Traveling with the Jones

We recently returned from our first Seabourn cruise. We love cruising as a way to explore the world. Where else can you be pampered at sea while being transported in luxury to some of the world’s most interesting destinations? While we are veteran cruisers, having sailed more than 400 days on a variety of different cruises (and cruise lines) all over the world, we found the 10-day Caribbean Highlights cruise on the Seabourn Pride to be one of our all-time favorites. Why? It wasn’t just one or two things. It was the sum of many little things on Seabourn that added up to a magical, memorable experience.

26 Things We Loved About Our First Cruise on Seabourn

1) The bread sticks served in the restaurant during lunch and dinner. The pastry chef makes 1600 of these sea-salt-crusted sticks of goodness per day on a ship that was carrying less than 200 guests.

2) Little acts of kindnesses: when the restaurant maí®tre d’ noticed how much we liked the bread sticks, he sent some to our suite. I thought they’d be terrific during our in-suite pre-dinner cocktails and appetizers, but when I woke from my nap, they were gone. It seems Mr. Jones enjoyed them as the perfect salty snack as he was reading.

3) The always stocked in-suite stocked bar and refrigerator: every day, at least once a day the ice bucket was filled, fresh limes slices  were delivered, new bottles of Perrier and our favorite sodas, mixers and beer  were chilled in the frig. Our bottles of our favorite brands of vodka and gin, if we have emptied them, would have been replaced as well.

4) The prefect ingredients for pre-dinner appetizers in our suite delivered from 24-hour-a-day room service.  Our order: caviar for 4, plus 4 shrimp cocktails, perfect for entertaining our friends from across the hall before dinner. It was a terrific way to start the evening.

5) The block party: a great way to get to know your neighbors and others on your floor.

6) David E: cruise director extraordinaire and fantastic entertainer rolled into one person.

7) The other guests: a wide range of interesting and well-traveled people from all over the world, together on an intimate ship that allowed us to get to know each other.

8) The cabaret-feel to the entertainment shows:  the intimate show lounge allowed you to be right there with the entertainers.

9) Julie, the bartender in the Club: she always tried to anticipate what we wanted, even though we aren’t always predictable. All of the bartenders and bar staff were terrific.

10) Never having to get out your key card for a waiter; nothing to sign. If you bought a premium wine from the list, the sommelier very discreetly asked you room number for the charge.

11) The attractive tenders that tucked up in the marina.

12) The intimate size of the ship (and it’s tenders) that allowed us to visit places like Jost Van Dyke, an island of less than 300 residents with white sand beaches and the bar that invented the painkiller.

13) The burger on the grill outside on deck by the patio bar — especially delicious with an ice cold beer after returning to the Pride from an active morning in a little Caribbean island.

14) The Liars Club:  a fun event with four staff members telling you their definition of an unusual word. The audience was divided into teams of up to 10 guests each. Each team had to identify which staffer was telling the truth. Competition was intense. We were lucky to be on the winning team.

15) The beach barbecue at Prickly Pear Island: sizzling lobster-size Nigerian tiger prawns cooked fresh on the grill, plus every kind of beach barbecue food.

16) The complimentary beach activities using the ships’ own speedboats and equipment such as the banana ride, the disk, kayaks and paddle boats.

17) The library: compact but packed with numerous NY Times best sellers that we wanted to read with no annoying process to check out the books.

18) The tub in our suite:  deep, with supplemented with our favorite Moulton Brown products for a fragrant, relaxing bath.

19)The morning stretch class: it was like having a personal trainer as I was the only person in attendance.

20) The cooking class given by Chef Jes: spicy coconut chicken soup entertaining to watch, a recipe that you could really make at home, and delicious when everyone got a sample.

21) The bridge tour: a rare, in- depth look at the bridge led enthusiastically by 3rd officer Gillian.

22) The galley tour: a look inside the place where all of the fabulous food is created.

23) Free- flowing champagne morning, noon and night in all bars on the ship of by room service.

24) Our suite #325 on deck 6:  a short walk to the Club, the library, and the gift shop. Only one deck up to the gym, and only one flight down to reception and the show lounge. The three flights of stairs down to the dining room provided some much needed exercise.

25) No need to ever take the elevator even once in 10 days.

26) The strong desire by the staff to make each guest’s experience delightful based on their preferences.

Have you sailed on Seabourn? What was  your favorite “little thing” that made your Seabourn cruise memorable? Please share in comments below.

Read more posts about our 10-Day Caribbean Highlights cruise on the Seabourn Pride: 

• Jost Van Dyke, B.V.I. – Yachts, White Sand and Painkillers
• Exploring “The Baths” of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands via a Seabourn Shore Excursion
• The Cayo Levantado Beach Escape in Samana, Dominican Republic
• A Port Day in Basseterre, St. Kitts via the Seabourn Pride
• Views from the Seabourn Pride
• A Peek Inside the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel

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We recently sailed on a 10-Day Caribbean Highlights cruise on the Seabourn Pride. Here is a look inside our Suite, #325.  It measures 277 square feet or 26 sq. meters in size, as do most all of the suites on this ship except for the Owner’s Suites, the Classic Suites, and Category A Suites 102 and 103.

 

Suite 325 is on Deck 6 of the Pride, mid-ship.  You can see where it is located on the deck plan above — next to the red “HERE.”  This deck plan is virtually identical for the Seabourn Spirit and the Seabourn Legend.

We booked an OS guarantee that meant we could have been in any A, A1, A2 or A3 suite.  When we were offered a $100 per person Special Paid Upgrade, we took it, as did our traveling companions Tom and Steve, who were across the hall in Suite 324.  We both agreed that these suites are in an ideal location near the center of the ship, and on the same deck as the library, The Club, and the Shop, and only one level down to the Showrooms.

Another nice benefit of Suites 325 and 324 is that they share an entrance with a supply closet rather than another suite, meaning that you don’t have to worry about hearing your neighbors as they come and go. These suites are also located next to the large Owner’s Suites.

The Suites on Seabourn feel large; they are wider than many verandah suites on newer ships.  After you enter, you pass by a king-size bed and then enter the “living room” part of the suite.   A bottle of champagne is waiting chilled on your coffee table that rises to dining height for in-suite dining.

 

The cabinet features reading material, high quality glassware, and a refrigerator stocked with your favorite sodas, waters, beers and other beverages.

We used the 24-hour room service to enjoy pre-dinner caviar and shrimp appetizers with our friends from across the hall.  The suite offered plenty of space for four people, and could accommodate six for cocktails.

Caviar is not on the room service menu, but it is available just by requesting it.

The suite features a spacious walk-in closet and a marble-covered bathroom with a deep tub.

Here’s a closer view of the double sinks and the tub.

The suite features a mirrored wall in the “living room” area, which makes the suite appear even larger.  It’s also handy for self-photos; just remember to turn off the flash as we failed to do here.

Have you sailed on Seabourn? What’s your favorite suite on the Pride, Legend or Spirit? Please share in comments below.

Read more posts about our 10-Day Caribbean Highlights cruise on the Seabourn Pride: 

• Jost Van Dyke, B.V.I. – Yachts, White Sand and Painkillers
• Exploring “The Baths” of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands via a Seabourn Shore Excursion
• The Cayo Levantado Beach Escape in Samana, Dominican Republic
• A Port Day in Basseterre, St. Kitts via the Seabourn Pride
• Views from the Seabourn Pride
• A Peek Inside the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel
  

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Having a birthday in the middle of spring break has always had its perks. I have had the luxury of traveling to a variety of places–Colorado, Padre Island, and Mexico to name a few–to celebrate my birthdays with both friends and family. One of my favorite birthdays abroad was my 19th birthday, which I got to spend touring through Italy.

We began in Assisi and Florence, traveled onto Pisa and Rome, and then finally wrapped up our trip in the Vatican City.

Although we were pretty far away, we got to see the Pope give a sermon in Italian to thousands of people in the city square.

The artwork within the Vatican was ancient and inspiring. The walls and ceilings were filled with murals depicting past histories.

There were thousands of sculptures in varying sizes all throughout the church.

It only seemed appropriate that we wrap up our tour through Italy with a little fun and food on our last night…

Eating again, typical.

This was our final view of our Italian tour. A beautiful ending.

Our final picture as a group on our last night.

This trip was one that I hold close to my heart; I ate way more pasta and gelato than I should have, and I saw more beautiful art and architecture than I had ever hoped of seeing. I came to have an understanding of the Italian way of life, which is without a doubt, one of the most beautiful ways of living.

This article is written by Hannah Watkins — a “writer, traveler, and grand-scale dreamer — as well as a senior studying communications at Southwestern College  in Winfield, Kansas.

She is an avid golfer and enjoys spending time with her pug named Cookie.

Hannah is currently completing an internship with VentureTime Travel  and she hopes to someday work in the Public Relations field.

This is part 3 of a 3 part series. Check out parts 1 and 2 here:

• Photo Journey: Turning 19 on an Art Tour Through Italy (Part 1)
• Photo Journey: Turning 19 on an Art Tour Through Italy (Part 2)

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