Live from the Seabourn Quest, Montreal-Montreal, 9/22/22-10/4/22

[kjbacon]

4 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

 

 

I am sorry you are unhappy with my blog, and hope you enjoy the rest of your first SB cruise

 

We also had multiple issues on our cruise on the Quest and everyone, including SB knows the ship is riddled with problems. There were those that went off on me too.

[SLSD]

3 hours ago, lincslady said:

For  whatever reason poor old Quest seems to have drawn the short straw when it comes to enough trained staff on board, as the other ships generally seem to be operating pretty much at the usual standard.

 

Regarding differing opinions on service, in the past - with full staff numbers on board - we have had very variable service now and again, according to having experienced ,  well trained  and personable servers on board, in different sections of the dining rooms - or not.  It can pay to remember which section you want to sit in, and ask the Maitre'd as you go in.

 

 

I read virtually every post on Cruise Critic in the Seabourn forum .  I have found this site  to be most helpful for those of us who love to cruise Seabourn.  I am not at all offended by very critical posts and I also like hearing from others on the same itinerary that they are not totally displeased with food, service, excursions, etc.  We have cruised enough to recognize that you can be on the same cruise with others and have a totally different experience.  For that reason, I like the hear about both sides of the coin.

 

As an aside, we are recently home from a 10 day trip to our favorite city in the US---Santa Fe, New Mexico.  One of the highlights of our trip was getting together with friends we met on a Seabourn Baltic cruise in 2018.  They had recently purchased a lovely home in Santa Fe--had us over for lunch on our second day in the city and we met them for another lunch several days later.  It's always a bonus when you make good friends on a Seabourn cruise.  

Edited October 1, 2022 by SLSD

[travel4b]

5 hours ago, lincslady said:

For  whatever reason poor old Quest seems to have drawn the short straw when it comes to enough trained staff on board, as the other ships generally seem to be operating pretty much at the usual standard.

 

Regarding differing opinions on service, in the past - with full staff numbers on board - we have had very variable service now and again, according to having experienced ,  well trained  and personable servers on board, in different sections of the dining rooms - or not.  It can pay to remember which section you want to sit in, and ask the Maitre'd as you go in.

 

 

Yes, it’s sad to see that Quest seems to still be struggling a month after disembarking from our disappointing month onboard in August. We limited ourselves to one of three waiter’s sections in the Restaurant to manage having a pleasant dinner experience. We weren’t as lucky cracking the code in the Colonnade!

[Viking1966]

Any waiter's recommend in the main dining room? We will be embarking the Quest on Oct 4th? 

[ivyleaguegent]

1 hour ago, Viking1966 said:

Any waiter's recommend in the main dining room? We will be embarking the Quest on Oct 4th? 

Vanessa 

[Catlover54]

 

Yesterday, as an early show, an assistant CD Nick sang a number of traditional/standards crooner songs (e.g., Sinatra style), some Billy Joel, and a few others.  He is a good-looking young man with a good voice and great enthusiasm (though that genre is not anywhere near our favorite, he performed competently, and there was a good turnout)

 

 

 

[conchyjoe]

There are four stools outside suites on decks below Deck 8. There are none on 8,9 or 10.

The crew have been more affected by the outbreak since they all share cabins. Galley staff have been hit hard, at least 12-14 out of action at the moment which is why the Patio Grill is operating a limited menu (no pizza and a few other regular items).

Earth & Ocean has been closed for 3 nights and is likely to remain closed for the remainder of this cruise as the Chef and Sous-Chef have been redeployed to other locations (or are sick).

The shipboard management suggestion was to close the TK Grill but this request was apparently denied by Head Office.

 

All this said, given a hurricane and Covid, most areas (including the laundry) have been working pretty smoothly. We are not newbies and have sailed on Seabourn many times before.

 

 

[Catlover54]

Day 11, Gaspe

 

We had another gorgeous clear, crisp slightly windy day waiting for us as we sailed into the Gaspe peninsula area.  DH and I did an excursion to the village of Gaspe to Perce village (accents skipped), and then past Perce Rock and around Bonaventure Island.  This was quite popular, with 2 buses of people, about 40 pax in each.

 

First we tendered (about 10-15 minutes), then drove in a very comfortable bus for 75 minutes (fortunately not a school bus -- the school buses waiting for SB pax were for the people doing self-tours of the town, who did not do an excursion) , then got on a boat with both inside and outside seating, and toured in that for about an hour.  After about an hour of time for a short lunch in town (we had just enough time to order, get our meal, eat, use the rest room, and walk 10 minutes), we reversed the course.

There was no official walking time, but our pedometers still showed 1.7 miles for the day, with all the little walk connections.

 

If anyone wants to read details about the geology in the area, look here:

 

https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/travels-geology-geological-riches-quebecs-gaspe-peninsula

 

A few quick DH pictures from the day:

 

this one may be from a bus window:

 

 

Indian Head Rock (with green hair, and I'm not sure if the 'war paint' is guano or someone went in and modified the rock).  There is of course a legend behind the history of the rock, (written for tourists like us).

 

Each house gets its own big rock:

 

 

Without human distractions (which has pros and cons):

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Catlover54]

 

There was no room at the inn in this multistoried Bird Hotel.

 

But there was plenty of space for these seals (I think they were harbor seals, but I could not hear the announcement clearly due to engine noise):

 

 

We even saw a blurred bald eagle dining on --- something:

 

 

The island is presently uninhabited (not allowed) but there are old vacation cottages and a picnic area (per the local guide, not a great picnic site, due to guano smells, but still beautiful)

 

 

Heading back (sad flag):

 

 

[Catlover54]

 

After lunch, we got chased out of town by a local:

 

the guide reported the population in the area had been declining:

 

 

 

The Quest was waiting for us in the harbor:

 

 

 

 

We later set sail for Montreal, and had scenic cruising as sunset approached.  Tomorrow is a sea day, our first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

You are just killing it with excellent photos!

[CalmSea]

Just a comment sbout Covid. I am on Deck 4, and saw stools growing like mushrooms after an Autumn rain. The first one popped up the day after embarkation, then a second, a third and a fourth, all visible with no need to search. Then a stool popped up in front of my neighbour's door two days ago. My DW and I have accepted that cruising is a high risk activity, but we have decided that life has to go on. We do take precautions snd wear mask in crowded places, including in the Grand Salon, the tender and tour buses. Even with the mushrooming stools, we haven't changed our mind.

[Catlover54]

 

Day 12, Sea Day (heading for Montreal)

 

We have a beautifully clear low-keyed sea day ahead , 41 degrees, light winds.  The usual assortment of cruise activities is going on, e.g., bridge education , information about Chinese herbs and mindful living , a jewelry quiz, Trivia, and  also a deck game known as  "baggo" (?):

 

 

 

 

The retired elderly Australian colonel who is on board to give little talks (about 35 minutes per talk) is doing two of them today (SB calls them "conversations").

 

Pax can also listen to the "conversations" talks on their suite TVs the next day, instead of coming in person.  In addition to the "popcorn movie" SB is airing, called "Jungle Cruise", there are numerous  movies on demand on the small TV in the veranda suites.  

The TVs are positioned on the wall between the bed and sofa areas, so regardless of where you sit, you are viewing the TV in a twisted position.  When we cruise, we hardly ever watch TV in our suite as we are too busy with other things on what are usually port intensive cruises.  So we don't care much about the small size of the TV  and the awkward positioning, but we know some pax who spend a lot of time on their suite TVs (e.g., those who immediately noticed when TV did not work, which is when the internet did  not work) hope this dated feature will be updated in some future dry dock (but I have not heard of any plans to do so). 

 

We did enjoy an interesting documentary called "Automat" .  For NYC fans old enough to remember the Horn and Hardart chain of vending machine food stores, it is about the chain's founding  history, their innovation, and their rise and fall.

 

 

The MDR (closed every day for lunch, and not just because of Covid among crew chefs -- this is sadly apparently the standard practice on this ship ) will have a galley market lunch there today.  SB galley lunches tend to be elaborate and very special, (though  a bit loud).

SB Source had also earlier in the cruise posted availability of a galley tour, (masks required), which we have done in the past (always fun) , but not this time.

[Catlover54]

1 hour ago, highplanesdrifters said:

You are just killing it with excellent photos!

 

DH appreciates your praise (but he does not think he is up to his photographic best this cruise).  

[nancygp]

The TV on the ovation is in the same location but not mounted on the wall..wasn’t an issue when we wanted to watch…it wasn’t huge, ample for the size of the suite…I’ll hold judgement until I see the tv on the quest. We didn’t have internet for a day an a half on the ovation due to sailing in the fjords and obviously no tv..that’s the way it goes.

 

Nancy

Edited October 2, 2022 by nancygp

[DaveA]

The TV in our Quest Veranda suite is on a swivel stand and a slide out shelf. The problem is that even when pulled out as far as possible you can’t turn the screen more than a few degrees because the side of the screen is obstructed by the side of the cabinet. A definite design flaw!

[conchyjoe]

Deck 8 seemingly now not immune. Another stool arrived outside a Suite this morning.

so that’s a total of around 10 pax and about 22 crew out of action due to Covid)

 

Very pleasant but cool afternoon sailing down the St. Lawrence admiring the Fall colors.

We should pass Quebec City just before sunset which will allow some great photos of the city.

 

Then it should be a smooth sail up the river overnight to arrive in Montreal at 0900.

A one day respite before they chuck us all off at 0900 on Tuesday.

 

It’s generally been a very enjoyable cruise on Quest although this one has been much shorter than we would normally do. Just wanted to get our feet wet after an almost 3 year absence.

 

We will be back next year on the same ship for a longer Adriatic trip.

 

 

 

[SLSD]

4 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

 

 

 ... will have a galley market lunch there today.  SB galley lunches tend to be elaborate and very special, (though  a bit loud).

SB Source had also earlier in the cruise posted availability of a galley tour, (masks required), which we have done in the past (always fun) , but not this time.

We enjoy galley tours as well--but  have never enjoyed Galley Lunches--which are really another buffet.  Too much excess and disjointed food offerings for us.  We did go to one on our last SB cruise, but agree that we will not be doing it again. 

 

We don't watch  a lot of TV in our suite,  so the position of the TV does not bother me. 

 

Your photos of this cruise have been glorious, but I have certainly gathered that you are not pleased at all with many of the particulars of the cruise.  Looking over the events for this Sea Day, I would have to agree that there is nothing that would interest me--unless the Australian retired military man is exceedingly interesting.  What would interest us on a Sea Day---very interesting lecturers, an on deck caviar champagne event midday, some special entertainment (a musician flown in for a special concert), a bridge tour, a lecture by the captain about all the details of sailing various kinds of ships--and how a cruise ship differs from others,  a special meal featuring local cuisine.  You get the idea.  

Edited October 2, 2022 by SLSD

[CalmSea]

Was there a neighbourhood party or did I missed it?

[rkacruiser]

Your DH's photos are excellent!  I am enjoying them.

 

During my Canada/New England/repositioning cruise a few years ago, we visited Sept-Iles, Baie-Comeau, and Gaspe.  I enjoyed all three off the beaten path ports and found the history of Baie-Comeau interesting.  I recall the tour I took allowed us to visit a re-created version of part of the industrial town.  The photo of your boat tour to view Perce Rock and around Bonaventure Island with all of the birds brought back good memories.  But, cold ones!  Your photo shows people on the boat bundled up in their hooded windbreakers.  One of those folks could have been me and I was still cold!  Great tour, though!

[conchyjoe]

I didn’t hear of one but we don’t normally participate and definitely would not these days given the circumstances.

[CalmSea]

A few comments about food. It is one area of pleasant surprise for us. Eating at the Restaurant used to be low on our priority. This time around, we find the Inspiration menus very interesting. Many creations are something we had not seen anywhere else, and they are excellent. The servings are much smaller, which are fine with us, because we are light eaters. The only thing we found missing are vegetables. So, after the first couple of meals, we started ordering a side dish of steamed vegetables. We like the Inspiration menus so much that we haven't ordered anything from the Classical side until last night, when I decided I had to try something from that side just to see whether anything has changed. I ordered a New York cut. It was just as usual, nothing special. The TK's servings also seemed smaller, but they are excellent, as usual. The Earth and Ocean used to be our top choice and the food is excellent as usual, but we are going more often to the Restaurant.

[conchyjoe]

I heard from a past cruise posting that some of the infected crew members were being put on Deck 4. That might explain why you have seen a rapid increase in the number of stools shortly after sailing. Theoretically all of the paying pax should have tested negative before boarding and probably wouldn’t test positive until at least day four if they contracted Covid on their flights or at some later point before becoming symptomatic.

[Catlover54]

44 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

Your DH's photos are excellent!  I am enjoying them.

 

During my Canada/New England/repositioning cruise a few years ago, we visited Sept-Iles, Baie-Comeau, and Gaspe.  I enjoyed all three off the beaten path ports and found the history of Baie-Comeau interesting.  I recall the tour I took allowed us to visit a re-created version of part of the industrial town.  The photo of your boat tour to view Perce Rock and around Bonaventure Island with all of the birds brought back good memories.  But, cold ones!  Your photo shows people on the boat bundled up in their hooded windbreakers.  One of those folks could have been me and I was still cold!  Great tour, though!

 

I am glad you are enjoying DH's photos, and that you are having good, old memories return.  There is always something comforting when I read stories or see pictures about places we have been in the past, on CC, and I think "I remember that."

 

We did not have time for touring the recreated industrial town in detail in Baie-Comeau (we had already done two things that day and I was beat, plus it was late in the season so unclear if possible).  But both DH (recently retired electrical engineer) and I would likely have enjoyed it.  We love seeing factories, old and new technology, production lines of how things work or worked in different fields, and how over time, man has managed to create so much, from so little, to not only survive but to thrive, to a great degree advanced by technologies.  These things have their own kind of intrinsic beauty to us, independent of the birds, trees, and forests we love so much, and live in (though I know some people find factories ugly).  One of my favorite pictures is that of a nuclear power plan in southern France, with a vineyard in the foreground. 

 

As for the hooded windbreakers and cold , they and that excursion were a good practice run for me for an Antarctica expedition I am contemplating (either on the Venture or another luxury line) , e.g., if I could not handle that, no way could I handle Antarctica, even if I had my special Iceland windproof pants on (which unfortunately I did not this cruise -- I had gained too much weight from my last few cruises before this one post-Covid, and need to secure a bigger size :).

[conchyjoe]

If you are thinking of heading to Antarctica then there are a couple of stores in Montreal that would be worth visiting. “Canada Goose” and “Canada Wolf”. They are both very close to each other on St. Cat and easy to find on Google Maps.