It's been a while - suggestions?

[APFBarb]

Hello,

We sailed SB several years ago and loved it.  But likely things have changed.  What tips would you give a new SB guest.  Anything we should do prior to cruise (Ovation - May 2023).  I Did make a reservation at TK Grill after reading posts.  What else?  Any suggestions about venues and activities to to engage in?  What is the Source?  Anything I should know specific to the Ovation?

 

Thanks for all your suggestions. 

[Mr Luxury]

Have you tried the search facility on these boards?

They throw up a wealth of already discussed topics.

Just get on board and have fun is all that i can say.

[skybluewaters]

Seabourn Source is Seabourn's app. 

You should download it and set up an account (password, etc.).

Among other things, your boarding pass will be on the app and you can complete online guest registration, book excursions, view menus, etc.

Just download it and start clicking to see what's what. 

But it's not the smoothest app, to say the least.

[frantic36]

11 hours ago, APFBarb said:

Any suggestions about venues and activities to to engage in? 

 

Observation Bar is popular for pre-dinner drinks because it has big windows and is situated in the bow and looks forward, they also have a small selection of canapés. I generally prefer the club because it feels more intimate, though I prefer The Club on Odyssey class. If you prefer sitting outside the sky bar on Deck 9 in nice weather is also good. 

 

Seabourn Square is a popular place during the day to meet, have coffee, tea etc and they have small snacks. Early morning coffee can be had from 6am in the Obs Bar if you don't want to wait for room service. 

[APFBarb]

Thanks for the suggestions about venues for pre-dinner drinks and info about The Source.  Will download and play around. Skybluewaters I see that you are a previous Crystsl Cruiser.  It was my favorite lime.  Hoping we enjoy Seabourn as much.

 

I started this thread thinking there might be a thread for new Seabourn Cruisers.  I'll just have to have fun poking around the board. 

Thank you.

 

[santos949]

A little history here--My husband and I have taken 79 cruises, from the Carnival Cruise experience to the Seabourn experience.  We have cruised them all except for Viking Ocean, Windstar and Oceania.  We have cruises booked on Windstar and Oceania for 2023.

 

We were on the Seabourn Odyssey in May 2022 (Los Angeles to Vancouver) when my husband was diagnosed with Covid.  We disembarked in San Francisco and managed to get home.  Seabourn was very generous and credited us with the days we missed as a future cruise credit.  They also reimbursed the taxes, port fees and excursion costs.

 

As our substitute cruise, we booked the Miami to Miami cruise (December 10 - 21, 2022) on the Seabourn Sojourn.  I was not excited about the cruise, nor thrilled about the time of the year we would be away from home.  But I am not one to allow any kind of credit expire.

 

We boarded the Sojourn and after a day or two I was seriously "hooked" on the cruise line.  So much had improved since May 2022.  During our very brief two days on board in May, I had NOT been impressed.  At that time the crew seemed stressed and our meals took at least 2 hours.  There were very few smiles on any faces at that time.  "Good" I thought...I can cross Seabourn off my list!

 

When I say I fell in love with Seabourn, it is truly an understatement.  My two favorite lines were Silversea and Crystal.  And here comes Seabourn!

 

There is something special about the crew and staff on Seabourn.  Their friendliness is warm and genuine, yet remains perfectly professional.  I never thought I would find another cruise line staff that would call us by name on the second morning we were on board.  Everyone on board could not do enough to make our cruise the very best.  At one meal I was struggling, trying to get the huge pawn out of its attached shell.  One of the ship's officers sitting at the table next to us came over and insisted on removing the obstinate critter for me.

 

How would we adapt to eating at 7:00 pm when were were used to eating at 5:30 at home?  We found a wonderful table (Table 93) with a fabulous server (Alex from Honduras) who made sure we had eaten and were out after 1 hour.  He got to know our preferences and they were waiting for us when we arrived each evening.

 

Our meal in The Grill (Thomas Keller) was one of the best onboard any ship.  How can food taste that good?  How can so many servers anticipate what you want?

 

My favorite area was the Seabourn Square.  That is a unique concept for a cruise line to adopt.  It proved to be a great gathering place with the best  coffee, tasty snacks and all the library books you could possibly want.  And Victoria (from Hungary) is the star of that show!!

 

My husband and I loved to go to Deck 5 for pre-dinner drinks.  The musical trio was exceptional.  Deck 10 was always crowded before dinner and there were very few places to sit.  Deck 10 was also noisy compared to Deck 5.

 

Probably the high light of the entire cruise for me was the BBQ on Carambola Beach.  It was magical.  We had been to all of the islands on the itinerary, so we would get off the ship at each port and just walk around.  But the BBQ on Carambola Beach was comparable to White Night on Azamara, the huge feast in the main atrium on Crystal and the various specialty events on Silversea.

 

I could go on and on.  Needless to say, I put a future cruise deposit down that can be used in the next 4 years.  But I will be on Seabourn long before that 4 years has passed.

 

Like I told all the crew and staff..."Darn you!  I really did not want to fall in love with Seabourn!"

 

But I did.

[pyffii]

brilliant report and we're hugely excited about our second only cruise ( first one was on Ovation pre covid ) and on Sojourn in May