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johng75370

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Posts posted by johng75370

  1. 12 hours ago, thebigcruiseguy said:

    Are there tables for 12?

    There was a table of 12 seated near us in Med Yacht Club, so it’s definitely possible.  It was a horrible experience for anyone near that table; it was very loud (they were shouting across the large table to each other) and some were doing FaceTime also adding to the noise.  At least one of them was an “influencer” based on the posts he was doing from the ship.

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  2. Thanks for the report; we were also on the crossing and would concur on it being an overall excellent voyage.  Especially with the entertainment - both Jonathan and Wendy were great, as were the Seabourn singers, dancers, and band.  Love Deb Dyer on the piano.  Like you, there were a few nits where there could be improvement, but when issues were raised they were addressed and resolved.  First time sailing with Olivia as CD, and while I wasn’t that impressed with her we had Handre as the cruise “host”, who was amazing.  

     

    Solis to me was “a work in progress”.  The food was pretty good, but the service was really bad - long waits for all at the table to receive their courses, and the cocktail bar situation was a mess (having a long menu of difficult to make drinks requires a lot more staff at the bar than they have).  

     

    The oddest issue we had was that Seabourn does not have passports stamped showing entry into Europe.  We asked ahead of time in Seabourn Square (because we had a problem exiting Europe without it on a previous Seabourn crossing) and were told it would be no problem, and if we really wanted a stamp there would be someone in Lisbon to do it.  Of course there was no one in Lisbon to stamp the passport, and we got delayed trying to exit Europe without the stamp (again).  I’m writing Seabourn separately on that; can’t believe we were the only ones stuck that way.  

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  3. On 4/23/2024 at 5:42 PM, jondfk said:

    You didn’t ask but I’ll add another comment, we were totally shocked by the limited availability of the Restaurant for breakfast and lunch.  It operated only 4 of 14 days for lunch and only 6 of 14 days for breakfast.

    While I am a fan of The Restaurant being open every day for breakfast and lunch, at least they seem to be keeping their word (on current and recent previous voyage) to have it open on sea days. 

  4. 3 hours ago, stan01 said:

    I could see that some passengers who do not drink alcohol might want a "no alcohol" option though. 

    Another way to address that is to improve the caliber of the non-alcoholic offerings.  The “Zero at Sea” program is a great step in that direction, but needs to have higher quality non-alcoholic wines and beers added to the offering (and make it all bars, not just The Club).  

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  5. 22 hours ago, SLSD said:

    I see it as sloppy and careless.  I'll leave it there.  

    Holland handling the IT side of Seabourn has lead to many website and email issues that are just embarrassing.   No updated list of Conversation speakers since last year,  the form for choosing suite bar preferences has not worked for years,  and searches for some topics bring up pages that are way out of date.  My impression is that no one at Seabourn has really looked at their site or communications in a while (or maybe they spent all their budget on their "This is Your Moment" PR campaign and have no resources left for maintaining website). 

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  6. 8 minutes ago, Midwest Sunseeker said:

    Was this on formal night? My dh was planning on a similar outfit with his jacket.  

    No, it was a regular night.  If dh is not wanting to wear a collared shirt to dinner (formal or non-formal) he will have a problem.  

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  7. Just now, Salf777 said:

    We just don’t want to end up putting an employee in an awkward situation if we aren’t dressed properly.

    They are used to policing it and try to be gentle about it.  Our son was with us onboard in October, and one night looked great in blazer, slacks, and collar-less shirt.  He got the "excuse me sir..." from the maitre d' and was able to change quick, but they were nice about it.  

  8. As long as you follow the dress code you'll be fine (and sounds like you plan to and will have a great time).  There are other options (Colonnade or Sushi) where you don't have dress up on formal night. You'll see a variety of opinions because of how it has changed over time, and also because the dress code is a minimum level and some prefer to be dressed above that.  

     

    Here's what it is from the website:

    Evening (after 6pm): Elegant Casual. The following is the nightly dress standard for all dining venues:

        Men: Slacks with a collared dress shirt or sweater; Jacket Optional.

        Ladies: Slacks / skirt, blouse, pant suit or dress.

    Elegant jeans are welcome in all dining venues. 

     

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  9. On 4/8/2024 at 4:08 AM, Fortunate 2 travel said:

    For fun, I just checked the Seabourn Source app and it still shows The Grill by Thomas Keller.  It will be fun looking for the name change. 

    I've got an upcoming Ovation booking and in the Source app it still shows The Grill on the main screen - but if you click on "view more" it shows the current restaurants and their daily menus, including Solis (no TK Grill). 

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  10. What a great way to celebrate a special anniversary - congratulations!  

     

    No real “pearls of wisdom“, but in case it helps here is what came to mind:

    1. Relax and enjoy; Seabourn and other smaller ship lines have the advantage of it being personal and friendly.  We’ve had a number of “Seabourn moments” where they’ve gone above and beyond to make our time away special, and I hope you find the same.

    2. Don’t be shy to ask.  You want caviar on your Eggs Benedict, just ask.  A special menu for your anniversary night?  Meet with the maitre d’ at least a day ahead and it will be all taken care of.  

    3. Assuming you like it and plan to come back to Seabourn, the onboard “future cruise deposit” is a good deal; $500pp and it gives you 5% off whatever cruise you use it on, and it’s good for 4 years.  Can only be purchased onboard.  And if you do come back to Seabourn, unlike big ships you will usually recognize both crew and passengers you’ve sailed with before (much smaller community than big ships, with relatively loyal guests).

    4. If you have special items that you need/want provisioned let them know as far in advance as you can and they will try to do it for you.  

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  11. 1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

    But if that happens, who does a person call who uses flightease given the time/hour question OP  is worried about during the connection, should things go sideways during off hours for SB customer service and TA with time differences. 

     

    @Vineyard View I’ve been given a FlightEase direct phone number before and I just called it tonight.  It connects to “Enroute Travel Services” (or so the voice recording said) and after punching a couple buttons was connected to a real human.  That’s at 10:30pm Pacific.  My assumption is they have a 24/7 operation given the global nature of the flight arrangements and ship departures.  

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  12. 11 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

    Some still might like my mundane food piccies so today was chill garlic enormous prawns with home made baguette and Laurent Perrier.

    Jeff, as a long-ish time lurker here in the Cooler I have to say your baguette is one of the most impressive things I have come across <swoon>.  I’m also a home baguette maker, and am still working towards the perfection that you have achieved.  Deep appreciation for previous posts where you’ve gone into your process and method - the result is incredible.

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  13. 13 minutes ago, skybluewaters said:

    I'm wondering why you had an 8PM flight when there are several earlier ones.  Was this your preference or did FlightEase schedule this despite an earlier preference on your part?  I'm trying to get a handle on how flexible FE is.

    In that specific case it was right before the Christmas holiday (Dec 22nd) and the only first class MIA-SFO available was on the 8pm flight at a great price, and we thought why not enjoy some of the day in Miami.  We definitely could have chosen earlier.  Overall we've found FlightEase to be very flexible in letting us choose the flights, even with choosing business one way and economy the other way.  If you've got a booking on hold you can access FlightEase, so even before committing to a deposit you can get a sense of what flights might be available.  Most of the time we've found FlightEase to be less expensive than booking directly, but sometimes it is more.  

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  14. 5 hours ago, Jaq66 said:

    Is it possible to print some documents whilst on the Encore? Thought maybe the members of staff working in the square may be able to do it?

    I’ve had Seabourn Square print out a couple of things for me, and it was very easy.  They gave me an email address for the ship to send the document to, then called me when it was ready to pick up.  If it’s something you can’t email to them I would think they will find another way to help you (maybe via USB stick or using one of their computers).

  15. 4 hours ago, shark b8 said:

    But the news (for me) was……well now, if this has been going on for a while, I’m sure it’s been thoroughly discussed elsewhere on this site and I missed it.  In The Restaurant, they’ve removed quite a few tables, to set up a band and a dance floor.  So, we had music and dancing going on throughout most of the dinner.

    Have not heard of this before; was it in the program with some marketing-hype about it?  Interesting idea, maybe being test-driven on your voyage?

  16. 7 hours ago, Stu UK said:

    Do they offer a pass for the whole cruise like on other lines? If so how much? 

    They usually do offer a pass; not sure exactly how much but a lot less than list price.  Maybe $150 for a 10 day cruise?  I think they also have a good deal for two if you’re traveling as a couple.  The changing rooms do have a sauna, but it’s small.  Worth taking the spa tour after you get onboard. FWIW the prize drawing they do is pretty good odds compared to larger ships (advantages of a small ship) - I’ve won $50 off coupon, and I never win anything.  

  17. 1 hour ago, Astride said:

    I'd much prefer a glass of fine red wine with quality cheese than a flute of cheap champagne with fish eggs.

    In some areas/cultures that statement reeks of snob appeal, so not sure of your point.  Seabourn caters to your desire for wine and cheese as much as someone else might favor caviar and champagne.  Kudos to Seabourn.  Your w&c enjoyment in no way infringes on my c&c enjoyment.  

     

    My partner grew up in the former Soviet Union with black and red caviar as part his upbringing; I grew up mainly in the U.S., but exposed to it at “special events” and developed a taste for it. That we both can enjoy a decent quality black caviar in various forms while onboard is really something special that we appreciate about Seabourn. It’s not snob appeal; we enjoy it for special times at home.  It’s how Seabourn makes things available that make your journey special, whatever it might be.  Many people pass on the caviar, so it’s not like there’s a caviar-obsessed crowd onboard or that it comes up any more than what cheese someone prefers.

     

    That’s why the dialogue on CC that happens about the source, quality, or changes to suppliers of things like caviar, champagne, wines, or cheeses are fair game and matter. Having seen people get huffy about the lack of good red Bordeaux’s or how the cheese is not served at the right temperature, not seeing anything out of the norm here regarding caviar or champagne.  

     

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  18. 16 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

    Playing scrabble with the Captain right now. Will see you later at the bar.

    Good luck, I used to love playing Scrabble until I had a horrible accident - accidentally swallowed a bag of tiles.  Suffered through a week of nasty vowel movements, and in the end it spelled DISASTER.  

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