Seabourn Sojourn Food and Service

[Chairsin]

My mouth is watering for their wonderful blueberry pancakes -- I think I ordered them three times on the cruise we were both on last Nov/Dec in the Med. They were tender and flavorful -- but dare I say it on this thread -- I had trouble getting a small portion.

[wripro]

The Colonnade offers a different themed dinner every night with full waiter service, linen, crystal etc. And in warm climates where you ca dine outside it is an absolute delight. Even the Patio Grill offers waiter service for the main course at dinner. I always dine at the Colonnade several times during a cruise as well as Restaurant 2. I like the different experiences.

[Mr Luxury]

And in addition to what Lincslady accurately noted there is also waiter service at breakfast. People assume that because the buffet is there they must eat off of the buffet. Not true! It is only and option in case you are in a hurry or want to select your own food.

 

Absolutely correct.

 

I have never stood in line at breakfast,lunch or dinner in the colonnade.

Just tell the waiter or waitress what you want and they will bring it to you.

[jam52]

Absolutely correct.

 

I have never stood in line at breakfast,lunch or dinner in the colonnade.

Just tell the waiter or waitress what you want and they will bring it to you.

 

 

totally agree. I make it a point to avoid buffets. Love sitting outside on the back for lunch but always order off the menu.

[downunderagain]

Could it be that the comments that I and others made about food and service on the Feb 2 cruise ( and the earlier thread by someone else, "...too bad about the food") were accurate? And could it possibly be true that Seabourn monitors these boards and takes appropriate action? Of course it is. And that is a very, very good thing! There have been 321 posts since I began this thread, and 15,881 views...one of the "most watched" threads on the CruiseCritic Sojourn board. That is a lot of potential Seabourn passengers who are being influenced, for better or worse, by what is posted here. That's why I think Seabourn has some "plants"...those who will defend the line no matter what. I'm sure other lines do the same. It would be stupid not to. I'm sure that Seabourn would FAR MORE have preferred me being a passenger who went directly to the top management aboard ship. They pride themselves on requiring every service employee learning the face and name of every passenger. They give them photos that are taken when we board ship. It is a simple thing to identify those to whom special, special attention must be paid. If they can identify people who post on these boards, and single them out for extraordinary care, they can get away with less than stellar service and quality for everyone else. The purpose of my posts was not to get better food, bigger portions, faster service for me. It was to describe to others what it was like aboard ship at that time. I had hoped that Seabourn was smart enough to see these postings, watch them to see if I was a "nutcase" or "complainer" to see if any others aboard ship supported my postings. Thankfully, four others did, and no one who was aboard ship at that time disagreed with us. The fact that Seabourn made some significant staffing changes and that early reports indicate that "problem may be solved" is a testament to the power of public boards like this one, and to those of you who were aboard ship and posted here to tell how "it really was". Thank you all for doing that. That is why my posts have been careful to explain how much I enjoyed all of the OTHER positive aspects of sailing Seabourn Sojourn and the pleasure of being with the people aboard them...both passengers and crew. Seabourn is dear to my heart...I have many wonderful memories from my five cruises with them. I truly hope they can capture and retain all of the things that made them one of the top cruise lines in the world.

 

We sailed Sojourn from BA to Valparaiso and return. Our experience could not have been more different than Happy Feet's. We had a wonderful cruise, served by absolutely superb staff. We are booked on Spirit in August, Sojourn again in September, and Quest to the Antarctic in December. We chose to dine most nights in the Colonnade because the food there was so good, hot and freshly served. We agree that the service in the MDR left a lot to be desired, and only dined there once other than when dining with one of the Officers. We ate nearly all our breakfasts at the Colonnade, ordered from the menu, and were served by the delightful wait staff. I agree that some times the Colonnade was very crowded, but staff did their very best to ensure that we were seated, and served, always with a smile.

 

Do not think that we are a Seabourn plant, far from that. The first post I ever made on these boards was about Seabourn Sun in 2000, and I was duly castigated by other posters for my negativity.

 

I hope that people reading these posts are not dissuaded from booking with Seabourn. Your individual experience depends many times on your own attitude to the cruise. In life we can choose to be happy or be unhappy. We try to choose to be happy. We can honestly say that we have never found a crew member who did not respond positively to our attempts to always call them by name, and to thank them for the great job they were doing.

 

Our most wonderful experiences in life have been on Seabourn cruises. That is why we try to spend each March with Seabourn somewhere in the world. With 50 years of marriage behind us, we have something good to remember about every anniversary.

 

We are meeting friends we made on Seabourn in September for the Sojourn crossing. They are also celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year. We expect to have a fabulous time. Hope you can all do the same on your next Seabourn cruise.

[commodoredave]

Downunder, I agree with you with the one exception that even positive people can be occasionally dispointed in a cruise if the officers and crew are not up to the task. I've sailed twice on Seabourn and have a third scheduled for September because we have had nothing but excellent service, food, shore excursions and company. Based on my personal experience, I can recommend Seabourn (and some other lines) without hesitation. In fact, Seabourn is one of my top 3 cruise lines in the world (and that is based on taking 59 cruises over the last 30 years)

However, I also understand that a particular ship on a particular cruise with a particular crew can present a much differnent scenario. For example, we have taken 10 Regent cruises, and one of them was a huge disappointment with the other nine being wonderful (and it had nothing to do with weather, but rather the crew). So when I read about someone having a bad experience, I believe it but I like to think of it as being a one-off experience that is not consistent with the overall standard or experience offered by that cruise line. That's why I like to look at a cruise line's overall rating in the member reviews or in various surveys before making a judgement. The bottom line is that while someone can have a bad cruise, it is not necessarily indicative of the overall standard and may be just a one-off situation.

[cruisecrazyone]

Yes, and as of this morning Sojourn has a full supply of assorted berries. All it took was getting out of Brazil, apparently. (allthough Seabourn did fly in blueberries from Uruguay during the berry "shortage" on the Amazon). St. Bart's tomorrow and we are, still, on the 45th day of a 50 day sailin, having the best food, service, and time ever on any cruise. Happy Seabourn to all!

[commodoredave]

That's great news. And it has me looking forward more than ever to another sensational cruise with Seabourn in September.

[wripro]

I too have friends who are doing the 50 day sailing and have had nothing but glowing reports. So perhaps at this point we can write off the anomaly that the the couple of cruises in November and December were, and hope that this situation does not reoccur. That said, cruise lines are run by human beings so something will surely go wrong again at some time. And just as surely we'll hear about it here.

[sassyw]

We totally agree. Just returned from 50 days on the Crystal. Breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer far inferior. Dinner in the MDR OK. Cabin poorly laid out. Can't compare to accomodations on Seabourn. Going back on the Seabourn Jan. 2014 on the Sojourn. Can't wait.

S&M

[PaulaJK]

-Crystal doesn't have a 'Windjammer'.

 

-I am just catching up with this thread. While I always appreciate individual impressions and varying experiences even on the same cruise, what seems to be repeatedly overlapped here is crew service vs cuisine.

 

-HappyFeet...Dinner in the Colonnade is themed. The menu offers about 2 selections/options in each category. The menu is published in the Herald so you know in advance what it will include. All is served in this very relaxed venue. The tables are dressed as previously noted and flameless candles are on the tables. In the right mood or sitting outdoors can provide a lovely alternative to the more formal dining of the Restaurant.

[Paminflorida]

Just returned from 15 days on the Sojourn -- was delighted with the service and food. DH was nervous about being on a bigger ship but he was amazed to see the same level of service with almost twice as many guests. Suffice it to say we put a deposit on our next cruise before we left! Took notes on my iPhone and thought I'd share -

 

Day 1 - Local tour company flubbed transfers. Seabourn needs to send a rep to the hotel to assist. Not a good start. Tropical Hotel old, musty but good breakfast with mantioc omelette

Great caprihana in observation bar. Outdoor surf and turf in Collanade. I had crab cake and DH had clam chowder. Cheese for dessert. Need lessons for iced coffee.

Day 2 - Room service breakfast. Meeting of rivers excursion. Awesome tour not much wild life but meeting looked like a river of expresso mixing with a river of latte. Collonade lunch but no pisco sours :(

Bridge tour and sail away. Formal dinner with caviar, beef and vanilla soufflé with berry sauce. In bed by 9:15 lol!

Day 3 - Cruised down the amazon and anchored about 11 am. Boi bomba show was pretty amazing and so was dinner at R2!

Day 4 - Meeting of waters in Santarem - totally different than the other. Saw houses and birds, water buffalo, dolphins, monkeys but didn't catch any piranha! Wine note - Cote du Rhone was too sweet. We prefer Brass field Syrah and Sirius merlot blend! Magician and dinner at Patio Grill - fries were awesome! Dessert by pool and then Rock the Boat party.

Day 5 - Went to Ancho de Chao instead of the pacoval village due to Good Friday. Tendered into a little resort village - much cleaner than Santarem. Got some souvenirs and back to the ship for lunch. Too much wine at lunch and went down to the marina to dip my foot in the Amazon - beware of the slippery fish! Nap time then another amazing dinner at R2 with Melinda.

Day 6 - Cruising on the Amazon all day. Pedicure at 9:15 and cooking demo at 11. Chef Graeme made coffee creme brûlée and crab cakes. Went to a boutique sale at 1 pm and bought DH a sports jacket, two shirts and a bathing suit for $130! Catholic Mass at 5 and then enjoyable lecture on the amazon creatures and yummy Indian dinner in the Collonade.

Day 7 - Happy Easter! Yoga at 7:30 followed by a massage for me and a haircut for DH. Lecture on Devils Island and DH made me watch Pappilion! Crossing of the equator ceremony and got lots of funny pix! Another lecture on the Caribbean - boring! Dinner at sky grill with Nigerian shrimp!!

Day 8 - Anchored by Devil's Island, French Guiana. Took the tender in and walked around - saw peacocks, macaws, toucans, big rats and a family of about 20 monkeys! Relaxing afternoon and another nice dinner at R2.

Day 9 - Started the day at sea with yoga and a massage! Lecture about pirates at 11 am, followed by lunch at the Collonade. Hung out on Deck 7 all afternoon, reading and napping a little. Seabourn Club members cocktail party, then Chef's dinner at the Restaurant.

Day 10 - Docked in Barbados next to a massive carnival ship. Walked about a mile into town and saw lots of British style buildings. Bought some rum cakes and pirate stuff. Back on the ship for lunch, sun, nap and beautiful sail away. Dover sole and pistachio ice cream in the Restaurant.

Day 11 - Anchored in Terre de Haut in Guadeloupe. Cappuccino on the veranda before going into town. Very cute, a rustic St. Barth's. Didn't take Amex so we couldn't buy anything. Hung out on deck 5 after Mexican lunch. Tuscan market in the Collonade and tried to stay awake for the comedian but didn't make it!

Day 12 - Anchored in St. Barth's. Yoga on top deck and tendered into town at 10 am. Walked around Gustavia and bought my mom a house warming gift. Tendered back with Karl Eckl and Chef Graeme. German spaetzle for lunch and hung out on deck 5. Sail away Epicurean Delights which were champagne, caviar, sushi, salmon and prosciutto. I think this is like caviar in the surf without the surf! Pre dinner entertainment with Lazlo and Claudia - amazing violinists! Too full for dinner but had a Cesaer salad and onion rings! Skipped the 2nd rock the boat party which didn't start until 10 pm!

Day 13 - Last port of Jost van dyke. Fruit and coffee in Collonade and over heard a gentleman complaining that there were no mangoes. Server said Chef felt the mangoes weren't ripe - he replies "Seabourn is 3 star, not 5 star!" Over a mango! Marina was deployed for the 2nd time today. Plus Caviar in the Surf - two days in a row! Seabourn had shuttle taxis take us to the Soggy Dollar (unlike SilverSeas which only tendered us last year) and deployed marina on the beach and caviar! We took ours in the room lol!! Yummy pain killers both at Soggy Dollar and on deck while steaming home to FLL! Thai dinner in the Collonade and early to bed.

Day 14 - Full day at sea, starting with another massage with Gerald. Picked up our passports and hung out on deck 5 and on our veranda. Captains farewell party and dinner in the Restaurant. Boursin cheese soufflé, lobster, beef Wellington, and grand marnier soufflé for dessert!

Day 15 - Last day! Yummy cappuccino and hanging out by the pool for some sun before the 12 noon Galley Market lunch! Shot of Absolut mandarin at the entrance, fantastic shrimp/prosciutto soup, cheese fondue, pasta, suckling pig and the best soft shell crabs I've ever eaten! More Latour Chardonnay, baked Alaska, some crazy dessert beginning with a K!

Last lecture with Niki sepsis on ghosts and rogue waves. Final dinner at the Patio Grill.

Day 16 - Very efficient transfer to our car to take us home.

[PaulaJK]

Sounds perfect!