johng75370

I could have misread or misunderstood, but part of Explora being "different" is they eschewed the concept of a main dining room, so all restaurants are just restaurants, and not "specialty" in the way other cruise lines would treat them. I dug into the FAQs, and they talk about the restaurants all being restaurants, but they do put in the disclaimer that you "may" not be able to book the same restaurant twice on one voyage (sorry, "journey"): Can more than one restaurant reservation be booked in advance? You will be able to book more than one dining experience in advance however in order to manage the capacities of our dining experiences and ensure availability for all guests, repeat reservations for the same dining experience may be limited.

Seems like "once per cruise" limits to any of the dining venues would be spelled out clearly ahead of time; otherwise false or misleading advertising. For example, Seabourn's Thomas Keller Grill has a similar restriction, but they state it on the website: Dining reservations for The Grill by Thomas Keller can be requested online prior to sailing, subject to availability. Online reservations close 15 days prior to sailing. Due to high demand, online reservations are recommended, however, reservations can also be made on board. One reservation permitted per voyage.

Seems like exactly the time to put your best foot forward and generate positive comments...not the current reactions of "yikes!". Will withhold judgement until more wine lists (paid and included) become available.

I’ll confess to having the old Crystal app still on my phone, hoping for its resurrection. It’s remained unchanged the last couple years, and is likely a security risk, but here we are…

The first time we went on Seabourn people told us “the next time you go onboard you’ll know both crew and other passengers”. Still cannot believe how true that has been. No doubt there are people who are on Celebrity often enough to get that, but it is pretty much baked-in to the Seabourn experience. Likewise Windstar, Seadream, etc…. Of course, some of the Windstar ships are the original Seabourn (Legend, Pride, Spirit (Breeze)).

I do too, and have found Seabourn delivers that easily, while our few (3) Retreat experiences on Celebrity have not really made us feel that way. While we’ve had butlers on Celebrity have never seen them again; I deeply appreciate having cabin attendants we’ve seen across multiple voyages on Seabourn who we delight in reconnecting with. Likewise fellow passengers. When I go on Celebrity I don’t expect to see anyone I’ve met before; with Seabourn it’s entirely the opposite. I’ve put it down to big ship versus small ship, and expect over time to continue dipping toes into both waters; just have yet to find that big ship delivers the comfortable and personal experience a smaller ship (and line) does.

Likewise! If you're on the Ovation crossing in April keep in mind they don't do the fried chicken nights on Ovation or Encore (or at least previously did not). Apparently, Keller requires a special fryer that could not be installed on the bigger ships. Thank you for speaking up on this! Recent voyages for us when it has been open for lunch had a decent number of people taking advantage of that option, and I wish it would become just a standard option instead of this odd guessing game of whether it will be or not.

Likewise, have shared a wall with the elevators and had zero issue with it. As @SLSD said, the proximity was very convenient.

Real hard-hitting piece of journalism (sarcasm). As head of guest experience maybe some questions about the poor communications related to the launch delay/uncertainty may have been in order? Or maybe Jason G. could have taken this opportunity to address it and show some transparency? Looking forward to being on board later this year, but what happened these last few weeks still leaves me uncertain as to whether they are a little too full of themselves.

The debate continues on whether it is a certified service animal or not 🙂

It's going to be "Sushi in the Club", which they apparently are already doing on Venture. Really looking forward to this!

Here’s a link to the jacket, and they have a sizing guide along with it: https://seabourn.newheadings.com/product_info.php?cPath=34_1064&products_id=5986 I got to it through the (pretty comprehensive) Alaska packing list Seabourn has on the website: https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/packing-list/alaska.html

The “wow” is that Explora did not get ahead of this; they did not study Crisis Communications 101 (or their partner ELH Business School does not teach it). Really sad for their months of great lead up to the launch being diminished/trashed by non-existent communications on this major issue.

Here’s an article from the FT that points to having to replace the fire resistant panels throughout the ship as the cause of the delay: https://www.ft.com/content/8cfa4fdf-6d8d-486f-8be9-e14cafb36a43

Sure; they lost their opportunity to be transparent about this (just checked the website and no mention of the delay), and lost the opportunity for impacted customers to feel this was well handled. My bet would be that they end up having the poor off-ship communications and customer service that most lines have and will not easily transfer bookings to more expensive voyages, but will also bet they end up producing a great product once onboard. We are on in December so not impacted by this, but feel very bad for those who have had their plans changed so late. Not making a good first impression. Apparently, their partnership with EHL Hospitality Business School does not extend into customer service or new product launches, or perhaps that is a senior-level course they are not ready for.

For some (me at least) the soaps were part of making the first voyage so special from the get-go; and on returning to Seabourn it always brought back a bit of that first-time feeling. While a small matter, when it disappeared it symbolized things going downhill just as much as food or beverage declines (maybe more because it really is a small gesture); seeing it return will give me hope that the other (more important) issues you highlighted will also be dealt with. I would happily trade better included wines for the soap selection, but why not both?

We heard the original contract was 5 years, and last year they renewed for another 5 years.

@rafinmd Roy, I love your sunrise pictures, and was wondering if you've ever seen the "Green Flash"? I saw it once at sunset on the ocean, but according to Wikipedia you can also see it at sunrise (a time I rarely see 🙂). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash

In the US I saw today there is an Amex offer for 5x Amex Reward Points for every eligible dollar spent with Seabourn, up to 50K points. Unlike my usual luck, this is well-timed as I've got final payments approaching on a couple of bookings!

Did you get emailed a link ahead of time to order? We're on Odyssey towards the end of the Alaska season, and any feedback on the jacket would be appreciated. Hope you have a great voyage!

But I have to say, I greatly enjoyed your stories from that trip Gary….or do you prefer “Pink Socks”???? 🙂

How cold is too cold for the Retreat? We'll be in Iceland/Norway on Ovation in August and debating if it would be too cold to really enjoy it. I'm assuming no heaters, but is the shelter sufficient to enjoy in colder weather?

How cold is too cold for the Retreat? We'll be in Iceland/Norway on Ovation in August and debating if it would be too cold to really enjoy it. I'm assuming no heaters, but is the shelter sufficient to enjoy in colder weather?

How cold is too cold for the Retreat? We'll be in Iceland/Norway on Ovation in August and debating if it would be too cold to really enjoy it. I'm assuming no heaters, but is the shelter sufficient to enjoy in colder weather?

How cold is too cold for the Retreat? We'll be in Iceland/Norway on Ovation in August and debating if it would be too cold to really enjoy it. I'm assuming no heaters, but is the shelter sufficient to enjoy in colder weather?