Bestie098

Sushi is not very hard to get into. You can safely book by calling or attending guest services once you board. Or just turn up at opening time, we never had any trouble getting a table for two. Heck one night, we did sushi, main dining room AND TK in one night because we liked the menu on all of them.

It would be prudent to have a copy of your itinerary or e-Pass in case there is security at the dock. But when you do reach the Seabourn check-in counters, grab a drink and you just need your passport and the Seabourn spirit.

Caviar: saw all things. From people ordering it as an appetiser or extra in between courses in the main dining room to room service at all hours. Or even anytime in between. If you're spontaneous then there is a wait. We found the usual serving size too small so would always ask for caviar for "two" or "four" - one evening they even filled the entire glass bowl! You can always ask for things off menu.

My experience was that none of the cabin preferences were really “communicated” well to the ship and that on check-in, on introduction to our fantastic stewardess, she fixed it up just the way we like it. Ask and you shall receive is often the Seabourn way, although you sometimes need to (gently) ask again.

Same with the mini-bar. A quick word, written note on the bed or phone call to guest services and all is usually made right.

*blinks*

Some people packed a full tux. If you’re struggling a sports or travel jacket will do for even formal night. Iron free shirts are the way to go. And layering with a merino thermal base layer(s)

Wear an overcoat if you really need to pack such a bulky item. Two dozen shirts? Our rule is 3 days worth of clothes.

A Seabourn handbag and samsonite carry-on + small backpack has lasted 3 weeks.

You will not need the dinner suit. However it is entirely up to you as others will and others will not pack one.

Thank you Mr L. Agreed on all counts.

Our lunch hostess at sushi Was happy to take a nigiri request. They do maki so all I did was ask nicely.

I haven’t gotten around to a review yet.

For Montserrat, the guiding is just at the beginning and also enroute. Then you’re left on your own to explore. The Black Madonna lines are stupidly long and if there is a mass service it closes. Check the sign early at the queue and dump the guide early or you won’t have time to see it, despite the 2-3 hours you have there - there was a church service from 1030-1200 (you’re there from 1000-1330) and the 12pm queue is over an hour.

Cava was good value and better value if you know your wine.

Or sometimes they do a sail away from another port where the ship docks

Off the top of my head it was Patron and Don Julio. The entry level although they had both anejo and reposado one evening.

Herradura anejo was on the paid list if I recall correctly

Gym is great and they have the aircon full blast which you needed today, it’s blazing hot.

 

Sushi is on the list, we nearly did the kaiseki last night but went to the MDR and had a much better dinner than first night and some lovely company.

 

The Tim Rice show was very good, felt a little sorry for the cast having to do it again 20 minutes after the first performance.

 

Tonight TK so we’re saving the day’s calorie budget, however the wraps at lunch around the packed pool grill were too tempting not to try.

 

Room stewardess has been perfect and even scored us up the current wine list which I’ll post later.

Ooo... re: wines - we found the Louis Latour Chardonnay and the Castlerock Pinot Noir to be our two favourites on the complimentary list. And several others were also regularly ordering them.

Random notes we discovered:

The teas in the observation bar was the best - proper loose leaf tea. Even TK were onto teabags and our waiter was kind enough to arrange a pot from the O bar just for us at dinner time. We managed a pot of tea outsides afternoon tea time by asking nicely specifically what we wanted and that it was available at the O bar.

- the restaurant did send courses on the main nightly menu to our room via room service if we were already dining and didn’t want to wait. Usually dessert. We didn’t do this often.

- the O bar also had the best complimentary liquor range. Some very drinkable single domain cognac and gin. You can specify what vodka or gin also for cocktails as the house pour varies from Bombay sapphire to Hendricks to Tanqueray 10 - all on the included list.

Regardless of some of the negative things I have said very recently about Seabourn, I do have to come to their defense on this one. I have never felt that anyone was ever waiting for a tip from me. There is never that awkward waiting around for a handshake with a folded up bill.

This. We just disembarked from Seabourn. And this is exactly our experience. A tip is neither expected and the service remains the same. As Australians, we’re used to this (just not the level of exemplerary service).

Our cabin attendant did appreciate the personalised notes we wrote thanking her and our comments to guest services we hope were forwarded on.

CD is Chris Harley.

And we often walked into the TK at 6pm and got lucky. Several of us dined twice or more in 10 days.

The WIFI is terrrible on Encore. Don’t do it. We did better using our mobiles or iPads on roaming. It’s okay for whatsapp but terrible slow for internet. Think old dial-up modem 14.4k speed days. Cost is exorbitant but ok if you buy $19.95 for 2 hours and log on for 5 minutes at a time to download the odd email.

The jumbo shrimps, rib eye and lamb chops were the best dishes. Followed by the Dover sole and the Lobster. Stay well away from the artichoke. Caesar salad was not the best I had with too much Lemon and overrated. But lots of flair with table side preparation. We tried almost all the dishes and if you can eat it, you can order more than one main per person!

The very few times i had an issue, I logged onto Seabourn Source (log-on to Seabourn ship’s in-house wifi and type login.com)

Click Feedback and within hours or the very next day, guest services had emailed the relevant department manager who phoned to address the issues. You can also address things directly with guest services over the phone or in the Seabourn Square.

We used the feedback service more to send compliments than complaints. The Seabourn staff really do deserve the former.

The cruise documentation (and guest services) will confirm whether tipping is expected. Whilst our documentation suggested that the tour guides, being all outsourced locally do expect tips, my experience (in the Med) is that this was variable and may cruisers did not.

Nobody on board requests nor asks for a tip and there is a communal crew fund. We did (as did many others) leave something for our cabin stewardess on our last evening with a personalised note.

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Hello

Greetings from fellow Australians and currently onboard in the Med on Encore.

On a hot cruise (and temperatures have been 30+ and humid), a jacket is entirely optional except in the main dining room on formal night. Quite a number of people wear “anything with a collared shirt” from dress shirts and sports jackets to a short sleeved polo and linen pants.

Nobody, and I mean nobody has commented on anyone else’s dress code and after the first night or two, have stopped noticing. The majority tend to be a long sleeved dress or business shirt and long pants for men and a nice dress/blouse + skirt for ladies regardless of venue after 6pm and people have left to get “changed” at this time. Boat shoes and loafers are also worn commonly.

You won’t need a Jacket but a sports jacket wont’ go amiss and easily carried.

Not many are in a tuxedo although they did all come out on formal night.

During the day, it’s whatever you want as comfortable although short of the pool deck, I haven’t spotted a singlet.

Indian Visa - apply as you would normally and have it in your passport? Well in advance?

You can order caviar when and if you like. The other day, we asked for caviar without the condiments to go as a “side”. Several tables, particularly the Japanese contingent have been taking to ordering it as a second course. It’s not on any menu but can be ordered whenever. We’ve done 2am and breakfast, lunch, evening etc...

You can also mix/match at dinner. Liked the basil sorbet that went with the first course? We had two scoops of it for dessert. Like the main choices? Asked for them as two entree sized courses.

We’ve taken to half serve of ramen (small bowl) ; plate of the pork gyoza and the mushrooms on their own for lunch as our favourite custom menu.

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Agreed the service at the restaurant has been a bit of a mixed bag. Once chased down, they have been very polite. Our swordfish was also way too salty and I returned half of it unfinished. Winners were the jumbo prawns in TK, the lobster wasn’t too bad. Venison has been over cooked although the duck, which I suspect was sous vide has been delightful.

And Nikolai who is going back to the Quest for Antartica does fantastic ice cocktails up on the sky bar. Raspberry and apricot creation is going down a treat given it’s hot and humid.

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Agreed! On a med cruise and had reasonable service at the TK. Nothing out of the ordinary. Sommelier was friendly as were the waitstaff. Especially as we were a walk in!

We did get asked to vacate the table after a few hours and have drinks on the house. We saw the irony in that and gladly complied.

Med or elsewhere, I have used Luggage Forward for clothes packed in my suitcase and a local shoreside post office for letters and boxes to be mailed home. Does that help?

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Thank you! I’ll ask Seabourn Square and also look into the nearest post office at Valletta which is one of our few non-tender ports.

Has anyone ever enquired or looked into the possibility of posting souvenirs or excessive baggage (eg. Clothes) from Seabourn Square?

We’ve accumulated a number of brochures, hotel gifts that make carry-on baggage somewhat difficult for later parts of the holiday and wondering if we can just post the excess back home.

Ps. We’ll be on Encore in the Med

Not to mention virtuoso perks. If you pick a virtuoso agent.

And don’t forget the referral coupon thread.

Lastly, they can confirm and guide you in cruise selection. It’s not like you pay them. Cruise booking commissions are significant and you can choose between Seabourn or a TA having the cut and service

Re: camera shake. It is the inverse of the focal length. However, unless you have steady hands, it may also be prudent to hard a half stop.

Also take into account the subject. Food photography you can use 1/15 with steady hands and image stabilisation. It doesn’t move. People and landscapes with wind will. 1/125 or faster is usually safe except for kids where I would shoot 1/250.

Autofocus - the cameras are smart. Yes you can do spot focus but technology has gotten good enough I just let it work.

You can save in both RAW and jpeg simultaneously. JPEG for instagram and quick wifi transfer. RAW for post processing if you ever want to take it to print.

Above all, just do it. Have fun. Experiment with aperture. Shutter speed. Exposure compensation. White balance - you can fix post processing. Usually.

Hi there from Australia!

You’d be young.

But as they say, manners maketh man.

So only you can answer the question. Seabourn doesn’t discriminate when you book.

Beer pong, loud raucous behaviour dressed in singlet, shorts with beer in hand (nothing wrong with the latter on its own) might not go down well.

I think if you enjoyed windstar, from

What I’ve heard you’ll go ok.

I think also depends on the weather.

One caught my eye. I the the Gozo 4x4 photography tour. But something about an open top tour in August Gozo heat didn’t seem quite as appealing.

We board in Monaco next week so also interested to hear what we’re in for.

Still,looking forward to the cruise

We did end up packing it and will be trying it out mostly during the day. And also for lunch today given how stifling and balmy London has been of late.

Rest assured we have appropriate little black dresses or cocktail wear for TK or dinner. We enjoy dressing up and have no desire to test the limits. We’re on Seabourn to cruise, holiday, wine and dine

Hmm. Yay or nay ��

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2650780

Might be similar to the one(s) found on Encore? *edit - sorry the link above is wine only*

I'm sure if you really like something you can always ring Seabourn or email customer service and see whether they can put it in your MiniBar or if it's not inclusive, what the charge would be.