Scott1sh

This sounds very interesting indeed. I wonder when pricing will be released.

Stayed in 803 on the Odyssey and didn't feel that the view was obstructed.

On our Seabourn Odyssey trip, there was a wonderful drinks server named Henry who was British-- such a lively and fun guy! That you, Henry?

+1 for Henry. A great guy and an asset to Seabourn.

If this statement is true, then why does the Chef bother to go into each port and buy fresh local ingredients to prepare meals back on the ship? Why does the chef take Seabourn passengers with him on his "shopping with the chef" trips? Perhaps if you had participated then you could have asked the Chef directly? But maybe it is easier to make wrong assumptions and complain after the fact?

I spent quite a lot of time chatting with the chef on the Odyssey in May. He told me that HQ dictate the menus for six out of seven of the evening meals in the MDR. The only true flexibility he has is for the weekly gala / celebration meal and this is where he uses his purchases from shopping with the chef. I'm not sure if this applies to The Colonnade as well but I can assure that it IS the case for the MDR.

Thanks Chairsin! It will be good to know for the next trip (not yet booked but I am dying to go to Antarctica).

Scottish, sorry about your disappointment but just because there was a buffet it did not mean you had to serve yourself. All you had to do was ask your waiter what was available and they would have been more than happy to bring it to your table.

Thanks for the advice Chairsin, but to me it's just not the same. I want to sit at a table, read a menu and place an order. I don't mind a buffet from time to time but - IMHO - a luxury line such as Seabourn should offer restaurant-style service for all meals. Interestingly, their printed brochure suggests that the MDR is open for all meals, and I did point this out on the post-cruise survey.

Apart from this gripe (and the much-discussed issue of smoking) I loved everything else about Seabourn! For me the perfect cruise line would comprise Crystal's amenities (promenade deck, cinema, larger ship = more facilities), Seabourn's cabins and service style and lastly, Silversea's restaurant opening hours (breakfast lunch AND dinner!).

We did a week from Venice to Athens on the Odyssey and the dining room NEVER opened for breakfast or lunch. I am not a big fan of buffets and - as a first timer on Seabourn - this was my biggest gripe. Even mass market lines such as P&O open their dining rooms three times a day (four if you count afternoon tea) and I was really really disappointed that Seabourn chose not to.

I can assure you that Adonia bears very little resemblance to any Seabourn vessel. Chalk and cheese!

I think it is around £7 per class

We will be in Triluke Bay on the Odyssey on May 17th, so it won't officially be summer. Not afraid of a bit of cold water, I'd still love it if they ran a marina day. How likely do you think this will be?

How much roughly does a shopping with the chef excursion cost?

I would opt for the Camogli, San Fruttuoso and Portofino option, three very beautiful yet very different places to visit.

San Fruttuoso bay

A beautiful part of the world. We tendered in from The Spirit and have visited many times since.

If you have time, take a boat to San Fruttuoso, a bay accessible only by boat (or on foot) where you will find a beautiful beach, an abbey and several lovely restaurants.

The dining room is closed for breakfast and lunch? Is that set in stone? I am not a fan of buffets and will be very very disappointed if I have to self-serve for two meals a day.

Thanks Mr Luxury. I think SS has a great product but it's in the wrong hands. To give context we tried Crystal last year and felt that it surpassed SS in almost every aspect, so we are excited to be trying Seabourn.

My med cruise (Odyssey - 7 nights) decreased in price by $500pp over the weekend according to Seabourn's website. I contacted my (UK based) TA who got in touch with Seabourn. They were happy to give me the new price and retain all existing benefits including OBC.

In terms of the competition this brings the price way lower than a similar cruise on Silversea.

This will be my first trip on Seabourn but, needless to say, so far I'm impressed.

Dusababy thanks for the detailed update. It sounds like SS has a commercial strategy which will ultimately involve pushing guests to their limits in terms of service reduction. We were undecided between Venice to Rome on The Cloud or a similar itinerary with Seabourn. I don't want to be anybody's cost-saving guinea pig and am therefore even happier that we plumped for Seabourn. The fact that is was a) marginally cheaper than SS and b) we have secured $700 OBC via TA and referral program further sweetens the deal.

We have a referral coupon for first time Seabourn guests who have not made their final payment yet. If interested, please email me: mylittlepiranha at yahoo dot co dot uk

lori22 I have just sent you an e-mail.

Oh no, what a shame. Do keep us updated.

I would choose 608 as you will be further away from potential anchor / bow thruster noise.

I have been in 618 and 620 - both perfectly fine.

I was also on this cruise and agree that it had good and

not-so-good points. However we booked last minute and paid less than £550 for a balcony cabin. For me, that represents excellent value and I am a big believer in you get what you pay for.

That said, I found the CD and his "troupe" very tacky indeed and thought the great British sail away excruciatingly bad. What must the Norwegians have thought?! I guess it just goes to show, experience and tastes are subjective and personal.

Yes it does ... thanks for taking trouble!

 

If you had exactly the same budget, and if the itineraries were identical, so that you could presumably upgrade the suite on Crystal and spend on other things ... which would you choose?

 

Thanks.

 

Jeff

Jeff - that would be a lovely problem to have. Right now I'd say Crystal.

Scott1sh,

 

 

 

As for SS one real bug bear for us is they nickel and dime you for the internet, my better half is also annoyed that the on board credit has disappeared certainly on the last cruises we have booked.

 

Thank you once again. ;)

We didn't use the internet on board either line. That said, you can use your wireless device (ipad, android etc.) on Crystal to access movies on demand, replays of shipboard lectures and also to download local newspapers. All of this is at no cost and the system worked well.

I can't recall what the cost of internet was on Crystal, but 2nd time cruisers are now being offered 1 hour each per segment.

Regarding OBC, if you are a first time cruiser on Crystal, you can search for a sponsor on Crystal's forum under Share The Experience thread (STEX). We did this and ended up with $200 OBC which used for one excursion and some laundry. We met our sponsors onboard - they also get $200 - and gave them a box of chocolates for their trouble. I'm glad we arrived prepared as they also had a small gift for us!

Incidentally, the last time we used the laundry service on SS they actually lost a few of our items. The reason we had to use it was because our balcony was filthy and we sat on the chairs without checking! We were offered compensation for the two cashmere jumpers which they had lost, but it took the purser a very long time to work out how to actually get the money to us. Very very frustrating...