This is a highglight of the different dining venues aboard The Yacht’s of Seabourn’s newest ship, Seabourn Sojourn

A look at Seabourn ‘In Motion” excursions and a bike ride in Flam, Norway.

A video feature of Seabourn Sojourn’s staterooms and amenities.

The brand essence of Seabourn

Avid Cruiser hosts Ralph Grizzle and Monica Bengtsson take you on a tour of the Seabourn Sojourn.

One of the things that people often overlook when shopping for a cruise is the incredible value offered in the luxury segment. On the Yachts of Seabourn, for example, you’ll never sign a check for a speciality coffee or bottled water, beer, spirits or even a glass of champagne, and that’s true champagne by the way. Seabourn doesn’t pour sparkling wine, unless requested. ;

Your stateroom welcome comes with a bottle of champagne and a stocked bar, and you’ll never pay for items that you consumer from the mini-bar. You’ll also enjoy new release movies, which non-luxury cruise lines charge for, from the comfort of your stateroom.

Dine free of charge at the specialty restaurants, and no need to fret about gratuities, which are also included in the cost of the cruise.

Lunch With A View: Geirangerfjord from Seabourn Sojourn, stateroom 720. | photo by Natalie Drake, stateroom stewardess, Seabourn Sojourn

Today, Seabourn Sojourn cruised Geirangerfjord, Norway’s best-known fjord.

Lush green farmlands edge up the rounded mountainsides and chiseled, cragged, steep peaks of the Jotunheimen mountains, Norway’s tallest. Sojourn sailed at a leisurely pace so that we spent a good part of the day in the 15-kilometer fjord.

Seven Sisters waterfall.

The fjord is branch of Storfjord (Great Fjord). Geirangerfjord, along with Norway’s Naerøyfjord, enjoys  UNESCO World Heritage status; however, there is talk of building power lines across Geirangerfjord, which could threaten the fjord’s UNESCO status.

The fjord is also under threat of the mountain Akerneset, which is in danger of collapse, an event that scientists say will create a tsunami as tall as 40 meters (more than 130 feet), posing danger to the towns of Geiranger at the end or the fjort and Hellsylt.

There are dozens of waterfalls throughout Geirangerfjord, the most notable being the “Seven Sisters” and the “Suitor.” The falls face one another across the fjord.

Cruise ships are no strangers to Geirangefjord. The first one sailed into Geiranger in 1869.

Another view of the Seven Sisters.

Picture Perfect view from Seabourn Sojourn's Colonnade Restaurant.

Pay $239, and you will never have to log out during your weeklong cruise. If you’re sailing more than a week, $399 covers you.

That may sound like a lot, but keep in mind, you are accessing internet from a ship in the middle of the sea. AT&T charges $199 for 200mb of international data usage for its iPhone packages. Heavy data-users are likely to consume much more than 200mb on a one week trip abroad. And even if not, it’s nice not to have to count the megabytes you’re consuming – or remembering to log out to avoid using up all of your allotted time.

When I travel with my laptop on other cruise lines, I find myself sometimes forgetting to click the “log off” link in the browser’s pop-up window. And sometimes that window gets lost or closed or doesn’t launch to begin with, which requires typing in http://1.1.1.1 to log out. It’s cumbersome process at best.

Here on Seabourn Sojourn, however, it’s almost like being at home or in a hotel, where the computer remains connected. There are cheaper packages, $9.99 for an hour of access, or $39 for 24 hours access, but the best values are the always-connected packages for the duration of your cruise.

Now I know what you’re thinking: It’s a vacation, so do you really need to be connected ALL the time? You’re absolutely right, of course, and I do believe that disconnecting is essential for our well-being, according to an article in the New York Times, Your Brain on Computers – Studying the Brain Off the Grid, Professors Find Clarity

But the reality is that for some travelers, the ability to remain wired allows them to travel more often, and that’s something that all of us can appreciate. For more on that story, see the video below.

No excuses: Seabourn Sojourn's gym features state-of-the-art exercise equipment with news & views for multi-taskers. Through the looking glass: Flam, Norway.

The headline could be perceived as a bit alarmist. Regular readers of this blog might worry that they will see photos of an emaciated me. Actually, the headline is not meant to imply the consumption of 300 or fewer calories per day, but rather working off the caloric equivalent of a couple of chocolate chip cookies (sigh), which practically leap into your mouth on board.

There are, in fact, many temptations on Seabourn Sojourn, and for slackers like me, the gym has not been one of them — until now. I am corporeally concerned and committed to reversing the battle of the bulge.

After so many cruises and so much time at sea, my belt needs continual renotching – and not in the direction I would prefer. I have put on considerable poundage (and have enjoyed every minute of it). My hope in stepping on Sojourn was that this journey would mark a turning point for me, and so I have trundled to the gym every evening so far (okay, that only makes two times in the early stages of this voyage, but it’s a start) to pay the wages of my sins.

Sojourn’s gym is quite good in that it provides varied equipment for burning calories in a pleasant atmosphere. Each evening, I step on the treadmill and key in my caloric goal, to burn 300 calories. Much to my surprise and disappointment, shredding 300 calories takes about 30 minutes. It only takes two minutes to consume two cookies. Life, as many before me have stated, is brutally unfair.

'Deliver us from temptation.'

I am not alone in the gym. Beside me on the treadmill on the first night, the hotel director told me how he struggles to stay below 100 kilograms (a number my body has not known since its teens). He was once down to 87, but how can one resist the temptations on a luxury cruise?

The hotel director works out for an hour a day, which is admirable and more importantly, it means that should he desire, he can consume four chocolate chip cookies without guilt.

Colonel Wes would no doubt be proud of my efforts. I occasionally get a note from the avid cruiser and fitness enthusiast who I have yet to meet in person. His notes nearly always instruct me to check out and report back to him about the fitness facilities on various ships. “How many laps make a mile?” he asks. I dutifully reply when possible. I admire people like him who stay fit during their cruises.

And what better place than a luxury ship to begin or maintain a healthy lifestyle? If one were to wish for something transformational to happen, there would be few better places to initiate such a transaction than on a luxury cruise, or perhaps, Tibet (but that’s another story).

Healthy, low-calories options are offered on the menus, and those foods are quite tasty when prepared the way that Seabourn chefs prepare them. Yes, alcoholic beverages are included in the cruise fare, but I have learned to dodge the glass of champagne being thrust into my hand.

There’s television on the treadmills, stair-steppers, ellipticals and bikes, plus bottled water, towels and headphones already in place. On my cruise, the scenery of Norway is on the other side of the large windows. Could there be a more pleasant environment to suffer what I sometimes view as the modern-day equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition?

Today, I will straddle a saddle in Flam to bicycle for an hour or more, much preferred to working out indoors. In other destinations, I’ll check out Seabourn’s “In Motion” tours, which are active excursions. With all that is offered, I am certain I can cruise Seabourn Sojourn burning 300 calories per day – or less.