Live (again) From The Venture

[Covepointcruiser]

Sorry the trip was such a disappointment.   We missed ports also but did enjoy the talks by the Expedition Leaders and we didn’t get to hear all 27 of them.    

[SLSD]

We have friends on the Venture's next itinerary.  I don't think they will be having any issues with ice.  I hope it goes well for them.  

[twodjs]

Very disappointed to read from current guests on Venture that Seabourn has caved to the complaints of a small vocal minorty and the 100% non-smoking policy is no more, except in areas deemed invironmently fragile, like Antarctica. Here I was applauding them for leading the charge for a cleaner and more healthy eunvironment for all. No more... ☹️

[Hlitner]

46 minutes ago, twodjs said:

Very disappointed to read from current guests on Venture that Seabourn has caved to the complaints of a small vocal minorty and the 100% non-smoking policy is no more, except in areas deemed invironmently fragile, like Antarctica. Here I was applauding them for leading the charge for a cleaner and more healthy eunvironment for all. No more... ☹️

We read the posts regarding SB deciding to allow smoking in the Sky Bar!  I would assume this would be enough to cause some folks to cancel future cruises  This new policy is completely contrary to SBs own policy:

 

ON SEABOURN VENTURE AND SEABOURN PURSUIT:

We are implementing a “no smoking” policy on Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit, our two expedition ships, which includes e-cigarettes. Expedition travel visits many remote and rarely visited environments that are pristine, with diverse ecosystems and wildlife. We have implemented this policy to eliminate the possibility that cigarette butts and other smoking materials would end up harming the environment.

 

We have an upcoming cruise (in Antarctica) but not sure why we should believe that SB will follow their own rules on that cruise since they apparently have been ignoring their own rules on recent cruises. Will give them a call tomorrow and ask for clarification.  If smoking is OK inside the vessel (on the recent cruise it was allowed in the Sky Bar) than we will cancel and request a full refund.

 

Hank

[SLSD]

14 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We read the posts regarding SB deciding to allow smoking in the Sky Bar!  I would assume this would be enough to cause some folks to cancel future cruises  This new policy is completely contrary to SBs own policy:

 

ON SEABOURN VENTURE AND SEABOURN PURSUIT:

We are implementing a “no smoking” policy on Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit, our two expedition ships, which includes e-cigarettes. Expedition travel visits many remote and rarely visited environments that are pristine, with diverse ecosystems and wildlife. We have implemented this policy to eliminate the possibility that cigarette butts and other smoking materials would end up harming the environment.

 

We have an upcoming cruise (in Antarctica) but not sure why we should believe that SB will follow their own rules on that cruise since they apparently have been ignoring their own rules on recent cruises. Will give them a call tomorrow and ask for clarification.  If smoking is OK inside the vessel (on the recent cruise it was allowed in the Sky Bar) than we will cancel and request a full refund.

 

Hank

I applaud you for asking for a refund if SB is not honoring their own announced policy.  

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, SLSD said:

I applaud you for asking for a refund if SB is not honoring their own announced policy.  

So here is more of the tale.  We did call SB this afternoon (because of this blog and the posts on FB) and made our position very clear.  The SB rep read me the policy (no smoking on the Venture) and suggested we should not give much credence to social media.  I rejected this suggestion and asked for clarification of the current policy. I was on hold for about 10 minutes (I suspect the issue was elevated) and the rep came back on the phone and assured me there would be no smoking in Antartica.  

 

So, I do have a question for anyone who may have been on that recent Venture cruise.  Were there any SB management folks from Seattle, that may have boarded the ship in Iceland?  The no-smoking policy is quite clear so somebody very high up (i.e. Hotel Manager and/or Captain) must have made a decision to ignore the no-smoking policy.  One might believe that somebody onboard had enough clout to have the policy ignored and annoy other passengers.

 

Hank

[worcestergal]

 I had heard that there were some very upper management types on the cruise before the one that just ended. Perhaps, they made the decision to allow smoking on deck 9. I have no firsthand knowledge of that. 
But, I can assure you, cigar smoking was definitely happening on the cruise I was on (which started in Greenland)!  And, there were cruise staff of various levels who were there, observed it, and certainly did nothing to stop it. 

Edited October 5, 2022 by worcestergal

[15Day+]

We were on the Sept 4th Venture cruise from Iceland to Greenland and, as we toured the ship on the first day, encountered a smoker outside the Club beside the starboard hot tub on deck 9. I told the person that the Venture was a non-smoking ship and they informed me that they were given an exception to the policy.

 

I immediately expressed our displeasure to Seabourn Square, Cruise Director Sarah Bomber, Expedition Leader Juan Restrepo and several days later to Captain Stig Betten. They apologized and told us it was an exception given by Seabourn's senior management who had been on the previous cruise.

 

For us, this was the only negative to what was another wonderful Seabourn cruise.

[lincslady]

It's obviously a case of not what you know, but who you know.  But supposing others see them, and decide to join them?  Thin end.

[PACruiser5]

We were on the Aug 21 sailing from Reykjavik where we were joined by a big crew of folks from corporate in Seattle including President Josh Leibowitz. I didn't notice any smoking by the sky bar, but that does not mean it wasn't happening. Folks onboard gave Josh and the team plenty of "feedback", will be interesting to see if anything comes of it other than the smoking thing. They held a Q and A one evening- I asked what they had learned from their onboard experience that would cause them to make changes. Josh turned to one of the senior guys on the stage with him and said- we clearly need to improve communications and handed over the mike. That is indeed a weakness, will be interesting to see if anything happens. 

[AngloSaxonCelt]

I am currently on the “Venture” heading to the Caribbean. We boarded in St. John’s.  All has been as well as we expected except for the change in the smoking policy. Quite disappointing…

At times, the service staff in the lounges seem out of sync. An example, in The Club, a few times we have had to ask for our drinks twice and even three times. Familiarity and training should resolve this issue.

Nevertheless, the ship is wonderful…! I love sitting in the sauna looking out at the ocean from a large porthole. The food is quite good and the restaurant staff, though new to this ship, are working and building confidence. We appreciate their efforts.

Now, for another visit to the sauna. Cheers…!

[2SailingNomads]

We had planned to be on the current voyage but when the itinerary changed so did our plan. If what was a non-smoking small ship now caters to exceptions (I heard part of it had to due with crew restrictions supposedly) we will drop it off future considerations given the exorbitant price. Hello Seabourn there are easily 20 other high-end expedition ships coming on line in the next 3 years.  Seabourn lost a lot of top management and great crew over the last 6 or 7 years to other lines.  Windstorm for one and now especially Scenic.  With Four Seasons just albeit a few years in advance, Explora etc. How many more of the very good crew will move on? On our Scenic cruise 80% of the hotel staff were ex-Seabourn.  That alone says a lot about my favorite cruise line, Seabourn.   Fix it Josh or let someone else.

[chicagomelinda]

On 10/4/2022 at 7:17 PM, Hlitner said:

We read the posts regarding SB deciding to allow smoking in the Sky Bar!  I would assume this would be enough to cause some folks to cancel future cruises  This new policy is completely contrary to SBs own policy:

 

ON SEABOURN VENTURE AND SEABOURN PURSUIT:

We are implementing a “no smoking” policy on Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit, our two expedition ships, which includes e-cigarettes. Expedition travel visits many remote and rarely visited environments that are pristine, with diverse ecosystems and wildlife. We have implemented this policy to eliminate the possibility that cigarette butts and other smoking materials would end up harming the environment.

 

We have an upcoming cruise (in Antarctica) but not sure why we should believe that SB will follow their own rules on that cruise since they apparently have been ignoring their own rules on recent cruises. Will give them a call tomorrow and ask for clarification.  If smoking is OK inside the vessel (on the recent cruise it was allowed in the Sky Bar) than we will cancel and request a full refund.

 

Hank

The sky bar is outdoors. I believe it was located right next to where the hot tubs were. We were at the hot tubs on deck nine, and there was a guy there smoking a cigar that nearly put me out. I can assure you, however, that there is no smoking anywhere indoors on the venture. Hi would love to know that they are in forcing a non-smoking policy outdoors as well, but I don’t believe that’s the case. I believe they are allowing smoking in some outdoor locations.

[AngloSaxonCelt]

9 hours ago, chicagomelinda said:

The sky bar is outdoors. I believe it was located right next to where the hot tubs were. We were at the hot tubs on deck nine, and there was a guy there smoking a cigar that nearly put me out. I can assure you, however, that there is no smoking anywhere indoors on the venture. Hi would love to know that they are in forcing a non-smoking policy outdoors as well, but I don’t believe that’s the case. I believe they are allowing smoking in some outdoor locations.

Yes, they are allowing smoking in the same place on 9, but nowhere indoors…