Impressions On Our First Seabourn Cruise

We just completed our first Seabourn cruise on the Odyssey. We have been on seven cruises with Oceania which have all been wonderful. When a good deal came up on Seabourn we decided to give it a try. We are very glad we did since we loved most everything. In comparison to Oceania's small ships I found a lot of similarities and a few differences both pro and con.

Our stewardess was definitely lacking. When she showed up the first day and gave us her name I had to stop her at the door to tell her what bottles of liqueur we wanted for the room. Days later we needed a bar of soap and some diet coke and left her a note since we never saw her. The note was still there the next day and no soap or coke. My wife finally called and was told to see our stewardess. After she told them we never see her the head housekeeper arrived at the door with what we needed. We basically never saw our stewardess, when we did she said hello and that was about it. I know this is not the norm since our friend who was on deck 4 had a wonderful stewardess that couldn't do enough for her. Luck of the draw I guess. I did miss the butlers on Oceania.

The cabin was comfortable and I did enjoy having a stand slone shower even if it was quite small. We found the service over all to be excellent. It was wonderful to have a drink without having to produce your pass and sign something. I half expected since the drinks were included that at times you would have a problem getting one. That was never the case.

The food in the MDR was really good. No complaints at all. On the next to the last night my wife mentioned that our friend and myself were disappointed that prime rib was not on the menu. The next night we both had prime rib cooked perfectly. The colonade lunches and dinners were also good. We did not care for the breakfast buffets. I always like to start my breakfast with a bowl of fresh berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries) and that was non-existent. The breakfast buffet was usually crowded while the mdr was not. We started eating there instead of the buffet. As far as the TK Grill goes we did not enjoy it at all. Felt the portions were way to large. If you tried to eat the shrimp cocktail which were the size of lobsters you wouldn't be able to finish the main course. The food was ok but nothing to rave about in our opinion. They had a lot of family style dinners from TK at the colonade but we didn't participate. In comparison to Oceania I would say the mdr on Seabourn was better but the specialty restaurants are much better on Oceania.

We loved the size of the ship. Even though it is about the same size as the smaller Oceania ships she carries over 200 less passengers and you definitely can see the difference. I had wanted to try Seabourn for quite a while but until they finally adjusted there smoking policy that wasn't going to happen. We had a wonderful time and have already booked a cruise in Feb. on the Quest. Looking forward to it.

Thank you for your report.

It’s good to see someone using the MDR for breakfast,it really is far more civilised and the food is better cooked and served than what is in the colonnade.

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Thanks for sharing your trip report.

Keith

We are also Oceania fans that cruised with Seabourn for the first time this year. My expectations were very high.

I also enjoyed that it was AL and no signing for drinks. Our stewardess was smashing as was service all over the ship.

I still think the food on Oceania is better on the Riviera and Marina with 4 specialty restaurants. We tried R2 on the Sojourn once and did not return. I would be thrilled to cruise on either line.

We enjoyed our first cruise on Seabourn very much; nearly everything was a great fit for us, or a delight. Exception: our experience with the TK Grill on Encore echoed yours. We found it overly pretentious; too many staff coming by the table needlessly. They didn't get my husband's order correct, the wait was overly long. We were put off by the decor, it felt heavy, dark and didn't appeal to me as the rest of the ship did.

This sounds unfortunate on the stewardess response. We didn't have many issues with service and the few particular things that I wanted were worked out in the first 2 or 3 days. We met our stewardess the first day and worked out the system of leaving notes.

I want to try the Sojourn next, with 450 passengers. On the Encore we didn't experience waits of any significance for port days, but I do like small ships!

We took our first Seabourn cruise in September (Encore). We had a truly delightful time. We enjoyed the ports AND the ship. We never saw our stewardess after she introduced herself on the first day. Our room was taken care of twice a day--and aside from leaving used drinking glasses in the room for a few days and not refilling the ice bucket daily, everything was ok.

We found the restaurant and bar service on the ship to be quite good.

We took our first Seabourn cruise in September (Encore). We had a truly delightful time. We enjoyed the ports AND the ship. We never saw our stewardess after she introduced herself on the first day. Our room was taken care of twice a day--and aside from leaving used drinking glasses in the room for a few days and not refilling the ice bucket daily, everything was ok.

 

We found the restaurant and bar service on the ship to be quite good.

I wonder if we had the same stewardess on our recent Encore cruise, because we had the same issues which we have never experienced before, leaving dirty glasses, not refilling the ice bucket, not replacing shower gels etc. I spoke to the head housekeeper about it and things did get better, but it was not the usual Seabourn standard, however everything else was more or less as expected.

I suppose I should have spoken up about the stewardess while on the ship--but we were too busy having a great time to worry with it. Next time, I'll speak up from the beginning about expectations. We are not hard to please, but refilling the ice bucket seems fairly basic.

I am sorry to hear that there are - can only be a few - stewardesses who are not up to scratch. Only happened to us once, very many years ago, and the person in question was already about to be sent home, and the Housekeeper then looked after our room. It is not pleasant to complain about one particular person while on board, but it really needs to be done. Sometimes it will be due to a struggle to keep up with the work, which is more demanding on Seabourn that on the large lines: bear in mind all the information they have to check in your suite, trying to see everyone during the first afternoon to bring a glass of champagne and the special soaps, etc. Occasionally it will be due to someone whose personality and temperament are just not suited to the work - one girl, who was efficient but not very charming, told us she hated cleaning people's toilets. (So would I, but sadly it is part of the job).

Just curious---how would you all describe the full range of the duties of a stewardess? Unlike the butlers on Silversea, they do not deliver room service. I DID expect ours to take used drinking glasses and refill the ice bucket. Our room was always cleaned and the shampoo/conditioner etc replaced every two days or so. We did have to request our second bottle of liquor on the first day. (This had already been requested for us by our TA weeks before the cruise began.) We were never presented any special soaps. There were two small bars of soap in the bathroom already. I seems that they were replaced during the course of the cruise.

But, I would like to know if there is something else the stewardesses are supposed to do that I was not aware of.

It always seems to me that they do have plenty of things to do, especially for people who leave their suites with lots of clearing up. Obviously, they should fill your ice bucket each day; wash and put back any drinking glasses you use, which would normally be when they are doing room service in the evening, restock your fridge with soft drinks, put your ship paper and special news paper if you have one out early each morning, take your laundry and bring your laundry back and hang up the shirts, dresses, etc. in your wardrobe. As well as the obvious, changing towels and bedlinen (the latter I think twice a week, which I personally find quite hard work!

I imagine they have a printed list of the chores they are expected to do, useful when they are new to the job.

My impression is that they work hard during their working hours, but generally work from 8 until about 1, and then again from 6 to about 9 or 9.30, so they actually do have a bit more free time than other staff.

I think we forget how many extra stewardesses are needed with the extra and bigger ships, it take time to train people and I am sure there will be problems when the Ovation come on line. You can promote waiters and bar staff but stewardesses have to learn on the job that does not mean we should not expect top service but perhaps be a little understanding if they are keen but make mistakes.

I think we forget how many extra stewardesses are needed with the extra and bigger ships, it take time to train people and I am sure there will be problems when the Ovation come on line. You can promote waiters and bar staff but stewardesses have to learn on the job that does not mean we should not expect top service but perhaps be a little understanding if they are keen but make mistakes.

We were told by a crew member that the Encore has the same number of staff as the O class ships and that they were all running around chasing their tails, at times it was obvious. Our stewardess was very good at making up the suite promptly but we were never offered special soaps, she didn't restock our fridge with the tonic water we requested unless reminded and we also had to ask for the slippers, now we are not difficult but with over 250 days on Seabourn we have always had all this done as a matter of course and it was what we would have expected on Encore.

We have sailed on 2 of the "Triplets" (an oxymoron considering the 3 O-class ships), all of the O class and the Encore. To date we have never had any issues with a stewardess - except the one who "told us" how to behave - but she still did a good job, just wanted to make us operate via her rules - which we did not always follow, I am the one paying her salary. :halo:

That said, if we did have any issue I would first go to the head of housekeeping and if not resolved the Hotel Director.

I recall someone complaining on this board last year about the service from her stewardess and multiple posters told her to go speak to the head of housekeeping rather than complain on this board. We can offer suggestions but if you are on-board and have an issue please find the applicable manager and have a discreet word with them.

What kind of “rules”? Our first stewardess, on the Legend, requested that we use the “make up room” card when we went out. Seemed like a perfectly reasonable request. The Crystal Serenity had a light system to indicate the same. Do the new ships have that? Very convenient.

We have sailed on 2 of the "Triplets" (an oxymoron considering the 3 O-class ships), all of the O class and the Encore. To date we have never had any issues with a stewardess - except the one who "told us" how to behave - but she still did a good job, just wanted to make us operate via her rules - which we did not always follow, I am the one paying her salary. :halo:

 

That said, if we did have any issue I would first go to the head of housekeeping and if not resolved the Hotel Director.

 

I recall someone complaining on this board last year about the service from her stewardess and multiple posters told her to go speak to the head of housekeeping rather than complain on this board. We can offer suggestions but if you are on-board and have an issue please find the applicable manager and have a discreet word with them.

We were told by a crew member that the Encore has the same number of staff as the O class ships and that they were all running around chasing their tails, at times it was obvious. Our stewardess was very good at making up the suite promptly but we were never offered special soaps, she didn't restock our fridge with the tonic water we requested unless reminded and we also had to ask for the slippers, now we are not difficult but with over 250 days on Seabourn we have always had all this done as a matter of course and it was what we would have expected on Encore.

I understand the Encore has 400 crew for 600/650 passengers and the O class has 330 crew for 400/450 passengers.

Although I am sure there are the same amount of crew involved with the actual sailing of the ships,

A 500,000 ton tanker usually has only 30 or so crew.:)

On our recent cruise on Quest the HD told us they currently have 350 crew onboard - they are training crew for Ovation. I don’t know if the other O class ships are also carrying extra crew but if they are, it looks like they will be ready for the launch in May

I think that 600 may be the upper limit for passengers for Encore. When we sailed on Encore in September, we were told that 571 passengers were on board.

We don’t always see the stEwardess so I always leave a note on the bed with any requests we might have as we leave the stateroom for the evening

:halo:

It could be anything from a notepad to a cookie-

We are always granted our wishes!