Holiday Cruise Shadow 2015/6

[MrsWaldo]

Having not sailed with SS since 2006 and after reading many negative comments we booked with some hesitation because the itinerary was much better than SB

 

Background:

Mum and 2 adult offspring, SB in 2013 (Russia) and 2014 (Antarctica) Both cruises we enjoyed and found very few faults with anything. We hadn’t sailed between 2006 and 2013 due to life getting in the way , however we had done a number of land trips up until 2010.

 

Prior:

We stayed in the Valley Wing as this is our preferred location in Sing. We had a package which included limitless laundry and transfers. It lived up to expectation and set a pretty high bar for the cruise.

 

Embarkation:

Car dropped us just after 12.30 and the queues were not too bad. Most hold ups seemed to be related to Indian Visas and a lack thereof. SS said they would try and secure them. We had ours. From drop off to La Terrazza took close to an hour. TBH I have found Seabourn’s multiple desks portside much more effective, however I am not sure this is a port feature or line system.

 

Once in La Terraza we were sat on the outdoor smoking side, we were not given the choice and being very anti smoker this was not a good start. They were able to move us. Like Colonnade on boarding day it was much of a zoo and TBH the server was certainly not up to scratch. When offered a drink I enquired about which wines we available and told “French”. Hmmm, so I asked for more information “Red or White” The food was unappealing and we were almost sure we had made a BIG mistake. We bailed and went to the pool grill where both service and food quality improved.

 

Suite:

Announcement was made at 2pm that rooms were ready so we waitied a little and avoided the onslaught. Miss W went straight into the bathroom to use the facility only to find it had, a)either not been cleaned or, b)someone had used it after cleaning in a desperate gastro hurry.

 

Our Butler (Ricardo) and attendant (Adesh) arrived soon after and seemed horrified about the bathroom issue. At no time during the cruise could I fault either of them. Ricardo ensured we were awake, well fed and watered for our late night excursion and also for our overnight trip to Bagan

 

Unlike SB SS only allows 3 in a sofa suite (SB bring in a rolloway each day) and the sofa was very tired on the outer and the cabinet seemed to have connected numerous times. In general the sofa bed was fine, but a rolloway is much preferred as it is a proper bed. The suite is physically samller than the SB counterpart but there is more storage space which was noticeable with 3. We did not need to request extra hangers and there was space for everything. With the suite being smaller it was much easier for Waldo Jnr to get ready and make his way to the Panorama Lounge and then for us to share the space.

 

In suite dining was possible with the bed folded up, but not ideal.

The verandah was used quite a lot as the weather was ideal (on the warm side for many) and we seemd to do well with the view when in port.

 

Food:

This is always one of the big comparisons/complaints on this board and in general we found the food to be better than SB.

 

Our first evening dining experience was le Champagne and it was excellent. I wish we had made another reservation prior to boarding.

 

The big disappoint food wise was Christmas Eve, which had traditional fare in the restaurant. Unfortunately we had our first booking for La Terrazza on that night and the same menu was served. Being Australian our Christmas Fare is not goose etc so we were looking forward to pasta before the big day. Miss W asked to see the insuite dining menu as nothing took her fancy and the waiter was surprised she had no idea what was on offer. She did manage to order pasta.

 

Christmas Day at sea was perfect with a Seafood BBQ and whole pig on the pool deck. This made it feel like we were at home. The evening meal was another European Traditional Style (turkey this time). The only thing we missed was the Christmas Crackers/Bon Bons.

 

NYE was a grand affair and the whole ship looked stunning. We had a share table and really enjoyed the evening, despite the undercooked Risotto! The party went until the wee small hours or sunrise depending on whom you were with. There were quite a few seasick people on NYD. The clever thing was breakfast. La Terrazza was open early until about 10.30, at 11.30 the Restaurant opened for Brunch with a galley style buffet including breakfast fare, caviar etc.

 

Overall I found the food and service in the dining spaces to be ahead of SB. The pool area was much better and we only had trouble on one day finding a table for 3. They quickly added a 3rd setting to a table for 2.

 

The dreaded S word- Smoking.

I found smoking to be more prevalent in outdoor areas and effectively one side of the ship outdoors was no go for us. It was nice to be able to be indoors though and not have to worry about half the lounge lighting up. There were a lot of smokers on board which may have made it easier to get seats outside on the non smoking side of the pool deck.

 

Disembarkation:

quite well done despite arriving at the same time as the Volendam. The queue became stagnant just down from the escalators and the passengers from the other ship became quite pushy. Several people shoved themselves past us. The queue was filtered at the bottom into dedicated counters. They ended up in a very long line, we took about 5 minutes maximum. We checked the grey zone and our 3 bags appeared to be together. Our bags are a little unusual and there were no others like them to be seen. The taxi queue was horrendous and there is another door which one gentleman decided he was going to use to shortcut. Luckily passengers in the queue were alert until he literally rammed a lady to get into the space. It took around 15 mins to get a taxi to the airport where we discovered one of our bags was not ours. Our bag arrived no more than 10 minutes after us and SS whisked away the incorrect bag to return it to its owner.

 

NO Kudos to Raffles when we rang as they said my daughter could get in a taxi and bring the bag back. The concierge was excellent but the second person she spoke to was rude and obnoxious as she tried to explain that SS had taken the bag.

 

Tours:

I am not a big fan of ships tours and our experiences on SB have been less than stellar. I booked 3 for this trip, Bagan overnight, Shwedagon by Night and Mangrove Kayaking. All tours were well run and I thought good value for money. Only Shwedagon could have been done as effectively as through the ship, although finding a private driver is a challenge so you would be booking through a tour company anyway

 

Bagan was a bit of a torture test time wise but Ricardo had fixed our pool grill booking so that we could eat quickly and fall into bed upon return. We did the balloon trip (thanks Pashmina) and it was the highlight of our holiday. NOTE YOU MUST book this when booking the cruise. It is limited in numbers. SS Australia told pax they could book on board. THIS IS NOT the case.

 

Our other excursion in Myanmar was Shwedagon by night. They batched the buses into what appeared to be age based groups. This was a winner as everyone was able bodied and were able to walk.

 

Langkawi we chose Mangrove Kayaking and this took the full port time. It was certainly active and enjopyable, even if quite hot. It would not be possible to do this tour independent of the ship. Full marks to Monica, the shore concierge, as a member or the tour had booked flights and wanted to go back early. The tour was not cut short, the person was told to take a taxi back to the ship.

 

Ports:

I wont complain about Port Blair, although a lot of people did. Interestingly they either did not get off the ship or off the shuttle. SS did not manage to secure Visas after the port authorities had said yes, they changed their mind. You have to be resilient in Port Blair, ignore the tuck took touts and realise this is not a major shopping destination.

We really enjoyed Sabang and TBH I wish we had had more time. Yes the taxi union is a rip-off and they are trying to fleece you, but there were several walks that were interesting and photography delights. There was no where near the hassle for transport from drivers etc that Port Blair had.

Malacca: We walked and walked then caught the tourist ferry back... loved it

KL- Booked a private driver recommended on trip advisor. He was excellent and tailored the trip to suit what we wanted.

Penang: Loved walking around Georgetown

Phuket: Domestic Disharmony saw us only go into the town and visit the market. I happen to like local food markets!

 

 

Overall: Yes I will (already have) book another SS cruise. I think both SB and SS have pluses and minues and you need to go in with an open mind. After reading comments on the SB board I know we got it right this Christmas.

[Silver Spectre]

Mrs W, thanks for posting such an informative and detailed review.

[lincslady]

Thanks for your comprehensive report, with the good, bad and the ugly.

 

Two things stand out to me - just because they particularly matter to me and my DH - are that smoking is allowed in an outdoor eating venue; we especially like eating outside for breakfast and lunch, and the fact that (like Regent) the kind of serving staff for wine on board know little, and would therefore probably be of little help in finding a wine which one would actually enjoy. Seabourn does win out on these two, but at present certainly they are having teething problems with organising the Keller menus, by the sound of it, and need a few months to sort them out.

[MrsWaldo]

Two things stand out to me - just because they particularly matter to me and my DH - are that smoking is allowed in an outdoor eating venue; we especially like eating outside for breakfast and lunch, and the fact that (like Regent) the kind of serving staff for wine on board know little, and would therefore probably be of little help in finding a wine which one would actually enjoy. Seabourn does win out on these two, but at present certainly they are having teething problems with organising the Keller menus, by the sound of it, and need a few months to sort them out.

 

Actually other than the initial boarding day we never had an issue with smoking, unlike Seabourn when there were no outside tables at the pool and we were told to sit at the sky are on the smoking side for service while the entertainment staff occupied the entire non smoking side... Yes I had a tantrum then... I was comfortable with not having to risk having a smoker next door which really would have had a major impact on this cruise.

 

And after that one bad experience we found wines totally suitable and way better than the examples of Oyster Bay and Villa Maria. Rodger, who was a sommelier soon learned our tastes and was able to direct us on the right path. He knew which varietal Miss W liked and never tried to reorder her something she had rejected. There was much more variety on SS and of a much better quality than Mondavi

Edited January 10, 2016 by MrsWaldo

[lincslady]

Sorry - don't understand about outside tables at the pool on Seabourn (unless you refer to the small ships, now gone), as the pool deck does not allow any smoking at all, and you can drink and/or eat at lunchtime at the tables on this deck, with a bar to serve drinks from 10 a.m., and a buffet for lunch from about 12.30 until usually 4 p.m. The food is more limited than at the Colonnade, but it is very popular, particularly for those who have been ashore until too late for normal lunch time.

[MrsWaldo]

Apologies auto correct sent the sky bar to area.

 

On our Antarctic cruise the one sunny day saw everyone finally come outside and we could not get a table nor lounge at the pool grill. We were sent upstairs to the sky bar area to eat. The only space there was on the smoking side. The entertainment staff had pulled most of tables on the non smoking side together and had been sitting there for ages, not being attended to. When I slid our table about 5 cm into the shade the waitstaff said we had to sit on the smoking side as there was no space.

 

If there are NO tables available at the pool grill, as happened several times when the weather improved then there is no option but to head upstairs to the sky bar if the colonnade isn't your thing (personally I hate the colonnade and will not eat there). One of the things I enjoyed about this cruise was lack of poolside tables was never an issue despite most guests lunching there regularly.

 

One of the things I hate about SB is the cheerleaders who refuse to see any issues.... We had them.... I have been honest in my review...I have compared apples and apples....

[lincslady]

Thanks for your reply - I did wonder if you having to go to the sky bar was when you had a rare lovely day in the Antarctic, and sorry to hear about the staff being not nice - that is unusual. Although I probably am a bit of a SB cheerleader, I am well aware that particularly at present it is not perfect, and I am sure you luckily did the right thing not travelling with them over Christmas.

 

The bottom line is that we all have slightly different priorities, and only certain lines or one line answer the most important ones for us. For some it is Regent, or Crystal, or Silversea, or Seadream, and having done at least 3 cruises on each of these lines apart from Crystal, we still find that SB is the nearest to answering our wishes. However, I am very irritated that they have not spent enough time/money on sorting out the present problems, and am not likely to book anything for a while until I hear better news - the food and food service are particularly important to us.

 

So you see I can see issues, and am quite prepared to voice them, and have done previously. P.S. We do like our sauv. bl. at lunchtime - and actually enjoy both Villa Maria and Oyster Bay, as served on SB. Must be philistines!

[MrsWaldo]

You need to try a Shaw and Smith Sav Blanc :)

 

I'm spoiled when it comes to antipodean wines

 

VM does some great stuff...

[lincslady]

One more off topic bit .... hadn't heard of the Shaw and Smith s.b., just looked it up, and quite a lot more expensive than VM and Oyster B in the U.K.

 

Back more or less on topic, though, was this on the included list on SS, or if not, were their wines superior in your opinion to SB? My recollection of them a few years ago was that they were maybe comparable but not better.

[MrsWaldo]

Shaw and Smith is what I drink at home.

 

It runs a few $ more than VM in the shop but same price in bulk buy from the vineyard.

 

IMHO there was a better range of wines and some were much better than SB. Others were not. I did find we seemed to have more choice, as i said earlier it could have been a function of getting to know a sommelier.