My Recent Seabourn Pride Cruise

[tyfh]

tyfh, I tend to be interested in everything I don't know about. And as my wife is quick to point out, that gives me a really wide range of interests. Sure, I'd be interested in where hotels make their money, and also where cruise lines make their money. I know--or think I know-- that the really big lines project break even or a slight loss on the cabin fares, and derive profits from alcohol, specialty restaurants, casino operations--flat fee or percentage, I wonder?--shore excursions, logoed merchandise, what am I forgetting? Spa is percentage override or flat fee? I don't think you're likely to find an on board lecture on how your hosts make their money. But I'm sure somebody who reads this probably knows.

 

There is a 60% profit in liquor. BUT, the alcohol is covered ... with the exception of those that buy the upgraded wine and bottled spirits (At unbelievable prices) ... but the higher the wine costs, the lower the profit margin. Casinos ... this is where the big money is ... but Seabourn seems to host a group that don't use them much ... or so I am told. I know that the excursions that we are taking ... 6 in all ... are, in my opinion ... cheap! BUT, we are in Asia, and things can be under priced. I am not sure where the profit is on this one ... but I do know that anything is better than an empty cabin, thus junkets to TA's at the end. "Heads in the bed!" Retail is about 50% profit ... but I am sure the shop on board is leased out. Could be that if they are not a certain % full with paying guests the rent for the retail space is lower?

　

　

Like you ... I love to hear about other's and what they do! As long at it doesn't involve math! I took that "Pass/Fail" in College!

[writer100]

tyfh, I think I would rather have Seabourn's problems than those of a line running ships with thousands of cabins to fill week after week. It seems easier to sell an upscale product to a target group somewhat insulated from economic hiccups, than to mass market demos. But maybe not. Who suffers more in an economy like this--the Motel 8's or Four Seasons? Although I suspect that may be not an accurate analogy.

[Keith1010]

Funny, my recollection is that on Legend, the gym was more commodious than on Odyssey. Not spa, mind you, but just in terms of equipment. I have ancient knees, though the rest of me is in decent shape through other cardio and weight training.

I also agree with TYFH, that the occasional critical comment restores balance. I think it is fair to say that the mdr wines can be uneven. And I applaud the idea of a language course. (Mi espanol es muy malo.) I also wonder if some of the passengers who have interesting backgrounds would be inclined to share? What's it like to be a Scotland Yard Super, or a large animal vet, or farm 10,000 acres, or ranch 3,000 head, or be an MD under National Health, or--well, you can nominate subject/career from just about anywhere?

 

I wasn't talking about the Odyssey. I was just saying that if you are around 6 feet and run on the treadmill like I do your head is close to the ceiing. We enjoyed the fitness center.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

tyfh, I think I would rather have Seabourn's problems than those of a line running ships with thousands of cabins to fill week after week. It seems easier to sell an upscale product to a target group somewhat insulated from economic hiccups, than to mass market demos. But maybe not. Who suffers more in an economy like this--the Motel 8's or Four Seasons? Although I suspect that may be not an accurate analogy.

 

I think it is fair to say that all cruise lines have been hit by the current economic situation. In Seabourn's while they don't have a lot of rooms to fill they have more than doubled their size. It's not a good time for many businesses. Just look at the luxury hotel business. Last year Four Seasons had layoffs for I believe either their first time or their first time in many years. Luxury car sales have been down, etc.

 

It's a challenge for all businesses, including the luxury market.

 

Keith

[tyfh]

I think it is fair to say that all cruise lines have been hit by the current economic situation. In Seabourn's while they don't have a lot of rooms to fill they have more than doubled their size. It's not a good time for many businesses. Just look at the luxury hotel business. Last year Four Seasons had layoffs for I believe either their first time or their first time in many years. Luxury car sales have been down, etc.

 

It's a challenge for all businesses, including the luxury market.

 

Keith

 

People still have to travel ... will still have to eat ... but they are opting for fast food and limited service hotels. It is the Luxury market that is hardest hit ... Full service hotels are cutting 20% of management ... Group business is no longer having open bars, but opt for cash. The Banquet plated dinner with wine is now a buffet with iced tea. It is the excess spending that is being looked at carefully. I got my $400.00 cruise credit referal coupons from a lady who's husband's company had bought out one of the triplets for an incentive cruise ... and was concerned about the image ... so they sold the cruise tickets to any employee that wanted them ... loosing big money, but it was the image that was their concern ... not the money. Look at all the MEGA ships that are hitting the market ... enjoy it while you can, the cruise industry is in for a long couple of years.

[MARIANH]

It's a challenge for all businesses, including the luxury market.

 

Keith

 

So should Seabourn discount heavily to fill suites, with a possible impact on the passenger mix, which could in turn affect their " top end" product?

 

Or are they doing so already in the US?

[tyfh]

So should Seabourn discount heavily to fill suites, with a possible impact on the passenger mix, which could in turn affect their " top end" product?

 

Or are they doing so already in the US?

 

I am charging less this year than last for the same room in my establishment. www.hotelroanoke.com

 

I don't think you are going to change the mix too much ... and the TA's a the ones that are discounting big time ... not Seabourn.

[writer100]

I for one can't tell. The general discounts aren't much of a guide since they appear to all be planned months in advance. The 50% off, 2-for-1, isn't a fire sale price as it seems to have been announced just when "normal" fares have been announced in the past. The announced discount may be higher, but the real question is whether the discount is off a previous base price, or off of a new higher price floated to accommodate the higher discount. I just received a SS brochure touting up to 60% off, including free air and transfers. Combine that with a 5% on board discount and another 5% for contiguous cruises and you get 70%. But the core question is always off of what? At around $1,000 a day for two and up, I don't think hordes of Carnival revelers will descend.

As others with a much longer SB history than mine have opined, maybe the real question is whether SB can maintain its total identity when "the product" has changed from 624 berths--the triplets--to an environment that by 2011 will have added 1350 more berths. Not impossible to do, but not easy. One way to maintain the, um, Seabourn ethos might be to get more passenger involvement. So the on board talks from passengers with interesting backgrounds might be useful in that endeavour.There is no question that there is a core of SB loyalists who want to preserve and extend their favorite line's personality. Could this be a way of doing that?

[wripro]

We are seriously off topic here.

[Kizmet]

I find the discussion interesting but as a new to SB customer, I would not select this cruise for it's speakers. I believe it will come down to if they can continue to deliver a luxury experience that the returning cruisers have come to expect and the new to SB are anticipating.

 

Otherwise, Carnival Cooperation will be blurring the lines between it other products of HAL and Princess.

 

We will keep our fingers crossed.

[MARIANH]

We are seriously off topic here.

 

And the topic was?:confused:

[Martita B.]

The topic is "the Seabourn Pride ~"

MB

[Kizmet]

We recently returned from an 11 day cruise on the Pride to Asia. We had a great time and our review is at http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=69413. Our opinion is subjective and your experiences will be different. But if your profile as a cruiser is similar, it might help in the decision process when you are deciding between cruise lines. On the assumption someone from Seabourn reads these threads in order to improve their product I have included some suggestions for improvement that would change our mind about future cruises on Seabourn.

 

I believe it to be as patinwv originally stated, his opinions for improvements and to help in the decision process for making a choice for a Luxury cruiseline if your cruise profile was similar to his.

[tyfh]

The topic is "the Seabourn Pride ~"

MB

 

 

It seems to me that the topic was the quality of goods and services on a recent cruise on The Pride ... a review that was critical of food quality and house wine offerings. Although there were other issues that were spoken about, these were the main concerns ... I believe

Everything that has been written is very relevant to the topic .... "In my humble opinion."

Seabourn might be reducing the quality of their offerings and staffing levels to compensate for the discounted cruise fares that are being offered. The cost of 1/2 & 1/2 vs. milk ... spices can be very expensive ... wine quality varies vastly when you are talking even $1.00 a bottle less. I don't know if any of this is the case, but it offers a good example of a trend that is in the hospitality industry today. Reduce pricing, but maintain your margins. Remember, they have 3 new ships that have major debt attached to their success! This is Carnivals flagship Line ... they will allow some reduction in profit for a SHORT period of time ... but not for long.

[tyfh]

So should Seabourn discount heavily to fill suites, with a possible impact on the passenger mix, which could in turn affect their " top end" product?

 

Or are they doing so already in the US?

 

If I am on The Pride in 2 weeks ... you KNOW the price was a good one! :D

[Kizmet]

tyfh,

 

Will be very interested to know your opinion after your Pride experience.

[johnnycruise]

The topic is "the Seabourn Pride ~"

MB

 

I don't understand with such a negative review (suggestions far outweigh kudos) how the OP settled on an overall rating of four ribbons/stars.

[MARIANH]

The topic is "the Seabourn Pride ~"

MB

 

Of course it was. Ergo comments concerning that overall topic are all relevant. And that goes for a lot of submissions to this post. Indeed the principle should apply to all threads.

 

Sometimes I find it difficult to understand the purists who seek to constrain ( or even remove) discussion. That is the way to inhibit constructive debate and in my view is undemocratic. But what do I know being a relative newcomer to CC and a Brit to boot.

[Buccaneer_1]

Sounds like different Pride to the one I got off in Hong Kong last month and am rejoining in Bangkok shortly although I couldn’t really see a serious complaint in there. We had no issues with the food or wine, Seabourn soups rule and always have, the payfor wines aren't inexpensive but so they are in restaurants ashore and particularly in the US on where I assume Seabourn base their pricing. You can find good value in the list though.

 

On another tack - we've done 8 Seabourn's on all 3 littlies, and several Silversea’s and have paid from the 25% discounts of several years ago to the 60%+ discounts now. One quite subjective observation I'd make is that the bigger discounts and the need to fill beds might well be attracting people who haven't travelled at the top end before and whose expectations are overly inflated in terms of what they might be getting compared to what they’re used to. Black tie optional, and let’s have more of them for those used to upmarket travelling, doesn't mean an open shirt and slacks at a formal night as I've seen recently and there is no bingo on the Seabourn cruises I've done. Trivia is for sea days and leads nicely to an extended lunch.

 

Keep it up Seabourn. I have no notion of what it’s like on the really big ships and no intention of finding out but logic tells me that if Seabourn are, and I don’t think it, dropping in standards, then it must be far worse where you have several thousand expectations to meet albeit at a different level.

[patinwv]

Hello All! Everyone that has posted has an interest in a Seabourn cruise that not just meets but exceeds their expectations-- me included. What may have been missed in my review is that my comparison was my first Seabourn cruise in 2000. This was such a stellar experience that it was my benchmark for "wonderful cruising" for a decade. The recent cruise onboard the Pride received 4 stars because it wasn't an awful cruise. We had a great time and enjoyed the experience but did not feel that it offered luxury in some categories and had significantly changed from the prior cruise.

 

As always in matters of human experience, we have differing views and standards of measurement. I believe it is useful to offer an opinion on our cruise experiences to both help future passengers in selecting the right cruise for their demographic and to improve the product. And just an FYI--I am female :)

[surfersgirl]

We are enjoying a break in Sinagpore after sadly leaving The Pride this morning, we spent the last 44 days having a great time (we always do) despite missing 4 ports due to different circumstances - weather, political reasons etc.

I would agree that the food wasn't always as good as usual and we all can have a bad day but when Pascal joined us for the last 12 days we had a marked improvement in the taste of the meals

We only had room service once, I expect to wait for a meal to be specially cooked as in any hotel.

I don't want the staff hanging over my shoulder all of the time to see if I need a refill and I definetly don't yell for the staff to hurry up with my food as we saw a lot of 1st time Seabourners do.

The only downside on our trip was a group of over 30 travel agents from Chile who travelled for 12 days from Kobe to Shanghai.They tried every cocktail that they saw then discarded after a sip and then did the same with food orders at the Sky Bar.

I know that travel agents have to test the product but I really hope that the powers that be do not allow such a large group on board again.

The crew were wonderful as usual which is why we have booked 2 more cruises for next year.Jean

[rols]

We are enjoying a break in Sinagpore after sadly leaving The Pride this morning... despite missing 4 ports due to different circumstances - weather, political reasons etc.

...

I would agree that the food wasn't always as good as usual and we all can have a bad day but when Pascal joined us for the last 12 days we had a marked improvement in the taste of the meals

...

The only downside on our trip was a group of over 30 travel agents from Chile

 

First of all welcome to Singapore, I hope you're having a great time in our little city, island, state, country. Thank you also for bringing some better weather with you, it's been raining for the last few days!

 

Who's Pascal, a new head chef on the ship? We're sailing in 3 weeks (and counting), if Pascal made the difference we hope that Pascal will still be there, any ideas about that?

 

What ports did you miss and for what reasons?

 

We had a group of travel agents on our last Silversea cruise but they were a lot better behaved than that, that kind of behavior really sounds rather shabby.

[Martita B.]

Pascal is a "senior" Executive Chef ~~has been with us for many years ~ I can well understand the quality of food when he boarded.

He's grrreat ~:p

Martita B.

[surfersgirl]

hi,we are happily esconced at the Shangrila but unfortunately I am not doing very much apart from putting my feet (foot really) up. We were in a cabin with a murphy bed which had metal legs at the very end and my right foot came into contact with one leg a few days before the end of the cruise. Result - one broken toe that needs pins but fortunately we have a surgeon organised for a couple of days after we get home which is a miracle in itself..There was no point in having it operated on in Singapore since we wouldn't be able to travel home for at least 4 days afterwards.

As to why we missed 4 ports, the first was keelung - something to do with the paperwork from china-so we had an extra night in shanghai.the next 2 were in china too-it was so foggy that the first port was closed and the second wouldn't accept us so we had an extra couple of nights in shanghai. the fourth was Ko Kood due to our final destination being changed to Singapore. Some people still complained about the extra nights in Shanghai but for us it meant that we could explore more of the countryside.

jean

[rols]

hi,we are happily esconced at the Shangrila but unfortunately I am not doing very much apart from putting my feet (foot really) up. We were in a cabin with a murphy bed which had metal legs at the very end and my right foot came into contact with one leg a few days before the end of the cruise.

 

...

the fourth was Ko Kood due to our final destination being changed to Singapore.

 

Sorry to hear about your toe, there are worse places in Singapore to be than the Shangri-la, if you have them carry you up to Blu there's great food, not a lot of food, but it tastes wonderful!

 

So the whole cruise ended up in an entirely different port? I'd totally missed that that had happened. Do you have any idea what Seabourn did for the people expecting to meet the cruise wherever it was they were expecting to meet it and the people expecting to end up somewhere entirely different from .. well wherever it was they were expecting to end up.