ivyleaguegent

11 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

The assigned beverage waiter first offered us the same  pinot noir from yesterday DH had tried and sent back as a "beautiful wine" selected for the day, and we told him we were actually interested in the pairing wines.  He then said he would send a sommelier.  He sent a woman who is apparently in training, (hair poorly combed and  in her face, mask way under her nose, looking very unhappy, and clearly unsure what to do).  She looked at the pairing menu in confusion, stated the obvious, (e.g., namely, that the pairing wines listed were premium and not complimentary), and then asked us *which* of the wines we would like with our meal. DH tried to explained that we were interested in the *pairing sequence*, and not just a whole bottle of one of the premium wines (which were not even priced individually on the pairing menu, there was just one price of $195) , to go with the multicourse meal.  I asked how large the wine pours would be , e.g., if they would be 2 ounzes (common with complex pairings) , 3 ounzes, or what (or what they would be in cc)? She said she'd have to "get the sommelier" (which we thought she was supposed to be).

 

And send him she did! You could actually smell him coming from 30 feet away! He was a pleasant enthusiastic young man, but wearing an overwhelming amount of very fragrant sickly sweet aftershave that frankly did not pair well at all with the wines or the foods that were eventually brought.  

So every time he came over for a new pour, or to see if we were enjoying our pairings, DH and I had to restrain ourselves  from gagging and for the  first time on any cruise since we restarted cruising summer 2021, we missed not wearing an N95 mask (though that probably would not have done the trick -- given the intensity of the aftershave we would have needed something closer to a hazmat suit).  We both hoped the somm would just stop talking in detail about the wines he brought each time,  and leave as soon as possible.  This was especially true since he was giving us very primitive information anyway and really not catching on to repeated statements and attempts at conversation by DH that would have, at least to a better trained  somm who was paying attention, indicated he was dealing with a guest who is not a novice to wine, so wine baby talk should have been avoided. He  just had his simple bit to say and was going to recite it no matter what.

 

He also dropped an empty glass on the floor , spilled a half full glass, and struggled with the Coravin style volume allocator he was using, and landed up spraying wine droplets all over the inside of the glass all the way to the top, thus disrupting the aesthetics of what could have  been a beautiful glass with a couple ounzes of beautifully colored wines towards the bottom.

 

There did not appear to be very many people who ordered the pairing -- in our section of the room, looking around at about 40 guests, there were none.

 

This morning, a busy-appearing staff man came in with the room service tray, plopped it on the side table, said "enjoy your breakfast", and quickly left -- no set-up, no checking for completeness.  

 

Tonight dinner service was worse as it also affected the food  (I will skip the absurd details, they are too ridiculous). We then had a talk with the maitre'D.  At first he acted as if it was news to him that there are service or staffing problems .  Then (while wearing  his mask well below his nose, as do many staff ) he finally admitted that 12 chefs are out with Covid and there are many new staff in training (including the faux assistant lady somm from last night -- this is actually her first cruise). We told him that though we appreciate the challenges of Covid, we have done multiple luxury cruises on other ships (all but one luxury) *since Covid*, and at least in our experience, the dining room and other service has somehow managed to be better.  

 

He apologized and stated he appreciates the feedback (including about the aftershave!).  I felt a bit sorry for him, as there is so much he can do with the money and staff he is given, especially when pax won't say anything (perhaps because they're happy just to be going anywhere right now).

It is simply astounding to me that after months and months of Seabourn being advised of multiple problems with the Quest they remain uncorrected, yet these issues do not seem to exist on the other ships in the line.

15 hours ago, Ross4356 said:

CatLover54, enjoying your post. A question for you? Is The Main Restaurant opened for breakfast and lunch by during your cruise? 

On the Montreal to NYC cruise in early September the Dining Room was not open for breakfast or dinner.

On 9/9/2022 at 8:56 PM, jessandarnie said:

Oh gee, we are booked on the YVR-LAX cruise also. We are from Australia, and of course a cruise like this with Regent is not cheap for us!
We have high expectations as we have heard of Regent being a leader in this class of cruise experience.

We have done an Alaskan cruise previously in September, the weather perfect, but realise this is not always the case. This was a cruise line that was a fraction of the cost of Regent but met all our expectations back years ago.

 

We are older now, and probably have expectations of spoiling ourselves on this cruise. And of course Alaska being famous for its seafood, Salmon and Halibut and crab, we were hoping to enjoy the fruits of their seas. Also we are looking forward to some of their rundown culinary delights, and wines throughout the world whereas we are not normally exposed to.

 

I certainly hope this Regent cruise lives up to what we are hoping for??

after reading this..I am now a little anxious.

 

Don’t be. Remember, this website is called “CruiseCRITIC” not “Cruise Enthusiast. One of the frequent posters on the ultra premium cruise segment boards has an 80/20 rule which, from my many years of reading this website, appears to be accurate.

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Which venue

Colonnade and Earth and Ocean. I think they are all made at Earth and Ocean. 

Does anyone know if Regent typically stocks German Rieslings on board? Crystal did but Seabourn doesn’t.

Thank you. 

The cheeseburgers. The best I have ever had on a cruise ship. 

I have never used a cruise line's air program before but the business class airfare for an upcoming Regent cruise I am planning is 1/3 of what it would be if purchase directly from the airline. Are the airlines chosen by Regent usually major air carriers as opposed to startup or discount carriers? Do they choose nonstop flights when available? If a nonstop flight is not available do they choose flights with the least amount of stops?

Thank you.

2 hours ago, kjbacon said:

We were on the Quest just before you were and it was a disappointment for us. We far prefer Regent for being all inclusive, better shorex, service, food, wine, cabins, and public venues … everything!

 

We have an upcoming booking on the Mariner so this caught my eye. Why do you prefer Splendor so decisively over Mariner?

Just booked the Mariner for next summer. I had met four different couples traveling separately while on the Quest who had sailed on Regent within the past six months. All four couples strongly preferred  the Regent. 

Hello,

We are Crystal refugees looking for a new home.  Just got off of a 12 day cruise on Seabourn Quest (we posted a thorough review on the Seabourn CC Board).  We are in the process of booking our next cruise to Europe on either Silversea or Regent and would appreciate any comparison of Regent (particularly the Navigator) to Silversea and Seabourn from folks who were recently on one of those lines and are frequent or infrequent Regent cruisers.

Thank you.

1 hour ago, alexander51 said:

We were on the Quest, Dover to New York, and while the service noticeably improved just over those weeks, I was reminded of the answer I got when I joined a company and asked how many worked there: "About half." Actually, it wasn't that the waitstaff wasn't working hard, it was that half were experienced and smart (including Vanessa!) and half were clearly inexperienced and struggling. They lacked the traditional Seabourn radar to scan the tables and anticipate needs (like refilling water or wine, or spotting guests who couldn't even place an order) and they didn't attempt many of the flourishes of old. (When my wife left the table briefly once and a waiter quickly replaced her used napkin with a new folded one, it was a one-time reminder of days of yore: not necessary, of course, but part of what was once the wow factor in luxury cruising and missing since the pandemic.) We still had a great time and are returning to Quest in January, but I hope the steady increase toward normal staffing levels during our cruise and continued training will keep edging the line closer to what it was pre-Covid. I thought the middle management supervisors were also a mixed bag, from those who pitched in when needed, remembered guests, and anticipated needs, to those who didn't seem to supervise (or help) very much. Sometimes they just seemed to be staring at the sky. I called them bird watchers.

I will be very interested to hear about your experience in January.

1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

Seabourn are well aware of the problems that the Quest has been having and they have sent key personnel to put things right.

The other ships in the fleet have had no such problems.

The hospitality industry is lacking in workers at present and most establishments on land or at sea are having some adjustment to their working life.

I suppose that we all must be patient while everything gets up to speed.

It appears that SilverSea, Regent, and the other Seabourn ships have already made the necessary adjustments, and as you state Seabourn has known about the problems aboard the Quest for months.  It had no problem charging a premium cost for a far from premium product.  Frankly, it should give all of the passengers on the Dover to Montreal leg and the Montreal to NY leg a partial voucher for a future cruise considering the level of service (or lack thereof).

DW and I just returned from a 12 day cruise to the Canadian maritime provinces on the Seabourn quest. This was our first cruise on the Seabourn line. Prior to COVID we frequently cruised on SilverSea and Crystal.

The ship was beautifully designed, very well-maintained, and immaculate. The standard balcony cabin was materially larger than the same cabin on Crystal. It was well designed and had a surprisingly large amount of storage before including the walk-in closet. The bathroom was relatively spacious with dual sinks, walk-in shower, and a separate full-size tub (I would rather have omitted the tub and made a larger shower or had a larger tub/shower combination with a glass door but that's just one person's preference). The main pool area had 2 whirlpool tubs and a pool with a substantial surrounding sun shelf. Again, really well designed. There was an outdoor area aft of deck five that had two smaller whirlpools and a small pool as well as chaise lounges,  couches and chairs. Very few people ever used this area and was like having the ship to ourselves.

The cruise director, JP, and the assistant cruise director, Olivia, were energized, engaging, and always helpful. I am not generally a fan of shows on cruise ships but the production singers and dancers were excellent and the trio, the cruise band, and the guitarist/keyboardist at the Observation Bar were very good. The lecturers, a husband and wife team of physics professors at a Canadian university, were interesting.

The food was good but not great, similar to SilverSea but a step down from Crystal. However, I do not expect cruise ship food to be the level of a Michelin starred restaurant on land. The food at the TK Restaurant was a step above the  Dining Room. The food selection at the Dining Room, the Colonnade, and  Earth and Ocean should have been substantially larger. I am far from a wine connoisseur but some of my fellow passengers who are commented that both the complementary and premium wine lists were deficient for an ultra-premium cruise line. There was not one German Riesling (the only wine I drink) on either the standard or premium wine lists which was surprising given that the cruise director is German. Both SilverSea and Crystal had a number of German Rieslings on their complementary wine list. I ended up buying several bottles of Riesling in port and carrying them back and forth to dinner which made for some interesting looks from our fellow passengers. Hopefully they thought I was a wine snob and not an alcoholic… lol.

Unfortunately, the service throughout the ship was abysmal (with the exception of my two cabin stewardesses who were excellent). Dirty appetizer dishes remained on the table for one half hour at a time in the Dining Room. It required semaphore flags (note the nautical reference) to attract a waiter or a busboy. This was somewhat alleviated towards the end of the cruise when a server named Vanessa, who should be immediately promoted, was moved from the Earth and Ocean to the Dining Room. She was excellent, attentive, engaging, and remembered my drink preferences from the prior evenings. Of course I commented to the Dining Room manager on how well Vanessa was performing and requested a table in her section each night thereafter.  There were three hour periods on numerous days where no clean pool towels were brought to the pool. Again, it took semaphore flags to waive down a server at the pool to get a drink.  None of the pool servers remembered my standard drink from one day to the next. This was not my experience on either SilverSea or Crystal where the dining room staff and pool severs new my preferences by the second day of the cruise.

Our opinion regarding the service was shared by many passengers we spoke with. One couple who had over 500 days cruising with Seabourn stated that the service was the worst of any of their cruises. This is not a COVID issue since that same couple had concluded a Seabourn cruise on another ship just three days prior to this cruise and stated that the service on that ship was equal to their pre-COVID cruises. Three couples I spoke with, who were not cruising together, cruised on Regent within three months of this cruise and stated that the service was equal to or better than the service on Regent pre-COVID.

Odds and ends:

The hamburgers and iced tea on the ship were the best I have ever had on a cruise line. The bath towels were tiny and thin unbefitting an ultra-premium cruise line, although the pool towels were nice. When the band was set up on the pool deck for sail-away parties it was set up between the whirlpools and they were closed at that time. One of my favorite things to do on a cruise ship when leaving port is to watch the scenery go by from a whirlpool. The band should have been set up in a different location. The last night of the cruise was a "parade of officers." I thought this was bogus and reminded me of the parade of servers with trays of baked alaska on their heads that occur on mass-market cruise ships. The dance floor at the Club was far too small. We enjoyed interacting with our fellow passengers and made a number of new friends who we will definitely keep in contact with.

3 hours ago, JodiandFrank said:

Oh, no!!!  Our hotels are a block from each other so I’ll scout the neighborhood for someplace good.  Worse comes to worse we’ve got the hotels.

    Any chance your initials are LL???

Hugs, Jodi

Check Facebook Messenger. 

6 hours ago, JodiandFrank said:

We are doing a “Beyond the Bagel” tour and visiting all the famous bagel spots in Montreal that morning…for four hours!!  Montreal is very proud of their bagels!  But, how about meeting on Sunday morning?  Check out “Olive Et Gourmando”.  Supposed to be a great place for breakfast…..

It says on it’s website that the dining room is presently closed and the Internet says the restaurant is closed on Sunday even for takeout.

35 minutes ago, JodiandFrank said:

Not sure how to give you my info without posting it for the world to see!  What time on Friday do you arrive?  What hotel will you be at?  

We arrive at the airport at 6:00 pm.  We are staying at the Sofitel.  Perhaps meet for breakfast Saturday morning at one of our hotels?

3 hours ago, JodiandFrank said:

Are you on the Montreal to NYC Cruise?  We leave Friday for 3 nights in Montreal before boarding the 12 night cruise…  We have used the laundry bag in the past and paid the $50.  Definitely worth it!  
if we are on the same cruise, let’s meet in Montreal for a coffee (or more!).  We are staying at the Ritz Carlton and should be arriving Friday morning at 10:30am into YUL from LGA if all goes well…..

JodiandFrank,

Yes, we are on that cruise and will be arriving in Montreal this Friday evening.  Would love to connect.  I tried sending a private message on this board but received a "Feature disabled" error message.

Thoughts?

Gentle Cruise Critic Members,

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.  We will be cruising for 12 days and staying at the embarkation city 3 nights prior to the cruise.  We do not have the complementary laundry service.  Would you pack for the entire trip assuming that laundry is never done or pack assuming that you will send laundry out to the ship at least once during the cruise.

Thank you for your input.

Gentle Cruise Critic Members,

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.  We will be cruising for 12 days and staying at the embarkation city 3 nights prior to the cruise.  We are first time Seabourn cruisers and therefore do not have the complementary laundry service.  Would you pack for the entire trip assuming that laundry is never done or pack assuming that you will send laundry out to the ship at least once during the cruise.

Thank you for your input.

Good afternoon,

Are there refrigerators in the Sky Suites on the Apex?

Thank you.

Good evening,

Is there dancing before and/or after dinner and if so where?  What activities are offered on sea days?

Thank you.

If there are open cabins when the ship sails does Seabourn have any type of program for upgrading cabins?

If there are open cabins when the ship sails does Seabourn have any type of program for upgrading cabins?

Good evening,

What has the occupancy rates been on the ships for the past several months?

Thank you.

On 7/17/2022 at 7:51 PM, labonnevie said:

Excellent, so there will be at least 20 passengers on board!😊

Could you join the roll call?

I joined the roll call on Facebook but very few others have.  I would be happy with on a ship with only 20 passengers.........LOL.

We are also doing Montreal to NYC.