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You can eat at The Restaurant every night and never be bored, or try a different venue for five nights without repeat (six, if you count in-suite dining). While there were a few minor hiccups, food was generally well executed, interesting and delicious. Order eggs Benedict topped with two generous heaps of caviar and no one blinks. Complimentary caviar (Regiis Ova, partially owned by star chef Thomas Keller) is offered, anywhere, anytime, with a once-a-sail deck party delivering a seemingly endless supply. You will not see caviar listed on the menu; it’s like a Seabourn devotee secret. Complimentary alcohol, including wines and spirits, is another perk.
Seabourn Ovation Review
Seabourn's dress code is slightly more relaxed than other luxury cruise lines. During the day, passengers wear casual, resort-style attire (shorts and jeans are allowed) throughout the ship, including in the lounges. Swimwear, cover-ups and exercise attire are reserved for the pool area, outside decks, spa and fitness center. Seabourn Venture launched in July 2022 with 122 all-veranda oceanfront suites (some are two-story) and a PC6 Polar Class-rated hunter-green hull. It’s one of the prettiest expedition ships I’ve seen, evoking a sleek adventuresome yacht.
Where does Seabourn Sojourn sail to?
The Restaurant dinners, like honey-roasted quail, were highlights, with deft chefs cooking intricate repasts with the finest ingredients. Sauces were silken and consommes (love the duck) tasted like the bones were simmering for hours. In the alternative dining venue Colonnade, breakfasts and lunches are buffets with an impressive variety of dishes. Count on a lunchtime carving station, with a chef slicing everything from a giant roast beef haunch to whole suckling pig. Some Colonnade meals were themed, dishing up tastes of the world, such as Indian or Mexican. Afternoon tea was excellent, especially the tender scones and smoked salmon mini-bagels.
Fellow Passengers
During school breaks, expect to see quite a few families, mostly in multigenerational groups. When there are enough kids onboard to justify it, a kids' program is introduced. The ship is laid out such that all the accommodations are forward and all the public areas are aft. The compact size, combined with the presence of forward and aft elevators and staircases, in addition to a dazzling spiral feature staircase looping from Deck 10 down to Deck 3, means that passenger flow is excellent. Besides enrichment lectures and trivia, there aren't many organized activities during the day, and apart from one or two memorable performances, the nighttime entertainment leaned toward mediocre. Beyond the service, which was decent, we appreciated the aura of thoughtfulness that permeated the ship.
In the Club lounge beginning at 6 p.m, sushi chefs fashioned primo sashimi, such as yellowtail and salmon, and sushi. Passengers came for pre-dinner snacks and often never left, ordering plate after plate. The club offered cool cocktails, like Honey Dew Wop, made with Ketel One vodka and honeydew juice. However, on our cruise, there were more service hiccups than passengers might expect, given Seabourn's reputation for flawless, intuitive service.
Seabourn's Luxury Arctic Cruise: See Photos of Ship, Suite; Review - Business Insider
Seabourn's Luxury Arctic Cruise: See Photos of Ship, Suite; Review.
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That said, we had still had some amazing experiences, including flying over Peru’s Nazca Lines, exploring the Atacama Desert (the planet’s driest), and visiting a well-preserved former mining town, now a ghost town. We also what was touted as the world’s oldest mummies, about 8,000 years old. This itinerary is not a common one, more like a one-off; it’s really a way to get “in position” for the Antarctic season. I loved the video that the expedition team filmed during our voyage and screened on our final night; what a way to re-live an adventure.
The underwater hull was painted with an ultra-low-friction coating system, which also reduces energy consumption by up to 10 percent. Also, the ship uses dynamic positioning in many cases versus anchoring and disturbing the ocean. Some passengers raved about their facials and I actually saw (and envied) their clearly glowing skin. I tried a 75-minute deep-tissue massage; my masseur may have been slight but he had hands of steel. There was an ocean-view sauna in both the men’s and women’s changing rooms.
How much does it cost to go on Seabourn Encore?
Definitely not the party crowd, passengers skew in the 55+ age category and appreciate the casually elegant country-club vibe. That question is top of mind for many Seabourn Ovation passengers. The 600-passenger ship is the second in the luxury line's newest ship class, which started with Seabourn Encore in 2016.
Seabourn ocean liner fans will recognize Seabourn Square, the popular meeting place with comfy seating, library books, snacks and espresso drinks brewed to order. Both men and women are allowed to wear jeans, as long as they're not distressed, in all venues. On our cruise, we saw the full spectrum of womenswear, from chic outfits with jeans and dressy tops to flowy separates and dresses, both stylish and more casual. Seabourn, a longtime luxury cruise player, garners kudos for all-suite accommodations, attentive passenger service, elegant ship designs, fine dining and many inclusives such as complimentary alcohol and caviar. Cruisers, well-heeled and well-traveled, are primarily Seabourn devotees.
The two are each one deck and 150 passengers larger than the line's older and beloved trio of ships. This Lima-to-Santiago route was more of a repositioning cruise than an adventuresome one. Unfortunately, we hit some unexpected permit issues and rougher seas that didn’t allow us to enjoy the expected Zodiac and kayak explorations.
Waiters didn't materialize immediately to take a drink order, and we often found ourselves trying to flag someone down, in either the Colonnade or a bar. Orders were misheard in The Restaurant, hot water for tea came lukewarm multiple times and dress code infractions were handled inconsistently and without empathy. Other passengers grumbled about mishandled anniversaries and difficulties with shoreside arrangements. Three cheers for its desalinated water (which can taste awful on expedition ships), which tastes much like fresh spring H2O. It’s accomplished by reverse osmosis, consuming about 30 percent less energy compared to traditional systems.
Seabourn is also gay-friendly and there were a number of gay couples on our voyage. It offers an additional dining option, a sushi restaurant first introduced on Encore, as well as a spacious venue for The Grill by Thomas Keller (which feels cramped on the smaller vessels). It also was the first to debut Seabourn's new alfresco dining concept -- Earth & Ocean at The Patio -- as well as the line's new gelato program.
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