We choose this cruise to visit Japan and Alaska and we liked that there were a lot of sea days when crossing the Bering Sea. The embarkation in Kobe was a little slow, but not bad. we were in cabin V705, on the same floor with Seabourn Square, which was convenient for getting morning coffee and snacks. As one cruiser said in her review, the ship was clean, but the decor snd furnishings are a little tired and needs updating. we have been on Seabourn before, so we were familiar with the cabin layout and happy with it. We had a very good cabin attendant, Camila, and our refrigerator was stocked as we requested. Many of the staff knew our names within the first few days of the cruise. We felt that overall, the food was very good. we usually had breakfast in the colonnade, and other reviews have mentioned that more staff is needed, and they are right about that. one morning I waited 30 minutes for a bowl of oatmeal - on our last cruise, oatmeal was self-serve, but on this cruise, Congee was self serve, even though the number of non-Japanese far outnumbered the Japanese passengers. If the weather was nice, we ate at the Patio, but it was sometimes closed because of noxious chemicals being used on the pool re -do and also, some days it was closed because it was too windy and rainy. We ate at the Keller Grill several times - the best lobster I've had except in Maine, and the whole chicken dish is awesome, and the best Classic Iceberg Wedge Salad. The steaks, however, weren't that great. Also there are only one or two daily changes to the menu, so you can't eat there too many times. We had some fabulous dinners at the Patio, but we had to really bundle up there as it was extremely cold - coats, blankets, gloves, hats - the works. Some of the meals in the Main Dining room were excellent, some were ok, and a few were so bad that we got up without eating and went to the colonnade or the patio. We also noticed that more staff was needed there also. The selection of complimentary wines was quite nice. Heather Inggs, the guest service manager, is one of the best and most effective senior staff I've ever dealth with (more later) The spectacular: Alaska!!! the wildlife - the tons of eagles, sea otters with babies, seals, puffins, whales, grizzly bears, the vast wilderness areas, the glaciers, the wonderful wild salmon, the art of the Tlinget and other native Indians- it was all so very beautiful. Even Ketchikan was picturesque, once you got away from the pier area and the two huge cruise ships there at the same time. The bad: prior to the cruise, I had called Seabourn Customer service: I needed to get pillow protectors (allergies) so I called to ask what was the size of the pillows - I was told they were standard pillows so I bought those- NOT - they were the biggest pillows I've ever seen - much larger than king. I asked if the TV had a CD/DVD player- I was told it did - NOT. the hinges on the cabinet doors opposite the bed kept coming off we returned one night to find the large vent cover in the bathroom on the floor. The bath tub in a cabin on our floor overflowed and flooded the room and hallway - there were loud fans in the hallway for 2 or 3 days drying out the carpet and it didn't smell good. The internet access was mostly very, very slow and sporadic, and we used up many minutes just trying to connect The Ugly: On the 5 or 6 sea days, the crew decided to paint somewhere on the ship near our floor. The noxious, heavy smell of paint fumes was overpowering inside the cabins and the hallways - we opened the balcony doors wide open, but it didn't make any difference _ I have asthma, and it made me sick- Went to talk to Heather - she was very concerned and was very diligent in tracking it down. She thought the problem had been resolved. two days later it happened again. Heather was immediately there and worked out a solution to keep the smell out of the cabins. If she hadn't solved it, I thought I would be living and sleeping in Seabourn Square lounge chairs. Even if I didn't have asthma, this was an extremely noxious, overbearing smell that none of the passengers should have to tolerate - it shows a mentality of a total disregard for passengers. after we boarded the ship, we also found out that e cigarettes are allowed in the cabins - the "new smoking policy" on the 1 page agreement we signed doesn't mention this at all - it can only be found in the detailed online passenger agreement. This means that all the vapors, nicotine, and additives in e cigarettes that is now killing and severely injuring people, would be sucked into the ventilation system and spewed out into the nearby cabins. I'm just incredulous that Seabourn would adopt this policy! we spoke to at least 1/2 of the passengers on this ship since there were so many sea days, and only one person was aware of this policy, and the others were very surprised to learn this. PS we would never cross the Bering Sea again - days of very rocky seas, rain, wind, nothing to see except an occasional bird - never saw the sky or stars and didn't sleep well with all the rocking of the ship. Read Less

I've been on several Seabourn cruises in the past (this cruise put me over 100 days sailed with them) and while no cruise was perfect Seabourn in the past has been the best - for me. I like re positioning cruises (they tend to have a lot of sea days and I enjoy sea days). I saw one on the Sojourn going from Kobe to Vancouver. Bonus - its a short flight from Vancouver to San Francisco so I'd only have to do the long haul thing in one direction. Embarkation started almost precisely on time and aside from one passenger using his mass to knock people out of his way to be first was a nice and quick experience. Once on board I noticed that there was no one greeting passengers or directing them to any particular place. On past cruises staff was present to greet guests and direct them. After embarkation came the muster drill. Thankfully Seabourn doesn't require you to wear or even bring your brightly colored tripping hazard (life vest). The drill took place in the Restaurant and we didn't have to go out on deck and deal with the elements. In my suite I had a letter from Seabourn waiting for me. It informed me that there would be ongoing construction on the pool deck during the cruise and that areas would be closed off. So they're saying on a crossing/cruise with a large number of sea days the outside would be a loud smelly mess and that the Patio Bar/Grill (bar and restaurant for the pool area) would be unavailable some days. Wonderful. I was not given the option for a graceful exit from this cruise. The letter was more of a "SURPRISE" that you didn't want. This was not a good start to a luxury cruise. Even mid tier hotels will inform guests of any upcoming construction. I guess the small saving grace was that I couldn't hear the construction sounds or smell the odors they generated in my room. Others weren't so lucky. For this each suite was given $500. The dining experience had a few issues that would continue to be issues. The first was understaffing. I don't know if it was due to the launch of their newer bigger ship or a harder time finding crew or perhaps penny wise pound foolish but aside from the TK Grill the other dining venues seemed understaffed (when the restaurant manager is running around taking orders and the ships sommelier is busing tables - you're short staffed). Further a lot of the staff in both the Colonnade and the Restaurant were very green. How green? They'd bring the wrong food to passengers and then argue with them (in one instance eggs Benedict were served as Florentine. When the passenger complained after the argument they were given the Benedict - with strands of spinach still on the plate. Some would become irate if you didn't order your dessert with your appetizers/entrees. They'd start out with the word "NO" and then wait for correction rather than getting an accurate answer before stating something wasn't possible. Drink service in the Restaurant for dinner was the worst of any Seabourn cruise I'd been on. They no longer have the wine stewards and now rely on your overworked green wait staff to do most of the beverage work as well. Penny wise, pound foolish again. If your overworked servers were slow with the food, well now so followed your drinks. The food in the restaurant was to me for the most part: boring, unseasoned, bland and unadventurous at best. At worst it was the worst version of some dishes that I've ever had. Thankfully the Colonnade didn't seem to have the food issues (and a far lesser extent of service issues). However the only dining location on the ship that felt like it belonged on a luxury cruise was the TK Grill. Better ingredients, more staff per passenger, and probably because Thomas Keller insisted actual flavorful food. However the TK Grill (and TK night in the Colonnade) had its issues as well. When Michael Sandoval (one of Kellers staffers) was running things the food came out cooked perfectly. They day he left the ship (and on subsequent visits) all the Thomas Keller food was off. An exmaple of this would be the Ad Hoc fried chicken. Under Seabourn it was either rubber skin and raw meat or burnt skin dripping pools of grease. Under Sandoval it was crisp, moist, tender, flavorful and not overly greasy. I got the distinct impression that left to its own devices Seabourn can't meet the demands Kellers food requires. There were also reservation issues with the TK Grill. I had a reservation deleted and other passengers felt that staff was trying to coerce them into altering or giving up their reservations. The bars (especially Observation and Patio) along with their staff seemed to be the one area of the cruise experience that hadn't declined in quality. I generally don't partake in the ships entertainment so I don't have too much to say on that. I did play trivia and this time people seemed to actually treat it like a game rather than a deathmatch as on previous cruises. As this was a crossing (really a cruise to relocate the ship to its next seasonal AO) we didn't have that many ports. Seabourns shore excursions are rather generic. They do try to keep the number of passengers per tour down but don't offer lower limit tours like some lines do. My only issue with the tours was missing one because we ended up spending an extra day in Aomori (where they added but a single tour) - but you can't blame the weather on the line. We also lost a port because of that delay. We were supposed to visit Icy Point Straight but that was cut. Originally we were supposed to visit Glacier bay rather than Hubbard glacier. I don't know who didn't do what there but IMO Glacier bay is the far better glacier experience. Because to date this cruise was an aberration I did book a future cruise. Hopefully the ship will have righted itself and food/service will be back to their usual high standards. Read Less

Seabourn is the ultimate experience. Worth every cent. Staff are superb and you just can’t go past Seabourn. It is the only cruise line for us now. I have never enjoyed a cruise or any holiday as much as the 21 days on Seabourn from Kobe to Vancouver. The dining was perfect. Loved the patio area and the cocktails. Even on a cold night it was great and staff spoiled us with plush orange snuggly blankets and heaters. Day at Hubbard Glacier was one of those rare moments in life that remain with you forever. The Captain and crew made the day so perfect and Champagne to sip along the way. Sophie the cruise director was fantastic and like all staff knew our names within a day. Benita one of the wait and bar staff is to be congratulated for her attention and spoiling. Breakfast in the dining room with Marine was a superb way to start the day. Dritian and the 2 young girls in the coffee shop were lovely and knew our regular order and had it ready before we could blink. I can truly say that the cruise exceeded all our expectations. Seabourn organised the lot from airlines to transfers and not one hitch. Seabourn are heaven. Read Less