Restaurant: Breakfast & Lunch?

[glenwhorple]

My wife and I always have had breakfast and frequently had lunch in the main dining room.

 

"It is not a pleasant experience for the few who do show up to be dining in an empty room" is simply not true for us.

[daveoc]

If Seabourn are saying they are closing because the lack of numbers makes it 'not a pleasant experience' (which I disagree with) then how about making Resaturant 2 the sit down and be served area for breakfast and lunch.

 

It's small enough so that if there are only a few people it would still work.

 

I'm still amazed that Seabourn have gone ahead with this without putting in something for the people who did appreciate eating in the main dining room.

[GrannyLorr]

My wife and I always have had breakfast and frequently had lunch in the main dining room.

 

"It is not a pleasant experience for the few who do show up to be dining in an empty room" is simply not true for us.

 

Fully agree....its always a "pleasant experience" for us to have a nice quiet breakfast in the MDR.....:(

[ravenclaw]

Well said..

Looking ahead, does anyone know if Silversea's Silver Spirit, (Odyssey/Sojourn competitor), main dining room, La Terazza (?), offers the three meal options or is limited to dinner also ?

 

Correction

 

informed that Silversea's MDR is also called The Restaurant and is open for bkfst, lunch and dinner as of now.

La Terazza looks to be their version of the Colonnade.

[HunEBear]

My husband and I have a total of 93 days on Seabourn and I can count on one hand the number of times we have eaten in the Colonnade or the Veranda Café – we almost always eat in the Restaurant. We enjoy the quiet atmosphere and it gives us an opportunity to chat with the staff when they are not scurrying around like they must do at dinner time. Eating in the Restaurant instead of the “buffet style” venue is also part of my weight control strategy. It is easier for me to exercise control when I order from a menu.

The Seabourn dining experience is one of the reasons that my husband and I are willing to pay almost twice as much for a Seabourn cruise as for a similar trip on one of the mainstream lines. We are already booked on the 73-night Odyssey circumnavigation of South America in January. I can honestly say that I would not have booked this trip had I known about the experiment in advance. I hope that Seabourn reconsiders.

[Host Dan]

My husband and I have a total of 93 days on Seabourn and I can count on one hand the number of times we have eaten in the Colonnade or the Veranda Café – we almost always eat in the Restaurant. We enjoy the quiet atmosphere and it gives us an opportunity to chat with the staff when they are not scurrying around like they must do at dinner time. Eating in the Restaurant instead of the “buffet style” venue is also part of my weight control strategy. It is easier for me to exercise control when I order from a menu.

The Seabourn dining experience is one of the reasons that my husband and I are willing to pay almost twice as much for a Seabourn cruise as for a similar trip on one of the mainstream lines. We are already booked on the 73-night Odyssey circumnavigation of South America in January. I can honestly say that I would not have booked this trip had I known about the experiment in advance. I hope that Seabourn reconsiders.

Well the good news is that you will be eligible for your 1 week free cruise at 140 days... :(

 

Host Dan

[fastlane]

Maybe I missed something along the way, but has the "experiment" started? If so, on which ships?

 

And if so, could we get some posts from the folks on those sailings to tell us how it's working out? Seamlessly? Logjams at breakfast and lunch? Not enough seating at the most popular eating hours? Scrunched into too small a table/space? Etc.

[Island Cruiser]

I am astounded to learn that only a very few passengers elected to dine in the MDR at breakfast and lunch this summer on Seabourn. We regularly have breakfast and lunch in Compass Rose, the MDR on Regent's Navigator, and in The Restaurant on Silversea's Whisper. On these two ships, similar in size to the new Seabourn ships, there are always between one and two dozen tables in use at breakfast and considerably more at lunch. And it sure looks like we'll be using these dining rooms into the future instead of trying Seabourn.

[Miss Jet Set]

WE have been on all three Triplets this year, last one in June and yes the MDR was open.We have had several days when the weather was so bad we could not get into the

Veranda so thankfully the dining room was the alternative.

Enjoy your next cruise.

[Roxburgh]

I'm quite surprised at how many CCers use the MDR for breakfast and lunch. One wonders if many, if any, use the Colonnade especially as it is usually quite busy. Perhaps it is the non-CCers who use the Colonnade.

[Roxburgh]

I wonder how guests will come and use it if it's closed.:confused:

 

Perhaps if guests are hammering on the closed doors and creating a stink.

[wripro]

Of course they had fewer people eating lunch in the restaurant on these seven day Med cruises during the summer. They had a younger demographic with more children and mostly port days. This does not reflect the normal situation. In my 67 days aboard the Odyssey I had lunch in the restaurant many times, especially when I did not feel like running up to the colonnade after trivia to secure a table. Plus the a la carte menu there is limited to hamburgers, hot dogs, one pasta, one fish dish. It's nowhere near as extensive as the restaurant.

[Susan07470]

Called Seabourn and was told that "the experiment" was not on the triplets. I enjoy an elegant lunch at times and am glad to hear that will be an option. I have not been on the larger ships yet. I think I'll stay with the triplets.

[daveoc]

I've sent an email to Miami saying that my upcoming cruise will be my last with Seabourn while this change is in force.

 

Perhaps if enough people contact seabournclub at seabourn.com to tell them how they feel they might reconsider.

 

I wonder if this major change has been passed on to the travel agents for them to tell their clients, both booked and potential.

 

My guess is that it has not as they must realise that it will have a negative effect on future bookings.

 

[JaneBP]

Seabourn says that the closings of the MDR are a trial only. It makes sense to me to close for lunch on port days. This also could result in giving the dining crew some more flexibility. Naturally, cruisers should send them their opinions, but I doubt any changes are a fait accompli.

[turtlemichael]

There appear to be two justifications. First, the atmosphere in a near empty restaurant is a disappointment to most guests and secondly, that it is expensive to provide the service to so few guests. The cynic in me suspects that the second reason is substantially more important than the first.

 

Prices on Seabourn are currently very low reflecting the general market and the great expansion of berths in what is a limited market. It seems to me, having taken advantage of the lower prices as many others have, Seabourn cannot reasonably turn round and now say, "oh, we forgot to mention that we are going to downgrade the service now so we can make a profit". What else do they plan? I would suggest that if this is an experiment the only thing being tested is the reaction from current and future cruisers. If I am right, all Seabourners should be making their feelings known to their travel agents and to Seabourn directly.

 

A wise management will see this as a PR disaster, likely to alienate many long term and recent customers. Letting accountants make decisions is a recipe for a business catastrophe. Not having the ability to quietly and with style eat breakfast and lunch in the main dining room of itself removes Seabourn from the small group of lines which purport to be luxury.

[dalliowner]

I have emailed the club twice about how many the colonnade can seat inside but cannot get an answer. This is very important as if the MDR is closed especially at Breakfast time and the weather is not hot or dry enough to sit outside I cannot see 450 guest being able to walk into breakfast. Does anybody know the seating capacity ???

 

I can understand in hot climates and on port days they might wqnt to close the MDR but Seabourn are not making this distinction:(

[MARIANH]

I have emailed the club twice about how many the colonnade can seat inside but cannot get an answer. This is very important as if the MDR is closed especially at Breakfast time and the weather is not hot or dry enough to sit outside I cannot see 450 guest being able to walk into breakfast. Does anybody know the seating capacity ???

 

Dont hold your breath for a quick reply.

 

Whatever the number is, it is unlikely to be enough to avoid breakfast being a frenetic experience.

 

Understandably, some people enjoy the relaxed ambience of the MDR and should still be allowed that option/ choice. Especially as that is what the Seabourn publicity says is part of the " onboard experience".

 

In the whole of my working life, I have never seen an executive decision like this more designed to send customers to the opposition.

 

So SOS (Save our Seabourn). If you want to retain the option to breakfast or lunch in the MDR. Shout, yell, knock on doors , email/ write to Seabourn ,tell your friends and lobby through every available route. Otherwise vote with your feet and wallets. People power.

 

Are you listening Seabourn?

[daveoc]

Dont hold your breath for a quick reply.

 

Whatever the number is, it is unlikely to be enough to avoid breakfast being a frenetic experience.

 

Understandably, some people enjoy the relaxed ambience of the MDR and should still be allowed that option/ choice. Especially as that is what the Seabourn publicity says is part of the " onboard experience".

 

In the whole of my working life, I have never seen an executive decision like this more designed to send customers to the opposition.

 

So SOS (Save our Seabourn). If you want to retain the option to breakfast or lunch in the MDR. Shout, yell, knock on doors , email/ write to Seabourn ,tell your friends and lobby through every available route. Otherwise vote with your feet and wallets. People power.

 

Are you listening Seabourn?

 

Is there a way of posting this message on the roll calls for those who may not be aware?

[ravenclaw]

Dont hold your breath for a quick reply.

 

Whatever the number is, it is unlikely to be enough to avoid breakfast being a frenetic experience.

 

Understandably, some people enjoy the relaxed ambience of the MDR and should still be allowed that option/ choice. Especially as that is what the Seabourn publicity says is part of the " onboard experience".

 

In the whole of my working life, I have never seen an executive decision like this more designed to send customers to the opposition.

 

So SOS (Save our Seabourn). If you want to retain the option to breakfast or lunch in the MDR. Shout, yell, knock on doors , email/ write to Seabourn ,tell your friends and lobby through every available route. Otherwise vote with your feet and wallets. People power.

 

Are you listening Seabourn?

 

MARIANH,

 

I like the way you think ...(after reading your posts on the MDR topic).

:D

[Early Retiree]

I have also emailed a person at Seabourn that my TA suggested, and would be happy to send a note to a higher level person if anyone has an email address.

 

Merril

[Early Retiree]

Letters going out today to Pam Conover and Lawrence Rapp (VP, Hotel Operations). I love Seabourn and hate to see it diminished, so I have to give it a try.

 

Merril

[harbormaster]

We are about to book our next Seabourn cruise, but this information has given us pause. We want assurance that the main dining room will be open on the triplets or we will not book. Is someone aboard now who can confirm this?

We recently completed a Med Silversea Silver Spirit cruise and, if the main dining room had not been opened for breakfast and lunch, would have had an extremely bad experience. There were more than 60 children aboard (which, agreed was unusual) who took over the buffets and pool grill. The main dining room was a place of peace and quiet for those of us wishing to have a relaxing meal. We were extremely happy that Silversea had that dining room open, despite the fact that perhaps 10 tables were dining in total.

We love the Seabourn experience and were looking forward to our next one. We will email our opinions as suggested above, but would appreciate any current info on the Spirit or Pride. Thanks.

[JaneBP]

I should think that the little sisters would be less likely to have the MDR closed, except perhaps on port days, since the Veranda has less seating occupancy than the Colonnade. Perhaps on a nice port day, there would be a Sky Bar Grille open for lunch as well. In addition, room service has been available to cruisers at the Sky Bar and Constellation Lounge as well. I think letters are important and so is waiting to see what happens.

[daveoc]

I contacted a couple of agents to see if they could tell me what was going on. I've posted their replies below and, as you can see,it would appear some Seabourn staff are giving differing answers:

 

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''

Thanks for your inquiry. After speaking with Seabourn directly, I would be happy to clarify the "rumors". Over the last several months, Seabourn has noticed that only on "port days", sometimes only 5-6 people were utilizing the main dining room for breakfast. During lunch time, most guests were ashore and no one was utilizing the main dining room. Certainly, days at sea are much different and guests will have access to the main dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Therefore, Seabourn is going to experiment by offering...ONLY on port days - "MENU" service in the Colonnade Café for breakfast and lunch, with the option for their upscale buffet service. Seabourn advised they will be closing monitoring this and asking the guests for the opinions during this time.''

 

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''I spoke with Seabourn a few minutes ago. According to the rep that I spoke with not serving breakfast and lunch in the main dining room was an experiment that was in place only for the summer. They assured me that full service is available now at all meals.''

 

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