Seabourn Quest Cruises

Life aboard Seabourn Quest
In late March 2019 Seabourn Quest leaves South America for the North Atlantic – the UK, Norway and Iceland. In May 2019 there’s a wonderful 45-night cruise (shorter sectors being available) that covers the UK, Iceland, and Norway’s fjord-lined coast. Onshore tours are far from traditional tourist tracks. Northern European Summer voyages now offer shore excursions using Zodiacs and kayaks launched directly from its watersports marina. In July/August 2019 there’s a very interesting cruise from Dover to Montreal that visits many ports in Iceland, Greenland, and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Look out near midnight on a clear night for the Aurora Borealis. October is the time to see autumnal colours in NE America. At the end of the year Seabourn Quest wends its way south via the Panama Canal, the coasts of Ecuador, Peru and Chile, to the Antarctic Peninsula, and finally Buenos Aires. (And when in Buenos Aires, try a side trip to the Iguazu Falls!) Seabourn Quest offers so many interesting itineraries, one has to look at what each has to offer and then select one. Many ports are not on cruise ships’ regular beat.

This vessel is no.5 of the “Top 10 Small Ships” in Berlitz Guide for 2018! Seabourn Quest was recently refurbished in 2013. The crew knows all 208 passenger-guests by name and anticipates their every wish. This is a small ship where travellers meet and talk, are invited by officers to dine, and everyone is a welcomed guest. And the menus attract vacationing restaurateurs. Guests are international, upscale and well-traveled – this isn’t a ship for young children. Gratuities and beverages are included in the fare. The Seabourn line has won the prestigious International Five Star Diamond Award for the last 14 years. Other awards include: Cruise Critic Editors’ Picks 2009 Award for “Best New Luxury Ship”, as well as “Best Luxury Dining” for the entire fleet.

Accommodation
Choose from 225 ocean view suites, 90% with verandas. All accommodation suites are of generous size, bedroom separated from living area, dining table for two, bar replenished daily, the best of electronic entertainment available, and your direct-dial telephone to the outside world. All the appointments are luxurious and hardly need listing. This accommodation is a haven to refresh oneself for the next day’s onshore activities. Personal attention extends from supplying fresh fruit and flowers daily, to canapés and newly-baked pastries on returning from a day ashore. You’ll have a personal suite stewardess.

There are 13 different grades of suites. All suites have walk-in closets, writing desk with personalised stationary, spacious granite bathroom with separate tub and shower, twin sinks, bathrobes and slippers, fine toiletries, aromatherapy baths, and so on. Your choice will depend on your requirements for in-suite entertaining, complimentary internet service, private veranda space, second bedroom and bathroom, whirlpool tub, and solarium.

Food and Dining
Dining is in four five-star dining venues. Open seated dining in The Restaurant is a memorable experience, overseen by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer: award-winning cuisine, regional dishes, many items cooked to order, exotic foods and cheeses, accompanied at your table by ship’s officers. Breakfast and lunch menus here are expansive. The 50-seat Restaurant 2 prepares regional, seasonal cuisine in tasting portions. Seabourn has an all-inclusive complimentary beverage and no-gratuities policy.

The Colonnade, located aft, is the indoor/outdoor restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dishes are prepared in an open kitchen to individual order. Each evening the menu is based on a different theme. Service, as with all dining venues, is excellent, to tables set with white linen indoors and out. Poolside dining is at the Patio Grill. In Seabourn Square enjoy traditional Italian espressos and lattes. An in-suite menu service is available around the clock, with dinner served course by course.

Entertainment
Spend two hours dining and chatting with newly-met friends, and you make your own entertainment. The Grand Salon is the venue for small shows, cabaret acts, lectures, cooking demonstrations, movies and some social functions. The stunning Observation Bar is the place for early morning coffee or tea, and evening drinks with piano music in the background. Guests enjoy wine, champagne and spirits in any of the six bars and lounges.

During sea days passengers make their own fun, though one can join tour talks, cooking demos, bridge, a matinee movie, galley tour, and ACBL-sanctioned bridge competitions. The Spa, constructed over two decks, offers massages from ten exotic cultures, seven private treatment rooms, personally tailored fitness programs, and a full-service beauty salon. Fitness amenities include sauna and steam rooms, gymnasium, Kinesis Wall, two outdoor pools and six whirlpools, and golf putting. A built-in marina facility will provide for swimming, snorkelling, windsurfing, kayaking and water-skiing at selected ports of call.

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