JanePond

I have a lot of experience with Seabourn and know you will find their newest ship luxurious with service to match. First thing I recommend is to go to CruiseCritic.com to the Seabourn Forum and read lots of posts there. There is a second BB for Seabourn ROll Calls and you can find out if others are also joining that cruise.

The Seabourn cruise shore excursions are varied and I think it depends on your sense of adventure and initiative. Many of us mix the scheduled trips and booking some on our own. The Travel office onboard is very helpful. Since I cruise alone, I usually have Seabourn arrange a private car and driver/guide. THen someone knows where I am and with whom. Some just get off the boat and wander about the local area If the port is not close to the town center, there will be a shuttle bus scheduled. With only 450 (Max) cruisers, the organized excursions are well planned. There are occasionally some ship-wide events on shore, free to all. One thing many of us like to do is to go shopping with the chef in various ports. When you board, I would go to the Pursers' office on Deck 7 at the Seabourn Square and see if you can get on a list IF the chef does decide to take a group. This is not always a given, but very popular. Also, On CruiseCritic there is a whole section on Ports of Call where you can read about your stops. The tours are not cheap, but very well done. There are no costs listed on the website however. And occasionally one is cancelled for lack of participation.

There is a section at the top of the page in the Seabourn forum that describes the coupon referral program. Past cruisers are given vouchers worth $400.00 for the first time cruiser and the 'referer'. So you can read up on that. But be discrete because this program is not really for those already planning a cruise. But once you get the coupon and have paid your final fees, it can be submitted by you or your TA. However, it is not combinable with some other OBC's, such as the Virtuoso one. But you can read about it on the proper thread and ask questions there.

There is only one restaurant that takes reservation and none have extra costs. Restaurant 2 is a small 'bistro' with tasting menus. It has a limited capacity and you can call up and reserve a spot 48 hours in advance, by calling the Pursers at 6PM. My advice
is when you go to the Pursers on embarkation to see about a Chef's shopping tour, you can sign up there for that first night. You should try it, although it's not everyone's cup of tea. In addition, many sign up and sometimes cancel, so it behooves you to try and call on the 'day of' for an opening. The menu is the same for a week, then changes.

I hope this helps and gives you a 'heads up' on where to get more information. You can message me if you have any other questions that don't seem to be answered. There is a great search function on the right side of the BB. Use that. One thing, don't pre-plan so many things that you won't have time to enjoy the ship. It's great. I will be on the Quest in December and am looking forward to it.