We chose Seabourn having traveled with them before. As always the staff were delightfulm friendly, helpful and efficient. Our cabin was clean, spacious and well provided minibar was continually restocked. The food on board was generally superb. We ate mostly in the main dining room for dinner, Colonnade for breakfast and pool bar for snack lunch. Othee options available all the time. Simple continental breakfast from early in Observation lounge. Coffee and tea plus pastries to take away or have in Seven Square. amazing afternoon tea in Observation lounge. The entertainment team were a very high standard with excellent musicians and guest artist pianist fantastic. The guest magician was just ok and the onboard lecturer for our trip was not very good. we only went to her first lecture - it was much too generalized. the UNESCO speaker was excellent and enthusiastic. There were two disappointments on the cruise. The Keller grill was well below expectation. At least 3 other couples we met cancelled thier second booking as main dining room better! My Caesar salad made at the table had a lot of mustar, anchovy and Worcester sauce and was rather spicy and not at all creamy. I ate very little and the maitre D' just nodded when I said, not what I expected. The included wines were very nice but the sommellier did not ask if we would like to see additional wine list The excursions from the ship were expensive and we were not happy with our trip to the Cousteau reef in guadaloupe. We expected to go snorkeling on the reef, but in fact had a glass bottom boat trip over the reef, which is not in brilliant condition any more and then were taken snorkeling for 20 minutes nearby. This cost $169 each! Complained to services manager who said he would feed my comments back into the system. Read Less

Honeymoon We had a PH for 4 weeks. My parents joined us on 4th Jan. My 82 old mum was ill for the last days of the trip and was disembarked by ambulance to a hosp in Barbados on 18/01 thereby missing flt back to the UK. My 83 old dad has dementia. My mum was discharged today and has been pronounced fit to fly by the doctor after suffering with pulmonary congestion. My problem is this, we booked our tickets with Seabourn Flight Ease, first class with BA. I am unable to access the booking as it says agent has to do it. I now hear from BA that Seabourn called to amend the ticket but BA needed further information. Seabourn did not go back to them until after the flight had left so we were classed as No Shows. BA have said that it is down to Seabourn to sort it out, they are the named party on the Atol certificate. Seabourn Family Assistance in Seattle are telling us that they can not assist us and our only choice is to purchase tickets for c$21,000Us, 3 club seats and 1 premium economy. I am getting no where fast! Having spent over £60,000 on this trip I feel that Seabourn have left us high and dry! Our time onboard the Odyssey was very nice, although having sailed on Seabourn for many years we notice the cutbacks. On the whole the staff were great, especially the bar staff, our stewardess, who couldn’t do enough for us and although service in the Restaurant was a bit hit a miss we found a great waitress called Beiber who was amazing. Special thanks goes to Mirelle, the assistant hotel director, Alex, the head sommelier and Chiprian in the sky bar. The doctor and nurses were lovely to my mum and all of their work to get her disembarked by ambulance and admitted to hospital was second to none. The cruise director Robert was great and the singers were superb. We ate in the Thomas Keller restaurant twice and that was very good, although limited on choice. Read Less

Had previous safe trips but this one was horrible. Not only injured but upon return home was advised by ship insurance carrier that we required tons of previous medical information in order to obtain satisfaction for injuries and loss of ship use for 10 days after injury. Tender was ordered to stop operations after my injury but should have happened in advance. Lack of security to stop Tender operations in rough sea resulted in personal injury. Poor food service in all restaurants, except room service ; obnoxious child in suite opposite ours was running about unsupervised and sometimes naked and knocking on doors before 6am! Ship medical officer was less than helpful and failed many requests or obtain my medical records. Ship did have highlights but since this was a cruise to latin isles there was little to none of latin music in clubs or entertainment Ship excursions were less than satisfactory; on one the guide was obnoxious and some cruise members were stuffed 6 into a 4x4 car resulting in pain and back injuries. We lost 3 excursions booked in advance; 2 cancelled due to Tender injury and 1 cancelled at last minute by vendor. We recommend NOT using the ship for excursions but booking you own, either on the dock upon arrival or with other companies in advance. Read Less

This was a wonderful, low key cruise. The ship is small with just 450 people and nothing was ever crowded and I never felt cramped. The staff were wonderful, helpful and friendly - all of them. I especially liked eating at the Patio Grill. It was a small but varied menu for lunch each day and a larger menu for dinner There are numerous bars with great bartenders who have fun stories and remember what you like to drink. The Grill by Thomas Keller had great service but none of us found the food to be that outstanding and preferred the dining room or Colonnade for dinner. The suites were wonderful and the balconies were put to good use. We were on the 14 day exotic Caribbean and frankly the ports were not of much interest. We had two beach parties that included caviar and champagne - both were a lot of fun. The passengers were very friendly and relaxed. All alcohol, except high end wine, was included and was very good brands. This was not a get drunk party boat. It was very relaxed and sophisticated in a non-snobby way. Very smooth embarkation and disembarkation. Read Less

Having cruised with around 8 different cruise lines over the last 25 years, we decided to up the anti and try Seabourn as we do like the finer things in life including champagne! We weren’t disappointed. We never saw a queue the whole two weeks of our holiday. We are very picky when it comes to food, service and drinks and we can honestly say that we could not find one thing to criticise. We had an Ocean View cabin on Deck 4 in the centre of the ship as a precaution in case of heavy seas and this cabin suited us as it was conveniently located close to the Restaurant. The embarkation and disembarkation were seamless. We used our own private transfer to and from the airport with Renaldo Matthias of Exquisite Transport who we have used before and he is always reliable and meets us in his air conditioned BMW with refreshments and local news and knowledge. The food onboard was great in particular the fish at the Patio Grill and the Indian Buffet in the Colonnade. We met many interesting people during our two weeks - staff and crew. The staff quickly learn what your favourite tipple is and if you have special requests - just ask. Formal Night at the Captains Table was a delight. The Beach BBQ was great fun and the lobster was delicious. We tendered the majority of our islands but the crew were very conscious of passenger safety so we had no reservations even in high swell. Plenty of storage in the cabin and the stewardess couldn’t do enough to please us. We will certainly be booking our next Seabourn as soon as we can. Read Less

Beautiful beaches great islands. We got upgraded to a penthouse (handicapped) but didn't bother us since it was bigger than the other suites. Almost the size of an owners suite and updated furniture ! The pre cruise and post cruise arrival and departure was through seabourn and without any issues. La samana in st martin and Fairmont Barbados both great properties! The downgrade for this trip is the restaurant service in the buffet restaurant was horrible you would get a drink and never see your waiter again for any sort of refill! This was a recurrent theme on the ship even after we commented to the managers in the buffet. The saving grace were the two Alex waiters. They were the best on the ship and we always looked for them and they saved the dining experience for us even the Keller restaurant Grill was just OK. Our stewardess Sonja was gracious and responded to our requests. The guests on the ship were friendly and cocktailed! The shows talent was excellent. The ports were all amazing. I hope that the service doesn't keep slipping on Seabourn since there are great cruises on Silversea and Regent for the same price point and better service! Read Less

We have been on Seabourn several times-all except one on Odyssey. We love this ship as it has minimal announcements, great service and food and is a low density ship so never feels crowded. We always use Seabourn for booking our flights as they meet you at the airport and transfer you to the ship and back again. Within about 5 minutes of arriving at the port, we were on the ship. Odyssey has recently had a make-over as we noticed many of the furnishings were new. The 14-day itinerary was fabulous with calls at many Greek islands as well as Sicily and Valletta plus a couple of extra-relaxing days at sea. For us one of the great things about Seabourn is the food and service. Staff get to know your name and preferences. There are several different places to eat dinner with great choices of food made with quality ingredients and choice cuts of meat. There are themed dinners at the Colonnade and a la carte with many choices in the main restaurant. Many people rate the food by the pool at dinner very highly, though we did not try it. We enjoyed lobster in the TK Grill which is the only evening dining venue that requires a reservation. Another factor for us is the informal ambiance with 'elegant casual' as the dress code apart from 2 evenings where the dress code was Formal-but in the main Restaurant only. Serving staff are all very good and friendly. We will be on another SEabourn cruise soon! Read Less

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After our 21 day cruise in April on the Seabourn Ovation (our first with Seabourn) we had been impressed. When we noticed the itinerary of the Odyssey for the Greek Odyssey Cruise we got all excited. For us, the Mediterranean is our favorite cruising destination. There were some islands on the itinerary that were new to us, while others we already knew but were keen on seeing again. We were curious too, how the smaller and older Odyssey would compare with the newer Ovation. Both have a similar layout and they have about the same number of crew. We were pleasantly surprised that our cabin on the Odyssey was more comfortable, our veranda suite on the Ovation had been very narrow and the fake wood paneling too dark. The beds on the Odyssey seemed also wider and there was no hazard of rolling off the bed during sleep. Both ships interiors didn't impress us as luxurious, the used materials simple and inexpensive. But, the service of the crews was truly remarkable and memorable. The service on the Ovation was even better, despite the higher number of guests; on the Ovation each one of the crew knew our names after only a few days, we couldn't believe it. Maybe it had to do with the exceptional leadership of the cruise director Handre; he was absolutely wonderful, a role model and he made every guest feel welcome and especially cared for. The ambience on the Ovation was very personal and familiar, we had never before experienced anything quite like it and felt genuinely at home. On the Odyssey it was a little less personal but still very good. We did find the quality of the food on the Odyssey even better; we loved the fresh fruits plus nuts, chia and linseeds at the breakfast buffet. The "Earth and Ocean" on the pool deck we had avoided at first from our negative experiences on the Ovation but found out on the Odyssey the food there was often excellent. It probably comes down to the actual crew and cooks on your cruise. This was our 10th cruise in the past 3 years. We had started out with Silversea, Regent, Oceania and now Seabourn. Regent is still our favorite, they are more expensive but everything is included including wifi and excursions. We rate Seabourn second and can't wait to sail with them again if an itinerary catches our fancy. Oceania had the most luxurious ship, the Marina, our penthouse suite was superb but their cuisine is the best for overweight and obese passengers only. Oceania offers long and fantastic itineraries, if only the cuisine could be more healthy. We had been very happy with Silversea as it was our first cruise line, now that we have sailed on other lines, Silversea seems no longer attractive for us; their ships were old and tired, always in need of renovation; the much too frequent formal evenings exaggerated considering the conditions of the vessels; plus we find Silversea too expensive. The Odyssey is the perfect choice for itineraries with as few days at sea as possible. It is a small ship with all the advantages of small vessels, but for sea days we missed a jogging or at least a walking trail, the gym was too small where a few bikes were just facing a wall; I personally choose to run up and down the stairs for an hour during our sea day. But for a transatlantic cruise f.e., we would choose another ship. Read Less

Having taken 10 cruises before, my wife and I (52, 42 years old) just completed our first luxury cruise on Seabourn. June 29-July 6 from Venice to Athens on Odyssey. We booked our travel from the US through Seabourn and had a positive experience in every way. Great price on the airfare, and one pre-cruise night in the Baglioni Hotel in Venice, and one post-cruise night in the Grand Bretagne in Athens. Seabourn personal were very present at the airport, and the hotels, and we had virtual personal escorts from the Venice airport to the Water Taxi to the Baglioni, where we were met by a Seabourn staffer stepping off the boat. Again that attention as we left for the ship the next day. The biggest lesson for me was ALWAYS take the cruise offered transfers, as it made for a totally worry-free experience. Upon debarkation, we went from breakfast, walked off the ship with no line, into a waiting car service, and was at the Grand Bretagne and checked in within one-hour. Just amazing. And, the next day a Seabourn staff was there to ensure our car was waiting and our bags were loaded. The whole Seabourn transfer and travel experience took magnitudes of stress from our trip. This was our first time in Venice, and all of the other stops. Amazing to hear some “veteran” cruisers complain about the heat and some of the ports. 1 – Its July in the Mediterranean and 2 – They booked the cruise knowing the ports, right? We enjoyed every stop immensely. The small ship in small ports that aren’t overrun by tourists cannot be beaten. And as for weather, we did not even see a cloud until Day 6. Perfect conditions. After boarding…we waited a total of 5 minutes to get on the ship. The door to door access, from embarkation to every excursion to debarkation was appreciated. The overriding theme from the cruise was the service was indeed a cut above in every respect. No question everything was done with the cruiser in mind. My wife and I don’t consider ourselves complainers, but by Day 5 we were searching for something to complain about and couldn’t find it. Even the other couples were ended up spending time with on the ship felt the same way. Tough job for their staff, because we did see others who wanted to complain about everything. High maintenance folks for sure, but the staff managed those people so well, and those folks gave my wife and I something to laugh about every night, and made us appreciate the cruise even more! Vodice, Day 1, was our favorite stop. Beautiful town. We took an excursion to Kayak in Trogir and it was exceptional. With one notable exception, the tour operators were outstanding, communicated well with everyone, and were quite engaging. We Kayaked nearly 10 miles in crystal clear, cool Aegean waters, with a wonderful meal afterwards. Wisely, we had scheduled a massage for that night, and my wife (well experienced in the Spa world) said it was as good a massage as she has had. The facilities were pretty blah, but again people make everything, and the people in the spa were wonderful. Day 2 was Kotor, which we also loved. Took a Tuk Tuk ride along the coastline to the Port of Montenegro and it was a beautiful ride. Shopping in the old town was outstanding, but we were one of four ships that day in Kotor, and it was crowded. Day 3, Corfu, was the best shopping day, as a bus took us from our ship (and I mean right outside the ship) to the shopping area and back, then we took a 4x4 excursion in the afternoon. The 4x4 took us up to a village in the highest hills, then down again, with some great views, and a couple of stops in small villages where we loaded up on olive oil to bring back. The excursion operators were so-so at best, as they complained about Seabourn to us before we left. Half of the 4x4 were air conditioned and half were not, which wasn’t good for those of us in non-AC with 95 degrees! Again, great views and a neat thing to do, but the one excursion we took that we didn’t care for the operators. Day 4 was Cephalonia. It was beautiful. Our excursion was Melissani Lake and Drogarati Cave. Both stops were an hour, but the tour was about 15 minutes, so we had excess down time, but a bus ride around the island for some incredible views made for a great day. The wife and I made a habit of eating at tavernas on the water every day in each port. It was the highlight of the trip for us as the food was wonderful, and the exposure to the culture of each stop was wonderful. I had a good tip early which was always order the house wine. Four Euro for a ½ L at each stop and it was wonderful for our lunchces. That night, the only entertainment we found even remotely entertaining was Ben Mills, a singer who was part Joe Cocker and part Springsteen. He was outstanding. Never more than 50 people at the entertainment though. Day 5 was Gythion. No excursions this day, but a nice walk around town, a taverna, and back to the spa for each of us. Wife had a Thai Poultice massage that she is still talking about. The final day was Nafplion which was a surprise to us, as it had wonderful shopping (including some high-end shopping) and great leather items. We tried to reschedule our excursion from the Corinth Canal crossing to a winery tour but were waitlisted and ended up with no tour. That was fine as the Canal was an hour bus ride away and we didn’t need more bus time. We found the Thomas Keller grill the night of our Korfu stop to be nice. Didn’t feel the need to try to get a 2nd reservation, but all of the food was exceptional on the cruise so it didn’t stand out to us as it did to some. We had four nights in the restaurant and a couple of nights of room service. Food was great, service was better. I like some casino time, but with just one black jack table, one three-card poker table and a roulette wheel with about 15 slot machines, it was a waste of time for me. And given how dead it was, a waste of time for most. As first-timers Laurinda, our Suite Stewardess, was more concierge and advisor than attendant. She really made sure we knew the ins and outs and didn’t miss anything onboard. All in all, what a great trip. Yes, the service was as described. The ship itself was OK. The onboard activities were so-so, but you don’t take this cruise for on-board activities. We certainly wouldn’t take our kids on Seabourn, but Seabourn isn’t designed for kids. When we take our next luxury cruise, it will be with Seabourn. Probably a different, larger, ship, but what a week. I’ll try to post my copies of the Herald on the Boards. I looked high and low in advance of the cruise to have some idea of what our days would look like and couldn’t find it, so I hope this helps. Read Less

The cruise itself was great. The rooms are large and well appointed, and the food is overall pretty excellent. It's amazing that we were at sea for more than a week, and yet they were still able to provide outstanding fruits and salads. The Thomas Keller restaurant is intimate and outstanding and worth doing at least once during the cruise, and there's no extra charge. The service was very good. It's not the same standard I've experienced on past Seabourn trips. I remember staff throughout the ship would greet me by name, even on a first encounter. That made a huge impression and spoke to a level of excellence. After all, if the staff knows your name, they will remember other things about you too, like what you tend to drink or eat. That leads to anticipatory service - you are offered what you want, before you even ask for it. That level of service seems to be gone on Seabourn. Still, it's outstanding by most measures. The passengers on a long crossing tend to be a different crowd than you'll find on shorter cruises. Frankly, they're friendlier. There's so much time to get to know people, and we really enjoyed the passengers we met. But ultimately our trip was spoiled when my belongings vanished when transferred from the ship to shore in Lisbon. I would find out much later that my luggage ended up being mixed in with other passengers' valuables and put in a taxi. The response to my missing belongings was troubling. At the pier I was placated with false promises of an immediate response. Then in an effort to get me to move along, Seabourn gave me a number to call for help and an email address. No one answered the phone and the automated response from the email told me I'd get a reply within two weeks. No one responded to my requests for information until after I posted publicly on social media after an entire day of silence. Then there was a bunch of blaming of local pier workers, who Seabourn had hired, but then acted like those workers were an entity out of their control or responsibility. In the end, fellow passengers and their travel agent solved the problem of my missing belongings. I spent two days of my three-day visit to Lisbon dealing with the problem, which included meeting with the Portuguese police. Other passengers I met on the Odyssey told me later that they also had problems with wayward belongings. When I heard that I was not alone, I followed up with Seabourn's corporate office, and wrote a personal letter to the company president. I received a we're-sorry-you-feel-that-way response. That's pathetic, and a sign that upper management has no intention of dealing with a very serious security gap. My advice: enjoy the ship, but don't trust Seabourn with your valuables. Carry on and off the ship all of your belongings. Read Less

Our fourth transatlantic since 2013, Crystal Serenity, 2014 Seabourn Quest and 2016 Regent Explorer. We embarked in Barbados, easiest we have ever experienced, from arrival at the dock to boarding took ten minutes. Stateroom was available ten minutes after our 2.00 PM boarding. We had a stateroom forward on deck four, no balcony but a nice big window. First time without a balcony but we did not miss it on this type of voyage. Excellent bathroom provided with tub and shower. We found a big improvement in the dining over our previous cruise with Seabourn. The Thomas Keller Grill provided exceptional food and service and the Keller influence is followed up in the Restaurant menus which basically has to sections, one Keller Inspirations and the other classics, steaks chops etc. which can be mixed if required. All our dinners were taken in the Restaurant apart from three visits to the Keller Grill and taken from the inspirations menu. The food was well prepared and presented and almost always really excellent. The Restaurant was also excellent for breakfast and lunch. We did not use the Colonnade restaurant or the poolside Patio restaurants. Service in the Restaurant, Thomas Keller Grill was outstanding, this also applied to our cabin steward and the Seabourn Square staff. Service throughout the ship was universally excellent. One complaint would be the quality of the wines provided, drinkable but could and should be higher quality. Entertainment was good for a ship of this size. We watched two shows, Time Rice and the violinist, both very good. The band also played in The Club each night and were excellent with a talented female singer also a trio played in The Club who were also very good. We did not take any shore excursions but did disembark at Porto Santo and visited the town which is a pleasant and clean with a nice beach. Disembarking at Lisbon was delayed somewhat by the customs people who were using sniffer dogs to check luggage apart from that our bus was waiting to take us to the airport and this was handled efficiently. Finally the ship was clean and well maintained and the Odyssey and Quest both have lots of open deck space forward which provides a pleasant area for viewing when entering or leaving port. Read Less

This one fit a particular time frame .We only had the first leg of 11 days . Had never had a chance to take a Seabourn cruise before . Very happy .They couldn't do enough for us .Came up with an extension cord for the C Pap machine . Stocked fridge and bar had a full liter of good vodka .Svedka , I think . Mixers, beer , champagne . Room stewardess was always ready to go . Dinning room had some slow arrivals of food at times . But all the food was excellent .They could cook , fish , steaks , pasta . The Colonnade buffet on the back deck was always good .Pool bars and dining line was a great choice in the afternoon for a late lunch .Open to 3:30 . Used room service for breakfast 4 different mornings . Arrived in 20 to 25 minutes and hot .Transfers booked through Seabourn worked fine , even with a flight delay .They were there to meet us . We got our luggage frisked in Lisbon on disembarkation .The Seabourn Rep was on the spot to assure us we would get a cab to the airport when we missed the main bus with everybody else . Even sent a very sweet Portuguese woman ( cute as a button ) with us to make sure we knew where we were going inside the airport . Actually went in with us . Bar people , deck crew , waiters were all on top of it at all times .Entertainment was very good of what we saw . Did a special afternoon opera segment on the deck with the main show vocalists one afternoon . Pouring Patron Margaritas at the pool .l .All you can eat , drink and no tipping or bar bill at the end . But I did leave a small thank you for the housekeeping girl and a bartender .Not expected though .A great time . The best weather the crew had ever seen on this crossing . Just lucky . Read Less

We did the 7-day Caribbean portion from St. Maarten and remained on board for the transatlantic, disembarking in Lisbon--18 days in total. This was our third Seabourn cruise, and Seabourn was once again spot-on with everything. Embarkation/disembarkation is easy, although St. Maarten hadn't fully recovered from the hurricane. In Lisbon, we just walked off the ship at the time we wanted, and our car and driver was waiting. The famous Caviar in the Surf took place at St. Kitts the first day of the cruise, and once again Seabourn knocked it out of the park. It's an extraordinary event. The officers and crew knock themselves out for you. Food and beverage is terrific. For those interested, the crossing was one of the smoothest the Officers had ever experienced--more like a lake than anything else. On the crossing, there were two shows each evening--one for the early birds at around 6:30 and another later on around 9:45. it's hard to imagine a better cruise. Read Less

After reading many reviews of Seabourn I decided to book this cruise. The ship is smaller than the new floating Iran sprawl like tower blocks which was a real plus for me. The personal and attentive service by many staff was great but that seemed to magnify the faults when they showed. Breakfast in the collonade was an American buffet and options including none cremated bacon were available to Oder; however the staff never once got it right. On one occasion an English Breakfast with English bacon not crispy. Grilled tomatoes, eggs over easy and toast was served as two eggs served over easy. Seabourn need to encourage use of order pads or the tablets used at dinner to easily solve this issue, the food was good but similar in all venues on some nights which wffectively meant choose room service before 1900 or after 2200 to avoid the dinner menu. The bar was a popular area for many passengers and the unlimitedcdtinks were a major feature for some. The itinerary on the first week was much better than the second week and beach days which followed in succession were a bone of contention amongst many so spoke with. The cabins were comfortable (V6 grade) and a spacious walk in wardrobe was a great feature. We had issues with our steward who failed to deliver the daily programme, failed to replenish the soft drinks in the fridge or note our preferences but these were not so big an issue - because we had a steward did not mean we were unable to do things ourselves. The trip was very good but not exceptional and I think that if the company manages expectations rather than raises them with false hope they will continue to do well. It's very good and enjoy it but don't expect the earth - believe me the positives outweigh the negatives. Read Less

This was our third cruise onboard the Odyssey and we loved every moment of it! We embarked in St. Maarten after spending two days unwinding at the Holland House Hotel. The embarkation process was absolutely painless. Everything was run like a well oiled piece of machinery. We were in PH cabin 918, which was lovely. I'm afraid we were spoiled by the extra room and location of this cabin. We would definitely book a PH suite again. We found the food and service to be top notch and did not have one complaint about either. I did however miss the Patio dining for an occasional evening meal as I always loved their steaks and pork chops. Many passengers really enjoyed the recent change however and the food was quite good. As we have done the Caribbean a number of times, we elected to stay onboard for a number of ports. We preferred to enjoy the comforts of the ship at some of the ports. We did not do any of the ship's excursions so I am unable to comment on those. The beach BBQ was wonderful, as always. On our last day, Jost VanDyke, the water toys were brought out much to the pleasure of many of the passengers. It was great fun! We met some lovely new friends, Martin and Stella and were able to spend some quality time with them and some other friends, Debs and Mikey, that we had met on a previous cruise. We enjoyed this cruise and were not disappointed with anything! Read Less

The itinerary offered me the chance to hit 5 new countries, and I ended up getting my 100th country as a result. Embarkation was so smooth I almost felt like I'd not completed something. As it's a small ship, it's not necessary to be in a huge warehouse and standing in line for forever. My cabin was #916 and in a perfect location, IMHO. It was on the same level, although at the opposite end, as the spa. I never had to wait more than 30 seconds for an elevator and since the ship is small, you get to where you're going very quickly. Entertainment was good - typical cruise ship style - Service was outstanding. My cabin was spotless and my stateroom attendant was superb. The bed was very comfortable, the amenities in the bathroom were great, the cabin was spacious, and the balcony was nice. The casino was small (one table for blackjack, one for roulette and one for 3 card poker) and a few slot machines, but even if there's no one in there, the casino staff will happily open a table for you. They were all very nice and easy to talk to. The food, oh my gosh, the food was spectacular. I went to the buffet once only, had room service (very large selection) a lot and went to the dining room a lot. I also went to the "specialty dining" restaurant, but that was a waste because the dining room food was actually better. My only complaint, and this is not the fault of the ship at all, was the Noisy Nellies next door, who lived on their balcony and talked using "outside voices" and clinked their silverware against their plates A LOT. I could not go on the balcony without hearing every word clearly and they talked nonstop. There should be some sort of balcony etiquette. But this did not deter me from loving Seabourn. Read Less

I should start by saying that we were first time cruisers so have nothing to compare this to. We chose Seabourn as we wanted a small ship and good service. We absolutely got this and more. It really exceeded our expectations. The suite was really spacious with a fabulous bathroom and walk in wardrobe. With no knowledge of what suites were good or bad we opted for the gamble of a “guaranteed veranda suite” and got 512. I have no complaints. The half metal balcony did not bother us at all. The ship never felt crowded, anywhere we went there was usually a seat, table or sunbed free. All staff were happy, polite and helpful. All said good morning/afternoon/evening when passing and the housekeeping staff were especially lovely. The food and drinks were really high quality. We loved sitting outside in the Colonnade so went there most lunch times and half the evenings. The main dining room is good too and the food delicious but I feel the lighting is way too bright, reduces the ambience. It’s good that you can either request a table for two or a sharing table (6people max) when you want to meet new people. We failed to make a reservation at the Thomas Keller grill beforehand (rookie mistake) so didn’t get to eat there. Must remember that next time. The cruise was a 7 day “yacht harbours” in the Caribbean but I don’t think it really lived up to that. The first day had to be a day at sea as it was too rough to tender at Saline Bay so we missed the beach bbq. It was held on board instead which was fun anyway. I have read a few reviews where this has happened and wonder if it’s a frequent occurrence? I felt that only two of the places we docked were actually “yacht harbours” others were cruise ports where larger ships also docked. At one we seemed to be at a freight dock with a shuttle to the main port because two larger ships had taken the cruise ship docking area! People on board were probably mainly British, Canadian and American, mostly over 50. There was one small child (very well behaved). I can’t imagine it’s a cruise which children or young people would enjoy. We had a fabulous week and are already planning our next Seabourn cruise. Read Less

We needed some serious R&R after a difficult year so booked a cruise on Seabourn to get some. From the moment we boarded we found the facilities service and dining experiences wonderful. The cabins are really spacious and the bathtub in the en-suite and the walk in wardrobe are particularly welcome. The staff are all really customer focussed and can’t do too much for you. All in all a great experience and we will be sailing with them again which is amazing as we never thought of ourselves as cruising people! We really enjoyed the beach day and also the guadeloupe “Death in Paradise” tour - on most other islands we took the chance for unorganised exploration. We loved our cabins location which was only on Deck 5 but was ideally placed for most things. Our cabin stewardess was also brilliant at spotting what we liked and providing it. Thoroughly recommended Read Less

We took a seven day Eastern Carribean cruise on the Ofyssey. Didn’t get off the ship much because we have discovered over the years that most Carribean Island adventures are pretty fungible. We took an upgrade opportunity for one of the 4 spa suites on 10 accessible only via spiral staircase in the spa- a good pick. Great outdoor deck at the rear, plenty of inside space, huge bath and shower, lots of amenities. BUT broken and unfixed/unfixable blind in the BR and a fridge door actually fell off, but was timely fixed. We found the staff uniformly friendly and accommodating - more so than on the Encore. English not always so good. Lots of trpical drink trays in constant circulation. Top shelf liquor at all bars and restaurants. House wines OK but nothing special. Restaurant decor and some public areas could use refresher. More self-serv launderettes would be helpful. Restaurant/Keller selections good to excellent. Colonnade buffets generally pretty good. Room service- too slow and too cold. The coffee, like virtually every cruise ship we’ve been on, was bad - there must be some special secret and cheap robusto blend they all buy. Espresso sometimes OK and cappuccinos were tolerable. All in all, we liked this ship although my companion thought there too many smoking areas. We liked the Encore better even though it was larger and will probably try other Seabourn ships before we come back here. Wishing you clear skies and calm seas. Read Less

Seabourn is our cruise line of choice. The reasons are simple, it feels like you are on your personal yacht, the staff never uses the phrase "sorry, we can't do that", the cuisine is the best afloat on any ship sailing today and last, but not least, you never feel crowded or rushed in any venue aboard. The odyssey is currently doing an itinerary that runs back and forth between Barbados and St. Maartin. The cruise was, as anticipated, wonderful and relaxing. HOWEVER, Getting to the ship to board and disembarking were rife with difficulty and unpleasantness. This was not just my bad luck, but prevalent among nearly all of the guests who we met aboard and shared stories with. After booking the cruise we discovered that you cannot get to/from these chosen ports before or after your cruise (Barbados and St. Maartin) in one day of travel. Unless you live in a city with a direct flight to the island (Miami, Washington DC, New York - basically the east coast major metros) you will have to overnight enroute in each direction. Airline costs to and from these ports and overnight hotel costs, in many cases, exceed the price of the actual cruise. Additionally, attempting to arrive or depart the same day as ships in port turn over their passengers will result in unmanageable crowds at the airports. (specifics about our experience below) St Maartin's airport was destroyed during the most recent Hurricane and despite what you may read about the Caribbean being ready for tourism and that everything is back to normal ... It is NOT. Let me recount our disembarkation experience in St. Maartin: The positive: our late afternoon airline departure time worried us. We were unable to arrange a "day pass" with any hotel on the island despite two weeks of trying prior to leaving home. With nowhere to go until our flight departure and Disembarkation from Seabourn Odyssey scheduled for 8:30 am, we were worried. Seabourn, graciously, permitted us to remain aboard the ship in comfort until after lunch. A real blessing considering what was to come. The negative: Upon disembarkation we took a taxi with our luggage to the airport thinking we could relax comfortably at the airport (a relatively short distance, but a long drive compounded by bumper to bumper, slow moving traffic - nearly an hour) our taxi driver described to us while enroute that after the hurricane so many cars were destroyed that there was a huge influx of new cars purchased with insurance money and that the old damaged cars were mostly repaired, sold and put back on the road... hence gridlock like Manhatten or Chicago during rush hour (but on single lane roads). He also informed us that we were LUCKY because up until just a few days prior, the airport operations and passenger terminal were being run from TENTS in the tropical heat. We arrived at the airport, part of the destroyed terminal building had been repaired and it was operating in compressed space. No assistance at the curb with bags, entered into the ticket area and found grand central station with hundreds of people in line for multiple carriers. We were flying first class so our shorter line took only 40 minutes to reach the front, check baggage and proceed. Next came the security and immigration line. We arrived and joined a single line in a large ante-chamber, with the line snaking back and forth to allow more passengers into it - no bypass for any sort of travel class division or TSA Pre-check thing available here. Another 45 minutes to proceed through this portion. As I approached the two clerks doing the pass along I thought it was the light at the end of the tunnel. We walked up a ramp to another level and there was another snake line with a few hundred people in it for baggage examination, x rays etc. Belts, shoes, computers everything off. One hour in THAT line and we thought "hooray, it's over" we were finally near the actual departure area. We walked about 20 yards around a turn and into a large space that was rectangular and about fifty yards wide and 25 yards deep roughly half the size of a football field. In a glass wall facing the fresh air and sunlight were several doors (no individual gate areas just some doors with a thousand or so plastic chairs arranged around the room). Every chair was occupied, little room between the rows, wheelchairs and luggage blocking everything and crowds of standing passengers waiting along every wall and every lane between chairs. these gates/doors were within feet of each other and each door was a "gate" with a number on it. This waiting area facing the gates would have been shut down by any decent fire marshall due to more than double the number of waiting passengers in that space than it was designed to accommodate. We snagged two chairs when a flight was called, and waited until our flight was ready. The boarding was called traditionally, by row number and class. We walked through the door and an airport employee gathered everyone into one disorganized group (defeating the prior procedure) and we waited in the sun for a people mover bus to arrive. When it did arrive, the bus was packed like a subway car at rush hour. If someone had died, they would have remained in a standing position. Our flight, United Airlines Flt # 1741 from St. Maartin direct to Washington DC is a daily scheduled turn around flight - fly in arriving mid day or a little later early afternoon, dump off the arrivals - load up and turn back around. The bus disgorged us and directed us to stairs leading up to the airplane door for us to struggle up carrying our hand baggage. Again no assistance for those needing it (the passengers assisted the elderly and disabled ourselves). Once aboard, we anticipated United Airlines would be a welcome change. The flight, while professionally flown, was improperly provisioned and there were inadequate meals and drinks for all passengers - Here's a bit of humor, the first class stewardess told us not to worry, delicious cookies were forthcoming. She then either burned all of the cookies or the oven failed - so half of the first class section who had no meal choices didn't even get a cookie on this 5 hour flight. But the pretzels were delicious. Arrived back into the USA and my Hartmann bag (advertised as nearly indestructible and a veteran of several international flights to Europe and Asia) was delivered for customs inspection with a wheel smashed off and rips in the side of the "indestructible" material. No doubt the same airport services staff in St. Maartin responsible for provisioning the airplane with food and drinks “loaded” the luggage, as well. My destroyed bag necessitated a LONG walk, easily a mile from the international arrivals area, through a nearly deserted late Saturday night Washington DC terminal to the United baggage claim office (would have been convenient if it was located near where their flights were arriving - alongside all of the OTHER airlines baggage offices). We made it to the hotel two hours later than anticipated, we were not allowed to check our heavy vacation packed bags through to our early morning departure flight, so we had to carry them with us to the hotel and bring them back for check in the next morning. 4 hours of sleep and back to the airport before dawn in Freezing weather, to board our final United Flight home (which was a delightful, problem free flight). IN retrospect, Seabourn's decision to necessitate boarding and disembarking at these 3rd world ports and airports is a decision that significantly diminishes the attractiveness and affordability of these itineraries. Seabourn has chosen to no longer originate or end their Caribbean and Transatlantic to Europe itineraries in US ports like Fort Lauderdale or Miami but choosing instead these awkward Caribbean ports. True, The St Maartin airport terminal was better than TENTS, however it is painfully obvious that the services that the St. Maartin Airport staff are expected to perform for this volume of passengers is significantly beyond their current capability to deliver. Hindsight is 20/20…If I had it to do over again, I would not have chosen this voyage simply because of the disastrous and unpleasant overall travel experience to and from the ship. I recently read a psychological study that evidenced that as Passengers/Customers, our remembrance of a vacation is formed in significant measure by what happens at the end of it. If things end with a pleasant experience - we will always remember that as one of our best vacations. If not... then it will be remembered as unremarkable or a disaster, as in our case. Read Less

We liked this cruise because we don’t typically want days at sea. This was a St. Maartin to Barbados. Cruise was 7 nights which is short but perfect for us, especially on a ship with few entertainment options. The food was outstanding but selection was pretty much exactly the same each day. Occasionally an extra different main dish was offered in most restaurants. We would have liked to have some local food recipes offered but this was not the case. We could have been sailing anywhere in the world and have the same menus. For example, none of the restaurants offered any spicy food , jerk recipes, etc, EACH OF THE Caribbean ports had beaches. Seabourn did not offer excursions on many of the ports. We did book a third party 7 hour snorkel, hike, swim option with Adventure Antigua which was terrific and less expensive than what was offered by the ship. We were in a V4 room near the bow of the ship. Rm 702. It was a lock off from a large suite at the bow, but we never heard any noise from them. The only noise issue we had was a couple of nights/early morning from raising or lowering the anchor. Obviously that didn’t last long. Even though the ship was fully booked we never felt crowded. There were lots of nooks and places to hang out where we were virtually alone. The only issue around this is that there’s is only one small pool and most of the time it was full of people standing in it with cocktails. Impossible for a swim. One thing that we liked was several hot tubs on different decks. We didn’t see any children on the ship except babes in arms and that would make sense as there was little for young children to do. Entertainment was adequate. The singer and dancers were surprisngly talented but the shows weren’t very well staged and didn’t take advantage of it. Ship staff and management were always available and frequently took the time to stop and chat. The first night we had issues wth getting waited on in a timely manner but on the second day when we were asked for our feedback, mentioned that, and never had a problem again. WiFi was quite good every day. We were offered free WiFi with our cruise price and we were happy to have it. There were also several computers on board in the library/ coffee shop area which were rarely in use but a great option. My husband was always able to get live football games that he didn’t want to miss. We would choose deck 7 again as it was convenient to everything. We would probably choose mid ship or the aft, given a choice again ,as it is closer to access to coffee bar, elevators to other restaurants, library and guest services.. but the ship is so small that the bow of the boat was fine. Room service is available all day and always arrived promptly and the food was hot. On our final day we were planning to stay at the last port. Since we had to,leave the ship early and couldn’t check in until late, we took a Seabourn excursión that ended at the airport that day because they carried our luggage. At the end of the excursion, we simply collected our luggage and took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. This worked really well as we were able to see the island that we were disembarking on during the gap and could just enjoy the beach on our last couple of days of vacation. We felt that there was good value for the money, especially after staying before and after in hotels in the Caribbean. We would take Seaborn again, but would probably stick to their shortest trips due to lack of variety in food and entertainment. Read Less

Chose the 7 day Yachtsman Holiday Cruise in the Caribbean aboard Seabourn Odyssey. Booked the Penthouse Suite on 10th floor. Hadn’t sailed with Seabourn in nearly 10 years...However, we’re seasoned cruisers: 14 cruises on Silver Sea, Viking, Holland America, NCL, Regent, QE2...other Cunard line ships, Windstar, Star Clipper, National Grographic, Private charters and cruised our own boat for many years. For this cruise (12/22/2018) We made our own flight reservations and arrived a day early to enjoy some time on St Maarten. Seabourn made the hotel & transfer arrangements. Hotel (Belmont de Samana, St Maarten) was pretty bad (no hot water, messed up the arrangements for transfer to ship, couldn’t sort out the dinner reservations and kept thinking we were different guests in a different room. Even so, beautiful location and we still enjoyed being there (though only being able to take cold showers was not that pleasant.) Embarkation went fairly smoothly- at first they couldn’t find us but then got us onboard and photos and told us our room would be ready in an hour or so. We had the buffet lunch and proceeded to our room. Penthouse suite was nice and roomy. Lots of drawers, big closet, luxurious bath. Room Steward offered champagne. I had arranged a dinner in KT Grill for first night to celebrate my husbands birthday. No mention of his birthday at restaurant or room ( I wasn’t expecting a big deal but perhaps a little candle would have been nice.) Dinner was ok - rather mediocre - very snooty attitude and you could observe disputes between the wait staff which didn’t add much of a pleasant environment. We use to love dining at The French Laundry - TK’s original restaurant in Yountville - I doubt he’d like what they’re doing under his name on this ship!! We won’t return. We also discovered there were no papers in our room with information about internet, itinerary, excursions, spa, in room dining or even a ship map. So, after dinner we went to the square and tried to track down some information. No staff were available and there seemed to be many passengers with the same problems trying to find out info. We gave up and strolled around the various decks trying to get oriented. The second day we were anchored off St Kitts. Planned to go ashore and do some exploring on our own. Stopped by the destination desk to get maps and some tips on taxis in to town, etc. Local woman was at desk and told us the only option was to stay at the Carambola beach club...saying everything was closed, no taxis, no shops, no touring, etc. we found out much later she was working for the Carambola Beach club and was not telling the truth but we never tried to go ashore because it seemed there would be no way to get into town. (She said it was not walkable). We decided to explore the ship and maybe have lunch at Pool Grill. Everything was closed except the buffet. Tried visiting the Spa - all personnel were at beach. In the end we had a quiet reading day in our suite. We got several phone calls in which various ship personnel kept asking my husband if he’d like to celebrate his birthday (since they had forgotten the day before). We decided we’d have his celebration with in room dining that night. So, when it was time to order, we called room service- there was no paperwork with a menu in our room so they couldn’t take an order so we had to track down our room steward to get the current menu. She insisted it was December 22 and gave us that menu (it was actually the 23rd) we called again to try and order. The kitchen said we had to use the menu from December 23rd. So we went back to the room steward and she gave us the menu for the 24th because she didn’t have the menu for the 23rd. Eventually we were able to order a couple of salads, a club sandwich and a cheeseburger. Food arrived about 40 minutes later. Cold burger & fries, barely edible salad, dry sandwich. 2 ice waters. Nothing indicating a birthday...we strolled the decks, nothing going on so returned to our suite, sat and watched the moon and had a quiet reading night. In general, I would say this is a rather boring cruise with very little information available to passengers. No announcements, no help with basics like internet, no orientation and late or nonexistent paperwork in the suite. We are fairly self reliant and creating our own shore excursions (there are NEVER any staff to help with booking). Since almost all the ports are anchor/tenders it is a bit more complicated than simply stepping off the boat on to the dock. We do miss the ship events, lectures, entertainment that we’ve enjoyed on other cruises (they seem to be nonexistent, cancelled at last minute or very badly organized on this cruise). A note on the (Penthouse Suite) on the 10th floor: DON’T BOOK it!!! Above our suite is the outdoor game area (shuffleboard, table tennis, etc. VERY NOISY starting early in the morning and lasting all day!! So in closing we are sticking with Silversea, Viking, Charters and anyone else but the CARNIVAL line and SEABOURN!! Cons: poorly organized, unprofessional staff, mediocre food and waste of time & money!! Pros: quiet, not too many activities, lots of time to yourself, some beautiful sunsets on this itinerary comfortable bed, spacious suite. Read Less

First time on Seabourne. Its nice and upscale, yes. Only 400 pax what makes it special as expected. We expected a wonderful service and they disappointing on that. Friendly staff but less than average service. All week and never changed. Even a Royal Caribbean do better. The Good: Fast and easy embarkation, beautiful ship, spacious suite, spacious bathroom, excellent food. Thomas Keller Restaurant was the best. Their Menu was to die for. Excellent staff. Loved the caviar service in stateroom. The all inclusive is the best thing you can have on a cruise. Good amenities, More mature and upscale but mostly friendly passengers made it classy. The assistance at debarkation to get a taxi, etc. make you feel special. Room service on disembarkation day, most cruise lines don't offer room service on disembarkation. The bad: Just average service. Slow most of the times. We met our room attendant around 9 pm when we called guest services because the room was too warm. (We called 3 days in a row to get the AC checked and stateroom was never cool the whole week). Even on a Royal Caribbean the room attendant make the effort to meet and greet as soon a you board. We were never called by our names by anybody. Every morning we had to wait 20-30 min for the same Cappuccino and Omelette I got for breakfast. On the dinning room we waited for wine, long wait between courses (at least 10 min) and they took a long time to remove dishes too. Gym is tiny and is not really usable, just 3-4 treadmills and a few leg machines. Room service had a limited menu. Not related to the Cruise, but be aware of a Chaotic St. Maarten Airport. Only one line for Security with only 1 metal detector and 2 x ray machines for the whole airport, the wait was almost 2 hours to get thru, then got into a very overcrowded and cramped gate area. Our flight was delayed 2 hours, so it was very exhausting experience. I really sound like a lot of pity winning, but I have done over 40 cruises, from Royal Caribbean, Windstar, Celebrity and now Seabourn, I was expecting excellent Service from them. It was a fantastic cruise, don't get me wrong, but for what we paid, the expectation was high and it came short for me. Other passengers said the same about the Odyssey, and It might be different experience form other ships. I might be willing to try again in a different ship. Read Less

We have been with Seabourn for many years. We have seen the level of service decline over the years. We used to be addressed as Mr Jones, but on quite a few occasions we were called “Dave” (I hate being called Dave). Toiletries not being replenished, on two days we didn’t have any shower gel. We queried this with the stewardess and she said that they ran out. The sky bar always closes far too early as they always need the barman to work in the main restaurant. On deck 5, you order drinks, that always take a long time to arrive or in some cases never arrive. We are booked on the next transatlantic crossing from Barbados in April, so let’s see if this changes our minds. Other guests that we met, suggested that we try SilverSea, which we may do depending on how our next trip goes. Fingers crossed. Read Less