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Live from the Encore: Unfortunately not the Seabourn Standard!


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I am on the Encore right now! It is my 7th Seabourn cruise in the last six years (so I can compare)!

 

Pros:

- Nice ships hardware

- No crowded place

- very good AC in the cabin

 

Cons:

- long waiting times esp. in the Collonade if you order the daily special - if you ask the waiter you get the info, that the printer isn't working or there is a inspection on the ship

- there is no Pastastation at the Lunch-Buffet as it was on the Sojourn in June last year

- today they ran out of OJ at the breakfast (the ship is in the port every day)

- I asked two times for a Fanta in the Minibar in the suite, I got the info that they have not enough on board

- Yesterday we made a "siesta" in our room at 2.30 p.m - 3 people came in the cabin and cleaned a window from the Wintergarden suite next to our cabin - it took 25 minutesl

- Partly long waiting time at the Cafe in the Seabourn Square

- Our room stewardess have never (except at check-in) ask us If everything is ok and what she can do for us!

- There is no soup at the Lunchbuffet - you have to order and wait up to 20 minutes. Soup should be the beginning of a meal!

- The food tastes good but is not the quality as it is on the other ships!

- No USB-outlets on the brand new ships is a shame!

- and so on....

 

so this is not the Seabourn quality we have experianced on our last six cruise!

If you want to try Seabourn, take one of the other ships!

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I am on the Encore right now! It is my 7th Seabourn cruise in the last six years (so I can compare)!

 

 

 

Pros:

 

- Nice ships hardware

 

- No crowded place

 

- very good AC in the cabin

 

 

 

Cons:

 

- long waiting times esp. in the Collonade if you order the daily special - if you ask the waiter you get the info, that the printer isn't working or there is a inspection on the ship

 

- there is no Pastastation at the Lunch-Buffet as it was on the Sojourn in June last year

 

- today they ran out of OJ at the breakfast (the ship is in the port every day)

 

- I asked two times for a Fanta in the Minibar in the suite, I got the info that they have not enough on board

 

- Yesterday we made a "siesta" in our room at 2.30 p.m - 3 people came in the cabin and cleaned a window from the Wintergarden suite next to our cabin - it took 25 minutesl

 

- Partly long waiting time at the Cafe in the Seabourn Square

 

- Our room stewardess have never (except at check-in) ask us If everything is ok and what she can do for us!

 

- There is no soup at the Lunchbuffet - you have to order and wait up to 20 minutes. Soup should be the beginning of a meal!

 

- The food tastes good but is not the quality as it is on the other ships!

 

- No USB-outlets on the brand new ships is a shame!

 

- and so on....

 

 

 

so this is not the Seabourn quality we have experianced on our last six cruise!

 

If you want to try Seabourn, take one of the other ships!

 

 

Time to switch to Oceania.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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A close family member returned last week, she is a very regular SB traveller and she was very impressed. Much of OP' s complaint sounds linked with having a poor, probably new room stewardess. Any complaints can always be directed towards head of housekeeping, and are always rectified.

As for the food, she said it had been some of the best on SB for a long time. Entertainment, especially the Tim Rice show was excellent.

Decide for yourself, as here on the same cruise two people have had very different experiences.

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In the eight years or so that I have been visiting this board, hardly a week goes by without complaints that 'standards are slipping'. In those same years, I have cruised some 12 times on Seabourn with my 13th cruise in just a couple of weeks. I have not noticed any substantive decline in standards.

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Thank you Tilly and Roxburgh for some good news :D We haven't been on Seabourn in a few years and we have only traveled on the Triplets so are excited to try out the newest ship in the fleet. Will it be different? of course. Will it not seem as "special"? Probably, but the days of the triplets are gone.

 

I've been around CC long enough to know that one man's opinion will not damper my vacation, but with all the not so great reviews of the Encore I was getting worried.

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In the eight years or so that I have been visiting this board, hardly a week goes by without complaints that 'standards are slipping'. In those same years, I have cruised some 12 times on Seabourn with my 13th cruise in just a couple of weeks. I have not noticed any substantive decline in standards.

 

 

+1. Service has been mostly the same or better for us recently, except for a few issues which were ultimately resolved, or around which we were able to navigate.

 

A close family member returned last week, she is a very regular SB traveller and she was very impressed. Much of OP' s complaint sounds linked with having a poor, probably new room stewardess. Any complaints can always be directed towards head of housekeeping, and are always rectified.

As for the food, she said it had been some of the best on SB for a long time. Entertainment, especially the Tim Rice show was excellent.

Decide for yourself, as here on the same cruise two people have had very different experiences.

 

On my last cruise, we had the best stewardess on SB, ever! And she was on her first contract with SB (though she had worked on other mass market cruise ships before). I wrote a glowing review of her on the mid cruise comment form. Midway through the cruise (we did a B2B), she was moved by the executive housekeeper up one level and had to take care of the Wintergarden Suite. Her replacement was equally stellar - albeit with a different personality - and she was brand new to SB (I met her on her first day with SB).

 

Across the hall, our friends kept complaining about their room stew and said that she was forgetful and unable to learn and improve.

 

So yes, there will always be training issues and inconsistencies, unfortunately.

 

My main complaint is with the repetition of the dishes. We are seeing the same vegetarian and vegan dishes from 8 years ago, and as good as they are, they are getting old. The new TK additions help a bit, but they are the same 7 or so veggie dishes in the Restaurant in the past couple of years. I special order veggie ingredients in advance and consult with the chef for special orders on board some times, but that becomes a lot of work for us and for them. I think SB should be more proactive in menu rotations and innovation. (I think dishes for non-vegetarians do not change all that much either - is that right? - but at least there is a lot more of them to choose from on the menu each night.)

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I believe (and others agree) that Encore's greater size and capacity has "diluted" the overall SB product and so they can't deliver the standard and quality of food, service, ambiance etc that long term customers are used to and expect. That, combined with general cost cutting under pressure from the head office bean counters who don't think we'll notice. We do.

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We were on the Encore in February and would not sail on her again.

 

It was not impeccable service that SB often states.

 

The product has gone down and I feel SB are unwilling to listen to passenger concerns.

 

 

 

Kind regards

 

Tony

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I believe (and others agree) that Encore's greater size and capacity has "diluted" the overall SB product and so they can't deliver the standard and quality of food, service, ambiance etc that long term customers are used to and expect. That, combined with general cost cutting under pressure from the head office bean counters who don't think we'll notice. We do.

That is the points! Yesterday a swiss couple waited 65 minuted getting a steak at the Patio Grill. He orded medium and got a well done! After another 20 minutes he got the right steak but only a small one!

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We were on the Encore in February and would not sail on her again.

 

It was not impeccable service that SB often states.

 

The product has gone down and I feel SB are unwilling to listen to passenger concerns.

 

 

 

Kind regards

 

Tony

The problem is the service! Sometimes chaotic - sometimes very good! But I think no one cares on this ship! This ship is a shame for seabourn!

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It sounds as if all service, especially on Encore, is very 'hit and miss' at present. Does sound like too many new recruits, some of whom sound unsuitable even when trained, with the experienced staff trying to teach them and provide good service. In all departments, with problems in housekeeping, waiter service, and speed and accuracy of cooking all having faults at times.

 

This situation has been going on since before Encore first sailed; time it was remedied.

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We thoroughly enjoyed our Encore cruise and would return without hesitation. We are fairly low maintenance cargo who adapt to our surroundings.

 

If I was looking for faults they were there, particularly with the cabin stewardess who got swapped out after a couple of days. I appreciated the additional food options particularly TK and Sushi.Entertainment definitely up a notch.

 

Space around the ship was good but we were on the first 2 cruises with reduced numbers apparently. Not sure whether the second cruise at Christmas was up to capacity ?

 

For us the formula works. Ultimately we can always fall back on Sojourn if need be. That sounds like a hardship - not intended to be. 1st world problems :)

 

As for veggie food it seems a common complaint even with land based restaurants. In these times of healthy living any extension to the variety shouldn't be seen as only benefitting vegetarians. Even I have been known to enjoy the odd pasta bake :)

 

I hope the OP is able to shape things up and the poster due on soon don't worry. I'll always step in & take a hit for the troops if needed !

 

Maybe I should offer a video making / photography course to fill in the variety. We just need somewhere to hold it with a bit of shade, large screen TVs, high vantage point, hot tub for that "living the dream" money shot and a bar. Any ideas ;)

 

 

Henry :)

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I don't know why, but on every Seabourn cruise we have taken since 2009 I have had one or two nightmare meals where everything that can go wrong goes wrong. Fortunately, the rest of the time service is right on to exceptional.

 

Being in the hospitality business myself, I can always find errors and problems if I look for them. I try to put on my vacation blinders when away from work, but if something goes wrong in the beginning of a cruise and is mismanaged, those blinders come off for the duration of the holiday.

 

This is why first impressions are so very important and can explain why some of us see the glass as being half empty or half full.

 

I'll be sailing on the Encore next month. Hopefully my glass will be at least half full at all times (with champagne that is ;))

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Last year prior to our 20 day Cruise on "Odyssey" comments regarding " Seabourn expectations" were significantly worse than comments thus far on this thread. To our delight other than minor fixable hiccups our cruise was superb. I do not doubt guests comments being currently in situ however having had past experience I know extra efforts will be made to give guests a wonderful holiday.

May I ask if Jez is the exec Chef on Encore at present?

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Last year prior to our 20 day Cruise on "Odyssey" comments regarding " Seabourn expectations" were significantly worse than comments thus far on this thread. To our delight other than minor fixable hiccups our cruise was superb. I do not doubt guests comments being currently in situ however having had past experience I know extra efforts will be made to give guests a wonderful holiday.

May I ask if Jez is the exec Chef on Encore at present?

I talked with about 20 people and everyone said had the same comments, worsest Seabourn ship!

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We were on the Encore in February and would not sail on her again.

 

 

 

It was not impeccable service that SB often states.

 

 

 

The product has gone down and I feel SB are unwilling to listen to passenger concerns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kind regards

 

 

 

Tony

 

 

Rick Meadows was on the the Encore recently with a select few and they are adamant that they will get things right.

Many ships suffer with teething problems

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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- No USB-outlets on the brand new ships is a shame!

 

That is a bit of a shame. Are there any concessions to modern devices in the cabins? When we cruised Silversea's Silver Spirit a few years ago (a ship I don't love for other reasons) we were surprised to find a full panel of usb, hdmi, component and other connectors on the desk allowing you to connect up your laptop/video player/phone/whatever to the TV. That was 10 years back. Does Encore have anything like that?

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