A Flying Visit Around ‘Seabourn Quest’

I’ve literally just got back from a flying visit to the rather classy Seabourn Quest which was mid-cruise around the UK.

OK so I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be the font of all knowledge suddenly on this line, I literally had just a few hours and a quick tour courtesy of Seabourn. But I can give you a quick glimpse into this luxury floating hotel.

First impressions from the exterior we as expected, very good, a beautiful looking ship, immaculate and actually quite eye catching.

Moving swiftly onto the inside and the decor is stereo typically 5 Star, lots of different wood finishes, but not dark like some ships, she’s actually very light on board, with the exception of the odd staircase.

A slight mish-mash when it came to the carpets, I know one of my colleagues would have a had a field day with the floors!

If I’m being honest, the decor was not particularly to my taste, although what did come across well was the feeling of space. Which for a small ship is essential. It is well put together.

Corridors to the cabins always remind me of something out of Stephen Kings, The Shining, and Seabourn Quest is no exception. Can’t be helped it’s a cream corridor, nothing offensive, but images that eerie move always creep into my head!!

Anyway I’m splitting hairs….

Cabins on Seabourn are essentially all suites, some bigger and better than others, but aesthetically  the accommodation is very nice indeed. A touch ‘Ikea-ish’ in places but again it’s those wood finishes will have that effect unfortunately. But very light, open, and flowing, I wasnt smashing my knees on furniture or falling over the bed corners anyway, all very good. Bathroom was also easy on the eye, and a little bigger than I exepected to be honest, a clever design with a large mirror contributed to that.

Hurrying out of the cabin we moved through the restaurants and the casino.

A big emphasis on the dining here, although annoyingly Seabourn chose not to give us a sit down lunch which I would have hoped for in order to report back the caliber and quality of the food, a little disappointing but hey ho there you go. So can’t give you any indication of the food itself, but in terms of surroundings, the eateries are more than adequate. Again, you have the space factor, not walking through the dining room elbowing folks in the head while they eat, or tripping over chairs into waiters etc etc.

Because the ship is small, some of the public and dining areas to me felt a little narrow, The Grill restaurant, one of the specialty, actually reminded me a little of a luxury train car, Siberian Express – that kind of thing! But I guess hard to avoid on a small ship.

Casino – well, it’s a casino. 3 x tables, roulette, black jack, poker. Fairly standard. Plus about 20 of those money eating machines circling the room. I could imagine myself crying into a fine single malt as the house took all my money anyway.

Into the gym and spa, again, won’t dwell to much here, narrow but long gym with plenty of equipment and huge mirrors so you can see how disgusting you look bouncing on a treadmill, one nice touch is that all the equipment had a bottle of water next to it so that clients can just grab a much needed hydration break whenever needed – not seen that before, very nice touch as I said.

Not really metro-sexual enough to appreciate a spa but I must say it looked really nice, reminded me of some kind of Turkish bath sort of place, nice sand tiles and a little fountain/foot spa get up in the middle, also two leather type pods which looked very cosy indeed, although I was a little on the tall side to fit I think, and fully clothed!

Finally, the upper deck – now this is where the ship really impressed me…

What a stunning area! The staff are clearly very proud of it, and rightly so, I would say in terms of small ships, this is easily the best I’ve seen.

Two things, stood out:

1. The Sunbeds – Very big, comfy looking, and well made, with padding, and a side table on nearly all of them, along with a plush towel, and not too close to your neighbouring bathers.
2. The Jacuzzi/Hot Tubs – in a word, big. Normally on these type of ships, the jacuzzis are a little on the pokey side, but these things were quite huge compared to what I have seen in the past, again unexpected, and when it comes to relaxing, nothing beats a cocktail in the hot tub right?

I was going to attach a few pictures but to be honest, my pictures were not good, and my verbal description will marry up with what you see in the brochure anyway!

Who would I suggest books Seabourn?

Discerning travellers used to being looked after. The staff try to push the product as more of a floating hotel than a cruise ship, and it does have that feel to it I must admit, so they have very much succeeded here. It’s a fantastic example of how to execute this country club type of small ship cruise. Anyone who has been with the likes of Oceania and Azamara is certain to love this. Also anyone looking for real adventure is in for a treat, they have a 3 week South America voyage which takes in just under a week in Antarctica, the last frontier. A quick talk from their Tour Manager today really hammered home the ‘Adventurers welcome’ message, and the cruises look stunning.

Who shouldn’t book Seabourn?

Fans of the bigger, entertainment climbing out of the walls ship, folks who love to party all day and all night. The larger Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships are what I mean here, and the likes of NCL Epic etc. This won’t be your cup of tea right now, but you will probably find it will be in years to come. I’m a bit of an old head myself, so I really liked it. Big fan of small ship and river cruising so this style suits me well. But I have friends, relatives and colleagues that would probably end up pretty bored. Each to their own I guess.

Anyway, I hope this has given you an informal yet honest taster of what to expect from Seabourn. It really was a flying trip so I can’t fully explain how it feels to do a full cruise, but I doubt you would be disappointed if this sounds up your street.

Thanks for reading and as always, until next time………………