Seabourn Ovation Summer/Fall 2021 Experience

[TD_Cruiser]

We are Canadians who have booked to sail in the western Mediterranean on Ovation in October, 2021 after her Greek Island itineraries and are looking forward to another great Seabourn experience.  Since this will be our first cruise after the COVID-19 restart, we are interested in any comments about the shipboard experience from cruisers who have sailed this summer or fall on Ovation.  For example, what COVID restrictions are required on board, how is the "feel" in bars and restaurants, and are you able to go ashore in ports on your own or can you only go ashore in a Seabourn organized tour?  For our post-cruise flight home we need negative PCR test which we understand is being provided by Seabourn.  Have any Canadians done this and if so how was the experience?  Thanks for your comments.

[jafeldman]

We are booked on the October 23, 2021 sailing on the Ovation and have the same questions/issues/concerns. We are supposed to remain on in Lisbon for a few days so we will have to deal with getting Covid testing done in Lisbon before returning to US. 

[cruiseej]

@TD_Cruiser  I suggest you read the threads which already exist on the current sailings in Greece, as most of your questions about the ship-board experience have been addressed. Here are a few, and there are others…

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2789114-jul-3rd-happily-on-board-ovation/

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2792857-greek-islands-cruise-new-updates-from-seabourn/

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2796089-entertainment-vax’d-only-greek-island-cruises-2021/?tab=comments#comment-61647260

 

[wyattsaunt]

I just returned from a Greek islands cruise 8/14-8/28 on the Ovation. I’m from the US.  The experience on the ship was wonderful. Travel to and from Athens was hellish.

There were no restrictions anywhere on the ship. No masks required for passengers; crew had to wear them, entertainers didn’t.  No social distancing. There was dancing and singing. Seabourn excursions were encouraged but not required to go ashore.  Masks were required while riding on the bus, in stores, museums and restaurants.  You needed a copy of your vaccination card to enter some, but not most, venues.

A Covid test was required within 72 hours in addition to the one required at the pier upon embarking.  On the ship, complimentary testing was required every Friday, which could be used for the flight home.

 

it was such a pleasant, positive experience!

[Lisacope]

17 minutes ago, wyattsaunt said:

I just returned from a Greek islands cruise 8/14-8/28 on the Ovation. I’m from the US.  The experience on the ship was wonderful. Travel to and from Athens was hellish.

There were no restrictions anywhere on the ship. No masks required for passengers; crew had to wear them, entertainers didn’t.  No social distancing. There was dancing and singing. Seabourn excursions were encouraged but not required to go ashore.  Masks were required while riding on the bus, in stores, museums and restaurants.  You needed a copy of your vaccination card to enter some, but not most, venues.

A Covid test was required within 72 hours in addition to the one required at the pier upon embarking.  On the ship, complimentary testing was required every Friday, which could be used for the flight home.

 

it was such a pleasant, positive experience!

We are boarding the Ovation on Sept 11 - what do you mean by travel to and from Athens was hellish?

 

[wyattsaunt]

What I mean by the flights to and from Athens were hellish:

Most of the issues we had were or probably were due to the pandemic.

Staff shortages at airports led to delayed flights, a long wait at customs returning to the US in Toronto, crowded waiting areas with no hope of social distancing, people not wearing masks properly, angry passengers confronting airline staff..

For me, the most difficult part was having to wear a mask for such a long time.  Our return trip took over 24 hours from the ship to our front door.

Nevertheless, being able to spend 2 weeks on a Seabourn cruise through the Greek islands, maskless, was worth it.

 

 

 

[Hlitner]

I should mention that our air experience (Turkishairlines from IAD to ATH) was quite fine...unlike the poster who flew on AC via Toronto.   In our case check-in at Dulles was quite normal and the Business Class service on TurkishAir was pretty good with a few changes due to COVID.  TurkishAir has already reinstituted their onboard "Chef" experience but we had to settle for a few menu options exercised onboard rather then the pre-covid ability to customize menus prior to the flight.   When we had a 3 hour layover in Istanbul, TurkishAirlines had their huge Miles and Smiles Lounge open with the usual multiple food and drink stations.  Their similar sized Business Class Lounge was still closed as they could handle all the eligible flyers in the Miles and Smiles Lounge,

 

I would agree that wearing a mask on the long flight was an inconvenience.  DW and I are careful to wear N95/KN95 masks (properly fitted) while moving through crowded airports and onto the aircraft.  But once seated we change to a much more comfortable (and less effective) surgical mask which is comfy enough for sleeping.  

 

As to the Ovation (this has been posted elsewhere) just about everything onboard was pre-covid normal.  Passengers had no restrictions, no masking, and no social distancing requirements.  The crew did wear masks which apparently was part of an agreement with the Greek Government.

 

As to what will happen once the Ovation moves out of Greece, we have no idea.  But it might well happen that the onboard situation will change if restrictions are imposed by other EU countries.

 

Hank

[wyattsaunt]

I should add that other reason our flying experience was stressful had nothing to do with the cabin we were in or whether we had access to a special lounge.  We had upgraded seats, too, and the onboard experience was fine.  We had access to a specialty lounge, but no time to use it.

 

Our flight from Seattle to Dulles was delayed so much that if the Dulles-Athens flight left on time, we’d miss it.  In Seattle, the United agent at baggage check was inexperienced and flustered.  She sent us to a long line for an Alaska Air flight to Newark.  By the time we got to the front of that line, we were too late.  They sent us back to United, where we were told to take our original flight and hope everything worked out.  By that time, we’d lost our seats in the front of the plane and were now in the very back.  The gate agent told us we’d never make it to our next flight because of the seat change.  She expressed in very colorful language that the other agent should have put us on a connection via Chicago.  In the end, we made the Dulles flight due to delays there, but had to run a very long distance to make it.

 

Returning via Toronto, anyone who had checked luggage had to wait in a small area with passengers from several other flights for our bags to clear customs, which took forever.  Thank goodness we had Global Entry.  Again, the flight to Seattle was delayed, which helped us this time, except we were delayed 2 more hours due to weather.  At one point, a male passenger got up in the face of the flight attendant and accused the airline of lying to us about the reason for the long delay.  He accused Air Canada of using the weather excuse to cover for labor shortages. (We could see the thunder and lightning outside!). The attendant shut him down rather quickly by telling him he’d be off the flight if he didn’t shut up and sit down.  
In Seattle, all the bags were exceedingly slow coming to baggage claim.  Our limo driver was about ready to kill us by the time we finally got out. 8:30 pm was our scheduled arrival time.  We got in at 12:00 am.  We were the last to leave because one of our 4 bags didn’t get loaded in Athens, even though we were at the airport earlier than required.  An Air Canada representative sat lazily by and waited until he was approached for help.  We learned later he had the names of the 2 passengers whose luggage didn’t make it to Seattle, but waited for us to approach him.

 

Once the bag arrived at SeaTac, my sister was given the option of having it delivered in 3-5 days, or picking it up.  They opted to pick it up—a 45 minute drive—but the same AC agent refused to bring the bag out to the car.  It’s a good thing her husband came with her or she’d have had to park rather than come to Arrivals, where you cannot leave your car unattended.  No more Air Canada. 

 

[wyattsaunt]

I feel guilty for whining above about our negative travel experience because I just heard on CNN how people are suffering in Louisiana. No AC, heat index of 100 degrees.  I feel grateful to have been able to enjoy such a wonderful time in Greece!