On our way back to Port Everglades from a lovely, serene day at the beach on Isla Catalina in the Dominican Republic, Seabourn Quest rocked and rolled through the night during rough seas. Bobbing in directions I did not think possible, the experience of a ride through the dark of night on Seabourn Quest illuminates just how different sailing a small ship can be compared to mega ship cruising.
Checking in on deck at 3AM, chairs, tables and anything not tied down moved about freely. Water in hot tubs, automatically filled between 3:30am and 4:00a, splashed out on to the deck and
“Keep your arms and legs inside… remain seated until the ride has come to a complete stop” muttered daughter/photographer/former theme park ride loader Whitney, appropriately, in her sleep.
I couldn’t help but wonder how many passengers might be awake, unable to sleep during the unusually brisk sea conditions. I wondered if any of them were sitting up in bed, arms stretched to the ceiling shouting “Weeeeeeeee!” like someone might on a roller coaster. But right on cue, a soft knock on the door to our suite brought coffee, right on time at exactly 4am, without missing a beat.
On a big ship, crewmembers would have placed motion sickness bags all around the ship. On Seabourn Quest, well-traveled passengers slept like babies through the night (for the most part) while crewmembers went about their business.
Comparing the experience on this smaller ship to mega line ships that weigh in at three or four times the size, several facts are abundantly clear:
- There are few lines for anything. Mostly when dining venues just open there will be a few eager guests waiting. It’s more common to be a tad late. Fashionably. Less passengers on board translates to the near-extinction of lines compared to big ships.
- Guests will need to bring their brains. There are some scheduled activities but that is not the focus. During the day, guests read books from the ship’s extensive library of the latest best-selling covers, have conversations with one another, relax in their suites choosing from over 500 complementary films, an extensive music library and more.
- Tendering is not evil- On a big ship, moving thousands from ship to shore and back is a gigantic task causing a number of guests to stay on board who might otherwise have gone ashore. They just don’t want to deal with the hassle of it all. This is not a problem on a ship were passengers number in the triple, not quadruple digits.
- The culinary odds are in your favor- Most who cook know that cooking and serving for 30 to 50 people is not the same as cooking and serving 3 to 5 Food quality, taste and even what one might attempt to can be quite different producing it for 3 to 5 people than for 30 to 50. The same theory applies when serving 300 as opposed to 5000..
- Being a deck chair hog is just silly here. There really is no reason to do so on a ship with ample chairs for all guests to enjoy being on deck. Still, signs are posted discouraging the practice as if looks of disgust from other passengers are not enough.
- The ship moves- (see above) Cruise travelers who do not know absolutely for sure that they have no problem with motion discomfort need to pretend they do and take precautions to prevent it. There are a variety of preventive measures that can be taken to eliminate problems here. Getting “seasick” is about like asking to get polio.
Walking the hallways and public areas of Seabourn Quest this morning while motion of the ship caused even crewmembers to stagger a bit inspired this post that was long overdue. Cruising on a small ship is surely different than the big ship experience. Still, while I have not missed the rock-climbing walls, ice rinks, water parks or other attractions found on big ships, I could not help but enjoy the overnight ride.
When asked if I was all right by a crewmember, obviously concerned and suspecting I might be ill or unable to sleep because of the ships motion I answered “Heck, where I come from (Orlando, theme-park capital of the universe) people pay extra for rides like this.”
Yes, even multi-hour thrill rides are included in the price on a Seabourn cruise. No Fast Pass necessary.
Related articles
- A day in St Barts via Seabourn Quest (chriscruises.net)
- Major cruise line vs the Seabourn experience- part two (chriscruises.net)
- The Seabourn Experience defined (chriscruises.net)
- Sailing Seabourn: Check the attitude, set the stage (chriscruises.net)
- At sea, there is dining and then there is Seabourn (chriscruises.net)
