New Alfresco Dining Experience to Debut on Seabourn Ovation

We only had dinner one of the themed dinners on our last cruise--and once was enough for us. I'm not criticizing the food--just saying it was not our cup of tea. We much preferred the MDR and enjoyed our one night on the Patio and two evenings in the TK Grill. It was a 10 day cruise. Our next cruise (Ovation) is 21 days. I doubt that we will have more than one or two nights of the themed fare. We look forward to seeing that the new outdoor menu is like. Most of all, we would like to see lighter healthier options offered everywhere!

As long as they keep somewhere casual to eat (without having to get dressed up).

Many times we have arrived back late from excursions and just want to sit down outside and relax with a beer to cool down, chat about the day and then some dinner and a reasonably early night (9:30) without the hassle of back to the room, shower, hair, make-up and back out to eat a late dinner at 9pm. We are on holidays!

Please don't refer me to room service as what is the point of travelling and being trapped indoors. It's lovely to enjoy being in port or the later sailaways.

Couldn’t agree more. I love outdoor dining venues. The more, the better.

We will be on the Ovation in early June. I'll send back a report.

Are you on the June 9th sailing?

cruiser02--Yes, we are on the June 9th sailing.

cruiser02--Yes, we are on the June 9th sailing.

Helllo .... 14 days ? The itinerary is very interesting. Looking forward

cruiser02--We embark on June 9th and stay for 21 days as the cruise was also advertised as a 21 day cruise--the last 7 days including St. Petersburg. It's a 14 day cruise followed by a 7 day cruise. It was advertised both ways.

Here’s the proverbial cat among the pigeons:

 

Why not leave the Patio Grill alone and make the Colonnade into this themed restaurant. It can be alfresco for those who get to sit outside there. But the big benefit will be that the country themed dinners e.g. Thailand, Japan, Scandinavia which were mediocre at best would be ended. So the Colonnade kitchen could be put to better use.

 

That said, I would miss the great Indian, French, and Italian Market Dinners. And we always enjoy the TK Ad Hoc dinners. Shame if that all went away.

 

I like the Patio Grill as it is. Who does not like a good steak or grilled tuna? The small Patio Grill kitchens on Odyssey, Quest and Sojourn for sure are best suited for such simple fare. Then there is the sneaking suspicion (due to the nefarious Project SMART that has damaged the MDR wine service) that this is a cost-cutting exercise. Why grill expensive cuts if you can distract the punters with potentially cheaper food?

 

I know, I know... No one likes a cynic. But Project SMART upsets me and nothing about is beneficial as far as I am concerned. Quite the contrary.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

What is Project SMART ?

What is Project SMART ?

The project on Sojourn and now Ovation whereby bar servers in the various restaurants (except TKG) have been replaced by your waiter serving you the included wines (not hampered by any factual knowledge of wine whatsoever) and pushing hard to get you to drink the wine of the day (as it’s the only one they have readily available at their stations).

Last night, after asking multiple times, the requested glass of Albariño (not the wine of the day) for my partner finally arrived when we had already finished our appetisers but my Cab Sauv never did, so I ended up calling a sommelier and buying a bottle - which is probably their intent in the first place. Revenue, revenue, revenue.

I think that it’s just more efficient to serve the two wines of the day. I recall that almost everyone I ate with at group table happily consumed whatever was offered. I was the only one that asked for a different wine.

I’m not sure how many complementary wines are offered at any given time, but it has to be 15+. . I can’t imagine a system that could easily offer that many choices to each diner in a setting such as the Seabourn MDR.

One advantage of trying to always eat at the same table is the continuity of wait staff. They always knew what I drank and when...and it was quicker than waiting for a busy sommelier to come by.....

( Sojourn Feb-April 2018 ).

We generally know what wines we like and which we like less. I cannot remember any problems or any significant delay in having a 'wine of the day' replaced with a different one from the complimentary list.

To the cruiser who bemoaned the demise of luxury cruise ships: you trust Crystal with food. You must book a penthouse. The regular verandah cabins are so small, but as a solo traveler, I balk at Crystal's exorbitant price for a penthouse for a solo, as opposed to Oceania where I can reserve a penthouse without compromising my budget - and the specialty restaurants on the two larger ships are fantastic. I cruise about 4 months a year on Oceania, Silvesea, Seabourn (Ovation for 30 days this September), and Regent and have a few complaints but not enough to abandon them. So, have you quit cruising except on Crystal?

Re Project SMART, our group of 4 experienced a few problems which are probably related to this (although I had not heard of it until this thread) on Encore, but we are a persistent bunch (never try to thwart a group of thirsty Scots. It just won't work!) and after the first couple of days of fairly amicably deflecting their nonsense and politely insisting they go seek the complimentary wines we preferred (they do have a list of all comp. wines) they eventually got the message and in fact sought out those ones without further demur whenever we took our table.

We sometimes purchased wines too, whenever we felt like it, but it was nicer to "establish the ground rules" and then we didn't feel that we needed to purchase wines just to drink ones better suited to our preferences than the very heavily promoted pair of the evening.

auldlassie,

One could say that not only did your persistence finally result in you getting what you wanted but that you insisted on the type of wine service that suits you and not the waiters. Yes, there is a complimentary wine list and customers are entitled to order from it and the server should be conversant in the wines listed.

Your effort is what I call recentering the service on the customer who, on a luxury cruise, are is expected to settle for this “wine of the day for you?” nonsense.

To the masterminds of Project SMART, I hope you are listening. In your business customers - and not the bean counters - come first. That is if you don’t know any better and therefore need a reminder about what it takes to sustain the Seabourn brand.

Happy and healthy sailing!

Auldlassie,

Good for you for pushing and getting them to realize you wanted to select from all of the wines on the complimentary list rather than the “flavor of the day.” Some waiters will just take the path of least resistance I’m afraid - even on Seabourn. But not this is not in keeping with a luxury cruise experience and while I’m glad you persevered it should not have been that difficult.

However, I don’t think your difficulties were associated with the SMART program as I believe it is still only being used on the Sojourn ( and maybe the Ovation, not sure about this) and there only in the Restaurant. According to my discussion with the Corporate Sommelier once the kinks are worked out on that ship they will move it to the other ships. I was on Sojourn in February when it was introduced and as i noted on other threads (and don’t want to bore others rehashing that whole discussion here) while they certainly could have done a better job launching it things smoothed out over the course of our 36 days cruise. And your recent difficult experience on Encore just goes to underscore my contention that many of the wine service complaints attributed to this new one size fits all waiter system are rather problems occasionally encountered on all of the other ships still operating under the old system and not the SMART program.

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We’re on the Ovation now and have dined at Earth & Ocean twice. We really enjoyed it. The menu is limited, but we found the food options interesting and well prepared. The service is much more attentive and personal than we’ve encountered in the Colonnade and MDR.

The Patio Grill on Encore a year ago was but a pale shadow of the same venue on Odyseey. Very little choice and poor service - and big disappointment - no lamb chops! So for that reason alone the change on Ovation may not be a bad thing - but I would hate to lose the Patio Grill on the 'O' ships, assuming it continues as well as it always has done. As previous posters have commented, in good weather its nice to be outside and stay casual if you wish to.

We have been on Ovation since Venice and Earth and Ocean has become our favourite venue.

The food is wonderful (IOHO) and service very good, but the casual, remain on the pool deck after sail away party or continue having drinks with friends and grab something to eat concept has gone.

The seating area is roped off (you can still walk around) and you now have to wait to be seated (reservations not required). The waiters wear new outfits and the tables are set with different plates and glassware - all very trendy.

Some people are having a problem with the new concept but we really like it.

I’m sorry I don’t know how to post photos, perhaps some cleaver person onboard will be able to do it.

I agree with Joc 123 that Earth & Ocean is also a favourite of ours, having eaten there 3 times since Venice. It is a restaurant in its own right, specifically designed, with new uniforms for the staff, linen placemats and seviettes, hand made pottery plates and bowls, which keep hot dishes hot, and even new brushed, stainless steel cutlery. The food is full of flavour, fresh, and contemporary, and the menu changes nightly, apart from the appetizer, which is a loaf of wholegrain, crusty bread to be eaten with both olive and sun dried tapenade and duck confit, which is brought to the table in a small smoking cabinet. Last night surrounded by the lights of Tangiers, we shared a Cavatappi Pasta, with Toscana Linguica Sausage and olives, Lamb Shank with Truffled Polenta and mushrooms and Roasted White Asparagus with Roasted Tomatoes and Pea Purée. My husband also fell for the Baked Apple with Calvados Gelato. All delicious and served by young enthusiastic staff. There were other menu choices as well.

How can this compare with the grilled meat with the same old ratatouille and mashed potato; the pizza, prawn or salmon appetizers served by yourself? How many times have we had this in the past? How simple was it to prepare that food?

Any suggestions that this new venue is a cost cutting proposal by HAL is not founded, considering the array of ingredients used, and the specialized preparation of the dishes.

I appreciate the choice of new eating venues, such as this and the Sushi restaurant, especially when Thomas Keller is served several times a week in the Colonnade, reservation required. Surely more choice is welcomed.

Very good news, indeed! More choice and a good choice at that- according to current passengers on Ovation. Thanks for the heads up!

Does anyone know when this Earth and Ocean restaurant will be installed on the other ships?

Happy and healthy sailing!

Secoma4,

Sounds terrific and a true alternative to the MDR, actually far preferable if the weather is nice. Thanks for posting.

I look forward to trying this new conceived dining experience on our upcoming Ovation voyage.

Agree with Joc123 about casual drinks on deck with friends and remaining for an equally casual dinner on deck. This is something we very much enjoyed. Dressing up for dinner every night becomes tedious when on holidays.

However, given our previous comments on CC about the lost opportunity the patio grill was and our substandard experiences there in the last few years, this does sound promising. The food described seems a good point of difference for those of us who are well and truly TK'ed out. Look forward to trying it on our next cruise. Thank you for the detailed review.

I don't think exact dates have been released but the plan is that all the ships should get the restaurant by spring 2019.

I look forward to trying this new conceived dining experience on our upcoming Ovation voyage.

Us too. The patio grill was nice enough but always felt a bit like the lunch buffet with fewer people. The new concept sounds like a welcome change, not too formal, not too stuffy, but perhaps a recognition that passengers might enjoy dining on deck and still having a well-thought-out meal served to them.