First impressions of Seabourn Venture, June, 2023

[markham]

We remain very happy with the ship overall, and so does the crew who enjoy working here in this environment. This is the A team, and presumably some are headed to Pursuit since they work well together and know the product, so they have a lot of optimism, seemingly always smiling. The ship is modern clubby beautiful and so is all the decor.

 

The food and menus are familiar. But the biggest difference is presentation in the clean and cheery Colonnade and the choice of both hot and cold foods eg beef pie and seafood pie, a carvery and several high quality sides. Same about the depth of salad options. 
 

This is all straightforward: a new and fine expedition ship with a more discrete base of clientele, probably a bit younger, and with a purpose- zodiacs out and about to experience and learn. Lower key entertainment but quality duos, a pianist and guitar-singer singer, nonetheless. No deck chair hoggers and bullies commanding “their” MDR table with revenue wine glasses, nor divas insisting that crew carry their Colonnade lunch plates about the decks. May it stay that way! (Why Seabourn allows these characters to subject their own crew and passengers to these characters I will never know. But I digress…)
 

And we love the outdoor space since we have had sunny but cold weather up here in Greenland almost daily.

 

That’s it for now.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Edited June 15, 2023 by markham

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Thank you for sharing your voyage!

[saminina]

markham, sailing on Endeavor while you on Venture.   We have closely matching impressions.

 

[cruiseej]

On 6/5/2023 at 1:20 PM, Mr Luxury said:

Any sign of the Howdee Doody knock on my door whilst I'm getting shaved and dressed for dinner party?

 

For what it's worth, there was no Block Party on our Sojourn cruise in the Mediterranean earlier this month, nor on our two Odyssey cruises in the Caribbean last year and the year before. Perhaps Seabourn has quietly retired them? Or perhaps only certain long-time cruise directors do them?

 

In any case, I don't understand making a big deal about them, as anyone who wished not to participate could simply remain in their suite. This would not rank in my top 1,000 questions about sailing on the Venture! 🤣

 

23 hours ago, markham said:

Our CD is Brian Bailey, an Ohioan, new to Seabourn. Handre happens to be here too. John Barron had been CD prior to this current cruise.

 

As of this month, Seabourn has retitled the Cruise Director position as "Entertainment Director", and the Assistant Cruise Director as "Entertainment Manager". (At least on the classic cruise ships.) Who knows why someone in Seattle felt these changes were needed or beneficial, since CD/ACD titles are used throughout the cruise industry.

[lincslady]

One  could argue that the new titles express  the jobs more accurately - but, as you say, the old terms are used universally in cruising.  If it's not broke, don't fix it.

[frantic36]

4 hours ago, cruiseej said:

 

In any case, I don't understand making a big deal about them, as anyone who wished not to participate could simply remain in their suite.

 

I for one find it very awkward when there are large groups standing outside my door for quite awhile. It would be fine if it was 15-20 minutes but I have had a few occasions when it has gone on longer and I want to go to the club and I have to exit my room and I feel uncomfortable that these people may now think it rude that I didn't want to introduce myself to my neighbours. 

 

You might think why don't I just join in and I have tried a few times but generally it just feels forced and uncomfortable to me.

[cruiseej]

58 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

It would be fine if it was 15-20 minutes but I have had a few occasions when it has gone on longer

 

I guess we've never experienced that. It's generally been just the people from the four suites with doorways together, with maybe a quick hello to the people at the next cluster down the hall — and I don't think any of ours lasted more than 10 or 15 minutes of chat.

 

In any case, our three most recent cruises have been block party-free, so perhaps they're a thing of the past. 😀

[markandjie]

@markham - Thanks for the details and info. We'll be coming aboard in 2 weeks on July 2nd. Will be our third cruise with the Ventures team (after Antarctica and Alaska). Would love to know who from Ventures is aboard if you don't mind sharing.

[markham]

I can’t tell you reliably since many of this cruise’s expedition team switch out in Reykjavik in 3 weeks. (We disembarked today in Greenland).

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[rallydave]

38 minutes ago, markham said:

I can’t tell you reliably since many of this cruise’s expedition team switch out in Reykjavik in 3 weeks. (We disembarked today in Greenland).

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Are you sure about 3 weeks. Believe it will be 2 weeks as I am boarding today back in Reykjavik in 2 weeks then again in 4 weeks so change over is 2 or 4 weeks. 

[markham]

You are correct, 2 weeks,

 

 

[Dusko]

We also disembarked from Venture on Sunday after what was truly a trip of a lifetime. @markham did a fantastic job of describing the ship, the crew and the voyage and I didn't think I could add anything useful. I unequivocally second all the points he made. Since I got home I wondered whether there was anything I could add that would be helpful to anyone considering such an expedition. Maybe it's worth mentioning a couple of points:

 

Such a voyage would suit people who are interested in new experiences and broadening their knowledge horizons. I learned that 40% of the passengers were new to Seabourn. That's fantastic since it means the company has a future once the "Boomer bubble" has burst. They, and all the guests that I met, were well educated and flexible. Flexibility is essential on such a voyage and is stressed right at the beginning. Conditions such as ice or inclement weather mean changes in itinerary on short notice. When this happened the expedition team and Captain were exceptional in their ability to change direction and provide us with alternate and equal experiences. They were magnificent!  As Markham mentioned, I didn't meet anyone bemoaning the lack of a TK grill, formal evenings or an elaborate entertainment program. Yes, I did see jeans in the MDR but I didn't see anyone who was "scruffy" or less than elegant. The food and the service were first rate, particularly given what must have been a challenge provisioning a ship so far from major ports.

 

This voyage would not have suited some of the people that Markham mentioned including the bullies or the deck chair hoggers. If you're looking for a strict schedule so that you can arrange your own private excursions, that's not going to happen on such a voyage. [Most of the excursions here were included]. If you measure satisfaction in terms of whether you were at the captain's hosted table or the Cruise Director remembered you and admired your evening outfit then this is possibly not the trip for you.

 

@SLSD asked earlier in this thread about preferring a cruise or an expedition. A good question. The answer is that they are different experiences but age should not prevent you from trying something completely different. The youngest person on board was close to 12 years old and there were certainly several aboard well into their 80s. All had a wonderful time. Once we had done the zodiac boarding once or twice there was nothing to it and this kind of transport opened a whole new horizon. Watching the humpback whales or getting close to massive icebergs intricately carved by nature is just not the same from a tender. I would say "go for it!". You will not pass this way again. If you don't like it you can always come on Cruise Critic and tell us about your success at trivia while crossing the Atlantic or finding the perfect Prada bag at a stop in the Mediterranean.

 

BTW there was an excellent videographer on board. If you want to see what the voyage was really like I can't do better than this https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/837407543/rendition/1080p/file.mp4?loc=external&signature=179cd6f35ab6ff830938992871671bf69cbf3c73f323e204c3ec37e49e992260

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Dusko

[travel4b]

On 6/15/2023 at 7:46 PM, frantic36 said:

 

I for one find it very awkward when there are large groups standing outside my door for quite awhile. It would be fine if it was 15-20 minutes but I have had a few occasions when it has gone on longer and I want to go to the club and I have to exit my room and I feel uncomfortable that these people may now think it rude that I didn't want to introduce myself to my neighbours. 

 

You might think why don't I just join in and I have tried a few times but generally it just feels forced and uncomfortable to me.

I agree.  

[travel4b]

On 6/22/2023 at 6:47 PM, Dusko said:

We also disembarked from Venture on Sunday after what was truly a trip of a lifetime. @markham did a fantastic job of describing the ship, the crew and the voyage and I didn't think I could add anything useful. I unequivocally second all the points he made. Since I got home I wondered whether there was anything I could add that would be helpful to anyone considering such an expedition. Maybe it's worth mentioning a couple of points:

 

Such a voyage would suit people who are interested in new experiences and broadening their knowledge horizons. I learned that 40% of the passengers were new to Seabourn. That's fantastic since it means the company has a future once the "Boomer bubble" has burst. They, and all the guests that I met, were well educated and flexible. Flexibility is essential on such a voyage and is stressed right at the beginning. Conditions such as ice or inclement weather mean changes in itinerary on short notice. When this happened the expedition team and Captain were exceptional in their ability to change direction and provide us with alternate and equal experiences. They were magnificent!  As Markham mentioned, I didn't meet anyone bemoaning the lack of a TK grill, formal evenings or an elaborate entertainment program. Yes, I did see jeans in the MDR but I didn't see anyone who was "scruffy" or less than elegant. The food and the service were first rate, particularly given what must have been a challenge provisioning a ship so far from major ports.

 

This voyage would not have suited some of the people that Markham mentioned including the bullies or the deck chair hoggers. If you're looking for a strict schedule so that you can arrange your own private excursions, that's not going to happen on such a voyage. [Most of the excursions here were included]. If you measure satisfaction in terms of whether you were at the captain's hosted table or the Cruise Director remembered you and admired your evening outfit then this is possibly not the trip for you.

 

@SLSD asked earlier in this thread about preferring a cruise or an expedition. A good question. The answer is that they are different experiences but age should not prevent you from trying something completely different. The youngest person on board was close to 12 years old and there were certainly several aboard well into their 80s. All had a wonderful time. Once we had done the zodiac boarding once or twice there was nothing to it and this kind of transport opened a whole new horizon. Watching the humpback whales or getting close to massive icebergs intricately carved by nature is just not the same from a tender. I would say "go for it!". You will not pass this way again. If you don't like it you can always come on Cruise Critic and tell us about your success at trivia while crossing the Atlantic or finding the perfect Prada bag at a stop in the Mediterranean.

 

BTW there was an excellent videographer on board. If you want to see what the voyage was really like I can't do better than this https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/837407543/rendition/1080p/file.mp4?loc=external&signature=179cd6f35ab6ff830938992871671bf69cbf3c73f323e204c3ec37e49e992260

 

Having done two cruises on Venture I would agree totally with everything you have said.

 

[travel4b]

19 hours ago, Atmavictu said:

I have been on the venture last December and it is indeed a beautifully conceived, comfortable ship with exceptional maneuverability that makes it ideal for any expedition journey . The Staff was very friendly and very efficient, food was ok considering we were on open seas fro almost two weeks. Wine was pretty mediocre but rough seas makes it difficult to preserve the bottles.

 

The only thing that is not quite so intelligently designed was the Discovery Center since you just don't see anything if someone is sitting in the row in front of you. But since it is almost never a full house down there, you can always find a decent spot. But it was pretty cold so eventually I ended up watching the briefings live in my cabin.

I also found some members of the scientific team a bit too full of themselves but hey it is a big team so there will always be someone who is there just for the free ride.

The one and only thing I would change in a heartbeat is the main dining hall, it feels really dated and boring, I would bring some life into it. But I understand I am 20 years younger that the average seaboard traveller so I guess it is more of a generational change in taste.

 

If you are talking about the Colonnade I very much agree.  It is starkly plain with harsh lighting - a glaring contrast to the otherwise lux public spaces.  As a fellow passenger put it “it feels like a canteen”.

[travel4b]

On 6/15/2023 at 4:16 PM, lincslady said:

One  could argue that the new titles express  the jobs more accurately - but, as you say, the old terms are used universally in cruising.  If it's not broke, don't fix it.

Interesting.  The hotel director explained that these new job titles are rapidly becoming the norm on cruise ships - and for good reason as they more accurately describes the job.  Unfortunately passengers go right to the cruise director with any and all concerns or complaints when they should often be going to the hotel manager.  

[travel4b]

On 6/14/2023 at 1:25 PM, Shipless in Seattle said:

Can you let us know if David is CD? We met him on Odyssey last December as ACD but he was excited to be joining venture as cd this year. Was real good. Kent & Jeffrey 

David Price?  He was the CD on Venture in March.  I’ve never seen a CD less on a Seabourn cruise!  It was downright odd.  In contrast, John Barron was everywhere when we were aboard a few weeks ago.

[jjs217]

The Colonnade is very utilitarian.  I'm just guessing, but when we were crossing The Drake, we hit a rogue wave and dishes and glasses on tables that weren't occupied went flying.  Perhaps it makes for an easier clean-up.  Also, on the few evenings we ate there for dinner, everybody was dressed in what looked like their expedition clothes.  Hmmm.  Maybe they just decided to keep it canteen-ish, because that is basically what it is.

[travel4b]

1 hour ago, jjs217 said:

The Colonnade is very utilitarian.  I'm just guessing, but when we were crossing The Drake, we hit a rogue wave and dishes and glasses on tables that weren't occupied went flying.  Perhaps it makes for an easier clean-up.  Also, on the few evenings we ate there for dinner, everybody was dressed in what looked like their expedition clothes.  Hmmm.  Maybe they just decided to keep it canteen-ish, because that is basically what it is.

Seabourn does a decent job converting the Colonnade into a nice sit down dinner experience. I just don’t understand why they missed the mark so badly on Venture. Of 20+ days onboard I think we’ve had dinner there once. I love Earth & Ocean but gave it a pass to avoid the venue. 

[Shipless in Seattle]

17 hours ago, travel4b said:

David Price?  He was the CD on Venture in March.  I’ve never seen a CD less on a Seabourn cruise!  It was downright odd.  In contrast, John Barron was everywhere when we were aboard a few weeks ago.

Yup. He was very good to us as acd on our group on Odyssey  Aimee was was most amazing cd. Hopefully he just needed a little to adjust to the position as we thought he had some talent. John Barron is a natural anomaly you don’t find very often. One of the Best cd in the entire world. I sailed with him the first time on Radisson Mariner in 2002 when he was an acd and have never seen anyone do lying poker better. Thanks for helping us with device on this ship 

Kent 

 

[rallydave]

On 6/27/2023 at 9:48 AM, travel4b said:

David Price?  He was the CD on Venture in March.  I’ve never seen a CD less on a Seabourn cruise!  It was downright odd.  In contrast, John Barron was everywhere when we were aboard a few weeks ago.

Cd is Brian who is new to seabourn. Now on second cruise and not very good IMHO. HOPEFULLY will be better on next cruise. 

[Dusko]

Dave, I agree with your thoughts on Brian, even allowing for his role as ED rather than CD. 
 

Do you have the CEO on board? If so, is there any recognition?

[rallydave]

18 minutes ago, Dusko said:

Dave, I agree with your thoughts on Brian, even allowing for his role as ED rather than CD. 
 

Do you have the CEO on board? If so, is there any recognition?

Well actyy it ally title is back to CD. Not the CEO but president Nedalua and her executive team. No CEO fir Seabourn. Not sure what you mean by recognition. She snd the team ate around participating snd talking to people and at functions. I attended a Oresidents dinner snd wine tasting for 20 people. Even had a town hall. No hard questions asked. Really like Nadalya. 

[cruiseej]

3 hours ago, rallydave said:

Even had a town hall. No hard questions asked.

 

I'm surprised that having a change to question the Seabourn President and other executives, no one asked "hard" questions. I don't mean "stump them", but legitimate issue which are of concern to Seabourn customers. Just off the top of my head, I might have liked to heard her asked and respond to  questions like these…

• How does Seabourn aim to compete against Silversea and Regent, as well as the new luxury cruise lines like Scenic, Atlas, Ritz Carlton Four Seasons, etc. who keep bringing new ships to market, when Seabourn has only its new expedition ships but only contraction — nothing new or planned, and the upcoming loss of the Odyssey — on the classic cruise side? Is the plan to remain pretty at the current size? Are there plans to add any new classic cruise ships?

 

• Silversea created a program to feature, in at least one restaurant, food and drink driven by where in the world the ships are sailing, while Seabourn's food and wines typically are corporate-prescribed menus and wines unreflective of locale. On my most recent cruise in Spain, France and Italy, the wines were predominantly from South Africa and the menus didn't give a clue about Spanish, French or Italian cuisine. Would you consider allowing some local variation and allowing your executive chefs more flexibility to show their creativity? Would you consider locally sourcing some wines when in notable wine-producing regions? Or is this simply impossible because of cost constraints?

 

• Speaking of wines, Seabourn touts its complimentary "fine wines", but we've seen a tangible decline in the quality of the included wines. Most are $10-$15 retail wines in the US. We feel, and many people we have cruised with feel, it would tangibly improve the dining experience if Seabourn just modestly increased the price points for the included wines to improve the quality of the offerings. With the exception of non-wine drinkers, I think most Seabourn passengers would be very happy if you added $5/day per person to the cruise fare in order to offer some $15-$25 (US retail) wines instead of your current offerings. Is there any chance of moving that needle?

 

• We're very disappointed with the removal of the trios and installation of DJs, and we hope you'll reverse this recent change. The perception is that this was a cost-saving measure, although we've also heard it was an effort to "modernize" the music. But it wasn't necessary to remove the trios to update the music. We're all for directing the musicians to update their playlists to more current music — we'd applaud a ban on "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Besame Mucho" (ha ha) — but we treasure a variety of live music on the ships. Have you received customer feedback on this recent change, and are you open to reversing direction and bringing back the live musicians which were eliminated?

 

• We understand Seabourn, and all cruise companies, suffered massive losses and pile up massive debt during the Covid shutdown, and there is a perception among some, perhaps many, longtime Seabourn cruisers, that corporate bean-counters are driving small but meaningful cutbacks which are slowly eroding some of what had made Seabourn so special. What can you tell us about your plans going forward to maintain and improve Seabourn's quality of service, food & beverage, entertainment, etc.?

 

• Now, about allowing jeans in the restaurants… 🤣 (Haha, just kidding)

Edited June 28, 2023 by cruiseej

[rallydave]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

 

I'm surprised that having a change to question the Seabourn President and other executives, no one asked "hard" questions. I don't mean "stump them", but legitimate issue which are of concern to Seabourn customers. Just off the top of my head, I might have liked to heard her asked and respond to  questions like these…

• How does Seabourn aim to compete against Silversea and Regent, as well as the new luxury cruise lines like Scenic, Atlas, Ritz Carlton Four Seasons, etc. who keep bringing new ships to market, when Seabourn has only its new expedition ships but only contraction — nothing new or planned, and the upcoming loss of the Odyssey — on the classic cruise side? Is the plan to remain pretty at the current size? Are there plans to add any new classic cruise ships?

 

• Silversea created a program to feature, in at least one restaurant, food and drink driven by where in the world the ships are sailing, while Seabourn's food and wines typically are corporate-prescribed menus and wines unreflective of locale. On my most recent cruise in Spain, France and Italy, the wines were predominantly from South Africa and the menus didn't give a clue about Spanish, French or Italian cuisine. Would you consider allowing some local variation and allowing your executive chefs more flexibility to show their creativity? Would you consider locally sourcing some wines when in notable wine-producing regions? Or is this simply impossible because of cost constraints?

 

• Speaking of wines, Seabourn touts its complimentary "fine wines", but we've seen a tangible decline in the quality of the included wines. Most are $10-$15 retail wines in the US. We feel, and many people we have cruised with feel, it would tangibly improve the dining experience if Seabourn just modestly increased the price points for the included wines to improve the quality of the offerings. With the exception of non-wine drinkers, I think most Seabourn passengers would be very happy if you added $5/day per person to the cruise fare in order to offer some $15-$25 (US retail) wines instead of your current offerings. Is there any chance of moving that needle?

 

• We're very disappointed with the removal of the trios and installation of DJs, and we hope you'll reverse this recent change. The perception is that this was a cost-saving measure, although we've also heard it was an effort to "modernize" the music. But it wasn't necessary to remove the trios to update the music. We're all for directing the musicians to update their playlists to more current music — we'd applaud a ban on "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Besame Mucho" (ha ha) — but we treasure a variety of live music on the ships. Have you received customer feedback on this recent change, and are you open to reversing direction and bringing back the live musicians which were eliminated?

 

• We understand Seabourn, and all cruise companies, suffered massive losses and pile up massive debt during the Covid shutdown, and there is a perception among some, perhaps many, longtime Seabourn cruisers, that corporate bean-counters are driving small but meaningful cutbacks which are slowly eroding some of what had made Seabourn so special. What can you tell us about your plans going forward to maintain and improve Seabourn's quality of service, food & beverage, entertainment, etc.?

 

• Now, about allowing jeans in the restaurants… 🤣 (Haha, just kidding)

Those are some of the questions I would have expected. And Nadalya herself at the end stated that she and the rest of the executive team expected different types of questions. 
 

Akso I am aware other town halls had tough questions.