johng75370

Just boarded, and the mineral water we pre-ordered (Aqua Panna and Pelligrino) was in our cabin in large glass bottles (1l and 750ml). Strange thing is we asked for Pelligrino and they told us only Perrier, but happy we ended up with what we wanted.

FWIW, here is the menu currently showing for Ovation on the Source app. With other culinary changes going on at Seabourn this menu should likely be updated/revisited. menu_template_-_the_retreat_-_2023 (1).pdf

I've heard from others that you get the $50 credit per day, along with a daily bottle of nicer champagne - making it a really good deal if you plan multiple spa visits and to buy revenue champagne. Hopefully others who have done that can confirm, but it is what I have heard onboard (from people who did it). A couple of considerations: if your itinerary has cold or bad weather The Retreat may not be that useful. On the other hand, there is a massage space in The Retreat, so if you want an outdoor massage it's the only option onboard. Personally, I have done it once and really enjoyed it and would do it again, but would be itinerary-dependent (and wine offering dependent) as to the value for buying it for the whole sailing. As @Mr Luxury highlighted, it used to be Bollinger as the champagne and (IMHO) better wines than are currently showing, but I would still take advantage of it depending on itinerary.

In addition to the menu posted by @Covepointcruiser if your next booking is on Encore then you should be able to access the menu through the Seabourn Source app. If you click on “view more” for Dining options, you’ll see the lounges listed including the Retreat. The bar menu you can access there is the full menu, including food and drinks, and does change from time to time.

Are they offering spa specials or discounts if you book multiple treatments? Thanks in advance.

Usually there is someone performing around the pool mid-afternoon; I think it rotates between performers (“The Band” or “The Trio”). Good mix of shaded and non-shaded space to enjoy it from. FWIW, I like how they always have sunscreen and other sun stuff available by the patio bar and sky bar, so if you decide to hang out at the pool to enjoy the music you don’t have to go back to cabin for sunscreen.

Or after it's ended 🙂

It usually is not, but if they want a “better than usual” Sushi dinner on formal nights they offer a Kaiseki menu which has some items special to that night, FYI. Here is a link to a post from 2019 showing the Kaiseki menu: https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/2674969-earth-and-ocean/?do=findComment&comment=57783236

Here’s a few general thoughts/comments: - In 9 years of sailing on Seabourn I can barely count on one hand any time I’ve shared an elevator, waited for an elevator, or felt crowded in almost any part of the ship. YMMV, but that’s been my experience. - If they judge an area to be too crowded looking (i.e. Observation Bar for pre-dinner cocktails), the other similar places (like The Club) will typically not be crowded at all. - The Restaurant is very easy to not be seated near other people, and especially if it is open for lunch or breakfast, should they want to dine inside - Some events will have people close together (such as trivia, or entering the theater for a show or Captain’s reception), but otherwise seems pretty easy to keep distance - The theater can get relatively packed, so they will need to judge that for themselves. Enrichment/lectures are hardly ever crowded. - Deck 5 pool outside The Club is often not crowded; the hot tub at the front on Deck 7 is also often empty. - Ovation also offers the Retreat which is not usually booked up, although you have to pay extra. If they want an outdoor massage, lunch in their cabana, or higher quality wine pours the Retreat might be a good option Hope that helps, but in general if the crowd is going left and your parents are going right they will have a lot of space to themselves.

If you arrange flights with Seabourn Air they will handle the transfer - and for late night flights before they have provided a day room with transport from the ship to hotel, and then hotel to airport. We last did this a couple years ago, so it may have changed (more recently we have done their disembarkation transfer where there will provide lunch and a group waiting area such as a conference room at a hotel for afternoon departures). Worth looking into, and sometimes the airfares are better through Seabourn.

As more reviews roll in from other very experienced travelers (Hank, Floris, Saminina in particular), my expectations for Explora have gone up. While there are some things that are probably not going to be to my liking it really sounds like they have put together a competitive product in the luxury space. Had a great voyage on Odyssey last month, and will be trying out Explora next month, so will be interested to see if it changes our plans going forward. We like smaller ships and likely will find Explora too big; I’d assume SS will suffer the most from Explora entering the market because their appeal (at least from their most vocal fans) is that the ships are new and and have more dining options - Explora appears to have massively one-upped SS in those respects. Seabourn innovating at a quicker pace recently is likely driven by competition like SS and Explora.

I’ve had that situation before, where the bookings shows as OB but we got to select our cabin ahead of time. I always assumed it was a “special” because of the TA relationship/volume with Seabourn, but often OB’s are priced the same as V1’s so maybe it is related to that. In our cases once the cabin was assigned it did not change.

Thanks for the great reporting from onboard, and the many amazing food pictures shared!

It was pretty messed up for us checking in for December sailing: - website check in got us to confirmations saying we checked in; then checking booking showed we were not checked in - App would not let me check in because passport has my full middle name, reservation had just first name - TA contacted Explora, and they somehow worked it out; got our e-ticket and boarding pass - App still shows we are not checked in, but website shows we are. All’s well that ends well - we do have our boarding passes.

Never had any issues with either line, or Crystal or Cunard Queens Grill. Celebrity only stocked our cabin with small bottles, but they would leave 6 at a time; the other lines all provided liter bottles. No special pull or powerful TA, we just simply asked and it was taken care of. Sometimes on SB they have Voss, which is a nice surprise when they do.

If they was all about the environment they would be loading wine onboard in casks and serving it in carafes, instead of loading pallets of glass bottles. Same argument as the water, and to some palates may be just fine while helping the environment 🙂.

FWIW, only on a recent cruise did I stumble across that when you're onboard ithe Source app has a chat feature. It was handy, as you can search for people by name and message them - useful if cell phone texting doesn't work. Maybe it's well known to others but wanted to mention in case (like me) that feature got overlooked.

For those who have been onboard (or currently), any issue in having bottled water stocked in your cabin or available in restaurants? My TA requested it (Explora told her they have Perrier and Aqua Panna, but not S. Pelligrino or Evian), and it shows up in my booking as a request, yet I've read elsewhere they only serve what they bottle onboard (which if it's like other lines that do that is not to my taste). If I remember correctly, @vistaman had to bring it onboard. Any clarification appreciated!

Had the same experience: "Dear Mr seto kulbwgvfd," In fairness this came from a "testdomain@explorajourneys" email address, and was immediately preceded by a correctly addressed check in email (which worked just fine).

Other Thomas Keller tie-ins were the caviar source and the evening turndown service chocolate. Changing to other suppliers shouldn't be too hard, but will one or both of these go away or be diminished? Also, may have missed this but sounds like Odyssey is not being converted to Solis. Is that the case, and if so will TK continue to sail with Odyssey until it's handed over?

We also usually find the revenue wines to be a good deal. Before our recent Odyssey sailing downloaded the revenue list (and TK's list), and did some comparisons to what we might pay in a local (Northern California) wine store. (Apologies in advance if handwriting is hard to read). Overall the markups are reasonable, and with Seabourn Club discount or wine package can get very close to retail. The Chateau Smith white Bordeaux was the standout - $80 onboard, $139 local 🤔 On the included list they had a Raymond Chardonnay that typically is in the high teens retail, FWIW. Had not seen that before. Seabourn Odyssey Wine List Oct 2023.pdf

When on Odyssey last week I asked if the salmon for Sushi in the Club was fresh/local from Alaska - was told it was from Norway!

The Odyssey has been to hell and back again!

We introduced our kids to cruising in the 10-13 year old range (but never on lines with rollercoasters or racetracks), great experiences for all. They are now in their early 30’s, married, and happily accepted cruises as wedding gifts (one on Holland, one on Regent). Heading off next week on a cruise where one of them is joining in. Kudos to you @aururab for introducing them to a style of travel that sometimes is overlooked, and can lead to a lot of great family moments! If it was around when our kids were younger EJ would have been a great choice from what I’m hearing. Especially with the great pics @Stickman1990 posted.

Wow!!! Thanks for the news alert; I am very excited by this development. What are the hours?