Seabourn markets itself as the original all-inclusive ultra-luxury cruise line where intuitive service is the hallmark. With a staff to guest ratio of almost 1:1 and more space per passenger than the competition, I was excited to step aboard and experience the legendary service for myself.
As with all our reviews, the journey was completely self-funded so the opinions are very much our own.
In this post:
Itinerary
The 15 night voyage from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand visits key cities including Melbourne and Wellington but the highlight is undoubtedly sailing into Milford Sound early in the morning with an entire day cruising Fiordland National Park.
Being a smaller ship, Seabourn Odyssey is also able to visit unique ports such as Stewart Island off the southern tip of New Zealand.
Embarkation
First impressions count and boarding Seabourn Odyssey at White Bay Cruise Terminal in Sydney was positive with plenty of staff on hand and no wait for check in, security or immigration formalities.
Waiting at the end of the (for want of a better term) aerobridge was the Cruise Director and Seabourn staff to welcome passengers aboard and guide them to their suites.
Seabourn Verandah Suite Review
All cabins aboard Seabourn ships are suites and almost all have balconies. My Verandah Suite was located on Deck 5 and had all the distinguishing features of a luxury cabin including a walk-in wardrobe, double vanities and separate bath and shower.
Welcome Champagne on ice along with a welcome note from Captain Tim Roberts.
Each suite is stocked with a personalised bar set up with spirits, wines and waters. There is also a mini bar with soft drinks below.
A walk in wardrobe is a rare treat at sea, but a feature of every suite aboard the ship. Naturally, a safe and plush bathrobes can be found here.
The bathroom is luxurious with marble finishes, dual vanities and a deep soaking bathtub.
The balcony is spacious enough to accommodate two recliners and a table comfortably. Though it’s the views one remembers most.
Seabourn Ship Review
Seabourn’s Odyssey-class ships are more super yacht than cruise ship with a mere 229 cabins, equating to about 450 passengers.
The central stairs connect most decks and is the best, and most social, way to get about the ship. Given the small number of passengers, you’ll start to see familiar faces within the first few days.
Seabourn Square is undoubtedly the heart of the ship which brings together Guest Services, Destination Services, a cafe with barista coffee and snacks and a living room cum library.
There are also two pools, with the main pool located midships and a smaller plunge pool at the very back overlooking the ship’s wake.
Dining
The food and beverage offering aboard Seabourn was excellent, with a number of individual dishes truly superb. All restaurants and room service are included, along with standard drinks. The only upcharge is for premium wines and spirits.
Dining is open seating at most venues, meaning no reservation is required and you can dine when and with whoever you choose. The one exception is The Grill by Thomas Keller, the Michelin-starred chef of French Laundry fame, where reservations are required and guests are able to dine once per 7 days.
The Restaurant
In cruise ship parlance The Restaurant is the Main Dining Room (MDR) where most guests have dinner. The Restaurant is also open for breakfast most days and lunch on sea days.
Food was very good to excellent with the bread sticks being particularly moreish.
Fresh salads were always available through the Classics Menu.
The swordfish at one lunch was exceptional, grilled to perfection.
A variety of flavours were on the menu each evening, with the Tandoori Prawns being rather good.
But the star of the show has to be the wonderful dessert soufflé, with a different flavour available each evening. I wouldn’t have said I was a ‘soufflé person’ before this cruise, but after recommendations from a number of guests and staff it ended up being my favourite dessert aboard.
To the point I’d have dinner at other venues and pop down to The Restaurant just for dessert!
The Grill by Thomas Keller
My two meals at the TK Grill, as it’s referred to aboard, were exceptional with Crab Cakes and Lobster Thermidor being highlights. The rib eye was elite steakhouse quality, though no photos from that meal given I was dining with others.
The Crudités were super fresh and reminded me of the opening stages of a meal at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Butter is made using culture from Thomas Keller’s onshore restaurants, demonstrating the level of detail at The Grill.
Generous chunks of crab meat in the crab cake made for a very satisfying appetiser.
The Lobster Thermidor was beautifully balanced with the sweetness of the lobster going perfectly with the sauce and Morels.
There is a flaky pastry disc under the sauce which gives the dish a lovely crunch.
While there are wonderful desserts including the famous chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookie, I was too full by the end of the meal to partake. Portions at The Grill are significantly larger than at other restaurants aboard.
The Colonnade
The Colonnade is a buffet by day and a less formal dinner option by night. Food here was generally very good with a great selection of fruit at breakfast.
Lunches often had a theme including a day where an international selection of beer was on ice for guests to enjoy.
At dinner, The Colonnade becomes a restaurant with waiter service and a nightly theme ranging from American Diner to Thomas Keller’s childhood classics.
The Patio / Earth & Ocean
Poolside dining was very popular on our summer cruise with freshly made salads, grilled to order burgers and fish available until late afternoon.
It’s a great spot to have an al-fresco lunch and was a quieter option than The Colonnade. The Napa burger is classic comfort food, and the prawns here in particular were exceptional.
Afternoon Tea At The Observation Bar
Afternoon tea is between 4-5PM and often comes with a theme. One particularly enjoyable French-themed tea featured freshly made Crepes Suzette alongside macarons and mini Paris-Brests.
In the evenings, The Observation Bar reverts to type with free flowing cocktails and live music.
Sushi At The Club
A popular pre-dinner spot was The Club, which hosts a sushi and sashimi bar. All the classics are freshly made to order and were enjoyable.
It’s a rare treat to have a California Roll made with actual crab, which does make for a very different sushi experience.
In-Suite Dining
As is to be expected on an ultra-luxury line, room service is complimentary and offers a comprehensive 24-hour menu plus the option to order from The Restaurant’s dinner menu and have the meal served course by course in your suite or verandah.
While I took my meals at the dining rooms, I did enjoy having caviar and blinis delivered in the afternoon.
Seabourn Menus
Entertainment
The daily program had plenty of activities ranging from the hotly contested team trivia to musical performances and talks from guest lecturers.
Seabourn Singers
A resident company of four singers and two dancers form the backbone of evening entertainment aboard. Shows included one in partnership with Sir Tim Rice, A Stroke of Genius which combined art, music and dance and a Latin themed show. Each show would last about 45 minutes.
It was great to see the creativity and quality in the shows, with Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks coming to life being a highlight.
The singers also performed a lovely classical concert up on deck as part of a Seabourn Signature sailway event.
Guest Artists
In addition to the resident company, there were a number of guest artists who would be aboard for a few nights at a time and typically had two shows each. On my 15 night voyage, there was a saxophonist, magician-comedian, sand artist, violin player and opera singer.
The quality of performances was superb with Roy the violinist trained at the Royal Academy and Guiseppina the soprano from Opera Australia. Particular highlights included hearing the theme from Schindler’s List and Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission live. Along with a perfect rendition of O mio babbino caro by Guiseppina.
While I normally give the evening show a miss, with the quality of performance on this voyage it became appointment viewing.
Seabourn Conversations Guest Speakers
Seabourn prides itself on the quality of speakers as part of their Conversations program. On my voyage the speakers were engaging, topical and broad including:
- A former Ambassador to Israel sharing their insights on the current conflict in Gaza and Middle East more broadly
- ‘Colonel Olympics’ who ran the military side of operations for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
- The story of Cloudy Bay and Marlborough wines told by their communications director
- Destination speakers for Fiordland National Park and ports of call such as Wellington (which added a visit to the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand to my itinerary)
Seabourn Service
With a staff to guest ratio of almost 1:1 the level of personalised service is noticeable from the moment you step aboard. It’s unusual for the Cruise Director to be greeting guests personally on embarkation, but that set the tone for the excellent service to follow.
Shortly after settling into my suite, the Suite Attendant arrived to introduce themselves with a glass of champagne and salmon canape. Each suite is assigned a Suite Host and Suite Attendant, who work together to ensure the room is serviced twice a day and your personalised selection of drinks are replenished.
By the second day, key staff recognise guests by name which is impressive when they have never met you before! Seabourn staff are actually trained on photos of guests, which shows the level of preparation involved in delivering this elevated level of service.
Senior Officers are also highly visible around the ship and introduced to guests early on the voyage.
Guests are encouraged to provide feedback via the Seabourn Source app, which is actioned promptly. I had a disappointing shore excursion in Picton, New Zealand and was contacted by Destination Services within a day with service recovery.
Overall, service was excellent and aided by seeing the same faces across the various restaurants and at Seabourn Square. The ‘tipping is neither required nor expected’ policy also undoubtedly leads to more natural interactions with guests.
Seabourn For Solo Travellers
Seabourn looks after solo travellers very well with an invitation to a Hosted Table each night in The Restaurant, along with a welcome cocktail party at the start of the cruise.
Hosted Tables are usually six or eight seats and a mix of solo and couples, hosted by a senior member of the crew or entertainment team. I ended up accepting about half the invitations and had enjoyable dinners with a broad range of people from retired airline pilots and teachers to those from the State Department and US Coast Guard.
Though the highlight was always learning about the Host and life aboard the ships!
Dress Code
Seabourn is generally a well dressed ship in the evening with people respecting the dress code below. Formal evenings are generally once per 7 nights so my voyage had two in total.
Whilst there was the occasional tuxedo, men generally wore a suit or blazer on formal nights.
| Daytime | Casual, resort-style attire, including shorts and jeans, is welcome in all lounges and dining venues. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for poolside, on deck or in the spa and fitness center. |
| Elegant Casual (After 6PM) | Men: Slacks with a collared dress shirt or sweater; Jacket Optional. Ladies: Slacks / skirt, blouse, pant suit or dress. Elegant jeans are welcome in all dining venues. |
| Formal (After 6PM) | In the Restaurant Men: Tuxedo, suit or slacks and jacket required. Ladies: evening gown or other formal apparel. Dress in other dining venues is Elegant Casual. Jeans are welcome in all dining venues during the day, but not appropriate in the Restaurant after 6pm. |
Is Seabourn Worth The Money?
There’s that old adage ‘value remains long after price is forgotten’ which applies perfectly to Seabourn. At prices approaching $1,000 per person per night, there are certainly less expensive ways to cruise.
But you can see where the fare is going between the high staff to guest ratio that makes such personalised service possible, the excellent meals with premium ingredients and almost private yacht atmosphere aboard given how much space is afforded per passenger. You almost never queue for anything aboard.
So yes, Seabourn is worth the money.
Seabourn Cruise Review Summary
Seabourn more than lived up to expectations on my 15 night cruise to New Zealand with a beautiful ship, excellent food and exemplary service.
