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Westiesheepie

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Posts posted by Westiesheepie

  1. On 12/5/2023 at 4:43 PM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

    This is probably too much info (for Westiesheepie), but  i was curious and looked at some notes I took about ships going to HCMC.  The big ships dock way far from the city.  One of Oceania's smaller ships (670 passengers, I think) went way up the Song (river) Tau and tied up beneath the Ho Chi Minh Museum on the south end of the city.  Marine Traffic showed the location as VN NHA. Silver Whisper (around same size or a little smaller) tied up at the Hiep Phuoc location I mentioned. Viking Orion (about the size of Oceania's larger ships) also tied up at Hiep Phuoc. Norwegian Jewel is headed to Vietnam now, though I forget if she is going to HCMC or not.  I'll see where she ends up. 

     Thanks for all the info! I found out Encore will dock at the Nha Rong wharf. Very confusing but for tge eVisa can out HCMC Seaport

  2. My Seabourn Encore cruise stops in HCMC, Da Nang and Halong Bay. So on the eVisa application, I just put HCMC as entry port? and Halong Bay as exit port? I believe our smaller ship docks close to the city in Saigon, so what is the name of that dock?

     

    The cruise is Feb 17- Mar 2 and we are in Vietnam end of Feb, can I apply for eVisa now?

     

    Thanks for all the great advice!

  3. My sister has never sailed Seabourn before and wanted to know if frozen cocktails are available. I've never paid attention on my previous Seabourn cruises so couldn't answer her silly question. But apparently she really "needs" her frozen mojitos! 

  4. 50 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

    Thank you for this feedback. These are things that I appreciate knowing with our current status. 
    could you elaborate on the ‘second class citizen’ piece a bit please?  Is it pertaining to restaurant selections, disembarking in ports, even just overall attitude. Thanks again 

    For example, if you are in a veranda cabin, you only get 1 reservation at each of the 4 specialty restaurants for sailings over 7 days. Suite passengers get more plus reservations open earlier for them. Another example which really made me mad was at St Barts, tender was delayed by several hours due to rough seas. We had made private arrangements and wanted to get off as soon as possible. When it was finally cleared, us 2nd class citizens had to line up to get a colored band and wait for the color to be called to for the tender. Meanwhile the penthouse guests could go whenever they wanted. The crew member literally barred me from going to the tender because they hadn't called my color yet. I facetiously asked him would this be the same protocol if we were evacuating? The suites gets in the lifeboats first? There are many more examples. Just left a bad taste.

     

    Also witnessed quite nasty behavior from passengers toward the crew which to be honest can happen on any cruise line but never that many episodes on this one sailing. As well, never sailed with so many old people. I'm no spring chicken at 65 but these passengers were 80s and even 90s. 

  5. I was on Oceania Riviera this Feb, first time ever. While it was enjoyable and someone else paid, I would not willingly book another cruise on them. Main reason being the 600+ more passengers make a big difference! Did not like being treated as second class citizens if one is in just a veranda suite. Service was nice, no complaints but not as refined as Seabourn. Oceania diehards rave about the food and while they have many more specialty restaurants and menu was good, did not find it that exceptional. Had an especially disappointing dinner at the Polo Steak restaurant. Service was inconsistent and food was lukewarm, Maine lobster rubbery.

    • Like 2
  6. We did a post covid cruise on the Ovation Oct 2021 and noticed the decline of service with a lot of inexperience crew members. A slight drop in food quality but it was the drop in service that was very noticeable. Totally understandable since it was one of the first cruises resuming after covid. 
     

    Very interested to find out if everything has improved. Looking forward to our Encore cruise in Feb 2024 Asia cruise. I heard welcome gift of soaps is scraped. Are they still giving out the tote bags? We got one in 2021.

    • Thanks 1
  7. So we were on this itinerary February 2020 and were in Singapore 3 days prior to our cruise enjoying the city and anticipating getting on the brand new Ovation. Less than 24 hrs before boarding we were notified our cruise was cancelled and all cruise lines has stopped operation. We were beyond disappointed of course but had no idea then what was awaiting the world for the next few years.

     

    In October 2021 we decided to go through the hoops and ordeal of cruising during the pandemic. After 4 required covid tests landed in Rome to board the Ovation. Being one of the first ships back at sea, we found the our cruise not up to the standard we expected of Seabourn. It was still a great cruise and if we had no previous Seabourn experience, we would have thought it fantastic. 
     

    Anyhow we have decided to give this Asia itinerary another go. For those of you who have sailed Seabourn pre covid and recently, what are your thoughts on the service and food quality now? Has it improved  or at least returned to pre covid standards? 
     

    Also would appreciate thoughts on this itinerary. Thanks!

     

  8. I just got back from my first Oceania cruise, not my choice but since someone else was paying, I gladly went along. Prior to the cruise, I went on Oceania’s board and read all the raves with many saying they preferred it even to Seabourn, Regent and Silversea, touting O’s superior dining in the Specialty restaurants. Being a Seabourn fan, I was determined not to make comparisons. But once aboard the contrasts were immediate. I did not like how passengers were treated differently according to their cabins, basically 3 classes: Suites, Concierge Verandas and Veranda. We were in a veranda and I felt like I was in steerage. Most insulting was in St Barts, tenders were delayed several hours due to rough seas, when they finally started we had to get tender tickets and wait til our color was called meanwhile, penthouse people got to go whenever they wanted before anyone else. We wondered if in an emergency, would the penthouse people be evacuated first? 
     

    I like how Seabourn treats everyone onboard as valued guests. Service on Oceania was not as good, friendly or refined, even post covid with slippage of standards (we cruised Ovation in the Med Sept 2021) Seabourn’s was better. Also don’t get why people say O’s food is better than Seabourn or other luxury lines, I disagree. Food in Main Dining room quite awful. Specialty restaurants good but not superior. Also you only get 4 reservations unless in suites, so you either eat in MDR or buffet.

    • Like 6
  9. On 1/7/2023 at 1:18 PM, Wrunkles said:

    We have always enjoyed Carambola Beach Club.  They charge $10 each for chair and umbrella.  Includes access to their facilities and wifi.   They do have food and drink available.  We always walk down to the shipwreck beach bar too.

    Did you hire your own taxi to get there? Cost? We would like to go to a beach but not join a tour as we don’t want to stay all day. Thanks.

  10. Have previously sailed Azamara and Seabourn and looking for a quick winter getaway on Riviera in the Caribbean to try Oceania. I have a choice between a veranda on Deck 7 or 8. Does it matter which deck? What about the aft cabins? Thanks!

  11. I didnt say Seabourn deliberately screwed us but they did not handle this properly. We have been in Singapore for three days and it is very safe here. I know someone on Ovation now that boarded Feb 1 from HKG and doing back to back cruise meeting up with us tomorrow. I was just texting her about what to see in Singapore at 12noon local time. She had just received their through sticker on their cabin card. One hour later, they were informed by the Captain the cruise is cancelled. This last minute decision is what I have issue with. The situation did not change in one hour.

  12. We are leaving today for Singapore to board the Ovation on Feb 15 for the revised sailing calling in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia. For those of you conflicted about cancelling your upcoming cruise even at the risk of losing a lot of money, I would advise you to wait until a week prior to your sailing. If there are any concerns Seabourn will do the right thing. They offered us last wednesday a 100% credit towards a future cruise if we cancel or 50% credit for future cruise and $500 onboard credit per cabin if we proceed.

  13. 2 hours ago, 2aussiegolfers said:

    Hi Westiesheepie, 

    We are doing this cruise in December, we have eVisa's for Vietnam, which I sourced myself but we could not get eVisa for Cambodia, I rang and spoke to Seabourn and she said we need a visa for Cambodia even if we are not leaving the ship and that we can get this Visa on the ship, she just put a note on our seabourn account.

    Hope this helps you.

    Thanks 2aussiegolfers! I will try to get the eVisa for Vietnam myself. Please post a review of your cruise when you return. Happy Sailing!

    • Thanks 1
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