doowopbob

We just completed our first Seabourn cruise on the Odyssey. We have been on seven cruises with Oceania which have all been wonderful. When a good deal came up on Seabourn we decided to give it a try. We are very glad we did since we loved most everything. In comparison to Oceania's small ships I found a lot of similarities and a few differences both pro and con.

Our stewardess was definitely lacking. When she showed up the first day and gave us her name I had to stop her at the door to tell her what bottles of liqueur we wanted for the room. Days later we needed a bar of soap and some diet coke and left her a note since we never saw her. The note was still there the next day and no soap or coke. My wife finally called and was told to see our stewardess. After she told them we never see her the head housekeeper arrived at the door with what we needed. We basically never saw our stewardess, when we did she said hello and that was about it. I know this is not the norm since our friend who was on deck 4 had a wonderful stewardess that couldn't do enough for her. Luck of the draw I guess. I did miss the butlers on Oceania.

The cabin was comfortable and I did enjoy having a stand slone shower even if it was quite small. We found the service over all to be excellent. It was wonderful to have a drink without having to produce your pass and sign something. I half expected since the drinks were included that at times you would have a problem getting one. That was never the case.

The food in the MDR was really good. No complaints at all. On the next to the last night my wife mentioned that our friend and myself were disappointed that prime rib was not on the menu. The next night we both had prime rib cooked perfectly. The colonade lunches and dinners were also good. We did not care for the breakfast buffets. I always like to start my breakfast with a bowl of fresh berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries) and that was non-existent. The breakfast buffet was usually crowded while the mdr was not. We started eating there instead of the buffet. As far as the TK Grill goes we did not enjoy it at all. Felt the portions were way to large. If you tried to eat the shrimp cocktail which were the size of lobsters you wouldn't be able to finish the main course. The food was ok but nothing to rave about in our opinion. They had a lot of family style dinners from TK at the colonade but we didn't participate. In comparison to Oceania I would say the mdr on Seabourn was better but the specialty restaurants are much better on Oceania.

We loved the size of the ship. Even though it is about the same size as the smaller Oceania ships she carries over 200 less passengers and you definitely can see the difference. I had wanted to try Seabourn for quite a while but until they finally adjusted there smoking policy that wasn't going to happen. We had a wonderful time and have already booked a cruise in Feb. on the Quest. Looking forward to it.

We used Blacklane. Very good and reasonable.

Thank You

Our Brazil visa was received in 2014 and is good for 10 years. However our passport expired in 2015 and we have new ones obviously without the Brazil visa in them. Does anyone know if the Visa is still valid even with an expired passport?

Please don't tell me that means that our first Seabourn cruise which starts on Oct 4th is going to have all new crew ?

As mentioned by Baz-t, and in speaking with many of the experienced crew, it seems like there may be a rather big turnover in crew on the Odyssey in September. Many will be leaving for two months and then quite a few will be deployed to the Encore.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Is there anywhere on the Seabourn website that shows that you have the referral credit ? I've made the final payment and sent in the coupon but don't see it anywhere on there site.

We have been on 4 cruises on Regatta. One was the northeast during Hurricane Sandy. Needless to say that was a nightmare. However I think that would have been bad on any ship. Another was a very bad storm on the passage from Bermuda to Norfolk. Actually had a chair fall over and break my Wife's toe. I don't believe any sea sickness remedies would have helped on either of these cruises. We made the mistake of having the same cabin (PH3 all the way forward) on both cruises. You're better off more toward the middle of the ship. Our other 2 cruises on Regatta were uneventful. The smaller ships have there charm but weathering rough seas is not one of them. I now take Bonine when we cruise and have had no problems since.

taking our first cruise coming up later this year w/ Seabourn and one next year on Oceania. I like the all inclusive drinks on S but read that they allow you to bring a bottle or 2 on O for use in your cabin. We have had the last 20 cruises on HAL and had the drink package incl. which was 15 per day up to $8 and could get doubles. Doing Cuba on O and a Caribbean on S. These comments are quite helpful. I like that caviar is available every night on S. Guess we will see which we prefer or might end up back w/HAL. I was told the beverage package w/OLlfe is wine and beer.

You can upgrade to the premium plan for $20 each a day. It is well worth it.

Some people on the pool deck really need to cover up a bit on all cruise lines for sure.

I will second that !! Bikinis and Speedos on people who should know better.

There's an included wine list here on this post from a year ago. Please note that the wines are subject to change, although some of these have been offered for the last 4 or 5 years or so on each SB cruise I've taken. Also they often have additional odd bottles that aren't on the list.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=49830351&postcount=1

Do you know if they offer a Pinot Grigio. Going on our first Seabourn cruise with a friend who only drinks this wine. Didn't see it on the list.

Just found out our ship, Azamara Quest, is docking at the Poland Ave Wharf instead of the main docks in NO. Seems to be off the beaten track. Anyone familiar with this area?

I have been on Oceania quite a few times and have seen lots of tables for two in the speciality restuarants. They are not reserved for the top suites - I have always got one and have never been in a top suite.

That has always been our experience to. We always have a table for 2 and do not travel in the top suites.

We have also been debating Oceania vs Azamara and after much (!) consideration finally decided on Azamara. We have been on X for the past 6 years and are ready for a change. Thanks to all who posted their thoughts and experiences, it is greatly appreciated!

We have been on 5 Oceania cruises and have never had any of the problems others have complained of. We are going on our first Azamara cruise next month and really can't imagine it being any better then Oceania. If it is equal we will be very happy.

I'm afraid that most people on this board wil disagree with me completely, but i happen to think Oceania offers a very good product. We have sailed with them 5 times and loved it. The food on O is very good and even the standard menus in all venues has lobster, jumbo shrimp, dover sole and filet mignon on it. I missed that on Seabourn although you can always ask for these things. What we love about Seabourn is the small yacht feel, extremely attentive service and all inclusive concept. Depending on the price and itinerary I would sail both of them. It's really something special and memorable.

I completely agree with you. We have sailed on Oceania 6 times and every time was wonderful. We have also sailed several times on Celebrity and there is no comparison. The food on Oceania is the best we've had at sea. The staterooms and service are excellent. We will be sailing on SB for the first time next Oct and are looking forward to it but I cannot agree with some of these Oceania reviews but that's my opinion.

We have been on a number of Oceania cruises and completely enjoyed every one of them. Have booked our first Azamara cruise this coming March mainly due to the itinerary. If you go on Oceania's board you will find postings comparing the two lines. Just about every one of them rates Oceania higher than Azamara. Naturally, posters on these respective boards prefer one cruise line over another. We are looking forward to our cruise on Azamara very much but doubt if we will find it that much better than Oceania.

I know Gratuities are included for the cruise. However is it expected to leave a tip when dining in the specialties ?

I know that they won't allow you to order 2 drinks at a time but does anyone know if they will allow you to order a double? We would upgrade to a premium plan but I find when ordering a drink to take back to the room a normal drink doesn't last very long and don't really want to be running back and forth.

We are considering a cruise on Seabourn now that they have amended their smoking policy. The cruise we are considering involves tendering in 7 of 13 ports. How much of a hassle is it? How long does it generally take? Really hate having to wait in long lines for anything.

We used Uber to get from Manhatten port to LGA after our cruise this past May. First time we used them and couldn't have been happier.

If it is on the list it is probably included

I do not buy the package so maybe someone who like scotch & gets the package will answer

I would think the 18 & 25 yr stuff may not be included but who knows ;)

Yes, I'm sure it's included. We have gotten the prestige plan several times and I was drinking 25 yr old cognac (Doubles) so I'm sure your scotch would make the cut.

Has anyone picked the beverage package as their O life choice and than upgraded to the prestige package? My TA was told you can't upgrade but I'm thinking you should be able to once you are on board. Don't want to choose the classic package and then find out we can't upgrade.

On our last Regatta Cruise at the breakfast buffet I observed one elderly gentleman reach under the glass and remove several strips of bacon with his bare hands when the server was looking the other way. My wife and I skipped the bacon.

I find it interesting and sorry - kind of amusing- that you would cancel a great cruise just because there MIGHT be more people in MC. Just because there is a potential for more people in MC because of the addition of Sky Suites does not mean that there will be triple the people in there every night. We just stayed in a Sky Suite on Reflection. We had a premium drink package. Most people in suites these days have some type of drink package. We enjoyed the freedom of going to any bar - sometimes noisy, sometimes quiet. We probably would not have used MC very much if it were available to us. Perhaps on occasion. That is our thinking and of course I can't speak for any other Sky Suite passenger. Next cruise we are in a CS and I feel the same. Occasional use of MC and experience the variety of other areas on the ship. We love cruising and don't do it for any particular perk. Just enjoy!

Happy to see I amused you. The cruise I am talking about is a trans-atlantic and no one gets a drink package on those sailings. As I tried to explain it is not the free drinks it is the atmosphere in Michaels that we enjoyed. Since this has not been implicated yet there is no way to know for sure how many more people will be in MC, however I don't believe (especially on a trans-atlantic) that the experience will be anything like we just had. I'm glad for you that you like noisy bars, we do not.

I'm sorry, but that is not always an option. And I gather from your comments that your experiences on board have been far different from ours. The noise levels from the musical entertainment in most areas of the ship from Ensemble to the Martini Bar are not conducive to having a relaxing chit chat. Everyone has to speak as loudly as they can to be heard over the music. And MC has apparently been utilized on more occasions than not on our sailings. Even so, it has been a haven of tranquility from the the noisy and crowded conditions of the other bars on the ship. Why should we, and others who feel the same, not enjoy a perk that we have paid a premium price for?

Couldn't agree with you more. Just got off our trans-atlantic on the Eclipse and MC made the cruise. The area outside of MC was packed with people every evening before dinner. There was never a seat to be had and the noise level was quite high. It was a godsend to be able to walk into MC and leave that all behind. Now I find they are going to ruin that perk for the CS by more than tripling the amount of people who will be using MC. The room is too small to accommodate that many people. Today I canceled our cruise next year on the Equinox. Simply not worth it.

Just returned from Trans-Atlantic on Eclipse. Stayed in Celebrity Suite and loved MC. Just being able to escape the happy hour 5-7 madness for the quiet intimate atmosphere in MC was wonderful. Spent hours in there enjoying cocktails and meeting some very interesting people. Told my wife I was completely spoiled by MC and couldn't imagine booking anything less than a CS for our future cruises. We discussed how there would be no way they could keep the atmosphere they have now if they ever opened it to SS. There just isn't enough space. It will revert back to the way it was before when the elite happy hour was in MC and most of the time you couldn't get a seat even then.

Now upon catching up on CC I find they are indeed opening this benefit to the SS. We have a CS booked on a Trans-Atlantic for Oct 2016. We will be canceling. Thanks Celebrity, you've saved me a lot of money over the next few years.