August 27^th, 2026

At Sea

Brian was very excited this morning. There will be a lunar eclipse AND a great chance of seeing the northern lights tonight. Very exciting.

I looked outside. No fog today, but there was heavy cloud cover so the chances of seeing either wasn’t looking good. Maybe the weather will improve. Then we worked out that the eclipse would be at 8:30, long before moonrise, so even if the clouds cleared, we would definitely miss out on seeing it.

We skipped trivia and had lunch with the singers Barry and Merle. One of the many things I love about Seabourn is that the entertainers are so accessible. It is great to be able to just spend time chatting with the entertainers and hearing their stories. Barry and Merle are South African, and it was interesting to hear their perspective on life in South Africa today. I loved hearing about Merle’s background, and how they have both ended up playing on cruise ships.

In the afternoon we had our final Image Masters get together. Everyone had submitted 6 of their favorite photos and we got to see them all and Max critiqued them (in a very nice way). Being Seabourn this was accompanied by champagne.

The quality of the photos taken by the group was amazing. Everyone is so talented. Seeing their photos brought back such wonderful memories of our journey, I was feeling quite nostalgic already. To add to my nostalgia Max shared the group photo of us on the ice floe. What a day that was!

Later in the afternoon Olivia had scheduled an ‘Epicurean Delight’ in the Expedition Lounge.

We were serenaded by Barry and Merle.

The food was amazing – savory small bites, and delicious crepes Suzette. It would have been enough for me for dinner.

After filling up on snacks it was time for the Seabourn Farewell. This is where the officers and crew join us in saying goodbye. On the Ocean ships it is held around the pool, but there would certainly not be enough room around the pool on the Venture, and we would all freeze, so I was very happy it was held in the Discovery Center.

I always get very tearful during the Farewell. It means our cruise is coming to an end and I am never ready for that, even if I have been on board for 90 days.

After the farewell Olivia showed the photos that the guests had submitted to the photography contest. There were loads of photos and they all looked excellent to my amateur eye. There were 3 different categories, wildlife, landscapes and around the ship. She picked the 3 best photos in each category and then the judges chose their favorite one of the 3. Brian’s photos were picked for the final 3 in 2 of the categories. Yay!

The evening’s entertainment was the crew talent show. There is certainly a lot of talent on board, and I was very impressed with the show. It takes a lot of guts to get up and perform in front of all of the guests. I do admire them.

After the show we went to the Constellation Lounge to have a nightcap and check out the night sky for any evidence off potential northern lights. There was still very thick cloud cover. Alas, we won’t see them tonight.