texanaust

The official reason from Matt the CD is Covid. When I prodded Handre, he waffled, saying the ‘Club doesn’t have an identity.’ He was not a fan and offered to send one to my home in Australia…if he was being serious I’d probably take it!

Day 2-Livorno (Florence/Pisa) Last night's dinner in TK was fantastic. We shared the Dover Sole and the NY Strip-both were divine and the service was impeccable. Seabourn excels with catering to coeliacs and the special bread brought out for Mrs Texanaust was apparently the best she's tasted in years. We had never dined in TK on the smaller ships, but the setting seems more intimate, almost like a railway carriage. After dinner we went to the Club and then outside on the rear deck for a DJ party. One change to note is that the Jukebox has been permanently switched off (on all ships). If you liked having music between sets or at other times of the day, then like me you'll be a little disappointed. On the plus side, these DJ on the rear deck parties will provide some modern music for those wanting something a little newer than Buddy Holly and Chubby Checker. This morning we were up early to view our arrival into Livorno while exercising on deck. Many guests left early for full day excursions to Firenze. Not us, and with 36 degree temps today we decided to enjoy the ship. We had a very good breakfast via room service. Everything was good quality and they seem to have upsized their bagels which taste much better than before. On the subject of breakfast, the Pool Grill is open and has plenty of new healthy options. We will be testing the options tomorrow, so I will take some photos. Lunch was at the Colonnade. The quality of the salads has definitely improved. There are many choices and all the vegetables are tasty and fresh. TK burgers/hotdogs are off the menu currently due to 'supply constraint issues.' Back to the suite problems ...everything is clean now. We have been given some free drycleaning and a flower arrangement as an apology. If you have a problem with SB, my advice is to act early and bring the issue to the attention of guest relations as soon as possible. We did not ask to be moved and to be honest, we are not big complainers. We were however taken very seriously and I have had numerous officers stop me around the ship to apologise. Tomorrow is Portofino and they will be doing a Marina day.😁 A few 'enhancements' from Seabourn: No more lux soap (as others have posted). Molton Brown toiletries are now in large bottles with a warning about stealing them (see photo). No printouts of any kind unless specifically requested (the exception being advertisements from the spa). I just received a copy of the complimentary wines (see photo). This list seems a little more extensive than the other one that was recently posted. Dinner in the Restaurant tonight. Well that's it for Day 2...

A few photos from yesterday. The ship has 280 onboard, next week it will be full with 450. Lots of multi-generational families onboard with plenty of teens. I forgot to mention that testing was available at embarkation yesterday. Suite update: After round two of cleaning, everything looked to be back to SB standards. However this morning we couldn’t get one of the cabinet drawers closed. Behind it was multiple crushed bags of snacks. I gave those to guest services…waiting to hear back from the Guest relations manager.

Day 1-Embarkation We arrived at the cruise terminal at 11:30am. Prior to today, our embarkation time had changed no less than six times. We were finally given 4:00pm with multiple stern email warnings that we would be sent away should we arrive early. This included alerts on my Apple watch! Well I am pleased to say that no one cared. Seabourn waited until 12:30pm before boarding commenced. Water and juice were offered in the terminal. I was a little amused to watch almost everyone that took the reusable bottles spill them on their clothes when they tried to drink. They really need different bottles-plus the water does not taste good IMHO. We have requested Acqua Panna which the FB manager said he too prefers. Unfortunately only Evian is onboard right now, but I have been assured that my preferred brand will be procured in the next few days. The ship looks in great condition from initial inspection. There are definitely some familiar faces and Handre is onboard! Matt is the CD and welcomed us on the gangway. He seems to be very nice-a bit like Handre's protege (wears bow ties too!). Not much has changed lunch wise-your choices are the Colonnade and the Pool grill. The variety and quality seem about the same. The main restaurant is closed for lunch. I may be in the minority, but I like a more elegant place to have lunch sometimes. Tonight we will dine in TK after obtaining last minute reservations. The senior staff have definitely shown themselves around the ship today and seem genuinely happy that we (guests) are onboard. For those that care, mask wearing is about 10%, maybe less as the day wears on. So overall an excellent start with the exception of our suite...Unfortunately our Stewardess(es) did not prepare our room properly. The toilet was dirty (and I don't mean ring around the collar, I mean brown water). We also found nappies/diapers and a whole cupboard full of games, junk, etc. Totally unacceptable. Our first contact with the stewardess (we gave her two hours) also did not render results so we had to escalate. After a re-clean we came back and found cards, bottles and plastic debris under the bed (I am not kidding), plus the carpet had not been cleaned. There were chunks of food on the floor, the couch and the chair. The Head Housekeeper just arrived and was profusely apologetic-she agreed that the condition of the suite fell well short of Seabourn standards. I will report on the results of cleaning #3 tomorrow! @Catlover 54-we have approx 150 days on SB over 20 years. We don't sail all year long and we also sail on other companies. This is our first SB since Covid, the last being about two months prior to the shutdown. Sorry no photos today. I cannot figure out how to upload successfully from my mac. Back to the ipad tomorrow!

Day 0 We departed Trieste and another cruise for Civitavecchia today. I thought taking three trains and spending 8 hours traversing Italy would be fun…I was wrong. The Regionale trains (4 of the 8 hours) were packed and not very comfortable. However the Frecciarossa 1000 from Venice to Rome was excellent. Definitely splurge for Executive class. The carriage has 10 seats total and full dining/drink service included. For perhaps a $50 upgrade, it was well worth it. Tomorrow we embark! PS. This live review will mainly focus on the ship, the food and the service. Don’t expect lengthy port reviews from me…I will be comparing the current quality to what we experienced pre-Covid.

I believe induction and yes flames, but not to the ceiling flames 😁. The maitre'd had this set up in one area of the restaurant and made them as requested. Some of the best crepes suzette I've ever had.

Yes, but it continues on other cruise lines, so not solely a safety issue. MSC YC just did crepes suzette last week for us.

No flambees=No a la minute dishes=more banquet tasting dishes. Twice baked goat cheese souffle doesn't taste as good anymore (IMHO) because the quality has been lowered. Candles create a dining mood which can enhance the food experience. Bright lights, no candles and often no flowers=a more institutionalized experience. (Which is why we dine in TK a lot more now). Essentially TK with its service, tableside prep, etc is what the main restaurant used to be like. Unfortunately one can only eat so many steaks;)

Just off the Seaview out of Italy. Masks not required. We boarded with one, but it certainly was not enforced. Once onboard, we ditched the masks-no one was wearing them. Even many of the staff had them around their chins, or completely off when no one was nearby. I was actually surprised by the lack of mask wearers after reading feedback on the CC forums. Also virtually no one wears masks in Italy any longer, even in places where they are required.

We will be traveling on the Moon in late July preceded by two weeks on the Sojourn in late June. It will be interesting to compare. We have not sailed on Silversea in almost 20 years. As others have said, the food on SB just isn't the same as it used to be. The twice baked goat cheese souffle is just one example-it tastes different. Ice cream lolipops not the same, no candles in the dining room, no table side flambees...I could go on. Lunches in the main dining room basically require daily special orders if you really want to eat well. There are lots of changes if you look back to the experience of the original triplets.

Mnpurple, Hope you had a nice cruise. We are embarking today-it looks like the Seaview might be arriving a little earlier than expected according to AIS.

Mnpurple, If you get a chance before you disembark, could you let us know where to go to check-in for YC at the port in Naples? Is there a specific area inside the port building to go to? And did you enter the building on the left or right from the street side? Thanks.

Enjoy your trip. We are going YC too, so don't drink all the prossecco before next week!

We are leaving from Naples on the 30th. Let us know boarding goes. I think they said 2pm to us, but the ship doesn't arrive until 1pm. We are going to have to find a test site in Naples on Saturday afternoon. Nothing much is open on Sunday...and I don't want to risk it Monday morning!

Seabourn Insider. If you are a TA, then you have access to it. I am sure it will be announced publicly very soon.

It appears that SB will be including airfare and transfers for European cruises starting this year in their fares. You may opt out in which case you will receive a credit on the price of your cruise. Currently this is for guests in North America and Canada. Air Inclusive will eventually be rolled out worldwide. I for one am not very happy with this change. I suspect fares will rise substantially and the credit for not using SB Air will not be very generous. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Cash reserves? Doesn’t that all go to Seabourn/Silversea anyway?!

Stateroom 417 is available and appears to be huge. Do I take that or go for a guarantee and possibly get a Veranda? Are there any negatives to 417 besides it being near the launderette? I have not been on any of the newer ships, so I have no idea what to expect. Last SS cruise was almost 20 years ago!