LIVE from the Ovation Nov 29-Dec 10

[WNcruiser]

Tonight’s menus 

[SLSD]

You have mentioned being disappointed in the food served onboard.  Could you be more specific?  Are you not liking the types of food being served?  Or, do you think it has not been well prepared?  We all know that food is so subjective, but I am curious as to whether it is the type of food offered, or the preparation itself.  

 

And again, thank you for your daily posts.  

[robertmartha]

WNcruiser

 

Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to post and taking us along on your sailing. Really appreciate all the photos and commentary on your experiences....I really need to be back on board a Seabourn sailing - it will be two years mid January since we were last on board 😔

 

Received an email this morning about a "suite" special this coming week.....😊

[WNcruiser]

We had a great day snorkeling and sailing in Antigua today. If anyone is stopping here soon don’t think twice about booking the “Reef and snorkel”. The crew were fantastic and we all had a great tIme. The company is Wadadli Cats if you would like to look them up. We just walked to the boat from the ship dock. 

 

The beach stop on the way back was very nice in crystal clear water and we actually sailed all the way there as we had plenty of wind today. Heading up to the Observation lounge for music, cocktails and tapas before dinner. 
 

Tomorrow is our Caviar in the surf day at St Kitts and we are very excited about it. We keep hearing what a great day it is so looking forward to that. 
 

I hope to post a little more later as there is no show tonight. 

[WNcruiser]

3 hours ago, SLSD said:

You have mentioned being disappointed in the food served onboard.  Could you be more specific?  Are you not liking the types of food being served?  Or, do you think it has not been well prepared?  We all know that food is so subjective, but I am curious as to whether it is the type of food offered, or the preparation itself.  

 

And again, thank you for your daily posts.  

I was going to wait until the end of the cruise to address this. I want to start by saying we really love the Seabourn experience. 
 

All of our breakfasts have been great as well as almost all the lunches we have had in the colonnade, patio and the sushi restaurant. 
 

Unfortunately we have not been impressed with the dinners in The Restaurant or Earth and Ocean. It isn’t the type of food as the menus mostly sound good, it is the quality and taste. We have had much better food on Oceania and Celebrity. We have heard from numerous others, including Platinum and Diamond members that they feel the same way about many of the dishes. 
 

I also want to mention the Maitre D’s and waiters have done everything they can to make us happy by trying other items as well offering to make us anything we want the next evening. Dinner in TK Grill both nights was excellent so I honestly am not sure what is going on with The Restaurant. It won’t discourage us from booking Seabourn again and I still have hope it may get better with 6 nights to go. 

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

Not a bad way to start the day. Room service breakfast served on the balcony while sailing in to Antigua. 

 

It appears to me that you may have had the same dilemma of room service breakfast served on my veranda.  Small table; lots of dishes.  What does one do with all the dishes except put them on the deck?  

[rkacruiser]

37 minutes ago, WNcruiser said:

Unfortunately we have not been impressed with the dinners in The Restaurant or Earth and Ocean. It isn’t the type of food as the menus mostly sound good, it is the quality and taste.

 

Interesting comment.  The Restaurant's menus have been most appealing to me.  If other experienced Seabourn cruisers have been disappointed as well, the issue may be the Executive Chef in the Galley.  My experience:  some of these folks are excellent chefs who can "tweak" the Corporate recipes well.  Some are either poor "tweakers" or "tweak" not at all, however.

[LMB01]

44 minutes ago, WNcruiser said:

I was going to wait until the end of the cruise to address this. I want to start by saying we really love the Seabourn experience. 
 

All of our breakfasts have been great as well as almost all the lunches we have had in the colonnade, patio and the sushi restaurant. 
 

Unfortunately we have not been impressed with the dinners in The Restaurant or Earth and Ocean. It isn’t the type of food as the menus mostly sound good, it is the quality and taste. We have had much better food on Oceania and Celebrity. We have heard from numerous others, including Platinum and Diamond members that they feel the same way about many of the dishes. 
 

I also want to mention the Maitre D’s and waiters have done everything they can to make us happy by trying other items as well offering to make us anything we want the next evening. Dinner in TK Grill both nights was excellent so I honestly am not sure what is going on with The Restaurant. It won’t discourage us from booking Seabourn again and I still have hope it may get better with 6 nights to go. 

At 50% capacity, is it easier to get into the TK Grill more often?  We try to go as often as possible as they are the restaurant that opens the earliest.  We dine early and the restaurant and earth and ocean opening at 7pm is not good for us.

 

[SLSD]

3 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

 

Unfortunately we have not been impressed with the dinners in The Restaurant or Earth and Ocean. It isn’t the type of food as the menus mostly sound good, it is the quality and taste. We have had much better food on Oceania and Celebrity. We have heard from numerous others, including Platinum and Diamond members that they feel the same way about many of the dishes. 

I am assuming that in addition to the menu from The Restaurant that you have posted, there is also an unchanging "Classic Menu" offered in the Restaurant.  It would include things like grilled salmon and some other basic dishes.  Have you tried that menu? Perhaps the quality and taste would be an improvement over the changing menu as everyone in the kitchen would be so familiar with these items.  

 

You also mentioned (I think) that SB had not been pleased with some of the provisions that have been delivered.  I wonder if there is a supply chain issue which has affected the quality of the food.  

Edited December 6, 2021 by SLSD

[WNcruiser]

13 hours ago, LMB01 said:

At 50% capacity, is it easier to get into the TK Grill more often?  We try to go as often as possible as they are the restaurant that opens the earliest.  We dine early and the restaurant and earth and ocean opening at 7pm is not good for us.

 

Yes, we have already been twice and it hasn’t been full. When we were at the bar at TK (they make the best old fashioned!) they actually came and asked everyone at the bar if they wanted to eat at the grill that evening. 
 

This morning the Maitre D of TK saw us and said to just let them know when we want to come back. 

[Gee & Gee]

Hello folks - I am also on this cruise and just read through this thread. Kudos to WNcruiser for doing such an excellent job recapping the experience. I wasn’t sure I saw mentioned, so just thought I’d add for anyone wondering, that breakfast is available in the Colonnade until 10 AM, both a large breakfast buffet and made to order requests. I agree some dinner entrees have been more successful than others but we have had outstanding dinners at both Earth and Ocean and Sushi. We opted for dinner at Sushi on the formal night and it was superb. I had an excellent steak in The Restaurant one night. Tonight will be our first dinner at the TK Grill, so no comment there yet. We have sat in the piano bar outside the TK grill a few nights after the larger shows have ended and it is a lovely experience. Excellent cocktails, a beautiful setting and fine live music. We also really enjoy the Observation bar on deck 11 in the later evening hours, which is surprisingly mostly empty, despite the beautiful setting, great live entertainment and excellent bar service. I echo all the comments above about the incredible service in every venue — the staff is so warm and attentive, they seem genuinely happy to see everyone and have the opportunity to provide the Seabourne experience. For those of you booked on upcoming cruises, I’m confident you will enjoy your time onboard as much as we have.

[WNcruiser]

12 hours ago, SLSD said:

I am assuming that in addition to the menu from The Restaurant that you have posted, there is also an unchanging "Classic Menu" offered in the Restaurant.  It would include things like grilled salmon and some other basic dishes.  Have you tried that menu? Perhaps the quality and taste would be an improvement over the changing menu as everyone in the kitchen would be so familiar with these items.  

 

You also mentioned (I think) that SB had not been pleased with some of the provisions that have been delivered.  I wonder if there is a supply chain issue which has affected the quality of the food.  

I have seen the classic menu but like to try different dishes that I don’t usually cook or eat at home. After a very fishy/salty red snapper they brought me the sole from the classic menu and it was dry and flavorless. I do believe it may be a supply issue since this is only the second sailing from Miami. Hopefully they can resolve that quickly. 
 

I am not a fussy eater by any means. Last night they had mussels and they were so salty they were inedible. I don’t want to dwell on the dinners in The Restaurant as we love the rest of the food and are having an amazing time. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by WNcruiser

[WNcruiser]

Tonight’s menus. 

[SLSD]

3 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

I have seen the classic menu but like to try different dishes that I don’t usually cook or eat at home. After a very fishy/salty red snapper they brought me the sole from the classic menu and it was dry and flavorless. I do believe it may be a supply issue since this is only the second sailing from Miami. Hopefully they can resolve that quickly. 
 

I am not a fussy eater by any means. Last night they had mussels and they were so salty they were inedible. I don’t want to dwell on the dinners in The Restaurant as we love the rest of the food and are having an amazing time. 

Ok.  I think you may be right that supplies are at the center of the issues.  While I haven't liked every single meal I've ever had in The Restaurant (a Beef Wellington comes to mind and also a rubbery lobster), most have been quite good.  I do order from the classic menu often and like you, I am far from a fussy eater.   I've always loved Earth and Ocean--everything we've ever had there has been delectable--so I am sad to hear that hasn't been the case for you.  I've enjoyed some of the TK Grill offerings, but find the roasted chicken way too salty--but perhaps that is just me.  I'm glad you are having a wonderful time in spite of uneven food offerings.  

Edited December 6, 2021 by SLSD

[johng75370]

5 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

Last night they had mussels and they were so salty they were inedible.

Thanks for your posts and commentary WNcruiser!

 

We were on Odyssey in mid-September and had no serious complaints about the food (only praise).  Our transatlantic on Ovation however we found both the overall quality to be slightly lower, and a lot more salt.  When we asked for lower salt the response was that we’d have to order the day before - on the day of the chef has limited ability to provide less salt than usual.  We’ve assumed it is a combination of the chef and how food is prepped in advance, but definitely saw a difference between ships and chefs when it came to how salty food was. 

[sfvoyage]

I'd also like to comment on the topic of salt:  over-salting has been a chronic issue on all Seabourn ships over the years.  We always pre-order the night before and specify "no salt" (which is actually no "added" salt because some of the raw ingredients are pre-salted) for everything, and half the time the food does arrive without salt, while the rest of the time it is salty enough or way too salty for our taste.

 

Last month on the Ovation, I actually found the quality of the food to have been improved for the most part.  The corporate executive chef left the ship towards the end of our voyage, but I didn't recall a deterioration of food quality afterwards.  However, we are vegan (vegetarian on board), so YMMV. 

[cruiser02]

22 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

I was going to wait until the end of the cruise to address this. I want to start by saying we really love the Seabourn experience. 
 

All of our breakfasts have been great as well as almost all the lunches we have had in the colonnade, patio and the sushi restaurant. 
 

Unfortunately we have not been impressed with the dinners in The Restaurant or Earth and Ocean. It isn’t the type of food as the menus mostly sound good, it is the quality and taste. We have had much better food on Oceania and Celebrity. We have heard from numerous others, including Platinum and Diamond members that they feel the same way about many of the dishes. 
 

I also want to mention the Maitre D’s and waiters have done everything they can to make us happy by trying other items as well offering to make us anything we want the next evening. Dinner in TK Grill both nights was excellent so I honestly am not sure what is going on with The Restaurant. It won’t discourage us from booking Seabourn again and I still have hope it may get better with 6 nights to go. 

What time are the evening shows?   Last time we were on SB the shows were always at 9:30

 

[twodjs]

Sorry to break into your live posting but I must comment on the over-salting issue. We were on the Odyssey in Oct. We are both vegetarians. We booked the TK Grill for our 30th Anniversary dinner. The eggplant parm. and the mac and cheese were both grossly over-salted. There were no other vegetarian choices.The other meals in the regular restaurant were fine. We would never consider another meal in TK unless they get their act together. We shouldn't have to make a special request for an edible meal. We love every other aspect of Seabourn.

 

[WNcruiser]

6 hours ago, cruiser02 said:

What time are the evening shows?   Last time we were on SB the shows were always at 9:30

 

Shows are still 9:30. Once capacity increases they will go back to two shows at 8 and 10. 

[WNcruiser]

Fantastic day on the beach at Carambola today! Seabourn really went all out and didn’t miss a single detail down to the steel drum player. 
 

It was quite windy again (story of this cruise) and the water was quite choppy but they did a good job with the caviar in the surf.  Lobsters and lunch were very good and of course the drinks and champagne were flowing all day. 
 

We had a nice dinner in The Restaurant tonight. I had the grouper and it was pretty good, a tad dry but the flavor was nice. Service of course was excellent as always. 
 

For those that are new to Seabourn I wanted to mention they have a soufflé Every. Single. Night in addition to other dessert choices. Looking forward to Jost tomorrow although it is a short day with last tender at 1.30. 

[WNcruiser]

[WNcruiser]

Hello from Jost! Really funny show last night. We had Mandy Muden who was a finalist on Britain’s Got Talent. She is a magician and comedian and was very entertaining.

 

I am quite surprised at the entertainment on board, much better than Oceania. We are headed out to Jost on our last port day 😞 

 

These 11 days are flying by. 

[WNcruiser]

We had an incredible day at Jost Van Dyke today. An absolutely gorgeous beach with white sand and clear warm water. I will post pictures later but wanted to get the menus posted for tonight. Lunch was a Greek theme with moussaka, gyros, roasted lamb and kebabs. 
 

As we sailed away from Jost the singers and dancers put on a really nice concert at the pool for everyone. 

[rkacruiser]

17 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

For those that are new to Seabourn I wanted to mention they have a soufflé Every. Single. Night in addition to other dessert choices.

 

I noticed that on the menus you posted and all of them sound good.  I really enjoy a well prepared souffle; something Chef rkacruiser never prepares.  

 

1 hour ago, WNcruiser said:

We had an incredible day at Jost Van Dyke today. An absolutely gorgeous beach with white sand and clear warm water. I will post pictures later but wanted to get the menus posted for tonight. Lunch was a Greek theme with moussaka, gyros, roasted lamb and kebabs. 
 

As we sailed away from Jost the singers and dancers put on a really nice concert at the pool for everyone. 

 

FYI:  These menus are not readable me.  Print is too small.  But, thanks for trying.  Your posting of the earlier menus were perfect!  

[LMB01]

22 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I noticed that on the menus you posted and all of them sound good.  I really enjoy a well prepared souffle; something Chef rkacruiser never prepares.  

 

 

FYI:  These menus are not readable me.  Print is too small.  But, thanks for trying.  Your posting of the earlier menus were perfect!  

I am able to click on the picture which enlarges it and then can be zoomed even further for easy reading.