Seabourn website

[Poshua]

I have an upcoming cruise in May and attempting to manage excursions or other aspects of my booking through the website is impossible. It just takes forever and ever to load and uses up so much memory that my web browser gives me error messages about the page. Meanwhile the app won't show any information about my booked excursions. (The app also crashes a lot.) This doesn't seem to be a periodic problem -- the website has just become completely inoperable for me over the last few months, even though I was previously able to make some excursion bookings.

 

I don't understand how people work with this -- do I just need to manage everything over the phone?

 

Josh

[cruiseej]

I find the website works more than it doesn't, and have learned to walk away and come back later when it doesn't. We were on a cruise a month ago, and I was able to manage using the website to book excursions, complete guest information, print documents, etc.  I'd recommend trying more than one browser on your computer; I could sometimes get things to work in Chrome when Safari wouldn't load pages. 

 

It is surprising not only that Seabourn's website has such problems, but that there are similar complaints about the websites of many cruise lines. It's amazing that no one gets it right, while airlines and hotels have online booking and information systems down pat.

[MBP&O2/O]

I use an Android tablet and the Seabourn Source App only works when it feels like it .... frequently hangs, slows down or locks or just will not accept any input and is totally unresponsive.  Strange beast and, IMHO, not very user friendly. 

I use my browser in 'confidential' mode so I have no history or cache to  clog up the works. 

I use a similar thing with Silversea and that works fine......not that I have anything booked with them any more.

[wesport]

Can only do anything using app. Have tried edge, Firefox, safari, and chrome on the iPad. NADA!  Have given up. I can us the app on my 12” iPad Pro. That’s it.

[markham]

Agreed. The Seabourn app and website are among the most unprofessional, unmanageable, frustrating and unresponsive customer interfaces in the travel industry. Sure, you can browse future cruises but as a tool to manage your bookings it is diabolical. And it’s been awful for a year plus.

 

On that point, I wonder if anyone at Seabourn head office or field sales offices ever accesses and uses this beast? If they did then maybe fixes would be in place? I guess I answered my own question.

 

We have a cruise in just over 2 weeks. It took several tries to complete the guest registration pages. We won’t waste more time trying to book excursions. Life is too short. But the good news is that the moment we step on board all this backwash will be history.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[bohaiboy]

We were able to book all of our excursions online.  However, now none of them show as being booked, however SB Corporate confirmed they are indeed booked.  One thing that shocked me was they charge immediately for the excursions, so we were billed two months ago when we booked them.

[MBP&O2/O]

What happens then if you book them, pay for them and then change your mind and cancel one, when in the meantime your CC has expired and the new one has a different card number? I fell foul of that a couple of years ago when a cruise was cancelled  and refunded.

[Isklaar]

16 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

What happens then if you book them, pay for them and then change your mind and cancel one, when in the meantime your CC has expired and the new one has a different card number? I fell foul of that a couple of years ago when a cruise was cancelled  and refunded.

 

 

If your new credit card is still the same account, it should not be an issue. Your replacement card has the same number as the expired one, but the CVC code and expiry date are the only differences. The refund goes to your account.

Did your CC company give any explanation as to the problem you had previously? 

[Calistoga Grower]

14 hours ago, Poshua said:

I have an upcoming cruise in May and attempting to manage excursions or other aspects of my booking through the website is impossible. It just takes forever and ever to load and uses up so much memory that my web browser gives me error messages about the page. Meanwhile the app won't show any information about my booked excursions. (The app also crashes a lot.) This doesn't seem to be a periodic problem -- the website has just become completely inoperable for me over the last few months, even though I was previously able to make some excursion bookings.

 

I don't understand how people work with this -- do I just need to manage everything over the phone?

 

Josh

The Seabourn website was developed by people who have never seen a cruise ship or a computer. It is beyond embarrassing.  Thier phone support for excursions is even worse!

[twodjs]

I don't see any problems with the Seabourn Source website downloaded to my Samsung tablet. I can see our upcoming cruises - next one to Alaska in 111 days and the following one in Feb. 2023. I can choose available excursions by day and book with one tap and have already done so for our Feb. cruise. Really easy. Have others not downloaded Seabourn Source?  And paying for excursions when booking isn't unique to Seabourn. I understand Seabourn Square can exchange for any ship-board-credit you want to use once you board.

[markham]

iPhone or ipad with the Source using chrome or safari doesn’t much matter although chrome is better and Source definitely works better on the ship. The service generally just doesn’t load or it freezes.

 

I cannot be bothered with this instability and irritation. Why doesn’t Seabourn adapt the mysilversea platform which has absolutely no technical hangups. Maybe Seabourn should allow us to rate their system in the postcruise survey on a 1-10 scale. For me it’s a 1 or a 2 (for trying) and no more.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[cruiseej]

40 minutes ago, markham said:

iPhone or ipad with the Source using chrome or safari doesn’t much matter although chrome is better

 

I believe the point being made was that using the Source app rather than using a web browser yields smoother results for some. (But clearly not all.)

 

I'd also say that I've had problems with the Silversea website, so I don't think either line has things working  nearly as smoothly as others in the broader travel industry.

 

@MBP&O2/O If you've had a credit card number canceled and a new card issued, even if it has a copletely different card number, it's still linked to the same account at the credit card company. Additionally, credits sent to a cancelled card number will still post to the associated account. (If it was a cruise booked years earlier, as you experienced, that can be different; the old card number probably only accepts credits for 6 months or a year.)

 

2 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

What happens then if you book them, pay for them and then change your mind and cancel one

 

If you cancel onboard, the credit will go to your shipboard account. At the end of the cruise, if you have unused refundable credits (such as canceled excursions) they will post to your credit card on file. I believe that if you have given them a different credit card at check-in, that's the card that will receive any refund for unused credits at the end of the cruise. 

[whystayhome]

What I do is when I get on board, I ask to transfer the pre-booked shore excursions to my onboard account and ask that they refund my credit card.  What they do instead is credit my onboard account for the amount I charged to my card in advance of the cruise, transfer that amount of my OBC to "refundable," and keep the charges on my credit card.  It's easier for them. Then, at the end of the cruise, I request the left over, refundable OBC to be returned to me in cash before we disembark. I have done this many times.  An added benefit - I get to keep the 3x points for the travel expense for the amount I charged to my credit card and go home with a pocket full of moola.

 

Linda

 

 

[frantic36]

4 hours ago, Isklaar said:

If your new credit card is still the same account, it should not be an issue. Your replacement card has the same number as the expired one, but the CVC code and expiry date are the only differences. The refund goes to your account.

 

 

That is what happened for me when a cancelled cruise was paid by a previous credit card. It just went into the same account as the newly issued card.

 

I also book excursions before, especially anything I am concerned I could miss out on. Then get them to change to OBC at Seabourn Square once I get onboard. I usually try to avoid the first day unless it is in the evening because it is very busy in the Square on the first day, or even the second.

Edited April 1, 2022 by frantic36

[twodjs]

Correct - download and use the app "Seabourn Source". Don't use a browser to plan your cruise. The app works fine with no problems. I have a simple android Samsung tablet - nothing fancy. No issues.

[markham]

Twodjs,

 

Ok, a bit of guidance, please. I am using the Source on my iPad via my home internet. When I selected to book an excursion the system just spun. Then I went to try to book a TK Grill dinner but cannot find where this is an option. I can see Gourmet Dining as an option on the main page but there is no link to a booking engine.

 

Apparently you can do both. Can you point the way?

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[twodjs]

Don't have an answer as to why you get the "circle of death" when going to excursions. I have version 4.7 but it's the android version. Don't know the latest Apple version. I do have the answer for TK. Booking for TK is ONLY available on the website. Once logged in, tap Booked Guests, then Book Excursions & Spa, select Cruise Activities, then Dining. The Grill reservation page appears. 

[Dunnedg]

Always have issues when using ipad. Very few problems with laptop.

[PhD-iva]

4 hours ago, Dunnedg said:

Always have issues when using ipad. Very few problems with laptop.

Thanks for this tip. Was not able to do anything with iPad mini, but much easier on my laptop. Quickly saw there weren’t any itins I was interested in. Probably won’t look back here at Seaborn anytime soon, or at least until they fix their website issues. A lot of cruise lines are able to do it better, even though they all leave much to be desired.

[rucrazy]

I

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

A lot of cruise lines are able to do it better, even though they all leave much to be desired.

Question for all Is it A, B, C or D

A) Cruiseline+Itinerary=Smiles

B) Itinerary+Cruiseline-=Smiles

C) Itinery+Itinery= Smiles 

D) Cruiseline+Cruisline= Smiles

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by rucrazy

[SusieQft]

4 hours ago, rucrazy said:

I

Question for all Is it A, B, C or D

A) Cruiseline+Itinerary=Smiles

B) Itinerary+Cruiseline-=Smiles

C) Itinery+Itinery= Smiles 

D) Cruiseline+Cruisline= Smiles

 

A  🙂🙂🙂