Venture Expedition...or is it? Edinburgh to Tromso

[highplanesdrifters]

1 hour ago, kej1 said:

And thanks so much to @highplanesdrifters for taking us along!  It did look like a great trip despite the frustrations on the expedition piece!  Loved reading it!

 

Thanks for taking us along on your awesome trip! You prepped me for this one and also for our upcoming 40 day Guam to Santiago in September.   Interesting that they are only showing excursions in Papeete. I've screenshoted all the others that say things are included.  Thanks again for the heads up.

 

[highplanesdrifters]

3 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

Which champagne was the winner?!

 

Excellent question!😃

 

One for the Bolly, three for Dom, and one for Cristal. 

 

I was recently gifted a bottle of Cristal and it didn't feel worth the price. Part of the reason for the tasting. That and great fun with new friends.  But in the match up it was my pick. Mostly because at the end of a lot going down the gullet it still sparkled and it's flavors held up. 

 

Fwiw, total cost for all three was about $520. Crazy right? Our status gets us 25% off and their tiered reward program is incredible. 

 

My favorite is still Pol Roger Winston Churchill.  Sadly they had none.

[galeforce9]

19 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

 

Excellent question!😃

 

One for the Bolly, three for Dom, and one for Cristal. 

 

I was recently gifted a bottle of Cristal and it didn't feel worth the price. Part of the reason for the tasting. That and great fun with new friends.  But in the match up it was my pick. Mostly because at the end of a lot going down the gullet it still sparkled and it's flavors held up. 

 

Fwiw, total cost for all three was about $520. Crazy right? Our status gets us 25% off and their tiered reward program is incredible. 

 

My favorite is still Pol Roger Winston Churchill.  Sadly they had none.

We only get 20% off currently but won’t be long until we reach your elevated status! Still, very tempted to give this a try. Much cheaper than some of those poor Seabourn excursions 🥂🍾😀
 

edited to say - I can’t recall whether the reduction comes off on board spend before the point all OBC is used up. I think it does but do you know?

Edited June 10 by galeforce9

[highplanesdrifters]

13 minutes ago, galeforce9 said:

We only get 20% off currently but won’t be long until we reach your elevated status! Still, very tempted to give this a try. Much cheaper than some of those poor Seabourn excursions 🥂🍾😀
 

edited to say - I can’t recall whether the reduction comes off on board spend before the point all OBC is used up. I think it does but do you know?

Not sure I understand the question. 

 

Here is what Iearned in case it helps:

 

These are the bonus discounts available. 

 

 

After all your wine purchases and tier discounts,  your 25% is then applied.

 

For example: in our purchase Cristal and Dom came to $680. This put us in the second tier which gave us $120 off our Bolly.  After that our 25% discount was applied. Applying the discount after is great for getting you up the tier.  

 

Hopefully some bean counter isn't reading this.🤣

 

 

 

[Redking]

Thank you @highplanesdrifters for an informative and humorous review. I'm still researching expedition cruising and your review and excellent contributions from others has really shed light on some of the pros and cons of the various offerings. Clearly it's a lucrative market for the cruise lines and promises are writ large, but not always delivered. I'm getting a sense that SS may have an edge over Seabourn? Other options may be to look at lines that specialise in expeditions such as Ponant?

[BasandSyb]

Will collect some thoughts with Bas on this cruise and post further. 
 

Had a chuckle over the champagne. Reminds me of the Great Champagne Debacle of 2012 coming into Buenos Aires on Quest.

We ended up in a champagne party tasting Dom, Bolly and Krug. The Dom won hands down.

 

Appreciate others comments and perspectives.

[kej1]

I’m a Krug fan over the others. Done tasting of  DP and Krug on SQ flights But I would not turn any of those mentioned down!  And it’s a matter of your own taste!  Cheers to great Champagnes!  Those you mention are all great.

[highplanesdrifters]

9 hours ago, Redking said:

Thank you @highplanesdrifters for an informative and humorous review. I'm still researching expedition cruising and your review and excellent contributions from others has really shed light on some of the pros and cons of the various offerings. Clearly it's a lucrative market for the cruise lines and promises are writ large, but not always delivered. I'm getting a sense that SS may have an edge over Seabourn? Other options may be to look at lines that specialise in expeditions such as Ponant?

 

Hi @Redking

 

Expedition Cruise picking is tricky these days. Same with Ocean, you really never know what you're going to get. 

As always, a lot depends on budget and where you want to go.

 

I think Seabourn will still do a great job in Polar regions and they do have fantastic new ships. My question going forward is what will their product be like outside of those areas.  I get the hybrid model. Is it worth the expedition price is my question?

 

Silversea

They have been in the game longer.  Cloud and Wind are old really OLD. The air conditioning barely works on Wind in some suites. Even though our toilet turned into a fountain and flooded our room on Cloud in March, the Antarctica Cape to Cape was our best trip ever. We had the rare combo of great staff and itinerary. IMHO they have an edge on food as they have great ethnic choices every night in The Restaurant. 

Silversea does have a new ship, Endeavor.  I hear it is great with some quirks. Prices are insane though!  I would sail on Silversea again given the right ship, price and itinerary. 

 

We are trying Ponant in February and have high hopes. They have more than the usual Polar and repositioning itineraries. Regular CC writer @jpalbny has some excellent reviews on their boards. He really knows so much more than I do.

 

In short, I wouldn't rule out Seabourn...just buyer beware on non polar itineraries. 

 

As for expedition staff, they are fungible. Except for those locked into EL contracts we often see the same great folks on Silversea and Seabourn.

 

Please keep us posted on your thoughts and decision!

 

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

@galeforce9

@BasandSyb

@kej1

 

Hey Bubble fans...

Are we or are we not the luckiest people in the world?

 

The big question is what's your fave in the under $80 category? 

 

Met some Aussies on board who loved some Champagne coming out of Tasmania.  Don't know how I'm going to find that in the U.S. 😃

[highplanesdrifters]

Torsken, Senjia  Norway

 

Our last stop before departure in Tromso.

 

Overcast and drizzly.  No desire to get on a bus. So we got a leg stretch in around the tiny town.  There was a small shop with some handmade goods and a small cafe.

 

Easy dry trip to floating dock.

 

 

 

 

 

They even had a tiny grocery store.

 

 

Well HELLO Tromso!  Guests staying there have a sunkist day ahead of them. We are off to Stockholm.

 

 

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

Hello Stockholm!

 

 

 

We finally get to see The Vasa. WOW!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We came across the Seabourn extension tour.  Only $375.

 

[highplanesdrifters]

Ladies and Gentlemen that concludes our tour.  Thanks for coming along and contributing. 

 

A special thanks to @Nops who brought an opposing view and good perspective. Always important. Never easy on these boards.

 

Any follow up questions and comments,  fire away!

 

 

[markandjie]

Another GREAT thread, thanks for taking us along. Already looking forward to the epic 40 day 'live from'!

[kej1]

21 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

@galeforce9

@BasandSyb

@kej1

 

Hey Bubble fans...

Are we or are we not the luckiest people in the world?

 

The big question is what's your fave in the under $80 category? 

 

Met some Aussies on board who loved some Champagne coming out of Tasmania.  Don't know how I'm going to find that in the U.S. 😃

Veuve Cliquot yellow label, Perrier Jouet Grand Brut, some tattinger, most and Chandon imperial or rose, just to name a few.  I’m partial to the Veuve at that price point.  Likely higher on the ship.  These are retail pricing.  Enjoy!  Love champers!

[kej1]

And yes the Tasmanian sparkeling wine is really nice but hard to find outside Tassie.  Drank it when there.  What you can find is Genevieve sparkeling from South Africa.  A friend of mine is importing to the states.  It’s what you get at most safari lodges throughout Africa.  culturewineco.com to order if you want to try.

[highplanesdrifters]

1 hour ago, kej1 said:

And yes the Tasmanian sparkeling wine is really nice but hard to find outside Tassie.  Drank it when there.  What you can find is Genevieve sparkeling from South Africa.  A friend of mine is importing to the states.  It’s what you get at most safari lodges throughout Africa.  culturewineco.com to order if you want to try.

 

Great Champ intel!

 

Didn't drink any Champagne on our recent safari. Must go back.😅  Got stuck on Gin and Amarula.  They even had a Marula tonic.  Mmmm yum.  😁

[highplanesdrifters]

5 hours ago, markandjie said:

Another GREAT thread, thanks for taking us along. Already looking forward to the epic 40 day 'live from'!

 

40 days, not sure I'm up to the task.  Even I get enough of myself.🤣

 

Although it does keep me disciplined in my photo editing.

[BasandSyb]

Bubbles - Veuve at that price point. But don’t forget the great sparkling from the Loire Valley. We consider it good to better. What can be sourced locally is far superior to what we see imported at home. Same grape varieties and proportionate blending without the premium to use the “champagne” tag.

[BasandSyb]

On 6/11/2024 at 8:49 AM, highplanesdrifters said:

On 6/11/2024 at 8:49 AM, highplanesdrifters said:

 

 

I think Seabourn will still do a great job in Polar regions and they do have fantastic new ships. My question going forward is what will their product be like outside of those areas.  I get the hybrid model. Is it worth the expedition price is my question?

 

 

Agree with your comments. Have been pondering the Edinburgh to Tromso cruise. Unsatisfactory for the price is where we landed. 

 

A number of the ports seemed included to justify the expedition team being on board and to use the toys. They could easily have chosen other docking ports with hikes for those that way inclined and points of interest for others. We did a number of the included tours as the hikes were either too strenuous for us/the timing was wrong/ the weather was foggy impacting views / the price was extortionate even in US$ let alone the AU exchange rate. Some included tours were very good, others a complete waste of time and 3 hours could have been 45 minutes allowing a wander around the local village. Yes, everything was quite pretty and interesting. 

 

Staff and general service on board has been excellent. Food has been good.

 

Expedition team - we have travelled with several members previously and they are excellent.  A few of the newbies are “light on” in terms of their educative approaches (very high school) and one I would prefer not to zodiac with. The EL in our opinion can be quite scattergun with information plays too heavily into the marketing - we brought you here, and what a surprise (it wasn’t). Perhaps it’s just our Australian showing, not enamoured of this type of narrative, talking something up to make us feel like we got our money’s worth.

 

The constant announcements on board (yes, many are necessary) are annoying. Even cutting across other activities such as trivia to announce lectures and other non-time relevant information. The activities led by the CD (or whatever hybrid name for these trips) are considered secondary in nature. Surprisingly trivia people can read a program, but those who attend lectures can’t and need to be reminded. In making announcements what they have failed to do is point out landmarks coming up. The only one I can recall we were right on top of and no chance to pick up a camera and get to a viewing point. One night we were in the Constellation Lounge after dinner and went through a series of spectacular bridges and had the seven sisters mountains in view - nothing. Something could have been said at dinner that the approximate timing would be X if you wanted to view. We and a few other people got lucky but only had phone cameras with us. The mountain was mentioned in passing at the briefing, but not the timing or the bridges.

 

In Antarctica as well as on this trip what has made us really cross is to lock you in the dungeon of a Discovery Centre every time there is a sail away from port. So we sit in the half dark with no view. What we have paid for is the scenery. The exception was the Epicurean afternoon. At least on this trip the 6pm briefing sessions are recorded and you can watch them before bed. They weren’t in Antarctica for whatever reason.

 

The Discovery Centre and the Expedition Lounge are really the weak points of the ship. The viewing is poor in the theatre. The lounge is merely a gathering point prior to an activity or to get a drink prior to theatre use. To have this bar staffed from 12pm - 10pm and the Constellation from 6pm seems contrary to a cruise based on sightseeing and outdoor viewing.

 

Enough said. Part two of the cruise has started and we expect it to be back in full expedition mode. However, some of the points above remain relevant.

 

As to the future, we think the expedition theme will run its course with the exception of the poles. We feel now many more people have experienced small ship cruising it’s what they will want. Not full expedition - which let’s face it is not a holiday, but small port docking/tendering, some zodiacs and a much reduced expedition team (and hopefully cost). Pretty much what we experienced on the old Seabourn babies.

 

[johng75370]

On 6/10/2024 at 11:54 PM, highplanesdrifters said:

Met some Aussies on board who loved some Champagne coming out of Tasmania.  Don't know how I'm going to find that in the U.S. 😃

 

We were able to get some here in Northern California - I believe this came from Safeway.

 

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

21 hours ago, BasandSyb said:

Perhaps it’s just our Australian showing, not enamoured of this type of narrative, talking something up to make us feel like we got our money’s worth.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write a well thought out and succinct review. You captured my feelings much better than my ramblings.  Sometimes I think I'm too cynical.  Like you mentioned, in the end it's about value.  That's what drives my cynicism. And being treated like a child.

 

The part I quoted is something that drives me crazy.  It was often considered the "Linddblad approach". It used to made fun of by expedition staff.  FYI, I'm not in 1st grade, and I have the internet.

 

One example was Vaeroy. We were first told that we were the only Cruise ship of that size to visit, ever. Also told, we were the second cruise ship to EVER visit.   I find this hard to believe as we were there on SS Cloud just a few years ago.😂   Is it possible that we were the only people to visit Vaeroy twice on a cruise ship EVER. Me thinks not.

 

The first fjord we went to was "special because no one ever goes there".  There's a reason no one goes there......its not that great considered what's around it.

 

So sorry we didn't hook up for a drinky poo. Love me some Aussies. Perhaps another cruise.

 

Wishing you a great second leg!

[highplanesdrifters]

19 hours ago, johng75370 said:

 

We were able to get some here in Northern California - I believe this came from Safeway.

 

 

 

 

Oh boy, that's some valuable intel.  Looks like Wine.com carries it. Thanks!

 

@BasandSyb will be searching for Loire valley delights. 

[BasandSyb]

Just don’t pay over the odds for Jantz. We get it at home for $22-25 AU at the liquor barn.

 

Happy travels. Just arrived in Svalbard waiting on our colour group. Was to be a landing but doesn’t look like it at the moment. Sea ice in the landing zone - are scouting for something else, but it looks like zodiac only this afternoon.

[highplanesdrifters]

2 hours ago, BasandSyb said:

Just don’t pay over the odds for Jantz. We get it at home for $22-25 AU at the liquor barn.

 

Happy travels. Just arrived in Svalbard waiting on our colour group. Was to be a landing but doesn’t look like it at the moment. Sea ice in the landing zone - are scouting for something else, but it looks like zodiac only this afternoon.

 

I see some blue in the sky! Keep em coming!

[Nops]

On 6/12/2024 at 4:24 PM, BasandSyb said:

Without going into detail I disagree with many of your comments while some are incorrect and unfair. Happy to discuss these at anytime over a cocktail.

 

Agree with your comments. Have been pondering the Edinburgh to Tromso cruise. Unsatisfactory for the price is where we landed. 

 

A number of the ports seemed included to justify the expedition team being on board and to use the toys. They could easily have chosen other docking ports with hikes for those that way inclined and points of interest for others. We did a number of the included tours as the hikes were either too strenuous for us/the timing was wrong/ the weather was foggy impacting views / the price was extortionate even in US$ let alone the AU exchange rate. Some included tours were very good, others a complete waste of time and 3 hours could have been 45 minutes allowing a wander around the local village. Yes, everything was quite pretty and interesting. 

 

Staff and general service on board has been excellent. Food has been good.

 

Expedition team - we have travelled with several members previously and they are excellent.  A few of the newbies are “light on” in terms of their educative approaches (very high school) and one I would prefer not to zodiac with. The EL in our opinion can be quite scattergun with information plays too heavily into the marketing - we brought you here, and what a surprise (it wasn’t). Perhaps it’s just our Australian showing, not enamoured of this type of narrative, talking something up to make us feel like we got our money’s worth.

 

The constant announcements on board (yes, many are necessary) are annoying. Even cutting across other activities such as trivia to announce lectures and other non-time relevant information. The activities led by the CD (or whatever hybrid name for these trips) are considered secondary in nature. Surprisingly trivia people can read a program, but those who attend lectures can’t and need to be reminded. In making announcements what they have failed to do is point out landmarks coming up. The only one I can recall we were right on top of and no chance to pick up a camera and get to a viewing point. One night we were in the Constellation Lounge after dinner and went through a series of spectacular bridges and had the seven sisters mountains in view - nothing. Something could have been said at dinner that the approximate timing would be X if you wanted to view. We and a few other people got lucky but only had phone cameras with us. The mountain was mentioned in passing at the briefing, but not the timing or the bridges.

 

In Antarctica as well as on this trip what has made us really cross is to lock you in the dungeon of a Discovery Centre every time there is a sail away from port. So we sit in the half dark with no view. What we have paid for is the scenery. The exception was the Epicurean afternoon. At least on this trip the 6pm briefing sessions are recorded and you can watch them before bed. They weren’t in Antarctica for whatever reason.

 

The Discovery Centre and the Expedition Lounge are really the weak points of the ship. The viewing is poor in the theatre. The lounge is merely a gathering point prior to an activity or to get a drink prior to theatre use. To have this bar staffed from 12pm - 10pm and the Constellation from 6pm seems contrary to a cruise based on sightseeing and outdoor viewing.

 

Enough said. Part two of the cruise has started and we expect it to be back in full expedition mode. However, some of the points above remain relevant.

 

As to the future, we think the expedition theme will run its course with the exception of the poles. We feel now many more people have experienced small ship cruising it’s what they will want. Not full expedition - which let’s face it is not a holiday, but small port docking/tendering, some zodiacs and a much reduced expedition team (and hopefully cost). Pretty much what we experienced on the old Seabourn babies.