The Sojourn of the Seabourn Odyssey Pre-Inaugural Cruise - First Impressions

I am onboard what is, without a doubt, the most luxurious cruise ship at sea and she is filled with innovations, great design and wonderful spaces…and, of course, the incredible service and food. Did I mention the Seabourn service?!

We arrived at 11:00 a.m. and after a short while listening to live classical music we were escorted onboard and to the Colonnade for an al fresco lunch. First impressions are, well, first impressions and it was – as it should be – like being home again. Familiar faces and warm welcomes with much pride beaming, as well as some bags under a few eyes due to the late delivery of the ship, greeted us.

Jochim, the head chef, welcomed me and we were whisked to the aft deck (think Veranda) we sat at beautiful teak tables with all-weather wicker seating under a beautiful, artistic, canopy.

The wine was poured and the elegant cuisine began. Beside the great offerings at a truly stylish buffet it was a tough choice between tempura shrimp and fish and chips…or pasta or… I went with the fish and chips and it just was taken to another level. (Hey, I know you want to know all about the ship, but like me you have to be patient and enjoy Seabourn’s hospitality first!)

I will detail some of the inner workings of the galleys later, but suffice it to say with more space there is much more that can be done with cuisine. One cool area is the open kitchen (sorry about that!) As the photos show, there is a real (not sort of) open kitchen that not only looks great, it allows for some pretty creative foods to be plated.

The interior seating is elegant and comfortable; so much so I am hard-pressed to call this a causal dining venue.

And here is a tease...a pool Seabourn style

Time for the sailaway...more later!

The Sojourn of the Seabourn Odyssey Pre-Inaugural Cruise - Part 2

Today is the big day! In about 4 hours I will be boarding the Seabourn Odyssey for the first time. But before that…

Last night we had a little walk around the Ca’Sagredo Hotel and the magnificent artwork and frescos that make this hotel very special. And then we came upon a noisy reception for a number of travel agents who are also going to be on the ship.

We then had drinks while sitting on the banks of the Grand Canal, chatting away, talking about Seabourn, life and basically whatever came to mind…and the group of travel agents came out, en masse, to take a water taxi somewhere for some other event.

Later, my wife and I took a short stroll to a wonderful, small, local restaurant called Vecia Cavana. While the locals normally dine there, last evening was the Italy vs. Brazil football match so much of Venice was in front of the television. (BTW, Italy lost 3-0.) Our meal was fantastic (I had smoked goose followed by a cuddle fish ink spaghetti with an excellent Barbara wine) as we sat out on the street and watched Venetian life go by. Children running away from their parents. A priest walking by. Families of three generations sitting down for dinner. It was a most enjoyable evening.

We were up early this morning, due to my wife’s jetlag, and we have “supervised” the stocking of the Rialto Market which is directly across from the hotel. Boats coming and going, crate after crate of fresh vegetables and fruits being offloaded. And the memory of that incredibly fresh and very peppery arugula that accompanied my smoked goose last evening.

And then it hit me: We don’t travel as travel agents, but rather as travelers. I never would have wanted to be a part of that cocktail reception or the group dinner that they most certainly were enjoying. Yes, they were enjoying themselves…but they were enjoying themselves in Venice; not enjoying Venice. Don’t get me wrong, I am not being critical; only obervational. There are different ways to travel and I just do it differently from most travel agents.  For me it is more about the "travel" and less about the "agent".

So as we board the Seabourn Odyssey later today, I will be part of a group that will be enjoying the ship, the cocktail parties and, of course, everything Seabourn. But I will still be a bit different: I will be looking at the Seabourn Odyssey as a destination to be enjoyed; not just enjoying myself on the Seabourn Odyssey.

The Sojourn of the Seabourn Odyssey Pre-Inaugural Cruise

Our sojourn (sorry I couldn't help it…as Seabourn’s second new ship is the Seabourn Sojourn, to be delivered next year) began with a very comfortable flight on Lufthansa to Frankfurt…which abruptly became a bit of a hassle because some passenger decided he needed to have his flu treated in Germany rather than the United States and our plane was diverted to the distant areas of the airport. However, both ourselves and our luggage, made our connection to Venice.

A short water taxi to the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel and we were already wowed. The staff greeted up by name as soon as we stepped of the boat. We have a lovely corner room overlooking the Grand Canal and have been spoiled not only with the beautiful room and incredible views, but a welcome bottle of Prosecco and a plate of chocolate and fruit treats.

The Ca' Sagredo has, in every respect, earned mine so far. The staff is warm, friendly and efficient. The room is magnificent and the views are "to die for". I am very impressed and look forward to my return here even before I have left.

Though tired, after settling in, we took a stroll found a fairly nice little restaurant on a side canal. The main walks were just so crowded and the restaurants just screamed "tourist"...with, of course, some bolding posting "turisto menu" at their entrances. I had some lovely sardines followed by angler fish in a wonderful tomato and olive oil sauce and bruchetta and spaghetti carbonara for my wife, with a bottle of Prosecco, and we were officially in Italy…and ready for a nap.

Now it is time to get ready to meet some of my favorite clients, who also just arrived in Venice for the Maiden Voyage on June 24th.

To be continued.

Some Details on the Seabourn Odyssey Pre-Inaugural

I thought I would tease you all a bit with some information about what is scheduled for the Pre-Inaugural festivities.  (Please remember that with some of the last minute glitches things are running a bit behind schedule.  As Seabourn is well and truly focused on making sure things are fantastic for the Maiden Voyage this is all subject to modification.)

I will board around 11:00 a.m. on Monday and, after having a good snoop around, will take a formal tour of the ship. 

We will then set sail around 5:00 p.m.

Dinner is scheduled early (at 6:15 pm) because there will be a Venetian Sunset Party immediately afterwards out on deck.

On Tuesday, after some morning meetings and presentations (oh, the thought of work!?  Will champagne be served????), there will be, weather permitting, a mid-day anchorage and deployment of the marina for watersports activities.

Also during the afternoon, chef Charlie Palmer will conduct a cooking demonstration.

That evening, Seabourn will have a Venetian Gala including a gala show and a full evening of entertainment.   (Word has it I will be sitting at a very interesting table for dinner.  I will let you know.)

On Wednesday morning we become those people who hear, "We love you, but please get off our ship" (just not in those words).  We have been asked to disembark early so that things can be set up for the arrival of the Maiden Voyage guests.

And just so you know I am neither jaded or full of myself, I just need to say, "HOW COOL IS THIS?!"

Seabourn Odyssey - Delivered!

After some last minute issues, the Seabourn Odyssey has officially been delivered to Seabourn in Genoa, Italy.

While running a bit behind schedule, it is now all systems go with a scheduled departure for Venice in just a few short hours!

It is "all hands on deck" as the final preparations are underway now that Seabourn owns the ship. The word is that she is truly an incredible vessel and when all the goodies are finally in all the right places and everything has that Seabourn shine it is going to be...well...Seabourn.

Regent Seven Seas Tries to Curtail Bargain Hunters (er' um, Sharks)

Regent Seven Seas is not the first cruise line to do it, but it is the most recent (Crystal has a similar program).  Essentially it limits the commission a travel agent can earn on bookings that are transferred to it from another agency. 

The rationale is that if an agency is discounting or rebating a portion of its commission it will be less likely to undercut another agency's "best price" if the amount it will earn in commissions is cut to the lowest levels. I fully understand the rationale, but I strongly disagree with the policy. Let me explain:

If Agency A has worked with the client to find the right cruise, the right category and the right suite, possibly even arranging flights and tours, but then the client decides to shop the package to another travel agency and, with all the work done, Agency B says it can do it for less money (and, obviously, with far less time invested!), the client may do better, but Agency A suffers.

At the same time Regent (or any other line with a similar policy) is concerned about its prices being undercut and, therefore, there is further downward pressure on its prices.  Regent already does not allow direct discounting (though its sister cruise line, Oceania, does).  This means that you must pay the rate quoted by Regent for the cruise...and then receive back as a rebate, onboard credit, etc. any discount provided by the travel agent.  This is a second tier of price protection because the ability to discount is reduced  when the commission level is artificially reduced.  This, obviously, assists in Regent's desire to buoy its pricing and to protect Agency A from possible improprieties by another agency.

So far this all sounds good, right?  Well, in my opinion there is a client that should be able to not only get the best pricing available (but not compromising themselves on the service issue as I wrote earlier this week) and to be protected from errors that Agency A may have made without an penalty.

Just last week I had a client referred to me.  The prospective client had expressed some small concerns over its present agent and was looking to make a change for its future cruises.  Really as nothing more than a courtesy, I offered to just check the pricing on its cruises booked with the other agency.  (The rationale was simple:  If the other agency was overcharging it, my future business would be secured...and for a few hundred dollars I ethically would not even consider taking over the existing bookings.)  What I discovered (without knowing the other agency's pricing) was that the client was being overcharged by almost $4,000...and that was for two categories lower, as upgrades were available.

Now, there were no smoke and mirrors in the $4,000+ price difference, but should I be placed in the position of telling the prospective client that the pricing was not available if it transferred the booking to me?  Should I be the one who runs the interference for the cruise line?  Should I be the one protecting the first agency's inexcusable failures?  Me thinks not.

The client should be able to receive the best pricing and cabin assignments and I should be able to operate my agency the way I always do:  Provide my clients with excellent service and excellent pricing.  And, if I can't do that, that is the cost of doing business.

As some of my clients know, I have actually done some pretty remarkable things...at my cost and loss (at least short term)...to be sure my clients receive the best pricing.

So while I understand Regent's philosophy for the change, I believe it is not in the best interest of the cruising public and, in the end, encourages travel agencies to possibly work a little less to earn a client's business.  However, if the concept is simply focused on trying to force a "no-discount policy" on travel agencies and the consumer, I think it is up to the consumer to express his/her opinion in obvious ways.

Cruise Tours - Why The Huge Mark Ups? Its Your Fault!

This summer our plans for the family vacation changed. (It is a long story.) The result: We just decided to take a 13 night cruise on the brand new Celebrity Equinox round-trip Rome, but visiting Israel and Egypt. (You can read my review of her sister, the Celebrity Solstice here. She truly wowed me.)

This is especially appropriate since Iamboatman Jr. had his Bar Mitzvah last weekend and he is thrilled!

So the first thing I did was find out what Celebrity was offering in the way of tours in Israel and Egypt. Regardless of whether you find them to be good value or if you never plan to find yourself on a bus with 50 of your new friends, there is lots of good information in their descriptions...and red flags as to what the "tourist" venues are going to be.

But in this instance there was a curious slant to the cruise line's tour descriptions...and one I frankly never thought of: Israel is the holy land for many religions and Christians tend to fill the ships more than Jews or Muslims. So the tours were definitely focused on the majority. (I have no complaint with that at all. It makes sense from a business standpoint; giving people what they probably are most interested in.)

Then I thought, the Rabbi takes the temple's high school kids to Israel every year, so the guides that he uses would focus more on what Jews would be interested in and they would be perfect for my kids. (See, it isn't always about knowing where to go...but how to see and experience a place from different perspectives!)

So after doing more research, checking out the preferred and recommended operators, the cruise line's offerings and the Rabbi's recommendations, I found something which was quite troubling: I was able to book a truly superior, semi-customized, private tour for my family at about a third (1/3) of what the cruise line was offering as part of a group tour. I am sure the cruise line's offering will be of solid quality, but at such a premium?

Aside from "That is another great reason to use a knowledgeable travel agent", there are two other thing to be learned from this experience:

First, if you are unwilling to step outside of the confines of the mass market you will are paying a big premium just to feel a little safer and you will have, without question, a more "tourist" experience than a "personal" one...and, at times, you might miss exactly that which you are interested in.

Second, the cruise lines need to make money somewhere. I was able to book this cruise at a retail price of about $165 per day per person in a Concierge Class balcony cabin complete with champagne, upgraded amenities, daily hors d'oeuvres, etc. It is, without question, one of the most outstanding travel bargains I have come across. (You read about Alaska for $60 a day, but that is for an inside cabin; not an upper balcony on a Europe/Asia/Africa cruise.) Hence, the tours are a way to regain some of that lost income.

Now if you are happy spending $45 a person for a bus to the local beach rather than grabbing a taxi for $20 total for the four of you, so be it. But if you are willing to venture out...even if just a little bit...imagine how much more you can do - and how much better you can do it - if you take the opportunity to have a personal experience rather than just a safe one.