Just Back from 2 day Sampler on Quest

[Martita B.]

Markham

Well said......you could also write for a magazine! I will subscribe yearly!

 

No, we don't need to book only Seabourn for a most fun and enjoyable cruise ~one of the best cruises I can remember was a Carnival 7 dayer (Mexico, Carib) from Galveston a few years ago. My best friend received her Doctor's report of "cancer FREE" ~about 8 of us booked the Carnival sailing ~ it was pure magic! We had a blast ~my cabin was tiny ~a porthole! My bathroom was akin to a small closet ~with a black rubber carpet! I met fabulous Carnival guests ~(mostly from Texas) Capt. was Pier P. Scala ~an Italian HOOT (recently with Regent) I kept thinking while sailing on the Carnival Ecstasy......"well, Mr Micky says.....Have fun, have fun!" And that's what we did!

 

Martita B

[Flamin_June]

Nancy

Like a genie in the lamp you call and I appear....

 

I am busy preparing for our upcoming embarkation and trying to clear the decks at work, so little time for posting, though I am following this and other threads when i can. I must say I am flattered to be mentioned in the same breath ( if not quite the same sentence) as marianh and writer100.

 

Neophytus has made a number of good points in the past and there is always room for his critical perspective. I think the real problem is with Seabourn Shoreside Management (tiffany pins, I ask you). Looking back over the last couple of years of threads it seems it was ever thus. And much of Nephytus' venom is directed at poor management decisions of one kind or another. I have to say I am less than impressed in my own dealings with Seatle/Miami. There is a kind of 'take it or leave it' attitude and a lack of the service ethos one experiences on the ships.

 

None of us want to see a brand that we love and value being dumbed down

and some of the little storms here on CC do seem to make Seattle sit up and take action.

 

The moral of this story is: Seabourn is great, but the 2 day cruise was badly planned and poorly executed, so Rich Meadows and crew, please don't mess it up again. And if it is the case that some bright spark thought that a 2 day quickie was a convenient opportunity to train up new restaurant staff you all now know that it doesn't work.

 

DW and I are flying to Dubai on Sunday. I have no intention of going anywhere near a keybord for the next 3 and a half weeks so I will bid you all adieu for now. I hae only been on here for a few months, but on the whole it has been great fun getting to know you all.

[Jim Avery]

This sort of thread comes up over at Cunard every time the Brain Trust (ultimately Carnival) comes up with the "Sampler" idea. The QM2 is notably a disaster in the 2 to 4 day Booze Cruises. I agree with the posters that have said a 2 day is just too short. It is. It is basically the same as an overnight ferry trip. The demographics attracted to a very short sampler type cruise also has been noted as younger, more party oriented, etc. Whether or not this played a part in the Quest debacle is not the point. A quality product like Seabourn (at least on the Spirit it was quality) should not try these forms of "marketing". Time and again, they have proven to be disasters on other lines.

[Freckles01]

Just stepping out of lurkerdom to add my perspective. I too was on the 2 day Sampler on Quest and had a fantastic time. We booked the cruise with the thought of it being a way to introduce us to the Seabourn line. We also knew going in that 2 days wasn't going to be a exact true representation of what a longer cruise would be. 2 days turn around is a huge amount of work for the crew and I figured it wouldn't be perfect.

 

I can see some of the points the original poster made about the service in the Restaurant, as it was a little chaotic when we arrived for seating, but honestly, imo, it wasn't that bad. I actually was sitting at the table right beside his that night and our service was fine. I found the portions normal-sized and hot.

 

From a negative critical view point, the ONLY thing that stood out to me was that when we registered online before hand and filled out preferences of what we liked for our cabin, it wasn't done. That being said, none of what we put down was that important, and really, it was just 2 days. If it was a longer cruise, then it may have been an issue.

 

Some other observations: it was in fact, filled with TA types. One man I spoke with while standing at a bar, said to me everyone he had met was in the travel industry. We liked the wines/champagne offered, had no issues there. The food was outstanding. We ate in Restaurant 2 the first night and loved it. Our service in general was great. We chatted with quite a few staff and all were friendly and helpful. In particular, the Salon was fantastic. So nice and I felt truly pampered.

 

IMO, this cruise was a success at least for us. It introduced us to Seabourn and made us want to cruise with them again.

[redheadednancy]

Thank you Markham for your humor, and Flaming June, although new to his board, I have watched you hang in there with the illustrious Marianh and Writer100. Wripro is no slouch either at getting his point across quick! Life is too short to be nasty or bitter. Years ago on a cruise in the Bahamas I bought this "17th Century Nun's Prayer" framed in Freeport at The Old Curiosity Shop and it is in my dressing room so I see it every now and then. I thought it might be good for us all!

 

" LORD, thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will some day be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody: helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.

 

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details: give me winds to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains but help me to endure them with patience.

 

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessing cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

 

Keep me reasonably sweet; Ido not want to be a Saint--some of them are so hard to live with--but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected AMEN"

 

Now I, like Flamin' June am going to sign off for a while to get my act together for Christmas and the next WONDERFUL Seabourn cruise! Merry Christmas to you all and a wonderful new year!

[wripro]

To summarize this whole thread imo the blame should not go to the staff, the chef or anyone else aboard the Quest for this PR nightmare. It belongs squarely at the feet of management, probably specifically HAL management for unleashing this silly 2 day cruise upon paying guests. They should have done what they did when the Odyssey first arrived in Ft. Lauderdale in 2009, set aside a one or two night cruise to introduce the ship to the travel industry and do it for free. When you don't pay you are much less likely to complain.

[Host Dan]

To summarize this whole thread imo the blame should not go to the staff, the chef or anyone else aboard the Quest for this PR nightmare. It belongs squarely at the feet of management, probably specifically HAL management for unleashing this silly 2 day cruise upon paying guests. They should have done what they did when the Odyssey first arrived in Ft. Lauderdale in 2009, set aside a one or two night cruise to introduce the ship to the travel industry and do it for free. When you don't pay you are much less likely to complain.

Very well said, Henry.

 

Host Dan

[markham]

Wripro, excellent summary on this topic! I concur with Host Dan just above.

 

And to Reheadednancy, the nun's prayer you kindly retyped for us is getting pride of place on my refrigerator door. Thank you!

 

And to Martita B, I appreciate the kind remark. You have such a following here and so your views count especially!

 

Have a happy holiday and terrific 2012!

[redheadednancy]

Wripro, excellent summary on this topic! I concur with Host Dan just above.

 

And to Reheadednancy, the nun's prayer you kindly retyped for us is getting pride of place on my refrigerator door. Thank you!

 

And to Martita B, I appreciate the kind remark. You have such a following here and so your views count especially!

 

Have a happy holiday and terrific 2012!

I too liked Wripro's summary.

 

BUT I FORGOT IN MY HASTE the last two lines to the prayer (right before the Amen, it should say "the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. And give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so!"

 

Those are two of the best lines and I left them off. Too much hurrying, sorry!

[Chairsin]

Oh Nancy, those ARE the two best lines. Thank you for adding them!

 

Digtexas,

I am sorry if my comment about the two hour dinner offended you -- it was not my intention. I simply was reacting to your statement that you arrived at 8 and almost missed the 10PM show. What I meant is that sometimes perhaps Seabourn's staff misread cues about each passengers preferences for dining pace.In my epxerience they try very hard to adjust to a passengers individual preferences. I know that on our last cruise the Asst. Maitre 'd came to our table early in the cruise because he noticed that there was a long pause beteween our first course and main.He wanted to make sure their was not a problem. We replied far from it -- we had told our dining room captain Leoni the first evening that we liked to take our time between courses and she simplied complied with our wishes.Clearly your circumstances were different and there appear to have been some service issues in the main dining room. I will say though that sometimes I think the crew has a very difficult job trying to adjust to diifferent passengers desires . Anyway, I am sorry that there were problems on your cruise and hope you give Seabourn a mulligan and try a full length cruise before you close the book on this line.

 

We are very much looking forward to our first big ship experience on the Quest Holiday cruise next week.

[wripro]

Thanks, Dan, Markham and Nancy. Let's just hope that SB management has learned something from all this.

[Tilac]

My first two cruises on upscale cruise line this year were, Seabourn Odyssey from Fort Lauderdale to Valparaiso and on Crystal Symphony to Alaska.

There were small quirks on each line but that’s only if you were expecting perfection.

I can say that both experiences were outstanding. It just depends on what you enjoy on a cruise that might differentiate these two lines.

Main differences I saw were:

Cabin size and layout – Seabourn

Gambling – Crystal

I felt that in Seabourn it was a more intimate feeling but that may be from the smaller ship. Seabourn was also quicker to call us by name; even at first encounter.

Crystal would prepare any food item you requested if at all possible and they never failed to deliver on any of our requests. We never tried this on Seabourn but will on our upcoming cruise in March on Seabourn Quest.

I enjoyed them both and have reservations on both for the upcoming year.

Thanks to all CC members for all their views.

[TigrTony]

......As one would say back in the Early 80's at Disneyland for their best rides. I'm heading out from Venice to Athens on the Quest on Oct 27th and remain confident my first SB cruise will be smashing. I had been holding out hope of a two day SB option in December to let my adult kids experience the big time without breaking the bank. This thread illuminated the possibility that I might be using the two nights to keep explaining to them that this isn't like it really is. Well it was a nice thought anyway.

Tony