Travel Weekly cruise editor Johanna Jainchill is sailing on the Seabourn Odyssey in the Caribbean. Her first dispatch follows:
The 450-passenger Odyssey marks a major expansion for Seabourn, which has operated ships no larger than 208 passengers until this year.
Since any Seabourn cruise is likely to have many guests that have sailed with Seabourn before (half of the passengers on this cruise have) the brand-new Odyssey’s size and amenities have been a common topic of conversation.
While passengers seem to love the new ship, some are not quite used to its size, saying that there was more familiarity among staff and fellow passengers on the smaller Seabourn ships.
"On the other ships, the entire staff knows your name and preferences by the end of the first day," said an American woman who has been on eight Seabourn cruises.
On the tenth day of the cruise, the woman said that staff still doesn’t know her name and preferences. "That would probably be impossible, she said. "There are just too many people."
But most passengers are smitten with the Odyssey and recognize that while it could never achieve the intimacy of the smaller ships, it has other attributes.
"It takes longer to meet people, but that can be nice. You have more privacy," said one passenger. "On the Pride and Legend, in one day everyone knows your name. That doesn’t happen here. But I am amazed how many have learned our name here, too."
"The amenities are superb," said Beth Greenblatt of Toronto, who along with her husband Dave Gordon is a six-time Seabourn cruiser who has already booked another one for next summer.
"There are more empty lounge chairs on this ship than on the smaller ones. You don’t have to put your book on your chair so you don’t lose it here. On the other ships, it could be tough to find a place in the prime spots."
"They do a very good job of retaining the intimacy," Gordon added. "And you can always find privacy and nice places to sit."
Guenter Steinbrunner, the Odyssey’s hotel director, said that the staff, like the passengers, had reservations about the ship’s size. But both the crew and the passengers love the Odyssey, he said.
"They love the size, they love having the extra space, the balconies and that everything is new. They always find quiet areas and they love the suites, which are very comfortable and well laid-out.
"We can’t achieve the same level of name recognition of the other ships because the ship is twice the size," he said. "But everyone makes an effort.
"Certain guests don’t want change," he added. "And that’s a good thing. We still have to fill the small ships."