I seem to recall reading a lot by the pool and just general relaxation. There was definitely some on and off napping.

 

Since tonight was formal night we donned our fancy frocks and headed up to the observation lounge for pre-dinner cocktails. We definitely weren’t the only ones with this idea. The lounge was pretty full with folks dressed up for the occasion. It was fun to see what other folks were wearing that evening. I saw a few tuxedos, but most men were in dark suits and most women were in sparkly evening tops with pants/skirts. Unless you really want to dress up, I saw no reason to pack the formal wear, the Caribbean definitely had people in a more casual mood.

 

For dinner we were at a hosted table with the Chief Environmental Officer. (He was nice eye candy, I wonder if he uses the Hermes soap) We were seated with an interesting mix of folks. There was a British couple traveling with their adult son and another British couple who told a story of how a few years ago that a travel agent booked them on an RCI ship and they were horrified that there were children on board and lots of people, so they asked that their luggage be collected and they would be disembarking permanently. The cruise had been pre-paid so they lost the entire week’s cruise amount. That definitely shocked me. I can understand that it isn’t your cup of tea, but I wouldn’t have just abandoned ship after an hour. There might have been another couple but I don’t think so. This was probably the most awkward table of the trip. I just didn’t click with any of the people and was glad to get away from that table and head to the show.

 

Tonight’s show was a medley of Broadway show tunes. I happen to like Broadway and knew most of the songs. It was only an hour which was enjoyable. Not sure I could have sat through much more, but the Seabourn singers were all pretty talented singers and they had some light choreography. There were a few numbers where the dance couple came out, but overall I found them underwhelming, in their defense the Grand Salon had a pretty low ceiling so much of the flashy lifts were impossible. The waiters were attentative and kept the glasses full.

 

My formal dress was starting to get uncomfortable so I retired back to the cabin and drank wine on my verandah rather than trying to make it late into the night.

 

***Up next is our second sea day which included dinner at Restaurant 2 and first port of call, and hopefully you will find it more interesting! ***

[oregon50]

Too much information. Get to the juicy part.....did you find a nice smelling straight male?

[FKGirl]

and another British couple who told a story of how a few years ago that a travel agent booked them on an RCI ship and they were horrified that there were children on board and lots of people, so they asked that their luggage be collected and they would be disembarking permanently. The cruise had been pre-paid so they lost the entire week’s cruise amount.

 

You know we played trivia with these two, and I really, really like them! (And to be so decisive on such short notice is quite impressive!)

[nolatravelgirl]

You know we played trivia with these two, and I really, really like them! (And to be so decisive on such short notice is quite impressive!)

They were nice, I guess I am more of a "make the best of a bad situation" kind of person. I wouldn't have just abandoned ship so suddenly and I was shocked that someone would just chuck their whole vacation plan based on the first hour with no chance of a refund.

[bradtarga34]

Loving the review and looking forward to the next instalment! Also applies to FKGirl! :)

[mick70]

Me TOO!! 2 weeks to go for our cruise:)

[nolatravelgirl]

Well hopefully I am not too boring and too long winded.

 

Day 2 – 2nd Sea Day – Elegant Casual

 

Jen & I had this big plan on placing a room service order for 8am which based on the fact that we had been up early the last few days seemed like a perfectly reasonable time. I didn’t set an alarm and right on cue the doorbell rang at 8am. My reaction was to pull the covers over my head and ignore it. Jen was nicer and answered the door. The room service waiter made his way into the darkened room and set up the breakfast spread on the verandah. Unfortunately the wind kicked up a several plates went crashing as he was working. Needless to say that was the end of my sleeping. Oh well, a few minutes later he returned with a new bowl of strawberries and cottage cheese which made me a happy camper.

 

There was nothing especially memorable about the day time on the 2nd sea day. We had a few intermittent showers but by in large it was mostly a relaxing day at the pool. Claudio & Miguel were manning the bar and were entertaining and fun. I think I finally got into vacation mode at this point. Some people won’t like all the sea days on this itinerary, but I found it wonderful to have nowhere to be and no set schedule, so it suited me just fine.

 

After lunch the pool deck became crazy, so we made use of our serene area passes and headed to the aft deck in the serene area and practically had the area to ourselves.

 

We received an invite for a hosted table with the dance couple, but declined due Restaurant 2 reservations. I am also never a fan of eating with someone whose job it is to be super slim so they can be tossed about on the dance floor. She probably just eats lettuce leaves and carrots.

 

Tonight was elegant casual night and we had reservations at Restaurant 2. I wore a long maxi dress with a geometric pattern, a jeweled belt and black peep toe platform shoes. Our waiter was Johannes from South Africa and Sebastian was the assistant sommelier. We were offered the up charge wine pairings but declined and never felt pressured to do so. I was not as impressed with R2 as some folks, but it was several small bites of food, but nothing stood out that evening as something that I would request seconds. I think I was starting to get into food coma since there seemed to be food available all day every day.

 

Day 3 – San Juan, PR

 

Finally a port day! We pulled up to the dock right on time, but we didn’t have big plans for the morning so we weren’t in a big rush to get off the ship. Disembarking was orderly and quick. They had a big table set up with individual bottles of water. On the dock they had a canopy set up with 4 chairs and all the sunscreens set out so if you forgot to apply sunscreen, Seabourn had you covered. There were plenty of taxis waiting just outside on the street.

 

Here is our ship (and me in San Juan)

IMG_0865 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

There is a FREE trolley that will take you all the way up to the fort. To get to the free trolley take a left out of the port, cross the street and take a right at the major intersection. The open air trolley will be along shortly. It looks like the open air trams you take a Disney World in the parking lots. I highly recommend the trolley since it is an uphill walk.

 

IMG_0874 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

This tram will take you right up to the front steps of the fort. At first you think it will just drop you at the base of this long road that leads to the fort, but be patient and you get front door service. The trolley good if you are mobility challenged. The fort is pretty much the end of the line, so it turns around and heads back the way it came from

 

IMG_0869 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

IMG_0872 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

Our plans for San Juan to take a food tour with Spoon Food Tours. The plan was to meet at Plaza Colon at 11:50. We got off the trolley at Stop 18 and walked the few blocks to the plaza. We were a few minutes early so we browsed the few vendor stalls in the area. I picked up a handmade mortar and pestle for $15USD.

mortar-pestle 1 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

mortar-pestle 2 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

***Up next is a review of our food tour which was to die for yummy and our run in with the Norwegian Gem passengers!***

[mick70]

Did they have shopping with the Chef on your cruise?

[nolatravelgirl]

Did they have shopping with the Chef on your cruise?

No they did not. We had heard the shopping with the Chef would happen in St. John but it was canceled since the chef said that there wasn't really a worthy market.

[purpleally]

I really enjoy reading cruise reviews so I am love, love, loving this!

No detail to small. Be redundant and long winded. Am hanging on to every word.

 

We are on this cruise in two weeks. My third time in the Caribbean with seabourn.

 

Bummer about shopping with chef. Did that in Barbados and it was great.

 

Have never been offered an up sell to anything besides PH

 

I love the location of deck 8 suites but my gty landed us on deck 6

[nolatravelgirl]

Spoon Food Tour

http://www.spoonfoodtours.com/

As if there wasn’t enough food on the ship we decided to book a food tour in San Juan. This company offers a walking food tour in old San Juan or a drive around tour which gets you out of the main part of the city. I have been to San Juan before and wanted to get out and about and see something beyond the touristy areas. The tour was $89 per person and worth it to see parts of the city you may not regularly get to on a cruise.

 

The owner of the company was Paulina and she was right on time at Plaza Colon. If you are worried that you may be in the wrong place, this is the statue you are looking for.

IMG_0877 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

There were 7 of us on the tour and we were all on Seabourn so that was nice. We had a big 20 person limo bus to drive us around. Paulina pointed out lots of interesting sites and facts during the drive to our first stop. It was a beach shack that according to Paulina is packed on the weekend with locals. Seeing it was early on a weekday we weren’t crowded.

 

IMG_0890 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

We had an appetizer of coconut water, ceviche and tostones. I thought this was super yummy and fresh and could have been happy sitting here for hours. We weren’t given the option of ordering anything different.

IMG_0889 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

IMG_0887 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

IMG_0886 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

IMG_0892 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

[nolatravelgirl]

After our appetizer we piled back into the limo bus for our second stop where we would eat our main entrée. It was in a residential area and was definitely not your typical tourist trap. La Jaquita Baya in Miramar. We were served a dish that can best be described as Puerto Rican shepherd’s pie with a side of rice and beans. It was tasty but frankly it was just too heavy and hot for an afternoon lunch. I think I would have preferred something lighter. We each got a glass of sangria which was super sweet. The other patron’s food in the restaurant looked yummy and I could definitely find myself back here but making a lighter selection. We also had a small bowl of pigeon peas mixed with a green paste that we dipped in plantains. Sounds gross but really flavorful.

 

IMG_0893 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

IMG_0894 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

It was time to move on so we made our way back to the van and headed back to Old San Juan and we were dropped off somewhere near that stop 18 on the trolley that overlooked a cemetery. Paulina gave us a walking tour of the area when we ended at a former convent for dessert and coffee. The walk was on cobblestone and included some steps.

 

IMG_0897 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

IMG_0899 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

IMG_0902 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

IMG_0903 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

 

It was getting late and the skies were looking ominous. The walk was only a few blocks back to the cruise port so we started walking and popped in a few shops along the way. As we got closer to the cruise port we were figuratively swimming upstream. The Norwegian Gem had just docked and there were hoardes of people making their way into town even though the skies were about to pour down.

 

I hate to be catty but the clientele on that ship was low class. I saw lots of young men with their pants slung low with boxer briefs showing along with several shirts with tasteless slogans such as “I heart (weed plant instead of heart) Weed” and gangster style baseball caps with stickers still attached. Just inside the cruise terminal there was a liquor stand offering free shots and it was bombarded with passengers. This same stall was open when the Sojourn pulled in and I didn’t see a single Seabourn passenger partake. There was also several tour guides with bullhorns herding people into cattle shoot lines for tours. It just looked pretty miserable.

[jenidallas]

I hate to be catty but the clientele on that ship was low class. I saw lots of young men with their pants slung low with boxer briefs showing along with several shirts with tasteless slogans such as “I heart (weed plant instead of heart) Weed” and gangster style baseball caps with stickers still attached. Just inside the cruise terminal there was a liquor stand offering free shots and it was bombarded with passengers. This same stall was open when the Sojourn pulled in and I didn’t see a single Seabourn passenger partake. There was also several tour guides with bullhorns herding people into cattle shoot lines for tours. It just looked pretty miserable.

 

I'd like to believe (as it was Halloween) that the NCL ghouls were our own version of a haunted house - all the scary things you are glad to escape once you are out of that maze!

[travelinjones]

Thanks for all of the details in your review! We are sailing on the Pride next week on our 1st Seabourn cruise. We will also be touring with Paulina of Spoon when in San Juan- we've toured with her earlier this year during a land visit to PR and had a fabulous time.

[Tony & Trevor]

Very interesting and formative review.

 

 

Thank you,

 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Tony

[nolatravelgirl]

After returning to the ship we cleaned up and headed down to the Virtuoso reception in the Club where we met the Virtuoso host. She kept referring to us as “you girls” which really bothered me. It was like we were second class passengers. I let it slide and decided to not let her bad attitude rub off on me.

 

As if there wasn’t enough food today, we got another hosted table dinner invitation. Tonight was assistant cruise director Sophie. She was young, vibrant and a lot fun to hang out with. There were three other couples at the table. It was definitely lively conversation and we ran into several of them numerous times throughout the cruise. I wasn’t particularly hungry but really wanted to sit at this table. Tip: If you are ever at a hosted table and don’t want to feel like you are left out of one of the courses you can order beef or chicken consommé instead of a heavy dish. This helped me save room for cheese/dessert! None of the main dishes seemed all that appealing so I went with the strip loin and steamed veggies from the “Everyday menu.” The steak was to die for yummy and was cooked rare as requested. They aloso offered bernaise sauce which I could have eaten with a spoon it was so good.

 

Day 5 – Gustavia, St. Bart’s (Tender) – Resort Casual

 

I can’t believe how quickly this cruise was going. We woke up to some dreary looking skies but we managed to dodge any rain during the day.

IMG_0906 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

We had booked our cruise via the Virtuoso Voyager Club travel agent and our amenity was an island tour and lunch at Le Gaiac. The Virtuoso host was a complete and total witch. We were instructed to be ready and waiting post tender at 9:45, so we dutifully got up early took one of the first few tenders over and were right on time. The host checked our name off and made a comment “oh good you ‘girls’ aren’t going to make us late.”

The tenders are the lifeboats. Here is what it looks like inside the tender.

IMG_0907 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

IMG_0908 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

Wondering if we were somehow the last guests to arrive I asked what time our transportation was to arrive. The bus wasn’t even scheduled to be there till 10:15am. We then just stood around waiting for 30 minutes. There were approximately 30 people on the tour and we had two 22 person busses. The host proceeded to herd us like cattle and told us which bus we were “assigned.”

 

I won’t go into all the gory details but suffice it to say I did not want to be on the bus with the host and asked at the first sight-seeing stop if could join the other bus since it wasn’t full. She yelled at me that the busses had been assigned and that if I didn’t like the bus I was on I could call a taxi. We were up a steep hill with no hotel in sight so I am not sure where or how I would have gotten a taxi from there. This made for a pretty tense ride but I tried to make the best of it. St. Bart’s is crazy expensive and so the Virtuoso tour should have been a good amenity.

 

View from the tender dock

IMG_0909 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

IMG_0910 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

Our ship in the distance.

IMG_0911 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

[nolatravelgirl]

One of the ship excursions was the Yellow Submarine tour. You can see it in this photo. This just didn’t seem like a good excursion, if you ask me.

IMG_0912 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

View from our first stop

IMG_0914 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

We finally made it to Le Gaiac and the menu prices were not for the faint of heart. I was glad the lunch was included. The wine flowed freely and the view was pretty breathtaking. If you end up stopping here, as part of a Virtuoso tour, don’t expect that you will leave full. I am all for fancy little portions but this was seriously small.

 

The menu

image by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

I ordered the salad which was a small salad plate with mostly greens, there were a few shreds of veggies, but after I ate the bites with veggies I left the rest of the greens. The mains were just as small. I think the fish was maybe 2 ounces with a paint brush effect of the celery and granny dressing. There was no side dish to accompany. The dessert was the size of petit-four. I am not saying it didn’t taste good, but this was the first time on the whole cruise where a bit more food would have been nice.

 

View from the table

 

IMG_0916 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

View looking back at the restaurant area

IMG_0920 by nolatravelgirl, on Flickr

 

We made our way back to our origination point and boarded the tender back to the ship. It was a bouncy ride and if I had had a full stomach it might not have been a fun trip. The skies opened up and it just became ugly. We weren’t scheduled to leave St. Barth’s till 11pm but I can’t imagine there were very many people who stayed over in that nasty weather.

 

Seeing as it was storming it was one of those nights where you want to crawl up in your jammies and watch a movie, which translated to ordering room service. There was a goat cheese soufflé being served in the MDR so a quick ring brought two soufflés and a bottle of white wine.

 

Jen was a trooper though and managed to get dressed and make it down to the Halloween party. It was supposed to be “Dancing Under the Stars” on the pool deck but due to the bad weather it was moved to the Club. It was apparently a very happening party scene, but I quite enjoyed my movie and jammies night.

[jenidallas]

The Halloween "Rock the Boat" party was really fun. The Club was seriously packed... like standing room only when I got down there. They did a dessert extravaganza that took up the entire hallway leading from the casino and even though it was the day after Halloween, all of the performers were dressed up as were many of the guests. I had to fight my way through the crowd to get to the bar but there were also several waiters circulating with trays of prepared cocktails and even shots (or so it appeared).

 

I'm glad I didn't listen to the poster who had sniffed at my question about whether Halloween would be celebrated with a somewhat snobbish air that it "would not" because I'd say that probably 40% of the guests had anything from a minimalist costume (mask, headband, t-shirt) all the way to a full scale costume. I was awfully glad I'd packed a Mardi Gras mask as it felt nice to be "in the spirit" with everyone else. It was definitely a lively Rock the Boat party and one of the few evenings that The Club got busy before 11 pm.

 

We also celebrated Halloween the previous day by surprising our Suite Stewardess, Andrea, with a felt trick-or-treat bag filled up with all sorts of American candy delights.

[FKGirl]

Agree... The Halloween party was great fun. We had our costumes anyway from the week before, so I am glad I packed them. Plus, they are very Seabourn-appropriate!

[mick70]

I am enjoying this review(and FKGIRL brog) since 2 weeks from now we will be eating out thanksgiving meal on the ship (I did not feel like cooking this year)

[purpleally]

Thanks again for the review. Loving it. Got to say, your virtuso host sounds like a complete B! So condescending to call you "the girls". I don't like to do that with my granddaughters and they are little girls!

 

12 more days til my turn!

[jenidallas]

Thanks again for the review. Loving it. Got to say, your virtuso host sounds like a complete B! So condescending to call you "the girls".

 

It wasn't the "girl" part as much as how it was said. She addressed us as "YOU girls" (emphasis on the you) several times and it seemed from the way she looked us up and down (or looked through us when speaking) that she didn't think we were Seabourn (or Virtuoso) clientele material.

 

It's a shame she had some kind of pre-conceived notion (which we assumed was either due to our age or that we were single women traveling unaccompanied by family or significant others) that we somehow didn't belong there. We otherwise were appropriately dressed and appropriately behaved but she talked to us as if we were naughty schoolgirls.

 

It left a very bad taste in my mouth and my Virtuoso agent was shocked when I returned and relayed the entire story of our several uncomfortable encounters with her.

[Chairsin]

I sorry you were subjected to such treatment by your Virtuoso host. The behavior of their hosts is one of many reasons why I stopped using a Virtuoso TA about 5 years ago.

 

There was one host we actually ran into on two cruises. She drank a little too much and there were evenings in the Club where her behavior was a bit embarrassing. There was another Virtuoso host who acted all put out because we passed on the many cocktail parties/ luncheons/ dinners she "hosted." She tried to make us feel as though Seabourn was her private yacht and she had invited us to sail with her. We would politely RSVP that we were unable to attend and the next day would get the third degree about why we missed the event.

 

I must also say that the Virtuoso complimentary event's were for the most part quite ho hum.I don't miss Virtuoso at all.We found a TA who provides better service and better prices.

[jenidallas]

There was another Virtuoso host who acted all put out because we passed on the many cocktail parties/ luncheons/ dinners she "hosted." She tried to make us feel as though Seabourn was her private yacht and she had invited us to sail with her. We would politely RSVP that we were unable to attend and the next day would get the third degree about why we missed the event.

 

I'm wondering if this is the same host. At one point after she was quite rude in addressing the seating situation on the bus we pointed out that her tone with us was doing her no favors and she looked at us (shocked) and said "I've been nothing but nice to you... I was even kind enough to invite you to MY cocktail party last night."

 

I do love my personal agent, but I think I might decline to sail on Virtuoso hosted sailings in the future given the trouble we had with not only this host but also some pre-sailing miscommunications with Virtuoso about the tour. (We later found out that several others with different agents had the same miscommunication which leads me to believe it was a Virtuoso issue.)

[Roxburgh]

We switched away from Virtuoso because our TA kept screwing up the administrative side.

 

However, we always found the Virtuoso hosts on-board to be very pleasant and professional. I also found the Virtuoso tours to be pretty good.

 

I am sorry the OP has had such a bad experience with the Virtuoso host. I can see how it would leave a very unpleasant taste in the mouth. Hopefully, her TA can escalate this with both Virtuoso and Seabourn. Such unprofessional behavior detracts from both brands.

 

Let me also say that I am enjoying the review. It has been a few years since we cruised the Caribbean and the review is making me feel like I should head back there. With Seabourn of course.