Anyone done a European Cruise?

[Boarcephus]

Kind of looking at one while we're still somewhat young and have $$$ coming in.  Would like to know your thoughts....

[Hogoverseas]

We took a 10 day cruise last April. We sailed on the Seabourn Sojourn. The ports of call included: Portugal, Spain, and Italy. We had the Penthouse suit and my wife and I LOVED it. We try to take one big trip a year. It was our second Seabourn cruise and we plan on going next year on the Antarctica and Patagonia cruise!

[Boarcephus]

Appreciate it.  Just glanced at their website and found it's one of the smaller ships, which is great for us.  Is this an all-inclusive cruise?  I know Regent and Silver Seas are all-inclusive and that's the route we want to go.

One other thing, with this being a European cruise, is English spoken quite a bit on board or is it mostly Europeans?

[Hogoverseas]

Appreciate it.  Just glanced at their website and found it's one of the smaller ships, which is great for us.  Is this an all-inclusive cruise?  I know Regent and Silver Seas are all-inclusive and that's the route we want to go.

One other thing, with this being a European cruise, is English spoken quite a bit on board or is it mostly Europeans?

It is an all-inclusive cruise. We love traveling this way because at the end of your stay, when the tab comes, you are not regretting that extra glass of wine before bed. Last year we caught a special where they provided a hotel the night before when the cruise left. They also got us a decent deal on business class fare.

English was definitely spoken by all of the staff. I would say 70% of the guests are Europeans with 10% South African, 10% Asian, and 10% American.  You are definitely glad that it is all-inclusive because going to the bar with Europeans would definitely be an expensive endeavor with other cruise lines!

[Boarcephus]

Is communication with other cruisers a problem on a cruise like this? 

[Hogoverseas]

We did not have trouble socializing; however, some were easier to talk to than others. There were definitely some "snooty" individuals. Anytime you are on a luxury liner you can definitely run into people who think the world revolves around them. Overall we found the individuals quite pleasant to socialize with while onboard.

[Boarcephus]

You see those types on Cruise Critic all day long.

We're still struggling with do we really want to see Europe or are we going because we haven't been before and will regret later that we didn't go when we had the chance.  Seabourn is an option we haven't explored will do so because it offers what we're interested in.

We went to Alaska last year and the South Pacific two years ago so Europe is next because no way in hell will I get my wife to go to the Antarctica.

Appreciate your input. 

[Boarcephus]

What is the dress code on Seabourn? 

[Hogoverseas]

On the ten night cruise we had two formal nights. The great thing is you can order off of the restaurant menu and have it delivered to your suite course by course. I did not feel like bringing my tux so we simply ordered room service. The rest of the nights I wore a sport coat and slacks and my wife wore cocktail type dresses. We never felt overdressed, but we certainly were not underdressed. We meet one couple who ordered room service 8 out of the 10 nights because they did not feel like "dressing up."

[Boarcephus]

Thanks.  That's the reason we prefer the Paul Gauguin and Regent lines.  Country club casual  Slacks after 5 pm, no jackets needed.  We enjoy that style of dress, especially when there is weight restrictions on luggage.  Certainly not saying we'd wear shorts and tanks tops to dinner but slacks and a nice polo shirt or button down shirt should be plenty on warm weather cruises.

[SirCHog2]

All my life, but it was on an aircraft carrier....

[Sir Oinksalot]

Ck. out Grand Circle Tours (GCT.com) out of Boston....planning to use them for a Greek Aegean Sea cruise this summer.  I have used them
for European land tours and they are first rate, small groups great guides, totally stress free.  This will be my first cruise with
them and I'm excited.  They use small ships of no more than 100 and go to places bigger ships don't call.  Cheap and first rate.

They also are rated no. 1 in their river cruises.  Their reps. will speak with you all day if need be and arrange everything.

[mtnmusic]

The most cost-effective cruise is a Transatlantic Ft. Lauderdale to Rome. Regent is pretty upscale but I much prefer the food on Holland America at about half the cost. A great ship is MS. Noordam.