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We are just home from the 21 days Scandinavian Summer on the Ovation


SLSD
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We arrived home yesterday from 21 days on the Ovation on the cruise called Scandinavian Summer (it was also sold as a 14 days cruise followed by a 7 day leg which included St. Petersburg).

 

We boarded in Amsterdam, with port stops in Hamburg, Wismar (Germany), Poland, Turku, Finland, Klaipeda, Lithuania, Stockholm, Bornholm, Denmark, Saaramar Estonia, Copenhagen, Tallin, Estonia, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg. We missed a port (Visby, Sweden) due to rough seas. I may have left out a port.

 

The ship is beautiful (virtually identical to the Encore which we sailed last September) . We found the service to be fabulous (98% of the time) and almost all the crew to be quite well trained. I don't think Seabourn could have done anything more to make our voyage wonderful. In most cases, our expectations were exceeded when it came to this cruise.

 

There were beautiful sail ins (and outs) at several ports. Stockholm was among the most beautiful and we got to do it twice as the cruise also ended in Stockholm).

 

I would love to answer any questions about our cruise and our itinerary, but will attempt to say a few things here which may help some.

 

We spent most days enjoying both the ship and the ports, but did not experience every venue. We had breakfast in the MDR on days we did not have an early excursion and enjoyed room service breakfast on the other days. We only tried the Colonnade for breakfast on the very last day of the cruise as we prefer serenity and quiet at breakfast. The breakfasts in the main dining room were well served and prompt with enough options. All of the room service breakfasts were delivered timely and still warm.

 

We had lunch most days by the pool, but also enjoyed lunch several times on the veranda of the Colonnade. I can recommend the Napa burger poolside as it it smaller than the classic burger and quite tasty. In the Colonnade, we prefer to order from the menu and have the grilled salmon which is excellent when cooked medium rare. Service in both places was very good.

 

We loved having before dinner drinks in the TK Grill Bar. It was a very quiet and cozy venue that we remembered well from our Encore cruise. Many passengers did not seem to realize that you can go to this bar for drinks even if you are not dining at the TK Grill. Debra played the piano and sang here. She has a lovely voice. I wish she did not feel the need to use the backing tracks.

 

For dinner, we ate most evenings in the MDR, but enjoyed four dinners in the TK Grill, a wonderful meal at Earth and Ocean by the pool, and a great meal at the Colonnade (Ribs, Waldorf salad, mashed potatoes etc. and they were yummy) Due to the weather being nippy in the Baltic and some rain, we only had one meal at Earth and Ocean. With better weather, we would have dined there MANY times---our meal there was creative, delicious, and served with some style. Often, we dined with friends we met on the cruise, and that dictated our venue.

 

For us, the service in the TK Grill was impeccable. Our favorite dishes are the sole, the steak, and the giant prawns as appetizers. My husband loves the ice cream sundae.

 

We found the food to be quite good on the Ovation. The executive chef was David (same as on our Encore cruise) We thought the food was a smidgen better than on the Encore, even though the chef was the same. We are NOT foodies. We just want food that tastes good and ours did. The best steak I had was a ribeye in the MDR. Of course it was huge and I could only eat less than a fourth of it. I loved the crab cake I had, lobster, lamb, and countless other entrees. My husband had to return one entree (roasted white asparagus dish) to the kitchen as it was tough and stringy. Another friend at our table had ordered the same and also returned it. That is the only subpar food in the MDR during our cruise.

 

Fairly early in our cruise, my husband became ill (short lived illness thank goodness) and we ordered room service for dinner. This was not a very good experience. I won't bore you with the details. On one other evening, in the MDR (a formal night) chaos seemed to rule. Both times the crew members serving us (by telephone for RS and in person in MDR) had a poor command of English which made things more difficult.

 

During this cruise, we BOTH had to see the doctor. We were pleased with his attention and care.

 

So many great crew members! Of course there was Handre, the Cruise Director, who was outstanding. Emma, the assistant Cruise Director was excellent as well. What a huge voice she has! We also really liked Anastasia in the TK Grill Bar. She is so friendly and happy. She made every visit to the grill bar delightful. So many others served us so cheerfully and well. We felt very pampered and special. It was often amazing to meet a crew member for the first time who already knew our names.

 

We played Team Trivia during the 14 day leg of the cruise and Handre's leading of this activity made it all the more enjoyable.

 

We also had tea most days. We LOVE tea time--so serene and restful--and a great place to meet others and enjoy friends. This cruise, the scones were not passed as they were on the Encore last September, but the cucumber sandwiches, croissant sandwiches and other goodies were delectable. The scones were especially good.

 

The Entertainment was enjoyable--especially when it was the Seabourn singers performing. The Tim Rice show is still playing as well as a "through the decades" performance and a Nashville show. We were not big fans of the comedians, but the enjoyment of comedy is very subjective.

 

Peter Damslich was the lecturer. He spoke about the history of the area we were seeing. We attended at least four of his talks and found them to be time well spent. He had great slides which tied perfectly into his talk. Since we were visiting St. Petersburg, several of the lectures covered the Romanovs.

 

I want to say a bit about the ports and they were discussed among many of the passengers. Some passengers did not like the Polish, Estonian, and Lithuanian ports. We loved them. I think it is important to understand that some of the ports are NOT pristine or in any way tourist ready. Several are still recovering from 50 years in the Soviet Union. This was especially noticeable on the island of Saaramar (Estonia). My husband and I are observers and were so pleased to have the opportunity to see a place like this. There was a wonderful medieval castle, but a poorly town. We wanted to see it anyway. We were glad that we took a ship's excursion to see the castle. Those who just wandered into town were very disappointed.

 

We loved the island of Bornholm (Denmark). Once again, those who just wandered into the little town of Nexo were somewhat disappointed. We took an excursion that went all around the island with stops to show glassmaking, one of the medieval round churches, and spectacular castle ruins. I think that sometimes the excursions are the only good way to see some ports. If we had just walked into the town, we would have missed a lot.

 

I have a comment about the character and feeling of the 14 day portion of the cruise versus of the 7 day (St. Petersburg) leg. We MUCH preferred the passengers and the feeling of the cruise on the 14 days leg. The passengers on the 7 day leg included several groups (7 to 10 members per group) and the vibe was distinctly different. At first I thought it was just my husband and me feeling this, but as the 7 days progressed, a number of the holdovers from the 14 days leg mentioned the same thing. I even asked one of the entertainers and she confirmed that the crew could feel it as well. I have read about this phenomenon here on CC and have to say that it is absolutely true. While we loved Tallin, our day at sea, our three days in St. Petersburg, and our Helsinki port, we are going to assiduously AVOID 7 day cruise segments in the future. (On some of our St. Petersburg excursions, a group of 7 would tell the guide that they did not want to see something or wanted to leave lunch early (when others were having fun chatting) etc. etc. )

 

Before we left the ship, we paid our future cruise deposit. We had a fabulous time and will be cruising Seabourn again.

 

By the way, we met NJBelle and her husband from this board. What a treat! I wish we had been able to meet everyone else here who was also on the cruise.

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So happy that you had a great cruise, SLSD.

 

Thanks for your review, it was a pleasure to read. Agree with you about 7 day cruises/segments, although they can be difficult to avoid sometimes.

 

Just one question. For those of us who haven't been on either Encore or Ovation, apart from the art work, what differences are there between the two ships, if any?

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Isklaar, I could see only a couple of minute differences in the two ships. One difference, the podium for the hostess of the TK Grill has been moved to a different location. The ships appear to be identical.

 

 

I will add that neither leg of our voyage was totally booked as far as numbers go. One of the crew members told me that the first 14 days had around 557 passengers while the St. Petersburg leg had 587. The ship never felt crowded to me. Of course we tend to avoid the Colonnade as we do not care for buffets.

 

Isklaar, as you know, my view of our cruise is very subjective. I hope others who were aboard will give their reviews as well. There is so much that could be added! I may start several other threads on aspects of the cruise that will relate to other cruises as well.

Edited by SLSD
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One other difference between the Encore and Ovation that I noticed. Space had been made at the poor bar for serving gelato. Magic (a nickname for a crew member from Poland) had also been on the Encore when we cruised. He was in charge of the pool bar on the Ovation. (He called it "my baby".) He said that the gelato had been added and that the pantries were organized better because HE organized them! I am wracking my brain for any other differences in the two ships, but can't think of any. My husband noted that the same photos hang in the TK Grill Bar on both ships.

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SLSD. Thank you for a well written and balanced review.

I agree with you about the 7 day cruise, we will never go on a 7 day segment again after experiencing a similar situation to yours on the Baltic 7 day section of our 21 day on Quest in 2015.

We had a group of about 25 younger (30's) people who were on a company paid for "freebie."

They commandeered whole areas of the ship and made loud disparaging remarks about the rest of the pax and were generally obnoxious.

We were happy to disembark in Stockholm.

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SKP946, I do think that groups of people tend to forget others around them and make comments that they might not make if traveling just by themselves or with one person. I found it particularly offensive in Russia when they were rude to our guide. We were unfortunate to be with the same group on another tour and they wanted to change it into a shopping tour, disregarding the fact that they rest of the group was interested in doing the tour as planned. On the ship, those of us who had been on the first 14 day leg found the new 7 day people to be unfriendly.

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SLSD. Thank you for a well written and balanced review.

I agree with you about the 7 day cruise, we will never go on a 7 day segment again after experiencing a similar situation to yours on the Baltic 7 day section of our 21 day on Quest in 2015.

We had a group of about 25 younger (30's) people who were on a company paid for "freebie."

They commandeered whole areas of the ship and made loud disparaging remarks about the rest of the pax and were generally obnoxious.

We were happy to disembark in Stockholm.

 

On our last cruise, we met some wonderful people ;)

 

SLSD, glad you enjoyed the cruise. You had me looking at the lengths of the segments of our next cruise, as I had forgotten that on our first 14 day (7/7) in the Med, the second week was noticeable different to the first.

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Here is something else that has to do with when/what ship you sail on:

 

We have some good friends who have sailed on all the maiden voyages of the latest 5 Seabourn ships. They were very happy with the Ovation, and I imagine that the inaugural launch party in Malta was a big factor in that it was so much better than what we endured in Singapore with Encore. Much like the brilliant Odyssey Venice launch in 2010 in that it was intimate, charming, and about the guests, not Seabourn head office, executed on time, and in more pleasant surroundings than a cruise terminal.

 

I learned that the Ovation’s Club has been reconfigured so that it is a real CLUB as we have on the Odyssey class ships, unlike the Encore’s which did not have a bartender at the bar (they were meant to be hidden backstage or something).

 

Here’s the grist. Ovation has high speed internet and the 4 ships do not as of this week. My TA seems to indicate that there is no plan to roll it out to the other ships. To which I would have to add “yet, right?”.

 

So if anyone cottons onto any such an upgrade ship-by-ship plan by Seabourn, please share it.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

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The internet speed on Ovation was so good we find that we now only look at Ovation itineraries.

I’m sure they will update the other ships eventually but I guess it all comes down to money - if they don’t, then it will be at their own peril.

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I stayed disconnected from the internet for the most part on this Ovation cruise, but my husband did go online and the speed was excellent. Of course wifi is still an extra charge--which it should not be---as other cruise lines have this included.

 

I forgot to mention that the Club on Ovation has a real bar whereas Encore had something of a dummy bar. The only time we went to the Club was for Trivia, port talks with Claudio (I'll have to talk about that), and the get together for the 90 passengers staying on the Ovation for the seven day leg of the voyage after the the 14 day leg. I have never found the music in the Club to be very enjoyable. We did go to the dance party around the pool and enjoyed it for w while.

 

Dalliowner is so right about the day of changeover between legs being very awkward. We were in Copenhagen for this. The excursion we had chosen was cancelled (but notifying us of this fell through the cracks somehow) and we ended up on exactly the kind of excursion I avoid---a general introduction to a city done in three hours. The guide was great, but we literally ran through the city. The choices of excursions were severely limited on this changeover day.

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The internet speed on Ovation was so good we find that we now only look at Ovation itineraries.

l.

 

Even more interesting, although it will still take a very special itinerary to encourage me to take the leap. I nearly booked a 14 day Fjords and North Cape on Ovation recently but realised I'm still not at a point I want to cruise on a ship this size. Although admittedly, the apparent lack of space on the pool deck wouldn't be an issue on that particular cruise!

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Even more interesting, although it will still take a very special itinerary to encourage me to take the leap. I nearly booked a 14 day Fjords and North Cape on Ovation recently but realised I'm still not at a point I want to cruise on a ship this size. Although admittedly, the apparent lack of space on the pool deck wouldn't be an issue on that particular cruise!

 

We are on this cruise in September, slightly worried about the size of the ship, thinking the interior deck space and amenities will come in handy if the weather is poor. I'll report back!

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Fletcher and Isklaar, I think you would be/will be pleasantly surprised by how much you might enjoy the Encore and Ovation. When we booked our Encore cruise at almost the last minute for last September, I was very worried. We had only sailed on a 300 passenger ship previously, and I was horror stricken about what 600 passengers would be like. We loved the Encore so much that we booked the Ovation almost immediately upon our return. While I did find the Colonnade very crowded on the last day's breakfast (only venue open), the rest of our 21 day cruise never seemed crowded at all. Give these ships a try--and then report back to us. I think you will be happy.

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Fletcher and Isklaar, I think you would be/will be pleasantly surprised by how much you might enjoy the Encore and Ovation. When we booked our Encore cruise at almost the last minute for last September, I was very worried. We had only sailed on a 300 passenger ship previously, and I was horror stricken about what 600 passengers would be like. We loved the Encore so much that we booked the Ovation almost immediately upon our return. While I did find the Colonnade very crowded on the last day's breakfast (only venue open), the rest of our 21 day cruise never seemed crowded at all. Give these ships a try--and then report back to us. I think you will be happy.

 

We thought the same before / during the Encore cruise last year and liked it so much have booked the Ovation for a few months time.

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2seabournsailors---So, the perfect opportunity for you to try out these two ships! On our recent cruise, a crew member told me that there were 550 (some odd) passengers on the first leg and 580 (some odd) on the last seven days. The suites may have been full, but with single passengers in some.

 

Would you share of of the "deals" on Encore and Ovation you have received? I am just curious.

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I was not so much a fan of Encore last year when I spent 44 days including the full-to-capacity maiden voyage, and that might partly be explained by my sense that it was not as luxurious as the Odyssey class ships. Now that’s a personal “luxury” because I value greatly the huge amount of space per passenger of the Odyssey class ships and which you will not find on Encore or Ovation:

 

The Encore class ships are a few meters longer and a couple wider that the Odyssey class ships and have an additional deck; the ship is the same height as the Odyssey class ships; and

 

The MDR, Grand Salon, the main swimming pool and deck are about the same size on Encore class ships as on the Odyssey class ships. The Square, TK Grill, Colonnade and Observation Bar are somewhat larger. The Club is smaller, as are the outdoor deck walking areas, and there is no deck sports since the Retreat hogs/wastes (my opinion) the equivalent top deck space; and

 

The Encore class ships, when full, hold 150 more passengers than the Odyssey class ships which hold 450 passengers when full.

 

A proposition: If you need the high speed internet of Ovation, and you can somehow get on a cruise that might be 50-75+ under capacity (like the recent Ovation cruises), I think you really should try Ovation. Yes, the number of passengers can make a big difference! (Obviously Encore and the Odyssey class ships will need to catch up with Ovation’s better internet.) Of course, there are pricing and itinerary considerations. And if both Encore class ships lose their Retreat areas, that would help!

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

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2seabournsailors---So, the perfect opportunity for you to try out these two ships! On our recent cruise, a crew member told me that there were 550 (some odd) passengers on the first leg and 580 (some odd) on the last seven days. The suites may have been full, but with single passengers in some.

 

Would you share of of the "deals" on Encore and Ovation you have received? I am just curious.

 

I didn't keep any of the advertising I received, as we aren't interested in the "big "ships…..but it was something like 16 days on O Class was very close to the same as 30 plus days on Encore and Ovation....I will keep the info from now on....and post it here.....it just seemed like to us that the big ships were not getting the bookings they expected!!

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