Review Spirit Dubai - Istanbul April 24th

[clarky]

Although we have cruised many times before this was our first Seabourn experience and I thought it would be helpful to prospective first time Seabourn cruisers to see if Seabourn does live up to it's reputation.

 

After a wonderful two day stay in Dubai we boarded the Spirit at 3.00p.m. It was the easiest and the most welcoming boarding I have experienced. My first impressions of the Spirit were that it was comfortable and well appointed, there are certain places that are showing some wear but it just gave the ship a more homey feel.

 

Our stewardess Severine was outside our suite to greet us with two glasses of champagne and a small nibble each. She then explained all the ammenities in the room and offered us a selection of soaps. She was helpful and friendly for our 19 days onboard and was a real treasure.

 

The food aboard the ship in both venues was excellent and they really have the art of quality rather than quantity exactly right. You never felt you had eaten too much but you never came away hungry either. The menu had a varried selection of seafood, meat and vegitarian fare and could not be faulted. Being Australian I have developed a palate and probably a bias towards Australian wines and therefore was not overley impressed with the complementary wine selection but being a champagne fan I stuck to champagne most of the time and really enjoyed their house brand.

 

The service was the best I have received on board any ship and on reflection I beleive this is due in part to the fact that the wait staff get to know your likes and dislikes, they are friendly and attentive but are never too friendly or overly smuthering in their attentiveness. Perfect balance. The service in the Veranda Cafe during lunch and dinner could sometimes be a little slow and apparently they have reduced the staffing in this area. I only experienced this a couple of times and on the whole the service was excellent.

 

Our fellow passengers were a hightlight of this cruise, with only 195 passengers onbaord you are able to become familiar with most everybody onboard. We met so many lovely people who we will keep in touch with. We found the passengers on this ship the most interesting and well travelled and also the least snobby ( a concern that has been raised by a few prospective first timers) than on other 5 star ships we have been on. Most men wore tux for fomal night and most women were attaired in elegant rather than glitzy dresses. No diamonds and tiara's, which I have seen on other cruises on formal nights.

 

We had five invitations to dine at various officers tables and accepted all of these bar one when we had dinner in our suite due to catching a cold that went around the ship. The in suite dinning was a treat and as mentioned is served course by course. We had room service every morning and they never got our order wrong and were happy to make an egg white omlette with smoked salmon for my husband or meet any request you made. Even down to my wanting my rye bread toasted dark.

 

The port of call:

 

Khasab - could have given this a big miss and most passenger who did a tour said the same thing.

 

Salalah - Slightly more interesting than Khasab and if I hadn't lived in the middle east it may have been more interesting to me.

 

Aqaba - When we received our tour infomation Petra was not offered, we were dissapointed but made no complaint even though we booked this cruise because we really wanted to see Petra. Thankfully a lot of passengers did complain and when we boarded the ship we were given the option of touring Petra. A few people complained about the price $199.00 each and did their own tour but we opted for the seabourn tour and it was well worth it. Petra is a wonder and I enjoyed every minute of our time their.

 

Sharm EL Sheikh - We had a complementary tour which was a trip to the desert and local dancing while sitting under a tent. It sounds wonderful but when the outside temp is around 39c about 100f and not enough tents for all to find shade (lucky I found a place under a tent) the people sitting outside on cushions really felt the heat. The dancing was wonderful and we did enjoy the experience, I'm sure it would have been unbeleivable at night.

 

Alexandria - In retrospect we should have done a tour here but we were really ready to explore on our own so left the boat and walked into town. Alexandria is a 3rd world city, it is very dirty and crowded and the people appeared to be very conservitive. We walked around the souk and it reminded me of a market in Indonesia when we lived there 20 years ago. Meat hanging outside with flies all around. Open air food stalls, cheese stalls, olive stalls all fly infested and the bird stall would take a day to describe!

 

Rhodes - We again explored on our own with our guide book and had a wonderful day. Rholdes has lots to see and is a beautiful port to visit.

 

Aghios Nikolaos - We did a ship tour of the Knososs Place and our guide and tour was excellent.

 

Mykonos - We again explored on our own with our guide book and had another wonderful day. We both loved Mykonos and would recommend doing this stop on your own as long as you have a good guide book. Most people who took the walking tour didn't enjoy it as the streets are so narrow that unless you were next the the guide you couldn't hear anything that was said.

 

Kusadasi - We opted for a full day tour including lunch. We visited Ephesus in the morning with a special tour of the terrace houses which are not open to the public yet. I would highly recommend this tour as viewing the terrace houses is a highlight. The 9 people on our tour were then taken to a small village for lunch with a family in their home. What a treat this turned out to be, to experience a real home cooked meal with a family in a traditional home was a privilege. That night it was a BBQ on the deck and then off to Ephesus again for the compimentary seabourn experience. Imagine the sun setting behind the famous library, you are walking along the same street as Mark Antony and Cleopatra, roman soldiers are guiding your way and you arrive at the library where tales are covered in fine linen and a glass of wine awaits you. Then musicians play Mozart and Wagner while the sun sets. We all felt so privileged to have experienced this and it was a highlight of the trip.

 

We disembarked in Istanbul and once again disembarkation was a breeze. We caught a taxi to our hotel which cost about $15 Euro.

 

We have already paid our deposit for our next Seabourn cuise, the hard part is deciding where to cruise. We have found the cruise line for us! If anyone would like any questions answered I'd be happy to do so.

[dd@sea]

Dear Clarky,

Thank you for your great review. You too, like us, have indeed made the move to what we consider a great cruise line. I am interested in your stops especially since we have signed up for Dubai to Cairo in 07 on the Spirit. We want to spend a couple of days pre cruise in Dubai and would be interested in any ideas you have. For our post cruise we are planning on adding a Nile cruise (with a cruise company that specializes in this) of 5 to 7 days before our return home.

 

Our next cruise with Seabourn is next year; the fjiords, England, Ireland and then London. We are looking so forward to the 'Specialities of Seabourn'; service, amicable and interesting fellow guests, and on and on....

 

Thank you again for any more information and welcome to the Seabourn Family.

[cruiseyguy]

How were the sea days? What types of activities were offered on sea days and did you find them interesting and/or entertaining? What type of evening entertainment was available? Did you wish the cruise was shorter or longer?

[Winner]

The Seabourn Experience to Ephesus at sundown is one of the most memorable times of my life (so far--I'm waiting for Petra). I wondered if I were walking on stones that St. Paul might have tread. It was a truly magical time that I treasure immensely.

 

Welcome to Seabourn. Your review was most fair and you described the dining better than anyone I have read. Thank you.

[GrannyLorr]

Thanks Clarky. I have just booked a cruise today on the Spirit, going to the places you described. (2006) It all sounds fantastic, and I cant wait! We are boarding in Cairns and not getting off till Rome, so hopefully I will be able to post a review after its all over.

 

What wines and champagne are offered as "house" wines? I dont drink a lot of wine but are rather partial to a bubbly and my husband likes a red.

[clarky]

As with most reviews you do miss out some cruicial infomation, I was a little scared to make my reveiw too long and bore people.

 

dd@sea We lived in the United Arab Emirates for 3 years, 16 years ago so for us it was a pleasure to see that the old part of Dubai, including the old gold souk and spice souk had not changed. This souk is a must is you are visiting Dubai, but I would suggest that you see it and in fact do most of your sightseeing as early as possible and leave the souks for the early evening, the heat can be debilitaing. The Dubai museum was fantastic and a must see, also we spoke with many passengers who had been onboard since Hong Kong and they said Dubai was one of their favourite ports. They had a seabourn experience at a bedouin camp, some took a four wheel drive experience in the desert and loved it. I would suggest you stay at a beach resort and take tours or taxi's to the above mentioned places. If you would like more specific infomation closer to your sailing let me know.

 

Cruise Guy The four days at sea tested my husband and even though their are lots of activities like Trivia, which we really loved but didn't win, guest lecture talks, bridge lessons and games, golf putting competitions and cooking demonstrations by the head chef, my husband got a little crazy by day four. He has to be moving and doing and most people love sea days, I just know for the future about 3 sea days in a row is his limit. We had the most wonderful classical guitarist on board for the first section of the cruise and he was fantastic. We also had a comedian Duggie from England who was good. Trevor was the cruise director for the first section of the cruise and then Tony took over from Alexandria - Istanbul, both were wonderful. One sea day we had a Galley Lunch, what a treat, moving through the galley eating wonderful food. We would also meet friends for a chat at afternoon tea. The BBQ outside and the rock and roll show after was wonderful. There was usually a show at night or you could dance up at the Club with the husband and wife singing duo. Lots to keep you busy!

 

Granny Lor I'm afraid that at 45 my memory is not as sharp as it used to be (should I worry) and I cant remember any Brand names of the wines except Geyser Peak a californian Sav Blanc (which I loved). Spainish, Italian, South African and South American wines were offered along with an Australian wine, Jacobs Creek, which I didn't drink as it was a chardonnay. Most people really liked the South American Red that was offered. I don't drink Chardonnay but that was offered as well as a Reisling which was very nice. The Champagne was Pieper something and was excellent better than Moet, but it is all a matter of personal taste, so what I like you might not and what you prefer I might not. I'm sure like me you will find something acceptable to your palate.

 

Hope this is of some help to you all and once again I'm happy to answer any questions.

[clarky]

P.S.

 

Cruise Guy, 19 days was all that my waist line could take however, if we hadn't wanted to explore Turkey so much we would have stayed on until Venice.

 

Granny Lor, What a wonderful trip you have in store, I hope that you enjoy Australia. Passengers who boarded in Hong Kong said that the Taj Mahl was not to be missed so I hope you get the opportunity to see it. Also I would suggest that you take an extra empty suitecase ( I will adhere to this adivce myself in future) as even if you are not a born shopper the bargains in Asia, India and Istanbul are unresistable. I would utilize the washing machines and take less clothes. I'm not a born shopper but if I had taken less clothing I could have done some serious damage.

[clarky]

Sorry Granny Lor just realized you are Australian. 15% of the passenger on the Dubai leg were Australian, 45% American and the rest European. A great mix.

[bldsld]

Clarky, I really enjoyed your review and commentary, and truly appreciate the extensive detail you included and the trouble you took to share it with us.

 

Winner, I have to agree that Ephesus under the stars is a moment of pure magic that can never be forgotten.

 

Regards,

Denyse

[dd@sea]

Clarky,

Again, thank you for your information about Dubai. I have started my folder and your input is most valued and appreciated. As time gets closer I may have more questions.

 

We did the a 26 day - Hong Kong to Mumbai on the Spirit a few years ago with hopes of continuing on to Venice. However, with the SARS out break in Hong Kong and then the start of the Iraq War, our trip was cancelled and all had to get off in Mumbai. We begged to be able to continue on but insurance would not allow us to. We decided not to do Mumbai on to Dubai at a later date as there were a few too many sea days. Your suggestion of an extra suitcase is right on - especially for Vietnam and India. On that trip, Trevor was our chef. He was wonderful! What great food and market excursions he took us to in Goa and Cochin (I loved).

 

I appreciate you taking the time to respond to our requests for information and the sharing of information.

 

Let today be a good one.

[GrannyLorr]

"Born shopper" is my middle name! I wont let my husband see this post, or he might start shaking already! Im not sure how much luggage we will be able to handle though, as we are thinking of doing a tour of Italy at the end of the cruise. Havent really decided yet.

 

The champagne sounds delicious, and I rather enjoy a chardy so Im sure I will be happy. I have just spent hours printing off all the "Shore Excursions" so we can read and decide what we like the sound of best.

If I come up with any more questions, I will seek you out! :D

[Jane Pond]

Speaking of Dubai, I loved it. I flew there last November. I have a few suggestions. I stayed in town at the Hilton Dubai Creek, pleased to be closer to the souks and shopping. Also, I am not a beach person, but did take the shuttle to the Hilton at the beach. The Creek Hilton has a rooftop pool (small) and it was such fun to watch the sun set and listen to the sounds of the city. To me, a beach is not that special. I found the Gordon Ramsay restaurant there, Verre, to be excellent and a much better value than at 68 Royal Hospital Road in London!

 

Another fun dining experience was to lunch at the Seafood restaurant at the Burj al Arab Hotel. I had a drink first at the top, and then was 'plunged' into the depths of the sea. I loved being so close to the aquarium. Of course, I got nervous ordering seafood and wonderied if I might be dining on a relative of one of the swimmers; so had scallops and lobster, neither of which I spotted in the tank!

 

Jane

[dd@sea]

Thank you Jane for sharing another good tip. It is not important for us to be at the beach either as we are within walking distance throughout the year. I am certainly looking forward to this trip and staying a few days before our departure. It will be exciting! Thank you again.

[lord of the seas]

Hi Clarky,very interesting read,now what's the house Champagne that Seabourn serve?

 

John

[clarky]

Lord of the seas

 

The champagne offered was Peiper Heidsieck. I beleive we tasted two different types but I'm sorry I can't recall what they were, I think one had a blue label and one a yeollow/ green label. It was very good and as I'm partial to a glass or two of Champagne I enjoyed this brand very much.

[lord of the seas]

Lord of the seas

 

The champagne offered was Peiper Heidsieck. I beleive we tasted two different types but I'm sorry I can't recall what they were, I think one had a blue label and one a yeollow/ green label. It was very good and as I'm partial to a glass or two of Champagne I enjoyed this brand very much.

Thanks Clarky

 

John