santos949

3 hours ago, 2SailingNomads said:

No idea why you quoted me, my comments were 90% positive but I do notice things different here than on other luxury lines. Yet to meet the F&B or Hotel Manager or whatever they call themselves here, no on-deck activities, etc.  (Regent, Crystal, Seabourn, Scenic all have those)   Food and service has been very good, but definitely some quirks I am glad you love it and have found your ideal ship.  BTW the correct spelling is Seabourn, or maybe you were on a different line..  

I quoted you because your comments were so positive and your views seem to align with mine.  No offense intended... 

On 4/27/2024 at 7:25 PM, 2SailingNomads said:

We boarded in Vancouver and had 290 fellow pax to Honolulu. Have gotten multiple answers as to how many are going back to Vancouver. Will find out more later.  

 

Have found the food, which is subjective, to be some of the best we have had with over 600 nights of sailing on luxury lines. Love all the bar options.  Crew are extremely friendly.

 

Dislike limited included spirits options although vodka choices are 2 of the 3 I normally drink. Included wines certainly could be better. Lack of shade on outside decks is a big problem as been noted by others.  Stupid design of switch to turn on the bathroom light outside the bathroom.  No option of course by course room service from one of the restaurants for dinner.

 

We disembarked in Vancouver (from Los Angeles to Vancouver).  We are seasoned cruisers--having cruised 85 times, ranging from Carnival in our younger days to Silversea, Seabourne, Crystal and Regent in our retired years.

Without a doubt, Explora is now our favorite.  We booked another cruise while on board and I check daily for their new releases.  We intend to take all of the cruises we currently have booked on Silversea and Celebrity, and then concentrate solely on Explora.  That is how impressed we were.

I am amazed at the negative comments about this cruise line.  I cannot imagine how it could get any better.

1 hour ago, Sea saw 56 said:

Seabourne is not owned by NCLH.  Regent Seven Seas and Oceania are the other two lines besides Norwegian.

Thank you for the correction.  Both Regent and Oceania are "one and done" for us.  There are just so many great cruise lines to choose from.  Like I said....a personal preference.

This was a great review!  You have a precious family and obviously have a lot of fun together.

We just got off of the Breakaway today and, while the crew was amazing and the ship spotless, we will probably not be booking NCL again.  It was not our first cruise.  It was our 83rd cruise.  We have cruised every line except Viking and Virgin.

I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke and just could not seem to get away from it on the Breakaway.  The casino is open to decks 6, 7 and 8 and the smoke lingers unless you are at the extreme front and back of decks 6,7 and 8.  We had booked the specialty restaurants and had to request seating as far from the atrium area as possible in order to avoid the smell of cigarettes.

Our room was on deck 9 (cabin 9798) and it literally shook every night with the booming music from the deck below us.  I never found out what was below us that could produce such vibrations... so much so that our bed shook and the glasses in the bathroom rattled.  Thank goodness it stopped very night by 10:30.  Be careful when you book your cabin on this ship.  Check what is above you and what is below you.

Disembarkation was a zoo.  We live in New Orleans so we chose self-assist.  The elevators (only forward bank of elevators were being used).  It was a log jam of unbelievable magnitude.  We all finally got smart and got on the "up" elevators, and went to the 15th floor so we could travel back to the 7th floor where we were disembarking.

I do not want to sound like I am all negative.  The two fitness instructors (Daniel and Jean) were some of the best I have ever had on a cruise ship.  The gym is well equipped and very large. The bartenders outside of Cagney's were friendly and knew our names after 2 nights.  Our food in Moderno's, Cagney's and Le Bistro was second to none.  We also discovered the banana split in O'Sheehan's.  Yummy!

I think NCL could easily improve in some areas.  We have cruised Seabourn (owned by NCL and considered 6 star), so they know how to provide a good product.  Seabourn is one of my favorites!

I know cruising (just like food choice) is a personal thing, so many people will cruise NCL Breakaway again and again.

This is just my observations.... 

This is my third Windstar cruise that has been canceled.  Never again!  Fool me once,...

We just returned from this cruise on the Oceania Riviera.  A little background may be necessary here in order to understand my comments.  This was our 79th cruise.  We have sailed every cruise line except Viking Ocean, Windstar, MSC and a few of the lesser known brands.  This was our first Oceania cruise.  I organized this cruise  for 12 individuals (good friends).

The POSITIVES: (1). The crew was amazing.  They could not have been nicer, more helpful, more respectful.  They were a pleasure to be around.  (2).  The food in Red Ginger was some of the best Asian food I have ever eaten.  I can still taste the crispy duck/watermelon salad.  WOW! (3).   The guests on the cruise were really friendly and genuinely nice to be around.  (4). The ship was absolutely beautiful and spotlessly clean.  I could eat off of the floor...even in the workout center.  Our cabin (concierge level) was well appointed and simply gorgeous.

The NEGATIVES: (1).  The cruise was exceptionally boring until we arrived in Charleston.  There were 12 of us traveling together and we played cards and played cards and played cards...  I am not someone who has to be entertained, but this cruise just seemed long.  Usually I hate to see a cruise end, but I could not wait to get home.  (2). The food was adequate, but not anything special.  I know food is subjective, so I will not elaborate.  (3). One of our group of 12 got covid and was isolated, as she should have been.  She said the medical staff was amazing, but communication from the upper level staff was seriously lacking.  The couple (wife had covid/husband tested negative) did not know what was going on, once they were confined to their cabin.

I do not judge a cruise line after one sailing.  Had I done that, I would never have tried Seabourn a second time (my husband got covid and we disembarked on our first sailing).  I adore Seabourn after our second sailing.  I will probably try O again in the future.

On 2/3/2023 at 1:03 PM, ak1004 said:

 

The call the ship "home away from home" and the crew "the extended family"..

Wow!  I must say that had I never sailed with Silversea, I would be hesitant to do so after reading some of these posts about Crystal.  These comments are a little surprising to me since the folks that I have met on Silversea cruises are great, not petty!  Again I say, Wow!  

I love Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal.  They are my favorites.

A little history here--My husband and I have taken 79 cruises, from the Carnival Cruise experience to the Seabourn experience.  We have cruised them all except for Viking Ocean, Windstar and Oceania.  We have cruises booked on Windstar and Oceania for 2023.

We were on the Seabourn Odyssey in May 2022 (Los Angeles to Vancouver) when my husband was diagnosed with Covid.  We disembarked in San Francisco and managed to get home.  Seabourn was very generous and credited us with the days we missed as a future cruise credit.  They also reimbursed the taxes, port fees and excursion costs.

As our substitute cruise, we booked the Miami to Miami cruise (December 10 - 21, 2022) on the Seabourn Sojourn.  I was not excited about the cruise, nor thrilled about the time of the year we would be away from home.  But I am not one to allow any kind of credit expire.

We boarded the Sojourn and after a day or two I was seriously "hooked" on the cruise line.  So much had improved since May 2022.  During our very brief two days on board in May, I had NOT been impressed.  At that time the crew seemed stressed and our meals took at least 2 hours.  There were very few smiles on any faces at that time.  "Good" I thought...I can cross Seabourn off my list!

When I say I fell in love with Seabourn, it is truly an understatement.  My two favorite lines were Silversea and Crystal.  And here comes Seabourn!

There is something special about the crew and staff on Seabourn.  Their friendliness is warm and genuine, yet remains perfectly professional.  I never thought I would find another cruise line staff that would call us by name on the second morning we were on board.  Everyone on board could not do enough to make our cruise the very best.  At one meal I was struggling, trying to get the huge pawn out of its attached shell.  One of the ship's officers sitting at the table next to us came over and insisted on removing the obstinate critter for me.

How would we adapt to eating at 7:00 pm when were were used to eating at 5:30 at home?  We found a wonderful table (Table 93) with a fabulous server (Alex from Honduras) who made sure we had eaten and were out after 1 hour.  He got to know our preferences and they were waiting for us when we arrived each evening.

Our meal in The Grill (Thomas Keller) was one of the best onboard any ship.  How can food taste that good?  How can so many servers anticipate what you want?

My favorite area was the Seabourn Square.  That is a unique concept for a cruise line to adopt.  It proved to be a great gathering place with the best  coffee, tasty snacks and all the library books you could possibly want.  And Victoria (from Hungary) is the star of that show!!

My husband and I loved to go to Deck 5 for pre-dinner drinks.  The musical trio was exceptional.  Deck 10 was always crowded before dinner and there were very few places to sit.  Deck 10 was also noisy compared to Deck 5.

Probably the high light of the entire cruise for me was the BBQ on Carambola Beach.  It was magical.  We had been to all of the islands on the itinerary, so we would get off the ship at each port and just walk around.  But the BBQ on Carambola Beach was comparable to White Night on Azamara, the huge feast in the main atrium on Crystal and the various specialty events on Silversea.

I could go on and on.  Needless to say, I put a future cruise deposit down that can be used in the next 4 years.  But I will be on Seabourn long before that 4 years has passed.

Like I told all the crew and staff..."Darn you!  I really did not want to fall in love with Seabourn!"

But I did.

I started reading this topic and could not stop!  I was born, raised and reside in New Orleans currently and I learned so much from the information you provided. Have you considered being a New Orleans guide?  New Orleans is truly a magical place...with so much history. . .and FOOD like no other place.

GO SAINTS!!!

Sandy

16 hours ago, purpleally said:

We have been able to combine Seabourn OBC with referrals. Do you need a referral?
if so, I can help.  purple19gray@aol dot com

Thank you so much. "efromwoodland" has sent a referral for me.  All of you are so kind.  I cannot wait to cruise Seabourn...now more than ever.

Blessed 2022 to all!

I am really excited to find this information about referral coupons.  We have finally booked our first Seabourn cruise.  We are sailing on the May 19, 2022 cruise "8-Day Gold Coast Odyssey."  Seabourn has given us $250 shipboard credit.

We have waited and waited to book something on Seabourn because we had friends that would only sail Seabourn.  Unfortunately, they are long past their cruising days.

Any help or information about these referral coupons would be greatly appreciated.  Final payment is January 19.

Thank you!

Email links will not work.  You have to google Eurofins My Lab Report and go to the site through your browser.  Set up an account using SILWHISPER1 and your email address.  They will send you a temporary password.  Easy from there.

See you onboard.

You might want to look at the Hilton Riverside or Windsor Court.  The Windsor Court has an amazing afternoon or evening tea.

I am a native New Orleanian.  It is a wonderful city with the best restaurants anywhere.  However, we need to get our crime under control.  Do not wander off by yourselves on side streets in the Quarter.

Have a wonderful cruise.

I completely understand what Flatbush Flyer is saying here.  We cruise on NCL (Breakaway/Getaway) out of New Orleans as a family (4 cabins) because it is convenient (we live here) and relatively inexpensive.  Because my husband and I pay for all of the cabins, we could not begin to afford Oceania or Regent (with the accompanying airfare)  for the entire family.  I am not being insulting or demeaning here.  It is just a matter of economics for us.  

We have cruised 70 times.  While we have not yet cruised Oceania (We do have one booked) we will continue to cruise...booking cruises from Carnival to Silversea. We love Regent, Crystal and Silversea and can afford to book these lines for the two of us.  I am guessing that we will love Oceania.

Are there more kids/younger adults on Carnival and NCL?...yes there are.  But really that is to be expected.  We board these ships with DIFFERENT expectations than when boarding the 6-star vessels.

I contacted Windstar yesterday and they said "Emphatically No Way!"  No deviation in embarkation or disembarkation ports.

31 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

I would suggest you take your mom on the street cars.  They are  great way to give your mom a view of different areas of NOLA.  We rode them to the Garden District and then strolled around looking at the beautiful old mansions.  

 

Where our Drew Brees lives!!

We went on safari with Celebrity and then cruised the Canary Islands.  While I have no desire to revisit the Canary Islands, I would return to Africa in a heartbeat.  There is no comparison.

Celebrity continues to provide a great cruise experience.  We are booked with them to see Iceland and Greenland.  I just wish that Celebrity provided a land component to that cruise.

8 hours ago, flyingshoes said:

 

28

 

Born and raised....

30    Born, raised and still reside in New Orleans

18 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I agree that this is a very toxic environment spurred on by veiled political overtones.  I believe that were one to post about the smell of the nice salt air, there are those here who will counter with one political position or another, often misquoting sources.  This is not good for healthy exchanges of ideas and experiences.

I was really anxious to try Oceania and actually had one booked, that was eventually canceled.  I have not rebooked and I do not think that I will.  The negativity and mean -spirited comments on this board are overwhelming.

Control over others is a powerful motivator.  Once entities have that control (whether local, statewide or nationally) it is very difficult for them to let go and allow individuals to make informed, intelligent decisions on their own.  My fear, if this thing is ever over, we will have abdicated certain rights/freedoms that we may never get back.

On 3/29/2021 at 8:32 PM, clo said:

Which of course it won't. But these people are suffering enormously and this country has room for them all. What if they were coming from Canada?

On 3/29/2021 at 8:32 PM, clo said:

Which of course it won't. But these people are suffering enormously and this country has room for them all. What if they were coming from Canada?

What is your home address?  We can send them all to your area and let you deal with this.  A country without borders is not a country.  This border situation is becoming more dangerous/serious by the day.  You say that our country has room for every person in the world that is suffering?  Surely you are making this comment just to elicit the responses that you usually get.  I guess I took the bait.

Everyone is offended by EVERYTHING these days.  I cannot have a decent conversation with anyone because I worry about who will take offense.  It all just wears me out!  

I renewed mine in late December online, paid my $100, no interview required and I was notified of my renewal in 10 days.  I was shocked it was that easy. 

11 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

Que

I have a few pets ahead of me. Waiting.

Cats and gerbils and hamsters and dogs and birds.

I loved every one of them with every fiber of my being. 

They were all great teachers and I am forever grateful.

I am a much better person for the privilege of knowing them and for their unconditional love.

 

 

We lost our dog in October.  I miss her so much and I still look for her in the early morning when I get up.  She was such a huge part of our lives.

God gives us dogs to show us how we should behave with one another--show unconditional love, bear no judgment, always forgive.  "Dog" is God spelled in reverse.

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

So pleased for you, definitely the best outcome! 

 

Remember with doing a long cruise as the menu in Luminae becomes repetitive if you discuss the day before they will often offer you off menu items.

 

It will be interesting to see how your friends enjoy the Suite Life....So many people do it as a ‘one off treat’ then find there is no going back...

 

Enjoy!

We travel a lot with another couple, both couples usually booking the most inexpensive suites for the extra perks.  We especially like the suite lounge for drinks before dinner and Luminae.

About 2 years ago we( the two couples)were booked in Haven suites on a NCL cruise from New York to New Orleans.  Another couple decided to join us (very, very good friends).  They booked a balcony.  The entire cruise was a problem when it came to lounge access and dinner because they could not enjoy the lounge or the Haven restaurant with us.  The concierge allowed them in one night for $40.  We did not feel right in asking the concierge to continue to allow them in, nor did our friends want to pay $40 a night on a two week cruise.

We found ourselves outside of the Haven more than we were in...enjoying the wonderful perks.  After that cruise, we decided to let other couples know we are cruising, but let them know up front that we will be in a suite and that we will enjoy the perks we paid for.