Cruising the Mediterranean on Seabourn Odyssey

The cruise line that calls itself the Yachts of Seabourn is in a building boom. In 2009, Seabourn, which sails perhaps the best of all the luxury ships, introduced its first new vessel in nearly 20 years. Another ship followed in 2010 and a third debuts in 2011, increasing the cruise line's ships from three to six and its total cabins from about 300 to more than 950.

Recently, I sailed on one of the new ships, Seabourn Odyssey, from Athens to Venice. And this week my ship review was published by CruiseCritic.com, the free interactive website that has millions of viewers who cruise, comment, and offer their own reviews of ships.

You will find my review at Cruise Critic's U.S. website, as well as its U.K. website.

The review begins:

Seabourn Odyssey docked in Kotor, Montenegro

If you were to design the ideal new luxury ship from scratch, it might look a lot like Seabourn Odyssey, though not necessarily from the outside. Cruise ships these days are more chubby than sleek, what with the need for big balcony cabins and more interior space for expanded spas, entertainment, and dining.

 

Inside, however, the classically elegant Seabourn Odyssey shines. Size matters. The cruise line's first three highly-rated luxury ships, designed some 20 years ago, are undoubtedly intimate, carrying slightly more than 200 passengers each -- but space for contemporary features, from private balconies to expansive sun decks and spas, is more limited. At 450 passengers, Seabourn Odyssey, like sister ships Sojourn (2010) and Quest (2011), offers three times as much space.

Having sailed on Seabourn's original trio, I wondered: Is Odyssey's design a clear improvement over the older ships?

For more, click on the review at Cruise Critic.

David Molyneaux is editor of TheTravelMavens.com