Seabourn does it right

[westmount]

After 24 days on the Odessey, with my wife claiming she's headed off to Betty Ford and Jenny Craig, I can truly say that it is very hard to beat th eproduct that Seabourn offers. While the Odessey certainly has a few creeks, vibrations, and issues that need mechanical work, Seabourn is not about the iron and steel but about the staff and care they take upon their passengers. I've never seen a group a employees work so effortlessly to seem polite and kind every moment of every day, truly an amazing feat when dealing with sometimes very "special " clientele, some of whom seem to be bored in life and want to test the staff at every chance. While we are just over 50 years old , and have enjoyed the smaller ships on a few occasions, I would say that any trip under ten days is great and personal etc on the little guys, but that one really appriciates the hiidng places and roominess of the larger ships on trips over 10 days. The dress code was perfect, on formal nights you had the choice to get dressed up and go for dinner in the dining room, or leave the tie on the door and go for dinner somewhere else.

The new ship size is perfect, presumably the kinks will be fixed, and if Seabourn can figure out how to price these trips effectively, I'll figure out a way to play hooky again. While nobody could point an exact figure on it, it seems many people got a "deal" on parts of the world cruise which I was not so lucky. While I was continously told there are no deals and we're sold out etc, our portion from HK-Dubai had space and passengers getting off and on in Singapore etc, someone please find me that travel agent. I understand foreign exchange and the UK booking rates vs the USD ones, but many people claimed they go tgreat deals to go on to Athens, something I might have done if offered.

regards

Westmount

[wripro]

Glad you had such a great experience. You do bring up a very valid point, however. Those of us here in the US who plunked down a lot of money up to two years ago for the world cruise were more than a bit miffed to find out that people from other countries had paid far less. Also from Sydney on, many of the suites were "dumped" at ridiculously low prices due to the fact that they were going to be empty. Seabourn needs to find a way to have a more equitable system of calculating fares across the globe.

[Roxburgh]

Glad you had such a great experience. You do bring up a very valid point, however. Those of us here in the US who plunked down a lot of money up to two years ago for the world cruise were more than a bit miffed to find out that people from other countries had paid far less. Also from Sydney on, many of the suites were "dumped" at ridiculously low prices due to the fact that they were going to be empty. Seabourn needs to find a way to have a more equitable system of calculating fares across the globe.

 

Seabourn, like many businesses, hasn't yet realized that we are now in a global economy and that customers/consumers do speak to each other (e.g. CC) and do compare prices and experience. Seabourn, in particular, is very much a global brand.

 

Adjusting for exchange rates is fair enough but prices should be uniform and, if reduced, customers who have already booked should not be put at a disadvantage. This is just good customer relations and brand management.

[Hawaiian]

The dress code was perfect, on formal nights you had the choice to get dressed up and go for dinner in the dining room, or leave the tie on the door and go for dinner somewhere else.

 

Westmount

 

Hi Westmount!

I have been wanting more information about Seabourn's dress code at dinner and this comment was helpful. On the non-formal nights, could I dine in the dining room with dress slacks, a dress shirt and NO jacket? Is that permitted? And what would the dress code be for men on non formal nights at the other dining venues (other meaning not the dining room).

We are taking the Soujourn on 7/4 and I would like to know what to pack.

Thank you!

 

Matt from Hawaii and now in Sydney

[johnnycruise]

Seabourn, like many businesses, hasn't yet realized that we are now in a global economy and that customers/consumers do speak to each other (e.g. CC) and do compare prices and experience. Seabourn, in particular, is very much a global brand.

 

Adjusting for exchange rates is fair enough but prices should be uniform and, if reduced, customers who have already booked should not be put at a disadvantage. This is just good customer relations and brand management.

 

If Seabourn offered refunds to previously booked customers every time they lowered/adjusted their fares, everyone would end up paying about 35% of list price and Seabourn would soon be out of business.

[Roxburgh]

If Seabourn offered refunds to previously booked customers every time they lowered/adjusted their fares, everyone would end up paying about 35% of list price and Seabourn would soon be out of business.

 

I haven't ever paid more than 35% of list :cool:

[Grace Smith]

I haven't ever paid more than 35% of list :cool:

 

I would love to know your secret!

My e-mail is faith dot maricic at cbmoves dot com

Do you wait for last minute sales like this week's sale?:confused:

[Roxburgh]

I would love to know your secret!

My e-mail is faith dot maricic at cbmoves dot com

Do you wait for last minute sales like this week's sale?:confused:

 

 

No. I use a good TA, I use the 5% onboard open booking and I look at the brochure prices to get the right balance of timing, itinerary and discount/price.

 

For our next cruise, we have the regular discount, plus the onboard discount plus the "grand voyage" discount. Altogether, this comes to 36% of the published fare. We booked this last November and the fare we are getting is $2600/person better than the discounted fare being advertised today.

 

Dit: so not quite true that I have never paid more than 35%.

[wripro]

Hawaiian,

 

No, on a formal night you would not be able to dine in the main restaurant in slacks and a dress shirt. You would not even be able to dine in the alternate restaurants (except at the pool grill which is always casual) without at least a jacket.

[westmount]

Unless I am wrong, at least on the portion we were just on, you only had to wear a jacket and tie in the dining room on formal nights, but in the other two restaurants you could dress more casually, certainly no tie and probably no jacket. It was 90 degrees outside for most of the trip, but no one seemed to mind the dress code. Dining room formal and the others not so much, seemed a perfect fit. We ate in the dining room on formal nights, nothing like wearing a tie, but only three times in three weeks, full a/c working so no sweat.

[purpleally]

I would love to know your secret!

My e-mail is faith dot maricic at cbmoves dot com

Do you wait for last minute sales like this week's sale?:confused:

 

what "this week's sale" how do you find about things like that?

[Hawaiian]

Thanks all for clearing up the dress code issues.

[Grace Smith]

what "this week's sale" how do you find about things like that?

I found out about it from my TA. You could find it on the Seabourn website, but you might not have been looking that week! As others have said before me...it's important to have a good TA. They can get you the best discounts and upgrades.:)