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Seabourn Odyssey Cruise Review

Carol Terhune

In March, I was fortunate enough to sail aboard the Seabourn Odyssey on a 12 day

Seabourn Odyssey
Seabourn Odyssey

Mediterranean cruise from Lisbon to Istanbul. Pier check-in was a breeze and we were immediately greeted by the gracious Seabourn staff – white gloves and all.

Seabourn Suite:
After being escorted to our Veranda Suite, V4 #705, we were introduced to our room stewardess, Megan from South Africa. Megan greeted us with a glass of champagne and showed us around our lovely spacious suite. Our suite had a flat screen interactive TV with DVD and a music selection; I have never experienced this before at sea. Our large marble bathroom had two sinks and a separate tub and shower. The suite and our walk-in closet provided so much space; there were drawers we didn’t even use!

Culinary Endeavors:

Shrimp Dish
Shrimp Dish

Dining aboard the Seabourn Odyssey was truly amazing from the very attentive and accommodating wait staff to the remarkable presentation and delicious cuisine. We preferred the casual indoor/outdoor ambiance of The Colonnade, located aft on deck 8. The cuisine was always delicious and plentiful. In the outdoor space if it got a little chilly, the staff would bring you a blanket to keep warm. For breakfast or lunch The Colonnade is a very nice buffet with lots of choices and also the option to order from the menu. With all of the meals they pour either a white (usually Sauvignon Blanc) or a red wine, and of course they will bring you any other beverage you may like.

Restaurant 2 is a small intimate reservations-only venue offering a unique tasting of seven decadent small courses. The menu does change daily, so you could dine here more than once if you wished. The presentation and taste were amazing.

Restaurant 2
Restaurant 2

Additionally, every day the Patio Grill offers a great buffet style lunch with a variety of choices. We also took advantage of the complimentary room service a few times, it was always served promptly and the meals arrived hot.

Relaxation:
During our cruise we were lucky to be in the warm Mediterranean Sea and have ample good weather to enjoy the wonderful Pool Deck, which we did each day even after port! On the main Pool Deck they offer a variety of deck chairs, fresh towels and also blankets for when it gets chilly. The deck staff was always there to cater to your every need. The pool was very inviting and the two whirlpools in this area were rarely occupied. There is another smaller pool and whirlpools aft on deck five and a whirlpool forward on deck 6.

The Retreat, located aft on deck 11, was most enjoyable. The area is equipped with Shuffleboard, a putting green and a ping pong table. Right in front of The Retreat is the Sun Terrace, offering a vast quantity of lounge chairs with fresh towels and blankets. They also supplied a cart of drinks for the taking. In this area there were only a few guests here at any given time, yet we found it to be a really nice area.

Whirlpool, Deck 6
Whirlpool, Deck 6

Entertainment:
The Seabourn Odyssey entertainment staff consisted of two Cruise Director’s and Marla, the Social Hostess. They were very interactive with guests and had a variety of activities going on throughout the day – for example on sea days they had trivia, dance lessons and bridge etc. Before dinner each evening everyone was invited to a Pre-dinner cocktail gathering accompanied by music set to a certain predetermined theme.

The nightly shows in the Grand Salon consisted of four dancers – two men, and two women – all from the UK. They performed a variety of themed shows including Broadway Hits and they also sang a lot of 60’s and 70’s music. On each cruise Seabourn brings on different alternate entertainment, on our cruise we enjoyed a professional pianist, violinist, and a magician. After the show each evening, The Club offered late night entertainment and dancing. Additionally guests enjoyed the small casino, located next to The Club.

Most evening the dress was elegant casual – men wore a jacket or a collared shirt and sweater and ladies wore a dress or slacks with a blouse. We only had one Formal evening onboard, which we really preferred.

Carol aboard Odyssey
Carol aboard Odyssey

The intimate Seabourn Odyssey holds only 450 guests; we never felt crowded and there were never lines. The entire crew could not have been nicer or more accommodating. I am so happy to have experienced Seabourn and to be able to share my experience with my clients. If you are someone looking for a true luxury experience I highly recommend Seabourn. To see our recommended cruises visit Cruise Specialists Seabourn Cruises page.

More from my site

  • Seabourn Odyssey Review My First ImpressionsSeabourn Odyssey Review My First Impressions
  • Seabourn Sojourn Europe Cruise ReviewSeabourn Sojourn Europe Cruise Review
  • Seabourn Cruise ReviewSeabourn Cruise Review
  • Seabourn Sojourn Cruise ReviewSeabourn Sojourn Cruise Review

Seabourn Cruise Reviews, Ship Reviews Seabourn Cruise Reviews, Seabourn Odyssey, Ship Reviews

Comments

  1. irvin says

    July 13, 2011 at 8:26 am

    how do you rate this compared to the Oceania ships ?

  2. Alysia Murillo says

    July 18, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    Overall Seabourn is a step up from Oceania in regards to food and service onboard.

    Seabourn is all-inclusive and does not charge for your beverages, gratuities and other such things that Oceania charges for.

    Seabourn ships are all-suite and larger than the typical stateroom onboard Oceania.

    If you haven any additional questions please feel free to contact me directly [email protected] or by calling 800-544-2469 and asking for Carol.

    Thanks,
    Carol Terhune
    Cruise Consultant

  3. Ronald Lyster says

    August 22, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    My wife and I are ballroom dancers. Any opportunity for that aboard the Seabourn lines?

  4. Alysia Murillo says

    August 25, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    Dear Ronald,

    Carol is out of the office today so I thought I would reply on her behalf. When she was onboard the Seabourn Odyssey (Sojourn, Odyssey and Quest) they had actual ballroom instructors onboard who taught classes. There is the one lounge with the larger dance floor where they have nice music and everyone who likes to ballroom dance can show off what they learned in class. I believe on most sailings 14 days and longer they provide dance hosts as well.

    Hope that helps.

    Alysia Murillo
    Marketing

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Maggie Blehert

Her ideal travel day: venturing to a new place, learning something interesting and sharing a smile.
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Steve and Wendy Bodenheimer
Cruise Specialists Voyage Hosts reporting on their round the world journeys.
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The Avid Cruiser. Well-traveled and insightful. Helping you make informed cruise decisions.
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