On Board Seabourn Odyssey

[Genoabay]

I am always appreciative of helpful information and suggestions from fellow cruisers.

I am on board Seabourn Odyssey enjoying the 14-day Alaskan cruise Vancouver return

that began Friday, May 26/23.

 

Happy to return the favour and answer any queries I may have answers to.  

[nancygp]

Looking forward to following along.  We’re doing the same in a couple of months.

 

question, is there one show in the grand salon at night?  If so what time is the show?

 

enjoy and thanks

 

Nancy

[CalmSea]

I have a question about the MPC (Mobile Passport Control) app. It was a question raised by @robertmartha in an earlier thread. Did you use it during embarkation at Vancouver? And if you did, did the app help? And @robertmartha, if you are reading this post, did you use it when you disembarked at Vancouver? Thanks.

[MBP&O2/O]

Thanks for the offer of answers. 

We have one coming up soon about which i have a couple of questions re excursions.

Hubbard Glacier by catamaran and ISP is a small group whale watch

I would really like to know the approximate pax numbers on these two trips.

I have heard that some catamaran trips have upto 160 pax! I hope this is for Monstrosity of the Seas and similar 🤪

Thanks.

[RJ2002]

3 hours ago, nancygp said:

Looking forward to following along.  We’re doing the same in a couple of months.

 

question, is there one show in the grand salon at night?  If so what time is the show?

 

enjoy and thanks

 

Nancy

 

We just disembarked.   There was generally one show in the grand salon, at 9:30pm.   Entertainment was either the ship's resident 4 singers and 2 dancers, or entertainers brought onboard.  We had a vocalist, magician, comedian and pianist.

 

I think one or two evenings they showed a movie.

[nancygp]

10 minutes ago, RJ2002 said:

 

We just disembarked.   There was generally one show in the grand salon, at 9:30pm.   Entertainment was either the ship's resident 4 singers and 2 dancers, or entertainers brought onboard.  We had a vocalist, magician, comedian and pianist.

 

I think one or two evenings they showed a movie.

Thank you!  

 

Nancy

[Genoabay]

On 5/28/2023 at 7:31 AM, nancygp said:

Looking forward to following along.  We’re doing the same in a couple of months.

 

question, is there one show in the grand salon at night?  If so what time is the show?

 

enjoy and thanks

 

Nancy

Hi Nancy,

The shows have been at 9:30 p.m. in the Grand Salon thus far. There was a special show by a talented and engaging musician that we took in, a show with a magician we did not see, and tonight there is "Songs in the City" with the Seabourn Singers.

 

[robertmartha]

CalmSea

 

Six of us in our group. Disembarked and were picked up at approx 9:30am (private transfer).

At airport by 10am ish (Vancouver Friday). Absolutely empty. We had all downloaded and completed the app. Separate line at customs - only ones in it 🤣. Walked right to the front. Customs agent took us (vs people standing in regular line). Scanned the code - handed them our passports - 10 seconds flat if that...I guess we don't look questionable?🤣?)

 

What I will say took quite some time is going thru the scanners - mind you not complaining at all that they really scan everything and really are very thorough - definitely puts my mind at ease.

 

After that we did stop into the amex priority lounge for a bit - then off to our gate. Very nice airport BTW.

And I cannot say enough about Alaska Air (going) and Air Canada (return). Terrific flight crews on both flights as well as great fellow passengers - no incidents on any flight.

[CalmSea]

@Robertmartha, thanks. Now, the remaining question is regarding embarkation at Vancouver's Canada Place cruise terminal, which does not apply to your party. My understanding is that at Canada Place, one has to go through US customs and immigration before boarding. The question is whether the MPC is useful there too. There were reports that the wait for US customs and immigration can be long at Canada Place.

[MBP&O2/O]

There have been a couple of threads recently - on specific cruise line forums - regarding slow boarding at Vancouver. In general it seems as if the blame is being put on American Immigration protocols.... causing very long queues
My questions are 
"Having waited your turn and been granted permission to to visit the USA, and board your ship ..... what happens if you decide to go ashore for a while? Do you have to join the queue again?"

If not ..

"Is there anything to stop you clearing immigration the day before? "

Forever optimistic ... not😏
 

[florisdekort]

2 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

There have been a couple of threads recently - on specific cruise line forums - regarding slow boarding at Vancouver. In general it seems as if the blame is being put on American Immigration protocols.... causing very long queues
My questions are 
"Having waited your turn and been granted permission to to visit the USA, and board your ship ..... what happens if you decide to go ashore for a while? Do you have to join the queue again?"

If not ..

"Is there anything to stop you clearing immigration the day before? "

Forever optimistic ... not😏
 

Unless anything has changed, in previous years, once you had gone through Immigration, you had exited Canada and entered the US (your ship), so going back to shore (Canada) was not allowed. And no, obviously you couldn’t clear a day early.  

[Genoabay]

We used the automated passport control kiosk and breezed through embarkation with no problem whatsoever. We did go about an hour earlier than our designated embarkation time. No one bothered to ask about our assigned time, and we boarded immediately. It was all a very smooth immigration and boarding process.

[Genoabay]

Hi MBP&O2/O

 

I just spoke with Destination Services and am told that the Hubbard Glacier catamaran is limited to 120 persons. Whale watching is limited to 100 persons.

[CalmSea]

39 minutes ago, Genoabay said:

We used the automated passport control kiosk and breezed through embarkation with no problem whatsoever. We did go about an hour earlier than our designated embarkation time. No one bothered to ask about our assigned time, and we boarded immediately. It was all a very smooth immigration and boarding process.

Thanks. It seems that automatical passport control (APC) is different from the MPC, and almost all US and Canadian passengers can use the APC. So, whether there is a long queue still depends on whether one is unlucky to embark with several big cruise ships.

[MightyQuinn]

2 hours ago, CalmSea said:

Thanks. It seems that automatical passport control (APC) is different from the MPC, and almost all US and Canadian passengers can use the APC. So, whether there is a long queue still depends on whether one is unlucky to embark with several big cruise ships.

You should have no problem navigating Canada Place or waiting in long lines during embarkation, even if several monster ships are also in port.  Just follow the signs for Seabourn or mention to any onsite CP staff that you are sailing with Seabourn and they literally will trip over each other trying to help you.  You'll also get a magic card (ours was yellow) to slip into your passport/travel docs.  Once a CP staffer sees the magic card, you are whisked away to a priority line for quick access to US Immigration and Customs.  Once inside, there are separate lines for Canadian/American or International passport holders to reach APC terminals.  Pick your line, scan your passport and get a printed ticket to give to the Immigration officer at the door.  Then proceed to the Seabourn check-in area and wait to board the ship. 

 

All went very smoothly for us up to this point but we got stuck in the Seabourn waiting area for almost an hour since the Canadian Coast Guard decided to do an unannounced inspection of Odyssey before any new guests could board.  Set that aside and embarkation was a breeze!

[RJ2002]

1 hour ago, MightyQuinn said:

You should have no problem navigating Canada Place or waiting in long lines during embarkation, even if several monster ships are also in port.  Just follow the signs for Seabourn or mention to any onsite CP staff that you are sailing with Seabourn and they literally will trip over each other trying to help you.  You'll also get a magic card (ours was yellow) to slip into your passport/travel docs.  Once a CP staffer sees the magic card, you are whisked away to a priority line for quick access to US Immigration and Customs.  Once inside, there are separate lines for Canadian/American or International passport holders to reach APC terminals.  Pick your line, scan your passport and get a printed ticket to give to the Immigration officer at the door.  Then proceed to the Seabourn check-in area and wait to board the ship. 

 

All went very smoothly for us up to this point but we got stuck in the Seabourn waiting area for almost an hour since the Canadian Coast Guard decided to do an unannounced inspection of Odyssey before any new guests could board.  Set that aside and embarkation was a breeze!

We boarded the same day, and upon entering CP and approaching a Seabourn rep, we were handed a card that I recall was more brown than yellow.  We were indeed routed to a very short queue for luggage screening, but then were funneled into this horrendous line for US Immigration - despite flashing the Seabourn boarding card.  There were other Seabourn passengers in the long line with us.  
 

[MBP&O2/O]

9 hours ago, Genoabay said:

I just spoke with Destination Services and am told that the Hubbard Glacier catamaran is limited to 120 persons. Whale watching is limited to 100 persons.

Thanks for that ... practically half the ship .... hope the zodiacs and kayaks are full 🤞😄 

[Mauzac]

7 hours ago, MightyQuinn said:

You should have no problem navigating Canada Place or waiting in long lines during embarkation, even if several monster ships are also in port.  Just follow the signs for Seabourn or mention to any onsite CP staff that you are sailing with Seabourn and they literally will trip over each other trying to help you.  You'll also get a magic card (ours was yellow) to slip into your passport/travel docs.  Once a CP staffer sees the magic card, you are whisked away to a priority line for quick access to US Immigration and Customs.  Once inside, there are separate lines for Canadian/American or International passport holders to reach APC terminals.  Pick your line, scan your passport and get a printed ticket to give to the Immigration officer at the door.  Then proceed to the Seabourn check-in area and wait to board the ship. 

 

All went very smoothly for us up to this point but we got stuck in the Seabourn waiting area for almost an hour since the Canadian Coast Guard decided to do an unannounced inspection of Odyssey before any new guests could board.  Set that aside and embarkation was a breeze!

 

That certainly was not our experience on the Grand Pacific Voyage last Autumn.  We were in a queue for 3 hours along with all other SB customers and the passengers on a large capacity ship.  Those from US did move slightly quicker as we got towards the end of the queueing, but for us Europeans it was 3 hours, and only slightly less for those from US.   No signs for SB and no magic card and believe me we looked for relief from the process!    

[SLSD]

4 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

Thanks for that ... practically half the ship .... hope the zodiacs and kayaks are full 🤞😄 

We have taken this catamaran trip and enjoyed it.  We boarded VERY early in the morning--before 8am if I recall correctly.  

[MBP&O2/O]

Ours is shown as .... Ventures by Seabourn: Hubbard Glacier by Catamaran 11:00 am.  The other is shown as

Discover Alaska's Whales: Small-Group Experience ... hopefully less than 100pax 🙂

[MBP&O2/O]

45 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

Discover Alaska's Whales: Small-Group Experience ... hopefully less than 100pax 🙂

Severe operator malfunction  .... this is actually quoted as18 pax max .... better 🤞

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

Ours is shown as .... Ventures by Seabourn: Hubbard Glacier by Catamaran 11:00 am.  The other is shown as

Discover Alaska's Whales: Small-Group Experience ... hopefully less than 100pax 🙂

I don't remember how many passengers were on the catamaran we took for this excursion.  It is a large boat.  It was a very enjoyable excursion and I do believe many people signed up for it--and it probably had very close to the maximum. number of passengers.  It was an added excursion on our itinerary--announced the day before.  And it was quite popular.  It is perfect for those who do not want to get into a zodiac.  We got quite close to the glaciers--as close as was safe.  It was memorable.  If you are not doing anything else the morning it is offered, I would not miss it.  The catamaran has an inside seating area as well as two decks.  There is also a very decent restroom on the boat.

Edited May 31, 2023 by SLSD

[2SailingNomads]

We did that also.  The boat was fairly large but did not feel crowded.

[SLSD]

4 hours ago, 2SailingNomads said:

We did that also.  The boat was fairly large but did not feel crowded.

That is what we found.  There were quite a few people but plenty of room to have a good view of everything.  

[PaulMCO]

They had Global Entry, (last July) so that quickened the queue for Americans.

Edited June 1, 2023 by PaulMCO