Short review Seabourn Encore

[wripro]

I'm sure you will enjoy your cruise on Saga, Lincslady, The most important thing to bak is a good attitude and you seem to have that in spades.

[Minneapolistraveler]

This thread concerns me. We have a cruise on the Encore booked but not until June of 2018, so I wonder if the ship will have its "ducks in a row" by that time. I will have to continue to read the reviews before considering a switch.

[wripro]

This thread concerns me. We have a cruise on the Encore booked but not until June of 2018, so I wonder if the ship will have its "ducks in a row" by that time. I will have to continue to read the reviews before considering a switch.

Please do not let all the differences of opinion on these boards allow you to change your plans. Ninety percent of the people who cruise on Seabourn (or any other line) have never heard of Cruise Critic, board without preconceptions and have a great time.

[ab21au]

I agree with wripro.

 

I have not had a bad cruise, just a better than other cruise and I am looking forward to the Encore later this year.

[NJBelle]

I was just on the Encore (Sydney to Auckland - including the Shipwreck in Timaru). It was our first Seabourn cruise although we have 30+ on luxury cruise lines (RSSC, Crystal and SS). Anyway, we really liked the Encore and have booked another cruise on Seabourn. I have thoughts about what is good and not so good about Seabourn, but bottom line, it is a solid luxury cruise line and you should consider it if you like the size of the ship, the itinerary and the price.

[Joc123]

I am currently on Encore (Sydney to Singapore) and there seems to be a few unhappy regular Seabourn sailors on board - I'm not one of them!

It is bigger and therefore different but this doesn't necessarily make it worse IMO.

For those who don't like the size, the O class is still available but I will be happy to sail on Encore again.

[Able Seaman H]

We sailed the first 30 or so days after Encore's launch and have to say loved it. We never sailed on the triplets And that might be part of the reason we felt comfortable. We weren't judging the ship against a 200 and something passenger vessel.

 

This was our 5th Seabourn cruise, previous 4 were on Sojourn, and I was addressed by name on lots of occasions. I'm also pretty sure the tea was loose leaf during afternoon service in the Observation lounge.

 

Were there any glitches? Yes, the first cabin Stewardess got sent away for re-training on day 2 and we never saw her again, there were a times when the ball was dropped service wise particularly in the Colonnade but there were far more positives. The suite was great, we had some excellent meals particularly enjoying TK and the Sushi restaurant. Staff were friendly, concierge team were efficient with a, "the answer is yes, now what's the question" attitude.

 

Entertainment staff were as good as we've enjoyed led by Hanré who is surely one of the nicest human beings on the planet.

 

We all board cruise ships with a different agenda. There will be some details which one passenger may almost ignore but for another it makes or breaks their experience. In terms of "penny pinching" there was nothing I found unavailable this time which previously we had enjoyed. Ice cream in the Colonnade was hand made this cruise and sometimes hand served by the chef.

 

I still think pound for pound, or dollar for dollar Seabourn takes some beating. Saga is a very, very different beast and I would suggest it's unfair to compare the two lines.

 

Please don't take my words as being dismissive of others opinions, they are merely my own personal thoughts.

 

Henry :)

[lincslady]

Henry - please read my post no. 19. Of course there is very little to compare between Seabourn and Saga - chalk and cheese. I would only recommend Saga to Brits over the age of 65, especially those who are a bit less able to walk far and tote luggage around and do not like airports etc. However, we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was at what it does - we are of an age etc. to be able to enjoy both lines, surprisingly perhaps. And Sage is not all that much less expensive.

 

We did go on the triplets, as well as all the newer ships, and prefer the Odyssey class overall.

 

On another note - the latest Seabourn pricing on offer from our favourite TA seems to have gone up by leaps and bounds, and no guarantees at all. Still hoping to go on another fairly soon in spite of this.

[Prunella1]

We have just booked a 21 day cruise on the Encore Rome to Dubai in October, partly because we so enjoyed reading Able Seaman H's posts on the maiden cruise and we have done the same cruise in reverse, on the Pride, which was so enjoyable. I have been very concerned by the negative posts on here, particularly re housekeeping and service. but decided we have to try it for ourselves as it's all subjective, one man's meat and all that. Anyway I go onboard for the cocktails and my husband for the breakfasts!! so we will see and hopefully any issues will have been sorted by then.

 

Lincslady we have booked this cruise through the favourite cruise agent I assume you are talking about, we always do, this time we have booked a guarantee plus the Seabourn flights which were very well priced, so fingers crossed it all works out well and we enjoy the Encore as much as we have enjoyed all our other many Seabourn cruises.

[rln44]

We are taking our first cruise on Seabourn on the Encore embarking Singapore, April 1st. This based on rave reviews from my brother who is a veteran of many Seabourn cruises. He disembarked from the Encore in Bali yesterday and in response to an email from me confirmed that while the Encore was a beautiful ship he felt that both service and food had slipped from his previous experiences on Seabourn. Oh well!, in a couple of weeks we'll be able to form our own opinion although we won't be able to compare it with previous cruises as this is our first on Seabourn.

[Stefan_Cruise]

We sailed the first 30 or so days after Encore's launch and have to say loved it. We never sailed on the triplets And that might be part of the reason we felt comfortable. We weren't judging the ship against a 200 and something passenger vessel.

 

This was our 5th Seabourn cruise, previous 4 were on Sojourn, and I was addressed by name on lots of occasions. I'm also pretty sure the tea was loose leaf during afternoon service in the Observation lounge.

 

Were there any glitches? Yes, the first cabin Stewardess got sent away for re-training on day 2 and we never saw her again, there were a times when the ball was dropped service wise particularly in the Colonnade but there were far more positives. The suite was great, we had some excellent meals particularly enjoying TK and the Sushi restaurant. Staff were friendly, concierge team were efficient with a, "the answer is yes, now what's the question" attitude.

 

Entertainment staff were as good as we've enjoyed led by Hanré who is surely one of the nicest human beings on the planet.

 

We all board cruise ships with a different agenda. There will be some details which one passenger may almost ignore but for another it makes or breaks their experience. In terms of "penny pinching" there was nothing I found unavailable this time which previously we had enjoyed. Ice cream in the Colonnade was hand made this cruise and sometimes hand served by the chef.

 

I still think pound for pound, or dollar for dollar Seabourn takes some beating. Saga is a very, very different beast and I would suggest it's unfair to compare the two lines.

 

Please don't take my words as being dismissive of others opinions, they are merely my own personal thoughts.

 

Henry :)

I was three times on the triplets and compared to the newer ships (Odyssey, Sojourn and Quest) that is a huge difference. I miss the deck BQQ and very personal atmosphere! BUT the suites on the triplets were old and tired! But compared to other cruise lines Seabourn is really first class esp. if could get a good deal (€ 2.990,-- for a veranda cabin in the Med)! Maybe I will try the Triplets again with Windstar at a cruise in May 2017!

[Joc123]

We arrived in Bali yesterday and there has been a big changeover with the crew (many had been on board since November) . It also appears that Seabourn Corporate listens to comments/complaints from passengers about service (the crew really worked hard, just not enough of them) and they have brought extra crew onboard. Of course the problem now is that the new crew have never been on Encore before but I'm sure they will adapt very quickly. We have loved the food but that of course is subjective. The chef leaves in Singapore and I don't know who is coming on. Jan is now the CD and I have to say we were sad to see Handre leave. Main question from new passengers - where is the laundry?

[markham]

Stefan--Cruise,

 

While the public rooms have been renovated, I understand that the suites on the triplets now with Windstar have had only superficial upgrades. You may want to check before commiting to a cruise on them.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[frantic36]

We arrived in Bali yesterday and there has been a big changeover with the crew (many had been on board since November) . It also appears that Seabourn Corporate listens to comments/complaints from passengers about service (the crew really worked hard, just not enough of them) and they have brought extra crew onboard. Of course the problem now is that the new crew have never been on Encore before but I'm sure they will adapt very quickly. We have loved the food but that of course is subjective. The chef leaves in Singapore and I don't know who is coming on. Jan is now the CD and I have to say we were sad to see Handre leave. Main question from new passengers - where is the laundry?

 

Joc I am glad you are enjoying your cruise. I am so glad to hear that Corporate are listening and have brought on more crew. I am sure there will be a period as the new staff adjust but that isn't usually too long. That is one thing I can definitely say we noticed on our cruise. How hard the crew were working to try to make sure the passengers were happy. Especially the wait and bar staff and middle management.

 

It has been a tough gig for Handre with setting up prior to passengers arriving, the inaugural cruise and working till now. I am glad he will get a chance to have a rest.......though a little birdie told me he is competing in the London Marathon. So lots of training scheduled for him.:cool:

 

Julie

[lincslady]

In all the reviews of Encore during and since her inaugural cruise I have not read anything about the evening shows. Wasn't Tim Rice organising or even taking part in some new shows featuring his musicals?

[Able Seaman H]

In all the reviews of Encore during and since her inaugural cruise I have not read anything about the evening shows. Wasn't Tim Rice organising or even taking part in some new shows featuring his musicals?

 

Without giving too much away Sir Tim is indeed involved in one of the shows.

 

I was impressed with the 4 headline performances. It helps that we got on with all the performers and whilst you should never have a favourite Jonathan is great value both on and off stage. His impromptu performance with Katy in the TK bar will remain in my heart for a long time.

 

Encore doesn't have the stage technology of larger cruise ships although there are 3 large backdrop screens now which add another dimension. I felt the new shows had brought the entertainment more up to date. No longer were they slightly dated and formulaic, Brittany Spears even makes an appearance!

 

On one of the guest performances the whole theatre got up and danced. I know! Everyone in the room was awake!

 

Henry :)

[lincslady]

Thanks - I had had the impression that Sir Tim might have been sort of there but not there, smoke and mirrors type of thing. It is good that the shows have been rejuvenated; hopefully this can also apply on the other current ships.

[stamfordian]

...Brittany Spears even makes an appearance! Henry :)

 

Oh dear, Henry. Your daughter will be mortified. Did you do Dad-dancing as well?

[eliana]

We've just received the final documentation for our forthcoming cruise on Encore. We are in a V5 suite and had assumed without asking that there would be a separate shower in the bathroom, as there is on the Odyssey class ships. However, the suite plan included with the documents only shows a bath. Could someone who has already sailed on Encore in a Veranda suite please let me know if there is indeed a separate shower.

[frantic36]

We've just received the final documentation for our forthcoming cruise on Encore. We are in a V5 suite and had assumed without asking that there would be a separate shower in the bathroom, as there is on the Odyssey class ships. However, the suite plan included with the documents only shows a bath. Could someone who has already sailed on Encore in a Veranda suite please let me know if there is indeed a separate shower.

 

We were in a V5 (654) on our cruise earlier this year. Our suite certainly had a seperate shower. In fact the shower fixtures we liked better then the Odyssey class ships as we found them easier to adjust the temperature.

 

Julie

[Able Seaman H]

Oh dear, Henry. Your daughter will be mortified. Did you do Dad-dancing as well?

 

Brittany was featured in the show were my input was limited to foot tapping.

 

My fine dancing was on display in the Club much to the delight of all :)

 

Henry

[ab21au]

Deleted, incorrectly posted.

[ab21au]

We've just received the final documentation for our forthcoming cruise on Encore. We are in a V5 suite and had assumed without asking that there would be a separate shower in the bathroom, as there is on the Odyssey class ships. However, the suite plan included with the documents only shows a bath. Could someone who has already sailed on Encore in a Veranda suite please let me know if there is indeed a separate shower.

 

I went thoroughly through the deck plans before selecting the V5 will have in a few months and they all said bathroom with shower. There are about 8 suites without a bath, they specifically say "Shower only" (these are V1 not V5) , I would be surprised to here there are any V5 suites with a bath but no separate shower.

[Joc123]

Frantic - Handre is indeed running in the marathon and is raising money for cancer. He has lost so much weight with all the training he is doing. I find him to be a genuinely lovely person.

Henry - we are enjoying the shows and love having the early one. We have sailed with Natalie before and find her to be lots of fun. Love Jonathan's voice. The guest entertainers have been extremely good and mostly Australian. Katy sends her love to you and as she has not seen the video with her singing in the background, I promised to show her before our cruise ends. Another genuinely lovely person.

The showers are much improved. The shower head is larger and water pressure stronger. The bath is smaller, but for short people (like me) it is the perfect length.

Had dinner with HD last night, they are very aware of design faults and things will change. The laundry is definitely going in starting in May. Personally, I would not worry about these teething problems if anyone is getting concerned and thinking about cancelling.

[stamfordian]

Brittany was featured in the show... Henry

 

Just questioning if she was Britney's French cousin...;)