We had sailed on Seabourn 10 years ago to the Mediterranean and this time from Auckland to Sydney with stops on the east coast of New Zealand and the south of Australia. We wanted to escape the frenzied holidays at home and found on this cruise a delightful Christmas with caroling and Santa arriving by Zodiac to dancing on the pool deck for a fun New Year’s Eve with everyone from the ship in attendance. The atmosphere from start to finish was comraderie with staff and travelers. The dining selections were interesting but a little “flat”, while wines were “routine” without being special. The ship was spotless, the common rooms inviting, and the off shore visits/tours were interesting and well done. Unfortunately our Zodiac mission to the Milford Sound was wisely cancelled because of weather, but the Odyssey nicely toured the sound anyway. This was a near perfect cruise experience we hated to leave.