ivyleaguegent

On 2/17/2023 at 2:19 PM, Keith1010 said:

First step is book a Crystal cruise.  If you don't do that no need to get your shoes ready.

 

You are spending too much time here not to book the cruise.

 

We have a saying in the USA.

 

Just do it.

As we have done!!

On 2/17/2023 at 2:18 PM, Camillus112 said:

 

Mr. Luxury, I'll see you at the dance floor!

I will see both of you on the dance floor!

On 2/11/2023 at 3:11 PM, Camillus112 said:

 

I don't think there is mention of the Ambassadors program either...dancing was a highlight for me.

I would be very disappointed if ballroom dancing did not return.

On 1/7/2023 at 9:37 AM, PhD-iva said:

My impression (and please correct me if I am wrong) is that the American Express Platinum shipboard credit only applies to certain cruises that have this promotion, not all cruises. Am I mistaken? I hope so!

It only applies to certain cruise LINES.  The cruise line must be part of the program (most are).  Crystal is not part of the program but may be in negotiations to join it. 

19 hours ago, RICHARD@SEA said:

Its probably more advantageous to think about all those CRYSTAL CRUISES passengers that were  burnt by the collapse / bankruptcy of the line & the many many passengers that were & are out thousands of dollars in  booking payments.

 

So basically 2 old ships are rehabbed to accommodate more passengers at higher rates with the premise of paying upfront of deposits without even proving the line can deliver what it promises.

 

Buyer beware!!!

 

It's not just Crystal(old or new) it's how business is conducted today.  A fool & their money will soon be parted!!!

Genting passengers were "burnt by the collapse / bankruptcy of the line & the many many passengers that were & are out thousands of dollars in  booking payments". There are no A & K passengers yet.

Many new cruise lines have received (and future passengers have gladly paid) deposits on an unknown product (for example, Explora, Ritz Carlton ((just recently actually sailed)) and Four Seasons in the near future). Those people made intelligent decisions based on known factors (A & K, Ritz Carlton, and Four Seasons'  history of providing a first class product).

The Seabourn Quest has two hot tubs on a lower deck with numerous lounge chairs on the back of the ship.  I was always the only person there and it was wonderful!

1 minute ago, rallydave said:

Don't forget you are paying the airfare cost as part of your cruise fare with Regent.o  Yes fares are up all over but, Regent won't lose money to you are actually paying those fares and not really saving much if anything,

 

Nothing is free no matter how much the cruise line says it is free!!!!

On Regent the cruise fare is reduced if you do not use the air program.  I calculate the credit for not using the air program as the amount of the airfare, which is substantially less than purchasing business class tickets outside of the program.

On 5/20/2022 at 8:23 PM, labonnevie said:

It also matters what level of air they will be including. We will no longer fly coach/economy for intercontinental flights. We have completed nine Regent cruises and they include business class airfare on intercontinental flights. On the cruises we have not used miles, I have found it is very difficult to match the opt out credit. They also do a very good job of letting us propose airlines, routings and schedule and trying to get them for us. Additionally they allow deviation from their proposed flights for the nominal fee of $175 per person. All in all we are very satisfied with the Regent approach and would welcome it on Seabourn. 

My experience is identical with Regent.  Business class airfare from the US to Europe has become very expensive, almost as much as the cruise fare on a 10 day cruise!  On my recent Regent booking we saved a total of $8,000 using the air program and the flights are convenient although they are one stop each way rather than non-stop.  I will gladly trade a stop each way for $8,000.

8 hours ago, calliopecruiser said:

You never know til you get there.......I cruised with Seabourn and, in spite of their reputation, found them just barely above mediocre. 

I second that opinion, although it may have been the particular ship.  Giving them another try on a different ship.

13 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

How do you know what is the new Crystal experience? Didn’t you just post in another thread that this new Crystal and the other Crystal we knew, are two different companies?. I fail to understand how people are arguing about the excellent experience of the new company if it does not have sailed once 🧐

Ivi

Fair point.  My comments assume that the Crystal experience will equal or exceed that of the past.  There will be plenty of reviews of Crystal well before the cancellation deadline expires on my cruise.

On 2/1/2023 at 6:41 PM, skybluewaters said:

 

But the new entry level suite - the Aquamarine Veranda Suite - is just 323 sq ft.

For comparison, the standard veranda cabin on Seabourn is 300 sq ft.

You're correct that the huge gap is gone, but it still is substantial.  Plus, you're getting a cabin (sorry, a suite) that is only 8% larger than a much lower priced standard veranda cabin on Seabourn.

(Yes, there is a butler on Crystal, but how much is that butler really worth?) 

This analysis assumes that one is comparing similar experiences.  Having sailed both lines I posit that the Crystal experience, in all areas, far exceeds Seabourn.  To quote the ancient adage...."you get what you pay for."

Just booked on 2024 Med/Middle East cruise (my 2023 calendar was completely full). Youza!!!

Good evening,

When and where is there dancing on the Ovation?

Thank you.

I wonder what the dress code will be on the new Four Seasons Cruise Line where it is rumored that the cabins will START at $10,000 per day?  

When I was younger I chafed (literally) at the thought of wearing anything but jeans at dinner be it on land or at sea.  Now, I prefer to get  somewhat dressed up at a fine restaurant or at dinner on an ultra premium segment cruise ship.  Alas, the level of required dress seems to have degraded everywhere.  I, for one, will not govern my conduct by the lowest common denominator.

On 11/3/2022 at 5:04 PM, PhD-iva said:

Embarked About two hours ago on the Mariner. I flew into LA on an early flight, arriving around 715, and I knew I would need to wait about three hours for the transfer to the port. I preferred this to the mid afternoon flight Regent proposed.

It’s risky enough flying in on the day of embarkation, I did not want to schedule an afternoon flight without several hours to spare in case of snafus.

The transfer bus arrived at the port of San Pedro about 30 minutes to an hour prior to the earliest boarding time.
We sat on folding chairs in a large tent and filled out a few paper forms until it was time to start the embarkation process.

The embarkation process was very quick and painless, about half of which was completed in the theater on board the ship. I was on board by 12 noon and was asked to report to my muster station in horizons where they scanned  my card. Done.

Lunch was served in terrace café and waves Grill. As suites become available, announcements are made. I am in the lowest level suite (I was informed that it is not a state room 😀), and I expect to have a 2 1/2 hour wait in total. NP!

ok, more latah!

Robin,

Looking forward to your reports.  We are booked on our first Regent cruise next summer after having had less than stellar experiences on Seabourn and Silversea.  Prior to its demise we sailed almost exclusively on Crystal.

On 10/28/2022 at 3:28 AM, Ovener said:

 

7.     Tours, enrichment, entertainment and crew

Viking is firmly aimed at enrichment rather than entertainment and the cruise very much revolves around destinations and tours. For a seven-day cruise, it feels a bit odd having an overnight onboard in both Athens and Istanbul (as you aren’t doing much cruising) but it certainly helps with seeing more of those cities. However, we had a hotel extension both ends, and it made seeing Athens and Istanbul rather ‘bitty’ with a big pack/unpack session in the middle of each city stop. Viking comes with at least one free excursion per port and we took two of these in Troy and a Bosphorus boat ride in Istanbul. The first was ok, the second great. However, beware any of the tours in Turkey, as they all seem to end up in the guide’s brother-in-law’s rug factory for a demonstration of hard sell, sorry, I mean the ancient art of weaving. Just leave!  I can’t believe how many people actually bought rugs.  

 

 

One perk of the owners suite was a private tour on one day. We did that on Crete to the Arkadi Monastery and Rethymnon with a charming guide and driver and it was superb. 

We didn’t do any Seabourn tours despite booking one on OBC from Sète to Montpellier on our last day (which was cancelled).  We don’t like group tours except where essential, so weren’t too bothered and use the OBC to buy two backpacks. For Brits having to pay in dollars with a weak pound, the prices of the Seabourn tours are shocking in any event.  Seabourn’s destinations were in Spain and France were all great for walking about and sightseeing and there was a free shuttle bus where the port was away from the centre. 

Viking wins in terms of lectures about the destinations - it had a university professor whose explanations of the Ottoman Empire were intelligible and succinct. However, talks were timed to clash with dinner.  Seabourn’s lecturer on Spain / France was less experienced and less able to articulate, though he was really good at mingling with the passengers and unfailingly polite. Viking’s port talks were more professional (with slides in the Theatre - Seabourn’s are small gatherings in the club), but more geared towards selling their better-value tours. 

Where Viking slipped up for us was in its unremitting seriousness. We felt there wasn’t much sense of fun onboard. There was a superb violin/cello duo playing every day, which we loved, and a talented classical pianist. And a great guitarist Explorers Lounge. But it’s all pretty sedate. And there is absolutely nothing to do in the afternoons at all after lunch, save for afternoon tea in the Wintergarden at 4pm. We never understand this afternoon tea thing - why more food so soon before dinner?  But out of boredom we tried it. It was a nice tea, lovely space, absolutely rammed and service was patchy. There was only one pool deck party but this was for Viking regulars so we weren’t invited. We watched from an upper deck but didn’t suffer from too much FOMO. There was meant to be an Abba night in the theatre but this mysteriously disappeared (maybe some entertainers had COVID?). There was a Beatles evening towards the end but we didn’t go. The entertainers we met were very pleasant and welcoming. 

Seabourn had far more arranged in the afternoon. There was entertainment every evening in the theatre (though at 9.45pm we find that rather late) and at least three deck parties, many of which were late afternoon sailaways and very jolly, as we Brits say. The cruise director Ryan was brilliant with passengers and omnipresent. There was far more of a sense you were on holiday, meant to enjoy yourself and the staff wanted you see you have fun. The fact that there were many younger passengers on board helped with this too. I’d reckon the average age on Seabourn was at least five years younger. 

 

Viking wins hands down for still distributing a daily ‘Herald’ equivalent to everyone. We tried the Seabourn App for a few hours, but it’s just not as convenient and quick to scan as the paper Herald, so we stopped by Guest Services and asked for a physical copy each day. This was delivered nightly like the old days (though placed in the cabin – I guess so it doesn’t look too tempting to others in the pigeonhole!).  Highly recommended that you do that. Maybe Seabourn will get the message that just about everyone prefers it.  Viking also provided proper mineral water for excursions, not the foul Seabourn recycled stuff.

Seabourn passengers BTW were considerably more dressy in the evening than Viking ones.  They seemed a bit chattier too, if you like that kind of thing.

The Sojourn’s crew were far more present and engaged than on Viking and the captain much more visible. I wondered whether on Viking they were being cautious due to COVID…we only saw the captain once from afar. We were meant to have been invited to a dinner with the captain and crew as part of the Owners Suite package but the invitation never came. 

 

Most staff onboard Viking Sky and Seabourn Sojourn were absolutely charming. We got special attention on the Sky due to the Owners Suite, but felt just the welcome and level of engagement was just as good on Seabourn.  Viking’s sommelier was incredibly friendly and helpful though. 

 

Both ships are clearly dealing with staff shortages and newbies being trained up, but nothing went awfully wrong.  Seabourn seemed to have a lot more staff around…there was no waiting at all for a drink by the pool and all ordering and drinks were prompt with every meal.  Things took a little longer on Viking.

 

Both Seabourn and Viking seem to leave anything shore-based (i.e. literally the moment you step off) to local agents now. I seem to remember Seabourn had their own crew helping all the way before the pandemic and rather liked that. There’s no big ‘welcome back’ like there used to be.

 

 

8.     To Sum Up….

 

The Viking Sky Owners Suite is the most luxurious suite at sea we have ever experienced or indeed will ever.  The Sky is a lovely ship too and the staff and crew are charming.  Maybe it was the searing heat of Greece and Turkey in August, or the poor dining, or the destinations (Ephesus was amazing though)…but we came back from the vacation a bit tired and disappointed.  I expect had we visited somewhere new, like Iceland, we might have felt different. Then we wondered if, post-pandemic, cruising had just lost its mojo.

 

However, coming back to Seabourn six weeks afterwards, things felt a bit more like the old days.  Granted, there were fewer and newer staff and the normal random selection of niggles, but it still felt a fun, special, luxury experience.  Reading other posts here it seems that - at the moment - everything depends on which Seabourn ship you choose. But Sojourn seemed to have it pretty much all together.  We came back happy and refreshed and felt it the holiday been really good value.

 

I guess we’ve found out that, for us, the cruise line is more important than the suite grade.  We think Seabourn strikes the better balance between enrichment and enjoyment.  So, for the time being, we’ll stick to Seabourn veranda suites. 

 

Happy to do my best to answer questions if you have any!

What were the passenger demographics compared to Seabourn?

Has anyone been on a Viking ocean cruise within the past year?  Would appreciate reviews.

Thank you.

4 hours ago, nancygp said:

While I didn’t care…quite a few passengers we chatted with on our first meet up made sure to tell us (we didn’t inquire) how many days they sailed on seabourn

 

overall, we found the passengers, including many of the frequent SB cruisers delightful and welcoming…very similar  mix to what we typically experienced on crystal

hope this was helpful…Over and out,

 

Nancy

Those were exactly my experiences on both Crystal and Seabourn.

How far in advance of a cruise can one make TK and excursion reservations?

13 hours ago, jsiegel said:

Our experience last night in The Restaurant was awful. We were seated a little after 7 pm. Our water glasses were filled and bread brought over and then we waited and waited and waited for our order to be taken.  Eventually the waiter appeared and took our orders. It was after 8 pm before our appetizers were served.  They were small and quickly consumed and we waited another half hour before our mains came. In the meantime they were turning tables around us, people who arrived long after us finished their desserts before we received our main courses.  We did not finish until 9 pm. We did complain and they stated the kitchen couldn't keep up. 

 

We wish we had the option to try out Earth and Ocean but it continues to be closed.  Tonight is formal night and we anticipate slowdowns in service again and we have an early excursion tomorrow so don't want to be still eating dinner at 9 pm.  The menu in the Collanade tonight is very limited, only three choices for appetizers and two for the main courses. Is that normal? I believe on our last Seabourn cruise in the before times there were more entree options.

 

Other than The Restaurant, we're impressed with the service and friendliness of the staff in the other venues. 

 

Jackie

Ask to be seated in Vanessa's section.

On 10/4/2022 at 9:22 PM, Catlover54 said:

You were on Ovation, as I recall, not the Quest or this cruise.  YMMV.  
Even within one line, ship service and ambience can vary and of course cruises and experiences vary, as I already noted when the travel agent now referred to ( I learn new things every day on these boards, LOL) asked if I was "on a different Quest" .

 

Even on Crystal, I loved the Endeavor, whereas I only liked the Serenity, and was not Diamond or anyone important there.

My status on SB ( including one bag laundry per person per week, yay!) was also earned and not comped.

 

 

BTW, DH and I are about the farthest thing away from being travel agents or anything close.

 

My TA just emailed me that she was told SB has kept many of  their better people on the newer ships ( Encore and Ovation, and now Venture). If I cruise SB again, that is where I will go, but I have many other options.

 

 

 

On the hope that your TA is correct about Seabourn keeping the better staff on the newer ships and from what I have heard from recent cruisers on the newer ships we have booked a cruise at the end of March on the Ovation.  We also have a summer cruise in Europe booked on Regent.  We shall see which experience we enjoy more.

16 hours ago, ciaoYacht said:

Was on Ovation in May/June. First time on Seabourn. Booked again for Feb/Mar I liked it so much! There were a few hiccups w covid recovery and availability of a few things like certain liquor, but certainly never a problem and crew did what they could to make up for it. By far one of the next vacations I’ve ever had and I routinely do land based travel at Four Seasons, etc.. I think it’s at least worth one more chance on your behalf. 

If you enjoy Four Seasons on land you will have the opportunity to enjoy it at sea.  Four Seasons just announced its cruise line starting in 2025.  I don't know what one calls a cruise segment above ultra premium but it appears it will be a catagory unto itself.

1 hour ago, Viking1966 said:

Any waiter's recommend in the main dining room? We will be embarking the Quest on Oct 4th? 

Vanessa 

Good afternoon,

We are thinking about booking a cruise this spring on the ovation. We recently cruised on the Quest and had a less than stellar experience which I understand is an anomaly among Seabourn  ships. If anyone has recently cruised on the ovation we would appreciate your comments about the food, the service, and the ship in general.

Thank you