Review of Seabourn Encore - New Zealand, January 6-22, 2019

[FlyingScotSailors]

We have just submitted our first cruise review to Cruise Critic.  We copy it here to make it easier to find and, if desired, respond to.

 

Review of Seabourn Encore - New Zealand, January 6-22, 2019

 

This was our first cruise on the Encore class ships.  We have previously sailed 8 times on Seabourn: 1 Legend, 3 Odyssey, 3 Quest, 1 Sojourn.  We had read mixed reviews of the Encore and Ovation, and were hesitant to sail on them.  However, this cruise featured a good price on itinerary/destination we liked, so we decided to give it a try, and assess the mixed reviews about the Encore class.  Based on this cruise, we would book the Encore class again.

 

Unfortunately, on the first day, we almost felt that this would be our last Seabourn cruise.  We had poor and inattentive service in the Colonnade at lunch, better service at dinner but miscommunication between servers and kitchen, so the  food was not as we ordered.

 

The next day, we met with Executive Chef Joseph to discuss our dietary needs (low-sodium).  Chef Joseph met our dietary needs with the best food we have had on Seabourn; low-sodium but very flavorful.  We pre-ordered dinner the night before, and our food in the Restaurant, Colonnade, TK Grill, and even in Sushi was prepared to accommodate us.

 

However, the one large dining negative during the cruise was in Earth and Ocean on the first night it was open.  We received an invitation base on our platinum status.  Unfortunately, Chef Frank was apparently unwilling or unable to reduce the amount of salt in his dishes and did not prepare entrees we could eat, even though we spoke to him earlier in the cruise, pre-ordered the night before, and spoke to members of his team earlier in the day.  The appetizers and desserts were quite good.

 

Much has been written about the decline if the level of service with the launching of the Encore and Ovation, and the increase in general in the number of cruise ships competing for experienced crew.  We have experienced occasional service problems of the Odyssey-class ships after the launch of Encore, and had occasional problems on board Encore.

 

Service on the starboard side of the Colonnade was quite poor at the start of cruise; the port side team was much better. It appeared that the starboard side team was either new to Seabourn or newly working with each other.  Their service improved after a day or two, and was at an acceptable Seabourn level.  We encountered one of the servers in other places on the ship, and she always remembered what we preferred to drink and would search if it was not close at hand.

 

By day two, almost all of the crew and many of the officers knew our names.  Everyone was friendly and smiling.  Our suite stewardess did an excellent job cleaning the suite, even with our changing daily schedule , which could have us out of the room by 7 AM or sleeping in until noon.  She kept our refrigerator refilled.

 

We attended and enjoyed the special wine tasting.  We thought the sommeliers excellent, knowledgeable, friendly, and accessible.  Natalia, assistant sommelier, would suggest and find a complementary wine we liked in the Colonnade or TK Grill.

 

We do not understand the comments by other reviewers that they could not get a properly made mixed drink or cocktail.  Drinks were well made and balanced.   We had excellent, friendly, and professional service at the bars.  Our favorites were “Jimmy” in the TK bar, Artem in the Club (and in relief at the Sky Bar), and Marcos at the Sky Bar.  Fillippa was great in the Observation bar and as “fill-in”.  However, as noted below, there were problems in the on board selection of liquors and wines.

 

Apparently, various supplies were missing from the initial major resupply in Auckland at the start of the cruise.  This included most Scotch whisky, Sauterne, and New Zealand wines and beers!  We were very disappointed by the inability to resupply the missing beverages. We received no good answers to our questions from the F&B and Bar Managers as to why nothing could be obtained in the various ports we visited.

 

The featured Bollinger Champagne was not available at the Retreat: we were told it had all been drunk on New Years Eve!  (No, we did not pay for the privilege of sitting in the unattractive Retreat, there was an open “Bollinger party” on the first afternoon.)

 

Space on board, even with 150 more guests, was not an issue.  There were no problems at pool.  As comes as no surprise, we found the Retreat to be a waste.  After seeing it on the first day, we did not find it an attractive or inviting space, and would not have gone there again even if it were free.

 

 

 

Differences from Odyssey class

 

The Colonnade seemed much larger inside; outside is a bit larger than Odyssey class, but usually crowded. There is additional outside space on the deck below, which is accessed by a stairway; it appeared to be used by only a few people.  The layout of the Colonnade is awkward.  There is a large column in the narrow main corridor that everyone has to squeeze past entering and leaving, and getting food.  The column is right in front of the main serving area, and the entrance to outside deck is through the narrow corridor.  There was no prepared to order pasta at lunch,  and no board listing the daily fish special.

 

The stateroom lock is a very nice change, since the key card can be lplaced on the sensor pad without removing the card from the pocket folder.  (A minor thing, but we always found it difficult to remove the card in order to insert it in the lock slot, usually several times to get the lock open, and then to fit it back in the pocket.)

 

There is a nice night light in bathroom.  The shower seemed to be slightly larger,  Perhaps the toilet paper holder was meant to be “artistic” or something, but the paper roll continually fell off.  Also, the paper itself could have been much better.  (Or maybe we just do not like sandpaper?)

 

The curtains in the suite were not as black out but were good enough.

 

The Veranda suites are slightly longer and slightly narrower.  Storage is arranged differently, overall better, with better storage including a shelf in the closet and larger storage over the tv.  The vanity (?) at the foot of the bed is much shallower, and we found it pretty useless, nothing fit inside and the narrow top held much less.

 

The television is much larger, as is the couch.  The chairs are much more comfortable and easier to move.

 

An interesting change is that all elevator buttons are on the left as you enter the car, rather than on the side between the two elevators.

 

The Encore felt more stable, with no vibrations at stern and no ship noises in the suite.  Shows in the Salon were negatively affected by noise/music from The Club on the deck below.

 

Ports and excursions

 

Our cruise was scheduled to call at Norfolk Island, an Australian territory, that required us to get Australian visas.  We believe the Encore was required by New Zealand law to leave New Zealand waters after a certain number of days.  Since the cruise before ours spent several days in New Zealand at the end of the cruise, and the following cruise would be spending several days in NZ bath the start, we were the one required to take a day in Australia.  Before the cruise, we looked at photos of Norfolk Island and wondered how we would be able to land through the various coral reefs.  When the Encore arrived there, there were 3 1/2 meter swells at the ship and 2 1/2 meter swells at the pier, and this was after going from the planned landing side of the Island to the “sheltered” side!  After a while at anchor, we left and headed south.

 

The Captain later announced that the conditions at Milford sound would prevent us from entering the fjords, and we would go between the North and South Island to have better weather on the voyage to Stewart Island.

 

It seemed that many passengers were very upset that we would be missing a port and a scenic cruising day.  We, however, have been in the Tasman Sea before, and were quite happy to avoid bad weather in the Sea!  We also have enjoyed trans-Atlantic cruises, and were not really sympathetic to the complaints about being on a ship for four days without getting off.   As a good will gesture, Seabourn offered everyone a credit equal to 20% of the base fare of this cruise, to be used on a future cruise that was booked during 2019, even if the cruise itself was after 2019.  We thought this was extremely generous and not required, since weather-related changes are beyond Seabourn’s control, and really should not be a complete surprise to someone who takes a cruise.  However, there were still many grumbles and claims of how this was the last Seabourn cruise they would take.

 

We took two Seabourn shore excursions, in addition to the one cancelled on Norfolk Island.  We also took two independently arranged tours.

 

Stewart Island bird sanctuary by zodiac was nice; some birds, mostly hard to see, good presentation by local guide.  Many blue penguins on zodiac ride along island and back to ship.

 

At Tauranga we took the self drive train and thermal area tour.  The train was fun, but the entire tour was cut short.  The tour was scheduled for 8 1/2 hours but, due to the sailing windows resulting from tides, was reduced to about 4 1/2 hours.  The Maori presentation was abbreviated and combined with lunch.  The thermal area visit was greatly shortened and we found it poor, especially compared to our Seabourn tour last  summer in Iceland.  The up side was that we did not have to worry about the effect of the sulfur on asthma!

 

Having spoken to the excursion staff on the dock before the tour, they were expecting us at Seabourn Square after the tour.  They offered us a 50% rebate on the cost of the tour, which was larger than we would probably have asked for.  They made us feel very satisfied.

 

The ironic aspect of the day was that, due to high winds which delayed bunkering and impeded getting off the dock, the ship missed the earlier sailing window that the Captain had changed the sailing time to meet, and thus we actually left the port about 5 hours later, a little after the originally scheduled time.

 

Overall, it was a very nice cruise, not perfect but very good.  Seabourn handled the weather-caused problems well in our estimation. Beverages should have been resupplied better, but we still found plenty of excellent things to drink.  We have two future cruise deposits, and we will certainly use them to cruise again on Seabourn.

 

[Sunviking]

Thank you for your balanced review.  We will be sailing on the Encore in just over two months.  Some of her reviews recently have not been very good, but our philosophy has always been that we take all reviews with not just a grain but sometimes a salt shaker of salt.  We have enjoyed all of our cruises, even those where there were a few glitches, and on occasion when we have read reviews by other people on the same cruise,  we wondered if we had been on the same voyage.  We're looking forward to another thoroughly enjoyable cruise on our favorite cruise line.  Your review makes me think we'll probably find that to be the case.

[Williwannago]

Thank you for sharing your review. We were on the cruise before and had a great time. The first couple days service was a bit mixed, and they hit it out of the park after that. We loved the Encore and hope to sail again with her again.

Sorry for drinking all the wine. 

[SLSD]

Thank you for this fair and detailed review.  We have sailed on the Encore and our cruise was very enjoyable in most every respect.  

[Isklaar]

Thank you for this review.

I'm still drafting a review from my first cruise on the Encore class ships, which was on Ovation this past December/January. I see some interesting parallels in experience on board your Encore cruise and my Ovation cruise and some points you've made here are the exact same ones that I've already written in my draft notes. 

Very interesting read, thank you.

[Mahogany]

I am embarking on Encore in Sydney in a few weeks. I too was disappointed to miss Norfolk Island last year because of swells - wanted to visit Colleen McCullough's home. Guess this port cancellation is a common occurrence. I was on  the Ovation last fall in Northern Europe - to follow Handre, the best CD ever. Other than Legend, my experience has been on this class ship, though I have booked a long Quest trip SA-Miami next year. Anxious to see if the additional passengers on similar size ship make a difference. Is there only one show because the showroom is large enough on the O-class ships? 

I travel solo and like the invitations to dinner I receive daily to dine with staff or lecturers. And I have always received friendly, professional service in TK Grill - like that bar a lot, too.

No complaints here.

[FlyingScotSailors]

Thanks everyone for your thanks. 

 

Also, thank you Williwannago for confessing to drinking all the wine!  That mystery is solved.

 

Mahogany, there is only one show after dinner on the O class ships.  Occasionally there will be a different show pre-dinner.  Apparently the Salon is large enough to fit everyone who wants to see the shows.  Discussing the relative sizes of the Salon on the different classes, CD Jan reminded us this past summer that they have to bring extra chairs into the Salon for Antarctic cruises, since everyone comes to the briefings.