Seabourn Legend By Lisa & Evie

Ship - Seabourn Legend
Line - The Yachts of Seabourn
Date - 17th October 2009

Day 1 - Liverpool to Nice

We had a very early start as we were flying from Liverpool at 7 am. The check-in procedure was extremely efficient and to our delight the flight was on time. On arrival at Barcelona we had a little spare time as we couldn’t board until 2pm, so we took a taxi to Les Rambles (main shopping area in Barcelona) which cost us 26 Euros.

We didn’t expect to be able to see the Legend but thankfully it was only a short walk from the bottom of Las Rambles. Barcelona is a beautiful city with plenty of shops, bars and cafes so if you get the chance to spend some here I would definitely recommend it. An open top bus tour of the city would be an ideal way to explore Barcelona if you have the time.

At the time, we weren’t sure if we could leave our suitcases anywhere so we decided to take a chance and off we set to the ship.  At check in, the Seabourn staff were absolutely wonderful, taking our luggage & assuring us that this would be in our suite for 2pm.

On boarding the ship, we were immediately greeted by the most wonderful staff with a glass of champagne.  Once onboard we were taken to the lounge for a selection of Canapés ,sandwiches and champagne; a truly fabulous way to start our cruise. 

From the lounge we were then escorted to our suite; (216) a spacious Category B2 cabin which had a separate sitting area, full walk in wardrobe and a bathroom sporting a full size bathtub.

Our Cabin Steward introduced herself and explained all the facilities that the cabin had to offer.  A bottle of Champagne was provided for us in our suite and the mini bar was fully stocked & all complimentary! We were offered a choice of toiletries & soaps which simply added to the whole experience.

After unpacking we decided to explore the ship and its facilities. No matter where we ventured, we were greeted by the friendly staff who went out there way to make us feel welcome.  The attention to detail certainly set Seabourn apart from anything else we’d previously experienced.  Almost immediately the staff knew our names and within a few hours they also knew what we drank!  No sooner did we finish a drink than a waiter was offering us a refil.

The Captain then announced that our sailing time would be slightly later than planned in order to avoid some bad weather heading our way.

The Dress code onboard for our first evening was Casual.

As we arrived at the restaurant we were greeted by the staff and asked if we would like to join other passengers or dine alone. We opted to dine alone and were taken to a lovely table by the window. 

The dining room is on Deck 2 & is very spacious, elegant & with a maximum capacity of just 200 passengers, provides a very intimate dining experience.

The menu provided a wide range of choices and with a host of recommendations from the wonderful staff it was hard to know where to start!

The wine is always complimentary and the wine waiter is on hand with a great choice of other beverages if you prefer.

Once again, the staff very quickly remembered our names, making us feel rather special throughout our stay. After a delightful meal, we decided to go the the King Olav lounge which is surprisingly spacious for such a small ship and seemed to be the main area for passengers to go after dinner.

Day 2 - Arrival in Palamos

A small resort but unfortunately due to weather we decided to stay onboard and take advantage of the facilites.  It was also a Sunday and apparently not a lot open.

Day 3 - Port Vendres

A beautiful little quaint fishing village and undoubtedly my favourite port of call on the cruise.  We took a colleagues advise and took the mini train to the resort of Coulliere (about 15 minutes away). The little train offers a pleasant way to discover these two fishing ports of Catalunya. We were lucky with the weather and took advantage of this, finding a lovely little café on the sea front. The train cost just 6 Euros and I’d highly recommend this to anyone visiting this area.

Day 4   - Marseille

Once again took a short stroll into the town and found another little train offering tours of Marseille, at a cost of 6 Euros. The weather wasn’t too warm so we thought it would be nice to see Marseille from the comfort of the train. We meandered through the town and up to the magnificent Notre Dame de la Garde.  The views from here were amazing and well worth it. Notre Dame is open to the public and offers a great day out.

Day 5 - Nice

It was unfortunately time to leave the ship so as we disembarked in Nice at 9am. We began to reflect on our time onboard, trying not to dwell too much on the fact that we had a rather long wait for our return flight to Liverpool.

After a 15 minute taxi to Nice airport costing approximately 30 Euros, we decided to leave our suitcases in the left luggage facility. This cost 5 Euros a bag but was money well spent as I wouldn’t have relished spending all day in Nice with a suitcase in tow!

For a bargain price of only 2 Euros we took advantage of a shuttle service from the airport into the centre of Nice; a ticket which provides you with unlimited travel by bus or train for the whole day.

To sum up, this was quite simply a once in a lifetime experience that was truly wonderful.  Seabourn have certainly set the bar when it comes to service and attention to detail, I cannot imagine how they could possibly improve the already perfect package; one of the major plus points was the fact that this, and all other Yachts of Seabourn cruises are All Inclusive, all drinks and gratuities are included in the fare, so no further cost is incurred onboard, aside from shore excursions and spa treatments!

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