This October, a scenic fall foliage cruise on the 600-passenger Seabourn Ovation from Montreal to New York was a trip down memory lane, reminding this writer of a nearly identical voyage 35 years prior. The 12-night itinerary in October was in the opposite direction from my voyage from Boston in 1991 on the same cruise line, during which I visited ports in New England and Canada while relishing time at sea in between.
That first small-ship Seabourn experience all those years ago changed the course of my life, convincing me to focus my travel-writing career on cruises. It’s where I learned that cruises allow time to explore new places as well as to relax.
It didn’t hurt that the North Atlantic itinerary in the fall is filled with stunning displays of red, orange, pink, and yellow leaves, rich historical and cultural experiences, and copious amounts of lobster, chowder, and fresh local fish, all at no extra cost on the ship.
Some 180 cruises later, I am, in some ways, the same person I was more than three decades ago, and in other ways I’m not. The same can be said of Seabourn.
First impressions
In fall 1991, Seabourn began an unplanned New England and Canada season after the Persian Gulf War resulted in a drop in demand for international travel. The then three-year-old luxury line pulled its flagship vessel, the 212-passenger Seabourn Pride, out of the Mediterranean and rerouted the ship closer to home. That same year, the original Norwegian owners also sold a 25 percent stake to Carnival Corporation, which now owns Seabourn. I was based in Boston and was given an assignment to get on board.
In my 1990s book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cruise Vacations, I described Seabourn as a cruise line “for people who expect the best and can afford to pay for it.” I urged cruisers to pack tuxes and ball gowns because traditional formality was the norm on board. While that wasn’t my style as a hardworking mother of two, I certainly didn’t mind the champagne and caviar.
Writer Fran Golden appreciates the relaxed luxury of spaces like the piano bar on Seabourn Ovation.
Photo by Assaf Pinchuk/Courtesy of Seabourn
Fast-forward to 2026, and Seabourn has evolved into a line that exudes more laid-back luxury. Half of the guests on board this fall’s sailing were new to Seabourn, seasoned travelers who were attracted to the itinerary, now a mainstay of Seabourn’s destination lineup. Anyone looking for great conversation or to meet people can simply head to a shared table at breakfast or join a trivia team. They can also sidle up to one of the bars. My top choice is the retro-cool piano bar (attached to the date-night-worthy Solis restaurant), where you can sit in a cream-colored lounge chair and sip specialty cocktails such as a Brigitte Bardot (made with gin, St-Germain, lemon juice, and lavender syrup), while looking at black-and-white photos of Jackie Kennedy Onassis and other celebs.
The international crew is as friendly as the guests, who are greeted in their cabin with champagne on a tray (a Seabourn tradition from the beginning) by their Personal Suite Host. My husband and I were hosted by Renata Angelon, from São Paulo, Brazil, who made us feel like long-lost friends, complete with hugs.
Decades of updates
In 1991, the impressive innovations on Seabourn Pride created a yacht-like atmosphere; it offered all-inclusive pricing, a top-deck observation lounge for views, and a drop-down marina for swimming and water sports such as kayaking and sailing on a personal Sunfish boat. All guests stayed in spacious suites with marble bathrooms, walk-in closets, and views of the ocean through five-foot-wide windows (only a pair of 575-square-foot owner’s suites had verandas). The service levels were unmatched, and thanks to open seating dining—a novelty at the time—you could sit with whom you wanted or form your own dinner party.
Newer-generation Seabourn ships like the Ovation have larger suites and more verandas.
Courtesy of Seabourn
Fast-forward again to today, and the biggest changes are a larger ship, at 600 passengers, and a relaxed dress code. Most evening dinners are now anything-but-torn-jeans elegant casual, though a few guests did dress fancy on the one “formal” night on our sailing.
Other notable changes: Most suites have verandas, which have become an industry standard, and the largest suites top out at about 1,000 square feet. For those who don’t want the pomp and circumstance of multicourse meals in the main restaurant, dining options range from a sushi restaurant to an alfresco venue focused on international flavors such as chicken tandoori and a 32-ounce porterhouse steak carved tableside at Solis—all included (not extra).
Another difference is technology. In 1991, in the days before cellphones and onboard internet, a radio room for guests allowed expensive calls, though few used it. Instead, at every port, passengers would seek a phone booth near the dock and line up for as long as it took to call their offices, stockbrokers, or home. Today, working professionals and retirees with laptops simply use the free Wi-Fi.
Entertainment has changed, too. In the old days, a cruise host doubled as a soloist. On our recent cruise, Ross Roberts, cruise director and showman, headlined a 23-person team of singers and musicians—including four guest performers, among them New York songwriters Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich—re-creating a songwriting salon where tunes, some bound for Broadway, are tested.
The onboard spas and gyms have expanded. The video library of 1991 has been replaced with on-demand movies in your suite.
Seabourn Pride featured six passenger decks. Seabourn Ovation has 10, bringing added space choices. My favorite public area now is the Seabourn Square, designed like a big living room with ocean views, an outdoor patio, shops, guest services, and the café where you can order coffee drinks on your app for quick pickup, something I could not have imagined in 1991.
Canada and New England cruising
This time around, my husband and I started our fall sailing with three nights in Montreal, a city with amazing food, art, markets, and a cultural scene. Cruisers would be remiss not to plan some additional time here.
Once we set sail, our cruise gave us spectacular nature shows: We caught sight of the last fall leaves in Quebec City (where we overnighted) and remote Saguenay, Quebec. We witnessed peak color as we traveled south to Halifax, Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island; Boston; and Newport, Rhode Island (due to bridge maintenance and clearance conditions in the Cape Cod Canal, we skipped a scheduled call in Portland, Maine).
Among the attractive stops on this classic Canada and New England itinerary is Prince Edward Island.
Photo by Jaime Bishara/Unsplash
With a sailing like this, you can approach the cruise in two ways: either by booking organized shore excursions in every port or by thinking of the ship as a floating hotel from which you explore on your own in the ports of call. We mostly took off on our own, including when we visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston and strolled past the mansions of Newport on Rhode Island’s Cliff Walk trail.
We did book one jewel of an excursion ($230 per person) on Prince Edward Island. After a one-hour van ride from the pier in Charlottetown, we arrived at Raspberry Point Oysters for a lesson in harvesting the island’s famous Malpeque oysters; they are the only kind harvested in Malpeque Bay and are both sweet and salty with a medium brine (they’re one of my favorites). Our fun guide explained how oysters fertilize externally, and then she shucked some for us to taste.
Back on the ship, after sipping some champagne, I got into the nostalgic spirit and joined fellow passengers on the dance floor to groove to a live band playing Prince’s “Kiss.” Even after decades, this grandmother and Seabourn still know how to rock on.
To book: A 12-night sailing embarking from Montreal for New York on October 7, 2027 is priced from $8,398 per person for an ocean-view suite, and from $12,998 for a veranda suite.
