Seabourn Quest Reviews

[lvdave]

We have sailed on Seabourn once before but recently have preferred  Regent to other luxury lines.  We are looking at a 2024 cruise on Quest for 14 days from Montreal to Miami.  Our big concern is that all the recent reviews except for one are 3 stars or less on this site.  Has the Seabourn product deteriorated or is the issue something else.  Any info would be helpful.

Thanks.

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, lvdave said:

We have sailed on Seabourn once before but recently have preferred  Regent to other luxury lines.  We are looking at a 2024 cruise on Quest for 14 days from Montreal to Miami.  Our big concern is that all the recent reviews except for one are 3 stars or less on this site.  Has the Seabourn product deteriorated or is the issue something else.  Any info would be helpful.

Thanks.

The issues are only for the person that comments on them.

Others on the same cruise often have very different experiences.

 

[frantic36]

I am on the Quest at the moment and having a very good time. My husband told me he overheard some people complaining about small portion sizes. For me there is so much food I am happy to have small servings and you can always order more. For dinner I have the appetiser, salad and entree/main. I can't fit in dessert or bread, so it would be a waste to serve my husband and I bigger portions.

 

The service has been good though I can tell there are new trainees. We have a few hiccups in the first couple of days and now it is fine. When we had a problem we went to the Guest Services Manager and Head of Housekeeping and the problem was fixed. most of it was as simple as our curtains near our bed were stiff to draw across and we wanted to ensure they would be usable once we got to Antarctica. 

 

Today some people complained about why stop at Machala but we had a great day with lunch and walking around.Though we were warned about high crime we stayed aware and took all our jewellery off prior but we actually felt very safe. In fact my husband dropped his Seabourn card in the local restaurant and while we were getting our bearings across the road to go back to the shuttle bus a man ran across and handed it to my husband.

 

My whole long post is to confirm what Mr L said above, different people and expectations can lead to different experiences.

[florisdekort]

There was a tremendous amount of whining about Quest on this forum during its recent Canada season. We went late October (Montréal to Miami) and had the very best of times, so I’ve stopped reading the reviews on here. 
 

Edited January 16, 2023 by florisdekort

[JPH814]

I posted a review of my Quest cruise back in October.   It was a wonderful cruise.  Many many more highs than lows.  

[DaveA]

I have been on the Quest twice recently. On the Montreal round trip at the end of September there were quite a few service issues, although we worked around them and had a good time. On our Panama trip over Christmas things were greatly improved. I think it has taken all this time to (almost) get back to pre-COVID levels of staff experience.

[hoosier74]

People are FAR more likely to post negative thoughts than positive ones so I always give the positive reviews more weight.  We were on Quest from London to Montreal in August and there were definitely service problems in the eating area, but other than that we had a wonderful time.  Staffing everywhere is very difficult right now. 

 

And for perspective, you might try reading Regent reviews and comparing them with your experiences.  

[Sunviking]

Sometimes it's hard to remember that only a very small number of people who sail on ships actually participate in these forums, and of those, often the ones who write reviews are those for whom something didn't go quite to their expectations.  Over the years I've been fortunate enough to sail on more than 50 cruises on a variety of lines. While not any of them has been absolutely perfect, I've had a wonderful time on all of them. We always embarked with the attitude that we would have a good time and we always did.  In the last 14 months I've spent a couple of months on the Ovation, the Encore and the Sojourn.  It was clear that there were many new staff members who were training on the job.  There were some hiccups, but it was clear that they were all trying their very best and I found the same smiles and willingness to please that I did pre-Covid. I'm boarding the Quest next week for 58 days and I fully expect to have a splendid time.  I know I'll be well taken care of, see lots of interesting sights, and not have to worry about cooking or cleaning up after myself. If we miss a port for some reason, that's a risk one takes going on a ship as opposed to a land trip.  I know there's not a chance that I'll go hungry; in fact, since this will be my longest cruise to date, I'm more concerned about eating more than I should. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Quest and another adventure.

[Dunnedg]

Can recent guests confirm that the Quest now has self service laundry facilities?

[nancygp]

4 minutes ago, Dunnedg said:

Can recent guests confirm that the Quest now has self service laundry facilities?

Yes, 2 rooms on deck 5

 

Nancy

Edited January 17, 2023 by nancygp

[Dunnedg]

Thanks Nancy. I heard they were being installed on a refit last last year. 

[AA-Flier]

The Quest has had self-service laundry since its launch. The larger ships had the laundry facilities added.   

[markham]

AA-flier is correct. Ody and its 2 sisters have always offered 4 washers and dryers on deck 5. For 10 years+. Why was there ever any doubt?

 

You not only have self-service laundry rooms with free soap. Also, you can send out laundry  in a laundry bag with inventory slip. You pay for this service and as Seabourn is a luxury product, I imagine its passengers can afford the service until they earn a free laundry benefit. Plus you can hand wash your extreme dainties and hang them on the line over your bath. So you’re covered.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

 

[Dunnedg]

6 hours ago, markham said:

AA-flier is correct. Ody and its 2 sisters have always offered 4 washers and dryers on deck 5. For 10 years+. Why was there ever any doubt?

 

You not only have self-service laundry rooms with free soap. Also, you can send out laundry  in a laundry bag with inventory slip. You pay for this service and as Seabourn is a luxury product, I imagine its passengers can afford the service until they earn a free laundry benefit. Plus you can hand wash your extreme dainties and hang them on the line over your bath. So you’re covered.

 

Thanks. I understood that Ovation and Encore were the first and only ships with self service laundry. Clearly wrong.

It is simply for some smalls and quickly iron a shirt or two. As you say we could afford to pay but we are only in that position because we haven't wasted money through life on things that are free. We enjoy luxury now but ‘look after the pennies and the pounds will after themselves’.

[Mr Luxury]

6 minutes ago, Dunnedg said:

Thanks. I understood that Ovation and Encore were the first and only ships with self service laundry. Clearly wrong.

It is simply for some smalls and quickly iron a shirt or two. As you say we could afford to pay but we are only in that position because we haven't wasted money through life on things that are free. We enjoy luxury now but ‘look after the pennies and the pounds will after themselves’.

Arr you from Yorkshire?

[lincslady]

They wouldn't be saying 'arr' if from Yorkshre, that is more Summerzet I think.  More likely 'ee ba gum'.

[Mr Luxury]

28 minutes ago, lincslady said:

They wouldn't be saying 'arr' if from Yorkshre, that is more Summerzet I think.  More likely 'ee ba gum'.

Now where did I put my reading glasses

[Dunnedg]

2 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Arr you from Yorkshire

 

2 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Summerzet I think.

Not English!

[lincslady]

I think it was the 'looking after the pennies....' bit which was confusing.  Usually only uttered by Brits. who don't like spending where it is not necessary.

[margbem]

5 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Arr you from Yorkshire?

Have you been watching us Yorkies trying to get to the bottom of our deep pockets with our short arms? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Flamin_June]

Or possibly Scotland - 'Och, come in, and warm yourself by this roaring candle'.

[Sailingagain123]

We are on the Quest now and are having a wonderful time. Although I have heard the occasional complaint about poor service, we have not experienced it. I think some people just like to complain 

[markham]

We too are on the Quest and we are very happy with what we have been experiencing since our voyage started 13 days ago. 
 

If somebody has something substantive to say in the realm of complaints, and they haven’t sorted those complaints out with the excellent customer services manager, Swenja, and they cannot cope, well, I would like to know more. (Oh, and I am not talking about issues with loud mouthed  and badly mannered entitled passengers or luggage delivery problems. Not my remit.)

“Life is a journey”.

Happy and healthy sailing!

[ak1004]

On 1/16/2023 at 7:48 PM, Sunviking said:

Sometimes it's hard to remember that only a very small number of people who sail on ships actually participate in these forums, and of those, often the ones who write reviews are those for whom something didn't go quite to their expectations.  Over the years I've been fortunate enough to sail on more than 50 cruises on a variety of lines. While not any of them has been absolutely perfect, I've had a wonderful time on all of them. We always embarked with the attitude that we would have a good time and we always did.  In the last 14 months I've spent a couple of months on the Ovation, the Encore and the Sojourn.  It was clear that there were many new staff members who were training on the job.  There were some hiccups, but it was clear that they were all trying their very best and I found the same smiles and willingness to please that I did pre-Covid. I'm boarding the Quest next week for 58 days and I fully expect to have a splendid time.  I know I'll be well taken care of, see lots of interesting sights, and not have to worry about cooking or cleaning up after myself. If we miss a port for some reason, that's a risk one takes going on a ship as opposed to a land trip.  I know there's not a chance that I'll go hungry; in fact, since this will be my longest cruise to date, I'm more concerned about eating more than I should. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Quest and another adventure.

 

Wow, this is one of the best posts I read in years!

 

I always shake my head when someone describes their cruise experience as "cruise from hell", awful, or something similar, especially when it comes to one of the luxury/premium lines. We returned from our first Silversea cruise a few weeks ago, and while we did have some service issues with new staff members, we had a great time. Then I read two 1 star reviews about the same cruise, describing it as a disaster.

 

Looking forward to our first SB cruise next year on the Quest. I'm sure we will have a wonderful cruise!

[jamiewells1970]

Have you guys left Callao yet...is all ok with the troubles in Lima?