Emdee

I think Seabourn has the service and the sense of family that Crystal cruisers love. The staff are very warm and friendly yet professional. To me Seabourn is currently attractive because of itineraries. I love the small ports they visit in the Caribbean. Time will tell what I finally decide….meanwhile enjoying other cruise lines and ships and their offerings.

I have just three cruises on Seabourn with three more booked. I wonder whether they will merge my account and increase my level. I have no problem if they don’t do so. If Crystal comes back I will definitely try them out. Seabourn has some very nice features … we loved TK Grill for example and the stellar service and warmth of most staff. We cruised on Seabourn after three years yet we were remembered by staff. Even staff you do not interact with swot your name before you embark and this is very noticeable and appreciated. Not needed but nevertheless nice. That is what I loved about Crystal and the fact that my Evian was always waiting for me. Hope Seabourn notes my preferences as that makes a ship feel like home.

I was thinking Keens but it is August in the British Isles. I suspect very few wet landings if any.

I had very inconsistent and sometimes poor food on the Moon last august and after having the temerity to mention it was flamed on this board. Anyway will be on the Cloud in August so will try the Silversea offerings again.

Thank you so much. I found it. For our cruise they don’t appear to include water shoes but there is talk of possible wet landings. So we will take water shoes with us.

Where did you get the list from ? Silversea hasn’t sent us anything.

We are on the Cloud from Dublin to Lisbon. Would anyone know whether we will have wet landings? The folks at Silversea dont have a clue! I really don’t want to get special shoes for the one trip though I guess I could take my Keens or water shoes and then change into runners if need be.

I think you may be right! Since we hadn’t been on it since 2008 and I really liked their itinerary I wanted to get my ducks lined up before putting down my money. There are options for all and that is a good thing.

My experience on Seabourn was totally different on my my first two cruises ….on my third they missed my special order but apologies were proffered and accepted. I would never be so demanding as to expect an off menu dish a la minute. My usual policy at the very beginning of a cruise is to discuss a couple of requests with dates noted. This gives everyone plenty of time to arrange. In fact on Seabourn in March the F&B manager asked me the very first day in TK whether I would like a special Indian meal. I am perfectly capable of creating special menus and meals at home but when I cruise I usually like to enjoy what the chef’s interpretation of a dish is. On Regent in December the chef actually called his mother in law to make me something really special. And we were happy to share it with staff from that region.

Thanks for your input and interesting to note but my worry is that I would have to worry about the vagaries of those who design the menus. Normally most of our cruises have been under 18 days but we have a 24 day booked on Seabourn next year and had booked a 121 day that came to nought. In cases where the cruise is under 3 weeks asking for a special meal once or twice a cruise would be acceptable. On a longer cruise I would not want my DH to suffer severe withdrawal. There are other points too about special orders. Some days all I like is a bowl of berries for dinner which I know is totally off menu. If O is a “ stick to the menu “ kind of cruiseline it is certainly not for me. We are lucky we have options and lots to think about…

You are absolutely right …the chef gave me West Indian food instead of East Indian and tried to palm it off on me. Not Crystal standard at all. But this happened once in all our Crystal cruises and in the grand scheme of things it didn’t prevent me booking the WC on Crystal ….which is one for the history books. For now will just cancel my reservation and look elsewhere….who knows Crystal may come back in another avatar and provide us alumni with another choice.

No worries. Unfortunately our Crystal world cruise got scuppered and this was one of the few itineraries that I liked as we haven’t been to Male or the Phillipines. Back to the drawing board!

Actually I mentioned in my second post that I was looking for Indian food ….for me that is not exotic but good old home style food. Beef Stew and spagbo are not my home style….for others maybe. But that is ok. So far no one on this board said that occasional special orders of food preferences were fine. Given that will just have to fish in another pond.

Thanks for your response. I didn’t expect a private chef but I hoped that special orders were part of what O provided. It is clear that this is not the case. I may chance a 2 or 3 week cruise on O but I think I will cancel my Grand Voyage booking. I wasn’t expecting gastronomic delights….just visited both Guy Savoy and Epicure among other Michelin starred restaurants in Paris last month to fulfil those desires. However 72 nights without some good old home style food would be torture however interesting the Oceania offerings may be. I can only cite the last three cruises I have been on in the past 9 months, Silversea, Regent and Seabourn where they were willing to provide us with a food request which we made once or twice per cruise.

It was on the Nautica. I found it very strange. Complaining was like hitting a blank wall. If they are not willing to make special meals occasionally I will cancel…holding a booking now ….but cannot see myself staying on board 70 plus days and being left to the vagaries of their menu. Not dietary reasons just personal preference.

On long trips we miss Indian food so we usually request that a couple of times a week. The only other time we were on Oceania was in 2008. They even declined minor amendments and insisted on providing a chicken ceasar with the lettuce burned under the heaters saying that is the way Oceania serves it. I had to fish out the blackened leaves and eat a warm salad!

We have been once on one of the R ships a didn’t enjoy it. Now looking at a two month cruise on Riviera. A make or break deal for us on a long cruise is the cruiseline’s agreement to provide us with special orders with respect to food. Would we get this on Oceania? We receive this on Regent, Silversea etc.