Seabourn Sojourn

Wednesday, November 27th
Seabourn Sojourn
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Embarkation:  6:00 PM
Departing:  8:00 PM
Mostly Sunny - 78 Degrees

Seabourn Sojourn was delayed arriving at Port Everglades due to a medical emergency on the previous cruise.  As a result, embarkation was delayed until 6:00 PM, and departure was pushed back until 8:00 PM, four hours later than scheduled.  The delay was an inconvenience, and communication was handled poorly by the home office, but not a big deal.  We will still be able to reach our first port of call on time, and there will be no further disruptions to our itinerary.

We arrived at Port Everglades at 6:20 and breezed through registration.  As we boarded the ship, we were whisked into the main dining room, where the lifeboat drill was about to get underway.  By 7:00, we were in our cabin, and by 8:00 Sojourn cast off her lines, pushed back from the pier, and set sail on her Caribbean Sojourn.

The first impression of Seabourn and the Sojourn was a little awkward, but that faded rapidly as we fell in love with the ship and her crew.

"The second of Seabourn’s new class of ships, Seabourn Sojourn, built at the T. Mariotti yard in Genoa, debuted on June 6, 2010.  Like her sisters, the older Odyssey and the younger Quest, Seabourn Sojourn enchants her guests with an array of public areas scaled to encourage a relaxed sociability.  The Spa at Seabourn is the largest on any ultra-luxury ship, 11,400 square feet encompassing indoor and outdoor space.  A variety of open terraces are scattered over seven decks, offering places to gather with a few friends or spend an isolated hour with a book.  High atop Deck 11 is a Sun Terrace with 36 tiered double sun beds.  Seabourn Sojourn offers six whirlpools and two swimming pools, including a whirlpool spa on the open bow deck all the way forward on Deck 6.  The Pool Patio, with a pair of large whirlpool spas and a “beach” style pool, is the setting for a casual Patio Grill and the Patio Bar.  On the sun deck above sits Seabourn’s popular open-air Sky Bar.  The panoramic Observation Bar on Deck 10 offers 270 degree forward views over the sea.  The Club is a lively spot for dancing before and after dinner, while the larger Grand Salon is used for dancing as well as lectures, production vocal shows, cabaret performances and classical recitals."

• Ship's Registry:  Bahamas
• Guest capacity:  450
• Crew members:  330
• Tonnage:  32,000grt
• Length:  650 feet
• Breadth:  84 feet
• Guest Decks:  8
• Cruising speed:  19 knots
• Maiden Voyage:  June 2010

This is our first cruise on Seabourn, the premier luxury line of the World's Leading Cruise Lines.  This is the most intimate ship we have ever sailed on, catering to just 450 passengers.  Sojourn is the most advanced ship we have ever sailed on, her maiden voyage just three years ago.  Seabourn is the most all-inclusive cruise experience we have ever had, with no charge for food and beverages.  Seabourn is the highest rated line we have ever sailed with, earning the top score by virtually every publication in the industry.  It is the highest ranked line we have ever cruised, named the number one small ship line by the largest publications in the industry.

• World's Best Small-Ship Cruise Line
  Travel + Leisure
  2009 - 2013
• Best Small-Ship Cruise Line
  Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards
  2010 - 2013
• International Six Star Diamond Award
  American Academy of Hospitality Sciences
• Best Culinary Cruise Line
  SAVEUR Culinary Travel Awards
  2013

While the itinerary is standard Caribbean fun and sun, this is the most highly anticipated cruise we have ever taken for the shipboard experience we expect to have in terms of quality, comfort, and service.  High expectations as we found our cabin forward on deck 5, starboard side.

Seabourn offers an all-suite experience, so the standard cabin is a spacious 385 square feet with separate sleeping and sitting areas.  There are no inside cabins, all but the lowest category have verandas.  There are also several categories of Penthouse and Owner's Suites.  We are in a standard Veranda Suite, V1507.

The colors are muted and calming, earth tones and natural surfaces.  The cabin is the model of efficiency, back-lit blonde wood cabinets with soft-close drawers.  There is enough storage space for a full season at sea, the walk-in closet is tight, but affords enough space for a private quick-change.  The five-piece bath is wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling natural stone.  The basins and faucets pair to good use, maybe a first for a bathroom at sea.  The shower is a right triangle, the hypotenuse just long enough for elbows in full swing.  The fixed shower head has adequate pressure and volume, plus an additional wand to put the water where you want it.  The entertainment system is also the best ever, with on-demand movies, music, ship cams and route information, account access and transactions, however the television programming is severely limited.  The bar is fully stocked with water, sodas, and mixers.  Passengers are invited to select two standard-size bottles of wine or spirits for the cabin.  The veranda is small with two metal and mesh chairs with matching footstools and a small table.  The railing is two-thirds solid metal, one-third glass, and provides an adequate view.  The veranda is well protected, shielded from the worst of the weather, but also the best of the sun and ocean breezes.  This is just half the space we had last year in the South Pacific, but easily the most comfortable standard cabin we have ever cruised in.  Our cabin stewardess Elen is from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and she is a star.  She does the work of two, with good cheer, admirable grace, and maximum efficiency.

As we noted in 2009 aboard the Oceania Nautica, the classic cruise ship is garish and gaudy, with loud colors and vibrant patterns, totally lacking in subtlety and class.  Nautica was a step in the right direction.  Sojourn completes the journey, with modern elegance and rational design.  Everything is ship shape, clean, and well maintained.  That is not a given, even with a relatively new ship.  It is a work in constant progress.  This ship is as well designed as any at sea.  She is near capacity with 441 guests, but never crowded.  The deck plan flows from space to space in an intuitive way, while still providing places to be surprised and get lost for a while.  The hallways aren't all straight, but they take you where you want to go.  The decks aren't all symmetrical from port to starboard or forward to aft.  On most ships, most decks are dedicated to cabins or public areas, but not both.  On Sojourn, the forward end of most decks is residential, the aft end has public space.  The circular staircase amidships spirals from deck 4 up to deck 9, where it is crowned with a massive skylight that connects the atrium of the ship with the pool deck.

The ship's crew are an international lot, largely from Eastern Europe, South Africa, and South America, and they are fabulous.  Cruise ship work is indentured servitude.  Cruise lines pick and choose which laws from which countries they are going to abide by, and labor laws are not among them.  As we saw in Charleston, however, there are better masters and worse masters.  Seabourn is at the right end of the scale, and it shows on the face of every crew member.  These are some of the most engaged, friendly, charming, and hardworking crew we have encountered.  On Seabourn, "Tipping is neither required nor expected," so the service feels more genuine.  We delight in our interactions with the crew and look forward to seeing them every day.  We hope to be a positive influence in their day, just as they are in ours.  We already have a list of favorites.

There are four dining venues on board Sojourn:

• The Restaurant
  The main dining room, with sit-down service for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• The Colonnade
  The casual venue, with buffet service for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as ala carte items that are made to order and available every day.
• The Patio Grill
  A limited buffet poolside, with pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs on deck for lunch and through most of the afternoon.  At dinner, there is sit-down service of grill specialties.
• Restaurant 2
  The specialty dining room, the only one that requires a reservation.  It is small and very modern, serving a nine-course tasting menu that changes daily.

There are four bars and lounges providing full beverage service all day and evening.  The joy of the complimentary beverage program, though, is that there are self-service beverage carts throughout the ship with water and soda, so you never have to wait for service.  There is service everywhere too, with several wines and virtually any drink available at no cost at any time.  They do have a premium wine list, and fine aged scotch and cognac, for a charge, but you can drink long into the night, and very well, without paying a premium.  The espresso stand is open early, most of the day, and late evening with complimentary coffee drinks, also one of three places on board with ice cream service, all made on board.

And there are a thousand little touches that nobody else has thought of that make cruising with Seabourn a pleasure:  a complimentary customized guidebook featuring all of our ports of call, a ship-issued photo ID so there is no need to carry a driver's license or passport into port, a guest directory to allow easy contact with fellow passengers.

This is not a revolution in cruising, but it is certainly an evolution, and a step above where we've been before.

Tonight we had a very nice dinner in the Colonnade, a walk around the ship and a nightcap in the Observation Bar.

Tomorrow:  Thanksgiving At Sea