Last week, Travel Agent sailed on Seabourn’s new 264-passenger Seabourn Venture during a voyage between Barbados and Peru.
As the ultra-luxury line's first expedition vessel, this global explorer offers 132 oceanfront suites, all with balconies. They're split into 12 different suite categories.
For travel advisors, here's a "deep dive" look at our suite, #823, a V4-category Veranda Suite. Space-wise, it spans 355 square feet and offers a 75-square-foot balcony. Some V4 balconies vary a bit in size, depending on the specific suite number..
A Boutique Hotel Feel, Housekeeping Team Approach
We'd describe our suite's interior decor as nautical-themed, luxurious and welcoming – much as what one might discover in a fine boutique hotel. Opening the suite door, guests will enter a corridor with three doors off to the left.
The first door is to the bathroom, the second opens to a special drying closet for expedition jackets and parkas, while the third is the suite’s walk-in-closet. We’ll talk a bit more about each of those below.
Only minutes after our arrival in #823, our two-person housekeeping team for the suite showed up as well. They eagerly introduced themselves, explained suite features and asked if we had any questions.
Seabourn doesn't have butlers, instead preferring this two-person team approach. We found the suite team to be quite proactive in addressing any guest concerns or questions. Early on, one of those team members contacted maintenance/engineering on our behalf, for instance.
Tip: Advisors might tell their clients that upon entering the suite, it's a good idea to stop at the interior corridor's small, wall-mounted electronic panel. Here they can adjust their preferred suite temperature and fan level. Most importantly, though, they should check the small house symbol on this electronic panel. Make sure the silhouette of a “person” is inside.
Alas, our panel's "house" was empty on embarkation day, so the suite steward explained that guests simply need to touch that symbol to switch to an "occupied" house. Presto, the system recognized we were there and the A/C turned on.
V4's Bedroom Area
The V4 suite's bedroom offers a queen-sized bed (convertible to two twins) outfitted with high-quality sheets, six pillows and a soft duvet. An in-suite note card helpfully explains the pillow choices and firmness levels.
End tables are nestled along both sides of the bed. Just above, guests will discover two USB ports and several electric outlets, plus a reading light that nicely folds down into a holder. From our perspective, when searching for lighting in the middle of the night, we loved the convenient toggle switches that work the wall-mounted, bedside lamps.
Opposite the bed, guests will find an elongated credenza, which is topped with binoculars for guest use. In addition, Seabourn has placed an artistic globe-styled sextant (see photo above) atop the furniture -- adding a nautical feel to the space. Best of all, the cabinet's doors open to reveal a sizable amount of shelf storage space.
Just above the credenza is the suite's wall-mounted, flat-screen TV. It's perfectly positioned for clients who enjoy watching TV or a movie in bed. Also, the screen pivots slightly so people seated on the living room couch can watch as well, just a bit farther away and at a bit more of an angle.
On the TV's interactive entertainment system, guests will discover complimentary movies, TV shows, documentaries, videos of expedition talks, dining/ship information,music channels, live camera feeds (such as bridge, aft and drone) and more. For a relaxing visual while seating in the living room area, we pulled up the entertainment system's aft camera to view the infinity pool and ship's wake.
Spacious Living Room
A V4 category Veranda Suite can accommodate up to three guests as the living room couch doubles as a pull-out sofa. That’s helpful if advisors have a couple bringing along an elderly parent or perhaps grandparents taking their teenage grandchild on vacation.
In addition, drapes positioned off to the side can be pulled across the width of the suite as needed; that provides privacy and separation between the two spaces.
Natural light flows into the spacious living room area via tall, floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. Greeting us upon arrival in this space was a complimentary chilled bottle of bubbly (see photo below).
Our favorite feature of the living room? It's a large, oval-shaped glass table that's easily adjustable up and down. Seabourn also places a large world atlas on that table. That's a nice touch as guests can check out maps pertinent to their sailing region.
When hunger pangs hit, excellent cuisine certainly awaits in the ship's public spaces including The Restaurant, casual Colonnade and Sushi at the Club. But sometimes, guests just want to relax with in-suite dining. One or two guests can sit on the couch, plus others can pull over the small round stool and upholstered desk chair from the opposite side of the living room.
We evaluated Seabourn's room service approach for breakfast on several mornings. Orders were delivered promptly by a room service crew member. The table also was elegantly set up with white linen tablecloths, silverware and china.
To view the ship's room service menus, we'd suggest visiting the Seabourn Source app on a mobile device; the line recommends downloading the app prior to check in and boarding. That said, we also pulled it up on our laptop via online Web access.
To order breakfast, we simply called room service on our suite phone. Or, we placed a door hang tag (indicating menu selections and the preferred service time) outside our suite the night before. Room service cannot be ordered on the app or in-suite entertainment system.
We particularly liked that Seabourn offers breakfast on disembarkation day via a different colored hang tag (with a few adjustments). But that’s a nice guest service as not all cruise lines typically offer room service on that day. .
More Living Room Features
So what else will guests find in their living room? Opposite the couch is a desk area with a surface that curves from a narrower profile to a wider one (see photo above). That desk surface also doubles as a make-up area with a small make-up mirror provided.
In addition, a fresh fruit bowl tops the desk. Our suite team replenished that as desired. A large circular mirror hangs on the wall above.
Adjacent to the desk, guests also will discover a multi-use cabinet with several components.
- At ground level, guests can access a mini refrigerator stocked with complimentary beverages including sodas, beer and wine. I ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and it was delivered promptly.
- Mid-level is an open counter with circular holes, designed to secure refillable water bottles. The bottles drop down into these holes that extend into the interior space below. So, bottles don't fall off the counter in the case of rough seas. The cabinet design is ingenious in that it secures the bottles, yet still keeps them easily accessible. The housekeeping team refills those bottles daily.
- One drawer also pulls out to offer napkins and drink stirrers.
- High cabinet doors open to reveal wine and drinking glasses.
Spacious, Cheery Bathroom
Let there be light! Just outside the V4-category Veranda Suite's bathroom is its light switch. We mention this as we loved that the guest can click this for either full lighting, or alternatively, a more subdued, night-time mode.
Inside, we felt the spacious bathroom was pleasing to the eye with an airy feel and a gray-and-white color scheme.
This bathroom's elongated sink has two separate faucets.That's helpful when a couple or two friends staying in this suite desire to get ready at the same time. The bathroom's vacuum-system toilet worked well throughout our two-week cruise.
Those who love taking a luxurious bath will likely enjoy the full-sized bathtub, which also has a hand-held shower head.
In addition, there’s a separate, triangular-shaped, walk-in shower. We found the latter compact but totally adequate. That said, it's not an expansive or “couple’s” shower size.
Shelves on one side of the sink offer Molton Brown bath products (see photo above) for onboard guest use. So, guests will find shampoo, conditioner, bath wash and so on, all within large bottles.
Tip: Clients can certainly use as much as they like of these bath products at no charge while on the ship. And while, yes, guests can take them home if desired, that will incur a charge,as one of the suite stewards explained. So, it’s good for clients to be aware of the policy.
Two Closets
As for the suite’s walk-in closet, we'd estimate that we filled up less than one third of the space available to hang clothes. So, we believe that most guests’ clothes will likely fit!
In addition, the closet contains a set of drawers, a personal safe, hair dryer, umbrellas, slippers and soft, comfortable robes. One drawer also opens to reveal two cloth laundry bags with forms the guest can use when putting laundry out on the bed for pick-up.
We sent out laundry on two occasions. Both times, our items were returned on time – either hung in the closet or delivered in a basket neatly packed with tissue paper and placed on the credenza.
Adjacent to the walk-in closet is a separate, different-purpose closet. Opening that door reveals what Seabourn describes as "a built-in, heated jacket wardrobe."
Basically, when guests on an expedition return from a “wet” environment – say walking on an Antarctica ice field or traipsing through the landscape on a rainy day -- they can place their jackets and parkas in this heated wardrobe to dry out speedily. (In contrast, guests change and clean their boots in the ship's Landing Zone).
Above the jacket wardrobe are the suite’s life jackets. No, they’re not the big orange, bulky ones that most of us are accustomed to seeing or trying on. Instead, they’re thinner, and they only inflate when coming in contact with water.
So, they’re easier to wear on a 90-minute Zodiac ride, for example. A video on the in-suite TV system shows how to put one on. Speaking of safety, upon arrival, guests now view Seabourn’s mandatory safety video on the TV, and then head for their muster station to check in. Presto, it’s done.
Balcony Relaxation
So, what’s on the balcony? To soak in scenic views from the suite's veranda, guests can relax on two balcony chairs, each with a free-standing stool positioned underneath (see photo above). But when those stools are pulled out and positioned in front ot the seats, it's akin to having two lounge chairs. There's also a patio table.
Fun on this ship? At times we’d also look out from our living room couch or balcony chair to see ropes stretching across the full width of the balcony’s exterior. After investigating the first time, we discovered that the ropes are used in the process of lowering Zodiacs (a fleet of 24) from the ship’s top deck into the water. It was neat to watch that process unfold.
Certainly, Seabourn Venture has many high-end, luxurious suites aboard. But veranda suites in multiple categories represent the bulk of the accommodations. Good to know? On Deck 7 mid-ship, suites #737 and #738 are V4-category and wheelchair-accessible.
For more information, visit https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/cruise-ships/seabourn-venture/1.html