Seabourn should step up with Quest

[kjbacon]

18 hours ago, SLSD said:

We've never gone to SB Square for an issue about how our suite was cared for--or about items we needed (like water or ice forgotten).  Instead, we left a note for our stewardess in a very obvious place like on our bed.  We found this method worked and we always got what we needed.  Maybe you did this and it didn't work?  

We left notes most days. When that didn’t help, we went to SB square. This is not what we are accustomed to on a luxury cruise.
 

Again, everyone knows that the quest is a hot mess right now. It’s not a question anymore! How many more times can some of you shoot the messengers or tell us we asked wrong for simple basics like water in our room?

We will probably make use of our 10 days of future cruise credits but have every intention of returning to the high quality of Regent and Oceania where everyone is treated well and we get an ostentatious (not) perk like free laundry.

 

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how one says potato. It’s just that Seabourn should stop trying to fill The Quest until they are providing adequate numbers of properly trained staff to handle it.

[lincslady]

I can only agree with you that, even as a fan of Seabourn, Quest is a mess at present; not all those commenting on problems can be wrong.  Such a shame, because it seems the other ships are working pretty much as usual, and I do hope that all of this is being paid attention to by Head Office to avoid the whole line getting a bad reputation.

[florisdekort]

We are boarding Quest on 28 October and are very much looking forward to our cruise. Given the relatively recent restart and global staff shortages, I’m sure a large portion of the crew will be new to Seabourn and still learning, but frankly, that is to be expected and we’ll deal with it with enthusiasm and encouragement, not with endless complaining and not with an “I paid $1500 per night” attitude. I’m sure it won’t be perfect, but I highly doubt Quest is a “hot mess”. 

[lincslady]

floris - I am sure there is a large element of luck at present - you might get a well trained stewardess who knows what she is doing, or a newbie still learning and not very efficient.  This probably also applies in the restaurants, I would think.  But enough people have made similar comments for many of  us to believe that Quest is understaffed, especially with those who already know how to do  their job.

[SLSD]

18 hours ago, saminina said:

.

 

What I found interesting was their comment expressing happiness with the suite on SB.   The best suites on mass market lines offer much more than SB highest suite.

I understand that some enjoy the "ship within a ship" concept on the mass market lines.  That concept holds no interest for us--even if the experience might exude luxury and exclusivity.  We much prefer a smaller ship and fewer passengers. I think the attempt to compare cruise lines almost always becomes an apples and oranges proposition.  And, while some people love having a butler, we prefer to have the fewest people possible knocking on our door.   

[frantic36]

3 hours ago, lincslady said:

floris - I am sure there is a large element of luck at present - you might get a well trained stewardess who knows what she is doing, or a newbie still learning and not very efficient.  This probably also applies in the restaurants, I would think.  But enough people have made similar comments for many of  us to believe that Quest is understaffed, especially with those who already know how to do  their job.

Lola, I will wait until I board Quest in January and make up my own mind.

 

I didn't come back to this board while on my holiday because to be honest prior too and during my holiday too many seemed to be complaining or looking for drama. It was not my experience on Sojourn and it was disheartening to speak to experienced crew who said they try to avoid coming here of the other site because they feel no matter how much they try the comments online were disheartening.

 

Was everything perfect, not always but mostly. We actually found most of the time the food was very good and service also. We had some issues with slow service some nights but that has happened before and on other cruise lines. We have stayed at a few five star hotels over the last 18 months and all have an issue with staffing.

 

To be honest we have a cruise coming up on Regent next year and after being used to the more democratic atmosphere on Seabourn even though we have a Penthouse Suite I am thinking it may be one and done.

 

Julie

[ciaoYacht]

4 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

We have stayed at a few five star hotels over the last 18 months and all have an issue with staffing.

Recently stayed at a 4S and had service and staffing issues. No matter what the brand (or the price you pay), everything has been impacted to some extent. The true test will be how do these businesses recover and reinvent themselves. 

[frantic36]

1 minute ago, ciaoYacht said:

Recently stayed at a 4S and had service and staffing issues. No matter what the brand (or the price you pay), everything has been impacted to some extent. The true test will be how do these businesses recover and reinvent themselves. 

Agreed, but the very minor issues we had on Sojourn we still had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to our next cruise. We do know some of the experienced crew on Sojourn were going to Quest for the Grand Voyage in January. Hopefully we will see them then.

[SLSD]

34 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

 

 

I didn't come back to this board while on my holiday because to be honest prior too and during my holiday too many seemed to be complaining or looking for drama. It was not my experience on Sojourn and it was disheartening to speak to experienced crew who said they try to avoid coming here of the other site because they feel no matter how much they try the comments online were disheartening.

 

 

Julie

Julie, I think it is the nature of an online community to be much quicker to criticize than to praise.  That's why I take what I read online with a grain of salt.  I have no doubt that the Quest is having issues but I am assuming there are many onboard who are just having a great time.  

[kjbacon]

The Sojourn and The Quest are different ships. To the best of everyone’s knowledge and what is being reported on the boards, it is only The Quest that is experiencing the sustained lack of staffing. I’m truly pleased for those that had good experiences on The Sojourn but that is irrelevant to what has been going on for months now on The Quest.

 

This was our third post Covid cruise and the only one that was problematic. Regent in December and Oceania in March both did a great job.

 

We have also enjoyed Viking, Azamara, and Fathom (to Cuba) since we switched to the smaller ships. Never did the ship within a ship thing when we were doing the large ships. We enjoyed all of our large ships cruises too. We plan to stick with small ships but will make an exception and are looking forward to a return to Disney Cruise line when the grandsons are a little older. 

Doesn’t matter whether you prefer butlers or whether you prefer perks in some cabins or how you say potato. It’s about whether or not a quality product was delivered and in this one and only case for us, it was not.

[nancygp]

2 hours ago, frantic36 said:

Lola, I will wait until I board Quest in January and make up my own mind.

 

I didn't come back to this board while on my holiday because to be honest prior too and during my holiday too many seemed to be complaining or looking for drama. It was not my experience on Sojourn and it was disheartening to speak to experienced crew who said they try to avoid coming here of the other site because they feel no matter how much they try the comments online were disheartening.

 

Was everything perfect, not always but mostly. We actually found most of the time the food was very good and service also. We had some issues with slow service some nights but that has happened before and on other cruise lines. We have stayed at a few five star hotels over the last 18 months and all have an issue with staffing.

 

To be honest we have a cruise coming up on Regent next year and after being used to the more democratic atmosphere on Seabourn even though we have a Penthouse Suite I am thinking it may be one and done.

 

Julie

welcome back Julie and nice to read your post.

 

I fully concur with everything you posted.  Our first seabourn cruise, on the ovation, was excellent and our experiences were similar to your summer sojourn cruise.  While certainly not perfect, the cruise met our high expectations and the service was very good with a few minor hiccups…like you, same minor issues at recent high end hotel stays.  We also had the issue of isolation, ours was shorter than yours yet the service and compassion we received were extraordinary.  I did feel that there were many new crew members and most will work out just fine yet they seemed to lack some training and direction and that is something easily corrected…most tried so hard and we really appreciated that.
 

we have an upcoming quest cruise and I will hold judgement until we are on the ship.  As the number of people who post  on cc and the fb groups are just a small sample, I tend not to put much emphasis on most of the comments, good or bad.

 

happy sails and nice to read your post.

 

Nancy

Edited October 11, 2022 by nancygp

[skybluewaters]

12 hours ago, kjbacon said:

We will probably make use of our 10 days of future cruise credits but have every intention of returning to the high quality of Regent and Oceania where everyone is treated well and we get an ostentatious (not) perk like free laundry.
 

 

A wild guess:  After your 10-day Seabourn cruise, you will book another cruise with Seabourn, and you'll book it onboard. 

[conchyjoe]

17 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

With my days sailed I get my own lifeboat 😀

Fine with me, I would prefer the boat with the female entertainers, some caviar and lots of wine!