Ovation - delights and disappointments in the Caribbean

[margbem]

Just a bit of background: this was our eleventh cruise with Seabourn. Our first was in 2009 on the Legend, our favourite ship! A few more on her, then one on the Spirit, then obviously the little ships were sold so we moved to the Odyssey and the Quest. Our Ovation cruise was the first on the larger ship.

 

 I have always been a huge cheerleader for Seabourn so to have list the disappointments we experienced is difficult and some people might think I am nit picking but I will tell it how it was. It’s going to be long so if you haven’t the will power to plough through it, stop now!!

 

First the good stuff. The crew were extremely hard working and very friendly and accommodating even though they were up against it being short on numbers. It was obvious right from the start that the shortage of staff was going to have a huge impact on this cruise and it would not be the Seabourn that we know and love. We had many great servers and built up a friendship with them, as we always do. They really appreciated us asking them about themselves but didn’t have time to chat. 

We met some really lovely fellow passengers and have exchanged emails to keep in touch. We have many old friends who we have met over the years on Seabourn and are still in contact with them.

 

 We loved the dark wood everywhere and the fabulous art work and ceramics. It really felt luxurious and very different to the O class ships in its décor. The TK Grill restaurant space is so much nicer on the bigger ship, as is the bar there. We spent a few evenings pre and post dinner listening to Neal, the pianist who was amazing. He also involved some of his audience who sang with him. If David from the UK is reading this – you made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck when you sang!

 

A huge shout out for Kimberley the CD. She was new to the job, having been Asst CD to Ross. She was so lovely, friendly, organised, talented with a great voice and she ran Trivia with a rod of iron. Her Asst James was also a great guy.  Great fun at trivia every day – no, it’s not just a game!!!! And Baggo and putting were interesting, played in the Club, as they have regrettably “pinched” the outdoor space for the Retreat.

The Maitre D’s in the Restaurant and the Colonnade were very efficient and very friendly but didn’t refer to us by name which has always been the case before.

 

We had some excellent meals in the Restaurant with only a couple of not quite good enough dishes.

 

The Indian market night in the Colonnade was amazing, especially the Dosas. There was a queue for those, they were so good.

 

We had a good selection of guest entertainers – Mandy Muden, magician and comedienne who we have seen before. We thought she was hilarious but it seemed that her humour didn’t reach across the Pond as our American trivia friends didn’t like her at all. Pianist/vocalist Martin was great and a little wacky and the young lady singer from the Philippines, Christine Allado, was wonderful.

 

We went in the Club quite a few times pre dinner and listened to the band. They were really good – thank you Cyrus Sr and Cyrus Jr! An order of caviar to accompany a special bottle of champagne on Valentine’s night was enjoyed very much and when we returned the following evening to finish the bottle the bartender, Bianca had ordered us more caviar – a very thoughtful gesture. Bianca was excellent, but the Club was always very quiet pre dinner – maybe at most ten people yet the drinks took an age to come. One evening we waited 15 minutes for two drinks and there were never the promised “savoury delights”, in fact we had to ask for peanuts. I presume that cocktails/drinks for room service/restaurant must come from the Club and that’s what took her time.

 

We had two Carambola beach barbecues and caviar in the surf. We are in awe of all the hard work that the crew puts into this – they must be exhausted. A huge thank you for making it so special. 

 

And a special thank you to Elena, assistant Sommelier who was fantastic. She certainly knows her stuff and was very helpful.

 

Seabourn Square is brilliant – a great space, nicely furnished and very comfortable, enhanced by Cristian and Festus, the baristas, who made mean coffee and tea, always with a smile even if it was nearly 10pm when we called for coffee and chocolates! We called each morning for tea for breakfast and took it with us to avoid the slow service in the Colonnade.

 

And now for the disappointments.

 

We truly have never heard so many people complaining, moaning and discussing what was wrong. The bottom line, as described to us by one of the officers, is that they have not enough staff, many of them are new and in training and it is taking a long time to get back to where Seabourn was. The situation, we were told, was even worse in January and they are working very hard to get back to where they want to be. We acknowledge that and accept that it is happening elsewhere in the industry too and that we should make allowances. We did, but as a fellow passenger said, that’s all well and good but whilst we have a diminished product the cost of said product has not reduced.

 

We found, as many people have already commented, that the public spaces are not big enough for the extra number of passengers. We couldn’t get an outside table at the Colonnade on a few occasions and there is the wonderful space at the rear of the TK Grill unused. It had a few tables set as overspill for the Colonnade but it was hard enough to get drinks, top ups, hot drinks at breakfast as it was. If you sat downstairs nobody would come to you at all! We were turned away from the Restaurant twice in the evening as it was full and had to wait for 10-15 minutes. Yet there were still the huge tables in there, empty as not many tables were hosted. The service wherever we ate was very patchy. We had long waits to even have our order taken and then one evening we ordered cheese at 9.15pm, only to have to ask for it at 9.40pm when the restaurant was nearly empty in order to go to the 10pm show. Some evenings the water served was warm. Yet some servers brought it with ice already in. We asked our server and he said that they were told not to put ice in but so many of his diners complained about it being warm that he took the decision to ice it although it could get him into trouble.

 

Our worst meals were in the TK Grill with terrible meat served, tasteless and tough. Other dishes, especially the daily specials were much better.

 

On our first morning (Anguilla) we went to the Square to get the maps and port info. None to be found, so we asked. “We are not doing them any more as all the info you need is on Seabourn Source”. This ignores the general demographic of the Seabourn market who I am sure would prefer paper and also the extremely limited speed and coverage of the Caribbean cellular service. We made these points and were met with a shrug of shoulders. However, next day and each day thereafter there were printed maps etc. The Guest Services manager told us she had had so many complaints that she had decided to get them printed. Top marks for such a swift response.

 

We bought the most expensive wine package with our onboard credit, were helped by Elena to choose some bottles but weren’t made to choose them all at the beginning (as we had to last year on the Quest) because passengers had complained that it was a silly system (it was!) as they didn’t know what they were going to be eating. Seabourn had changed this so we could have some put to one side if they hadn’t many bottles and then choose others as we went along with Elena keeping track of what we were spending. Pity the message hadn’t got through to other Sommeliers in the Restaurant. One evening we chose a bottle of Cloudy Bay. It was brought to us but the Sommelier wouldn’t put it down on the table. He held tight to it whilst telling us that we had reached the end of our package and asking us whether we were we going to pay for this one. The discussion went on for a few minutes with other passengers listening intently. It was only when we realised that he thought all our chosen bottles had been put away for us that the matter was resolved. A bit embarrassing!

 

We booked a Seabourn excursion in Antigua – catamaran sail and lobster lunch. It was brilliant but I had to ask at Seabourn Square whether they could contact the company to ask whether there was an option to lobster as I have a severe allergy to it. It wasn’t a problem if there wasn’t as I could just have the accompaniments. They didn’t know if they could contact them or not. Another shrug of the shoulders. So I found the company on the internet, sent off an email, got an instant response and my chicken was delicious! A friend on board who is Coeliac had flagged this up for the same trip with SS. She asked when on board the catamaran if they had been informed. No. Really not good enough.

 

No lobster at the beach barbecues! A signature event. The first week the F&B manager came round and explained that their contact on St Kitts had rung every fisherman on the island and there were none to be had. The second week, still no lobster and no explanation. I hope it’s not a cost cutting exercise!. OK for me but people were disappointed. 

 

And finally (phew) we have “The mystery of the Missing Pyjamas”. At the beginning of our second week my pyjamas, up till now beautifully folded each morning and evening and placed on my pillows, were no longer there. We searched everywhere for them in case they were under the bed etc but couldn’t find them. Our excellent stewardess immediately went to the laundry in case (as we suspect) they had been gathered up with the linen. As the days went on she kept trying to trace them and was very worried as she blamed herself (as did the Guest Services manager). I asked in the Square to see if they were in lost property. The lady there then tried to chase it up and informed head of housekeeping. I was to be kept informed about this search for my PJ’s. But I wasn’t. I asked again, went back to suite for something and when I opened the door to go back out there were three stewardesses waiting to come in to “search” our suite for my pyjamas. Surprisingly they couldn’t find them! So, my PJ’s are still missing and I have put in a claim for their value.

 

And there we have it. We have an Encore cruise booked in September. Would we cancel if we hadn’t already got flights, hotels etc booked? I am not sure. Hopefully things will have improved by then - we really hope so. We don’t want to leave Seabourn and I strongly suspect that some of the issues we experienced will be happening on other lines too.

I am sorry this is so long but having sailed in May on a much less than full Quest we thought that everything in the post-covid cruising world was lovely, alas this is clearly not the case hence our level of disappointment with our Ovation cruise.

[Techno123]

Thank you so much for a considered description of your delights and disappointments. I hope the issues linked to staffing will continue to improve - we join the Ovation in the summer so lots of time for them to practise 😁.
 

Our experience of TK on the Odyssey in 2017 was not stellar but I have booked one night in the grill as want to give it another try. I always used to pop to the Square for breakfast coffee as it tasted better so looks like I need to continue this habit. Still looking forward to it (it's Norway so if the weather gods are kind we should experience lots of stunning scenery which should hopefully temper any ship disappointments).

 

Seabourn was the first company we ever sailed with and the one every other line we have sailed with is compared to so 🤞🏻 things will get better rather than worse.

[tjcox9]

2 hours ago, margbem said:

We bought the most expensive wine package with our onboard credit, were helped by Elena to choose some bottles but weren’t made to choose them all at the beginning (as we had to last year on the Quest) because passengers had complained that it was a silly system (it was!) as they didn’t know what they were going to be eating. Seabourn had changed this so we could have some put to one side if they hadn’t many bottles and then choose others as we went along with Elena keeping track of what we were spending. Pity the message hadn’t got through to other Sommeliers in the Restaurant. One evening we chose a bottle of Cloudy Bay. It was brought to us but the Sommelier wouldn’t put it down on the table. He held tight to it whilst telling us that we had reached the end of our package and asking us whether we were we going to pay for this one. The discussion went on for a few minutes with other passengers listening intently. It was only when we realised that he thought all our chosen bottles had been put away for us that the matter was resolved. A bit embarrassing!

 

 

And the message has not gotten through to the Quest as when we asked about selecting bottle by bottle, we were told that was not possible. So, it still is was the silly system 1/27 to 2/21, quite recently.

[Mr Luxury]

Thanks for you Frank report on the Ovation.

What a shame but I understand thatvthere are a few issues with staffing and experience.

I do know that the Encore has been performing well and I will be there soon and again three more times before you get on in September.

What time did you generally go to the main restaurant to dine?

[ejincali]

3 hours ago, margbem said:

Just a bit of background: this was our eleventh cruise with Seabourn. Our first was in 2009 on the Legend, our favourite ship! A few more on her, then one on the Spirit, then obviously the little ships were sold so we moved to the Odyssey and the Quest. Our Ovation cruise was the first on the larger ship.

 

 I have always been a huge cheerleader for Seabourn so to have list the disappointments we experienced is difficult and some people might think I am nit picking but I will tell it how it was. It’s going to be long so if you haven’t the will power to plough through it, stop now!!

 

First the good stuff. The crew were extremely hard working and very friendly and accommodating even though they were up against it being short on numbers. It was obvious right from the start that the shortage of staff was going to have a huge impact on this cruise and it would not be the Seabourn that we know and love. We had many great servers and built up a friendship with them, as we always do. They really appreciated us asking them about themselves but didn’t have time to chat. 

We met some really lovely fellow passengers and have exchanged emails to keep in touch. We have many old friends who we have met over the years on Seabourn and are still in contact with them.

 

 We loved the dark wood everywhere and the fabulous art work and ceramics. It really felt luxurious and very different to the O class ships in its décor. The TK Grill restaurant space is so much nicer on the bigger ship, as is the bar there. We spent a few evenings pre and post dinner listening to Neal, the pianist who was amazing. He also involved some of his audience who sang with him. If David from the UK is reading this – you made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck when you sang!

 

A huge shout out for Kimberley the CD. She was new to the job, having been Asst CD to Ross. She was so lovely, friendly, organised, talented with a great voice and she ran Trivia with a rod of iron. Her Asst James was also a great guy.  Great fun at trivia every day – no, it’s not just a game!!!! And Baggo and putting were interesting, played in the Club, as they have regrettably “pinched” the outdoor space for the Retreat.

The Maitre D’s in the Restaurant and the Colonnade were very efficient and very friendly but didn’t refer to us by name which has always been the case before.

 

We had some excellent meals in the Restaurant with only a couple of not quite good enough dishes.

 

The Indian market night in the Colonnade was amazing, especially the Dosas. There was a queue for those, they were so good.

 

We had a good selection of guest entertainers – Mandy Muden, magician and comedienne who we have seen before. We thought she was hilarious but it seemed that her humour didn’t reach across the Pond as our American trivia friends didn’t like her at all. Pianist/vocalist Martin was great and a little wacky and the young lady singer from the Philippines, Christine Allado, was wonderful.

 

We went in the Club quite a few times pre dinner and listened to the band. They were really good – thank you Cyrus Sr and Cyrus Jr! An order of caviar to accompany a special bottle of champagne on Valentine’s night was enjoyed very much and when we returned the following evening to finish the bottle the bartender, Bianca had ordered us more caviar – a very thoughtful gesture. Bianca was excellent, but the Club was always very quiet pre dinner – maybe at most ten people yet the drinks took an age to come. One evening we waited 15 minutes for two drinks and there were never the promised “savoury delights”, in fact we had to ask for peanuts. I presume that cocktails/drinks for room service/restaurant must come from the Club and that’s what took her time.

 

We had two Carambola beach barbecues and caviar in the surf. We are in awe of all the hard work that the crew puts into this – they must be exhausted. A huge thank you for making it so special. 

 

And a special thank you to Elena, assistant Sommelier who was fantastic. She certainly knows her stuff and was very helpful.

 

Seabourn Square is brilliant – a great space, nicely furnished and very comfortable, enhanced by Cristian and Festus, the baristas, who made mean coffee and tea, always with a smile even if it was nearly 10pm when we called for coffee and chocolates! We called each morning for tea for breakfast and took it with us to avoid the slow service in the Colonnade.

 

And now for the disappointments.

 

We truly have never heard so many people complaining, moaning and discussing what was wrong. The bottom line, as described to us by one of the officers, is that they have not enough staff, many of them are new and in training and it is taking a long time to get back to where Seabourn was. The situation, we were told, was even worse in January and they are working very hard to get back to where they want to be. We acknowledge that and accept that it is happening elsewhere in the industry too and that we should make allowances. We did, but as a fellow passenger said, that’s all well and good but whilst we have a diminished product the cost of said product has not reduced.

 

We found, as many people have already commented, that the public spaces are not big enough for the extra number of passengers. We couldn’t get an outside table at the Colonnade on a few occasions and there is the wonderful space at the rear of the TK Grill unused. It had a few tables set as overspill for the Colonnade but it was hard enough to get drinks, top ups, hot drinks at breakfast as it was. If you sat downstairs nobody would come to you at all! We were turned away from the Restaurant twice in the evening as it was full and had to wait for 10-15 minutes. Yet there were still the huge tables in there, empty as not many tables were hosted. The service wherever we ate was very patchy. We had long waits to even have our order taken and then one evening we ordered cheese at 9.15pm, only to have to ask for it at 9.40pm when the restaurant was nearly empty in order to go to the 10pm show. Some evenings the water served was warm. Yet some servers brought it with ice already in. We asked our server and he said that they were told not to put ice in but so many of his diners complained about it being warm that he took the decision to ice it although it could get him into trouble.

 

Our worst meals were in the TK Grill with terrible meat served, tasteless and tough. Other dishes, especially the daily specials were much better.

 

On our first morning (Anguilla) we went to the Square to get the maps and port info. None to be found, so we asked. “We are not doing them any more as all the info you need is on Seabourn Source”. This ignores the general demographic of the Seabourn market who I am sure would prefer paper and also the extremely limited speed and coverage of the Caribbean cellular service. We made these points and were met with a shrug of shoulders. However, next day and each day thereafter there were printed maps etc. The Guest Services manager told us she had had so many complaints that she had decided to get them printed. Top marks for such a swift response.

 

We bought the most expensive wine package with our onboard credit, were helped by Elena to choose some bottles but weren’t made to choose them all at the beginning (as we had to last year on the Quest) because passengers had complained that it was a silly system (it was!) as they didn’t know what they were going to be eating. Seabourn had changed this so we could have some put to one side if they hadn’t many bottles and then choose others as we went along with Elena keeping track of what we were spending. Pity the message hadn’t got through to other Sommeliers in the Restaurant. One evening we chose a bottle of Cloudy Bay. It was brought to us but the Sommelier wouldn’t put it down on the table. He held tight to it whilst telling us that we had reached the end of our package and asking us whether we were we going to pay for this one. The discussion went on for a few minutes with other passengers listening intently. It was only when we realised that he thought all our chosen bottles had been put away for us that the matter was resolved. A bit embarrassing!

 

We booked a Seabourn excursion in Antigua – catamaran sail and lobster lunch. It was brilliant but I had to ask at Seabourn Square whether they could contact the company to ask whether there was an option to lobster as I have a severe allergy to it. It wasn’t a problem if there wasn’t as I could just have the accompaniments. They didn’t know if they could contact them or not. Another shrug of the shoulders. So I found the company on the internet, sent off an email, got an instant response and my chicken was delicious! A friend on board who is Coeliac had flagged this up for the same trip with SS. She asked when on board the catamaran if they had been informed. No. Really not good enough.

 

No lobster at the beach barbecues! A signature event. The first week the F&B manager came round and explained that their contact on St Kitts had rung every fisherman on the island and there were none to be had. The second week, still no lobster and no explanation. I hope it’s not a cost cutting exercise!. OK for me but people were disappointed. 

 

And finally (phew) we have “The mystery of the Missing Pyjamas”. At the beginning of our second week my pyjamas, up till now beautifully folded each morning and evening and placed on my pillows, were no longer there. We searched everywhere for them in case they were under the bed etc but couldn’t find them. Our excellent stewardess immediately went to the laundry in case (as we suspect) they had been gathered up with the linen. As the days went on she kept trying to trace them and was very worried as she blamed herself (as did the Guest Services manager). I asked in the Square to see if they were in lost property. The lady there then tried to chase it up and informed head of housekeeping. I was to be kept informed about this search for my PJ’s. But I wasn’t. I asked again, went back to suite for something and when I opened the door to go back out there were three stewardesses waiting to come in to “search” our suite for my pyjamas. Surprisingly they couldn’t find them! So, my PJ’s are still missing and I have put in a claim for their value.

 

And there we have it. We have an Encore cruise booked in September. Would we cancel if we hadn’t already got flights, hotels etc booked? I am not sure. Hopefully things will have improved by then - we really hope so. We don’t want to leave Seabourn and I strongly suspect that some of the issues we experienced will be happening on other lines too.

I am sorry this is so long but having sailed in May on a much less than full Quest we thought that everything in the post-covid cruising world was lovely, alas this is clearly not the case hence our level of disappointment with our Ovation cruise.

So, no lobsters in St. Kitts, but lots of them in Antigua???  Something doesn't seem right...  We'll be on Ovation in couple of weeks, so I'll report back on the lobster situation then.  

Edited March 4, 2023 by ejincali
forgot something

[ejincali]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the catamaran experience in Antigua, I think we will do that one as well.

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, ejincali said:

So, no lobsters in St. Kitts, but lots of them in Antigua???  Something doesn't seem right...  We'll be on Ovation in couple of weeks, so I'll report back on the lobster situation then.  

That's never happened to me at Carambola Beach before.

I usually have a couple of Lobsters and they are not small.

Always great work by the crew to make sure that we have a good time.

[margbem]

2 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Thanks for you Frank report on the Ovation.

What a shame but I understand thatvthere are a few issues with staffing and experience.

I do know that the Encore has been performing well and I will be there soon and again three more times before you get on in September.

What time did you generally go to the main restaurant to dine?

Thanks, Mr L. We generally went about 8pm.

[Mr Luxury]

8 minutes ago, margbem said:

Thanks, Mr L. We generally went about 8pm.

That's always a busy time as earlier diners are by now eating and most guests seem to arrive around 8pm.

I have known times when the Maitre d' will ask guests if they can have a drink elsewhere and they will be contacted when their table is ready for them.

There is also the problem that the MDR cannot accommodate all of the ships guests if they were all to decend on it at once.

I like 8.30 onwards but I generally go to the TK bar and end up eating at TK mostly as early diners have gone by then.

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by Mr Luxury

[margbem]

17 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

That's always a busy time as earlier diners are by now eating and most guests seem to arrive around 8pm.

I have known times when the Maitre d' will ask guests if they can have a drink elsewhere and they will be contacted when their table is ready for them.

There is also the problem that the MDR cannot accommodate all of the ships guests if they were all to decend on it at once.

I like 8.30 onwards but I generally go to the TK bar and end up eating at TK mostly as early diners have gone by then.

 

Unfortunately, due to the poor food in TK, it didn’t encourage us to dine there. My husband had the T bone veal and it was tasteless and our neighbouring table advised us not to choose the lamb saddle as it was tough and full of gristle. Another guest said her steak was awful and my special starter clam dish had too much saffron and clams that were so overcooked they were inedible.

 

On previous cruises we have generally gone to the Restaurant around 8pm and always got a table.
 

 

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, margbem said:

Unfortunately, due to the poor food in TK, it didn’t encourage us to dine there. My husband had the T bone veal and it was tasteless and our neighbouring table advised us not to choose the lamb saddle as it was tough and full of gristle. Another guest said her steak was awful and my special starter clam dish had too much saffron and clams that were so overcooked they were inedible.

 

On previous cruises we have generally gone to the Restaurant around 8pm and always got a table.
 

 

On all the times that I have eaten in TK and its a lot,I have never had tough meat or a poor dish.

I like the chicken for two,the Aubergine Parmigiana and the steaks.

I have steak tartar when they have it on as a special starter and have had numerous off the menu dishes prepared by Michael Sandoval who works for Thomas Keller. 

I agree that you should always be able to get a table when you walk in the MDR.

Funny times we are in with hospitality.

I have had a few poor meals on land and seen staff shortages.

Better luck on your Encore trip

[Covepointcruiser]

We absolutely loved TK on our last two Ovation voyages in 2022, never had a bad meal and we had them all.    We didn’t care for TK on the older ships.   It’s too small and narrow and always feels crowded.

[SLSD]

5 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

We absolutely loved TK on our last two Ovation voyages in 2022, never had a bad meal and we had them all.    We didn’t care for TK on the older ships.   It’s too small and narrow and always feels crowded.

 We have experienced the TK Grill on both the larger and smaller ships.  While we like the TK Grill Bar on Ovation and Encore and miss it on the smaller ships, I have to say that I really enjoyed the smaller version of the grill itself. Why, you ask?  I think one reason is that the larger TK Grill was never more than 1/3 full.  While many wanted to dine there, they just were not accepting reservations and the space always felt a bit empty and unwelcoming.  The smaller TK Grill, while very compact, was always full and was much more vibrant and fun, in my opinion.  

 

Mr. SLSD does prefer the TK Grills on the larger ships and likes that they were only about 1/3 full.  So there you go--we don't always like the same things.  

Edited March 8, 2023 by SLSD

[Vineyard View]

On 3/4/2023 at 3:41 PM, Mr Luxury said:

On all the times that I have eaten in TK and its a lot,I have never had tough meat or a poor dish.

I like the chicken for two,the Aubergine Parmigiana and the steaks.

I have steak tartar when they have it on as a special starter and have had numerous off the menu dishes prepared by Michael Sandoval who works for Thomas Keller. 

I agree that you should always be able to get a table when you walk in the MDR.

Funny times we are in with hospitality.

I have had a few poor meals on land and seen staff shortages.

Better luck on your Encore trip

This  will be our first time (and no, not seven day trippers) on SB. You have a way that just makes me chuckle and appreciate - as well as respect. So if you had two or three top favorites from TK what would be your top choices? One of us is allergic to shellfish. 

[texanaust]

On 3/5/2023 at 5:54 AM, Mr Luxury said:

I like 8.30 onwards but I generally go to the TK bar and end up eating at TK mostly as early diners have gone by then.

You must have been lucky on Encore.  We were allowed one meal per week at TK, no exceptions.  Arriving early or late, waiting for cancellations, the answer from the female maitre'd was always a firm NO. 

 

Probably the first consistent NO in over 20 years of sailing on Seabourn.

[crickette]

Recently off Encore, 32 days; TK twice and we gave up on the restaurant. Beef and pork very tough and the mass of meat was off putting. There were empty tables  both times were there and they managed to cancel our on-line booking booking but after much discussion, once on board, we managed to get a reservation.

 

Over all under whelmed.  

 

I believe the problem with the quality of the meat is where it is sourced, but it probably is aimed at the target market and from what I read on CC it seems to work for that group.

 

[Techno123]

3 hours ago, crickette said:

I also find a mass of meat on my plate very off putting and as I have got older prefer a much smaller portion of higher quality protein. Whilst it is a while since I visited Lake Tahoe on a ski holiday, I remember ordering a rib eye steak and it was hanging off the plate - I know some love that but it puts me right off.

 

Anyhow, whilst we didn't enjoy TK on the Odyssey we have booked one evening on the Ovation to see if he can change our mind 😁

Edited March 8, 2023 by Techno123

[phillipahain]

On 3/4/2023 at 3:56 PM, margbem said:

Just a bit of background: this was our eleventh cruise with Seabourn. Our first was in 2009 on the Legend, our favourite ship! A few more on her, then one on the Spirit, then obviously the little ships were sold so we moved to the Odyssey and the Quest. Our Ovation cruise was the first on the larger ship.

 

 I have always been a huge cheerleader for Seabourn so to have list the disappointments we experienced is difficult and some people might think I am nit picking but I will tell it how it was. It’s going to be long so if you haven’t the will power to plough through it, stop now!!

 

First the good stuff. The crew were extremely hard working and very friendly and accommodating even though they were up against it being short on numbers. It was obvious right from the start that the shortage of staff was going to have a huge impact on this cruise and it would not be the Seabourn that we know and love. We had many great servers and built up a friendship with them, as we always do. They really appreciated us asking them about themselves but didn’t have time to chat. 

We met some really lovely fellow passengers and have exchanged emails to keep in touch. We have many old friends who we have met over the years on Seabourn and are still in contact with them.

 

 We loved the dark wood everywhere and the fabulous art work and ceramics. It really felt luxurious and very different to the O class ships in its décor. The TK Grill restaurant space is so much nicer on the bigger ship, as is the bar there. We spent a few evenings pre and post dinner listening to Neal, the pianist who was amazing. He also involved some of his audience who sang with him. If David from the UK is reading this – you made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck when you sang!

 

A huge shout out for Kimberley the CD. She was new to the job, having been Asst CD to Ross. She was so lovely, friendly, organised, talented with a great voice and she ran Trivia with a rod of iron. Her Asst James was also a great guy.  Great fun at trivia every day – no, it’s not just a game!!!! And Baggo and putting were interesting, played in the Club, as they have regrettably “pinched” the outdoor space for the Retreat.

The Maitre D’s in the Restaurant and the Colonnade were very efficient and very friendly but didn’t refer to us by name which has always been the case before.

 

We had some excellent meals in the Restaurant with only a couple of not quite good enough dishes.

 

The Indian market night in the Colonnade was amazing, especially the Dosas. There was a queue for those, they were so good.

 

We had a good selection of guest entertainers – Mandy Muden, magician and comedienne who we have seen before. We thought she was hilarious but it seemed that her humour didn’t reach across the Pond as our American trivia friends didn’t like her at all. Pianist/vocalist Martin was great and a little wacky and the young lady singer from the Philippines, Christine Allado, was wonderful.

 

We went in the Club quite a few times pre dinner and listened to the band. They were really good – thank you Cyrus Sr and Cyrus Jr! An order of caviar to accompany a special bottle of champagne on Valentine’s night was enjoyed very much and when we returned the following evening to finish the bottle the bartender, Bianca had ordered us more caviar – a very thoughtful gesture. Bianca was excellent, but the Club was always very quiet pre dinner – maybe at most ten people yet the drinks took an age to come. One evening we waited 15 minutes for two drinks and there were never the promised “savoury delights”, in fact we had to ask for peanuts. I presume that cocktails/drinks for room service/restaurant must come from the Club and that’s what took her time.

 

We had two Carambola beach barbecues and caviar in the surf. We are in awe of all the hard work that the crew puts into this – they must be exhausted. A huge thank you for making it so special. 

 

And a special thank you to Elena, assistant Sommelier who was fantastic. She certainly knows her stuff and was very helpful.

 

Seabourn Square is brilliant – a great space, nicely furnished and very comfortable, enhanced by Cristian and Festus, the baristas, who made mean coffee and tea, always with a smile even if it was nearly 10pm when we called for coffee and chocolates! We called each morning for tea for breakfast and took it with us to avoid the slow service in the Colonnade.

 

And now for the disappointments.

 

We truly have never heard so many people complaining, moaning and discussing what was wrong. The bottom line, as described to us by one of the officers, is that they have not enough staff, many of them are new and in training and it is taking a long time to get back to where Seabourn was. The situation, we were told, was even worse in January and they are working very hard to get back to where they want to be. We acknowledge that and accept that it is happening elsewhere in the industry too and that we should make allowances. We did, but as a fellow passenger said, that’s all well and good but whilst we have a diminished product the cost of said product has not reduced.

 

We found, as many people have already commented, that the public spaces are not big enough for the extra number of passengers. We couldn’t get an outside table at the Colonnade on a few occasions and there is the wonderful space at the rear of the TK Grill unused. It had a few tables set as overspill for the Colonnade but it was hard enough to get drinks, top ups, hot drinks at breakfast as it was. If you sat downstairs nobody would come to you at all! We were turned away from the Restaurant twice in the evening as it was full and had to wait for 10-15 minutes. Yet there were still the huge tables in there, empty as not many tables were hosted. The service wherever we ate was very patchy. We had long waits to even have our order taken and then one evening we ordered cheese at 9.15pm, only to have to ask for it at 9.40pm when the restaurant was nearly empty in order to go to the 10pm show. Some evenings the water served was warm. Yet some servers brought it with ice already in. We asked our server and he said that they were told not to put ice in but so many of his diners complained about it being warm that he took the decision to ice it although it could get him into trouble.

 

Our worst meals were in the TK Grill with terrible meat served, tasteless and tough. Other dishes, especially the daily specials were much better.

 

On our first morning (Anguilla) we went to the Square to get the maps and port info. None to be found, so we asked. “We are not doing them any more as all the info you need is on Seabourn Source”. This ignores the general demographic of the Seabourn market who I am sure would prefer paper and also the extremely limited speed and coverage of the Caribbean cellular service. We made these points and were met with a shrug of shoulders. However, next day and each day thereafter there were printed maps etc. The Guest Services manager told us she had had so many complaints that she had decided to get them printed. Top marks for such a swift response.

 

We bought the most expensive wine package with our onboard credit, were helped by Elena to choose some bottles but weren’t made to choose them all at the beginning (as we had to last year on the Quest) because passengers had complained that it was a silly system (it was!) as they didn’t know what they were going to be eating. Seabourn had changed this so we could have some put to one side if they hadn’t many bottles and then choose others as we went along with Elena keeping track of what we were spending. Pity the message hadn’t got through to other Sommeliers in the Restaurant. One evening we chose a bottle of Cloudy Bay. It was brought to us but the Sommelier wouldn’t put it down on the table. He held tight to it whilst telling us that we had reached the end of our package and asking us whether we were we going to pay for this one. The discussion went on for a few minutes with other passengers listening intently. It was only when we realised that he thought all our chosen bottles had been put away for us that the matter was resolved. A bit embarrassing!

 

We booked a Seabourn excursion in Antigua – catamaran sail and lobster lunch. It was brilliant but I had to ask at Seabourn Square whether they could contact the company to ask whether there was an option to lobster as I have a severe allergy to it. It wasn’t a problem if there wasn’t as I could just have the accompaniments. They didn’t know if they could contact them or not. Another shrug of the shoulders. So I found the company on the internet, sent off an email, got an instant response and my chicken was delicious! A friend on board who is Coeliac had flagged this up for the same trip with SS. She asked when on board the catamaran if they had been informed. No. Really not good enough.

 

No lobster at the beach barbecues! A signature event. The first week the F&B manager came round and explained that their contact on St Kitts had rung every fisherman on the island and there were none to be had. The second week, still no lobster and no explanation. I hope it’s not a cost cutting exercise!. OK for me but people were disappointed. 

 

And finally (phew) we have “The mystery of the Missing Pyjamas”. At the beginning of our second week my pyjamas, up till now beautifully folded each morning and evening and placed on my pillows, were no longer there. We searched everywhere for them in case they were under the bed etc but couldn’t find them. Our excellent stewardess immediately went to the laundry in case (as we suspect) they had been gathered up with the linen. As the days went on she kept trying to trace them and was very worried as she blamed herself (as did the Guest Services manager). I asked in the Square to see if they were in lost property. The lady there then tried to chase it up and informed head of housekeeping. I was to be kept informed about this search for my PJ’s. But I wasn’t. I asked again, went back to suite for something and when I opened the door to go back out there were three stewardesses waiting to come in to “search” our suite for my pyjamas. Surprisingly they couldn’t find them! So, my PJ’s are still missing and I have put in a claim for their value.

 

And there we have it. We have an Encore cruise booked in September. Would we cancel if we hadn’t already got flights, hotels etc booked? I am not sure. Hopefully things will have improved by then - we really hope so. We don’t want to leave Seabourn and I strongly suspect that some of the issues we experienced will be happening on other lines too.

I am sorry this is so long but having sailed in May on a much less than full Quest we thought that everything in the post-covid cruising world was lovely, alas this is clearly not the case hence our level of disappointment with our Ovation cruise.

If only it was even possible to read this tiny faint fancy print ....

Edited March 8, 2023 by phillipahain

[margbem]

On 3/8/2023 at 9:55 AM, phillipahain said:

If only it was even possible to read this tiny faint fancy print ....

Yes - it wasn’t meant to be like that! My PC converted into this - obviously my lack of skill but people have managed to read it. 

[2SailingNomads]

As to dining in the TK, there are people who manage to eat there almost every night.  (I know more than a few) how exactly they manage that I do not know.  Many years ago, before SB paid TK many $$$ I actually met him at one of his restaurants - no not the place we tried to get in to and gave up in Napa - it was good, but nothing exceptional. I prefer Guy Savoy myself.  Ponant has Alain Ducasse as a consultant whose land-based restaurant we dined at many years ago and was amazing.

Reality is on a cruise ship none of them will be cooking your dinner.  Guy did cook mine and came out to insure it was perfect...  

[Mr Luxury]

3 hours ago, 2SailingNomads said:

As to dining in the TK, there are people who manage to eat there almost every night.  (I know more than a few) how exactly they manage that I do not know.  Many years ago, before SB paid TK many $$$ I actually met him at one of his restaurants - no not the place we tried to get in to and gave up in Napa - it was good, but nothing exceptional. I prefer Guy Savoy myself.  Ponant has Alain Ducasse as a consultant whose land-based restaurant we dined at many years ago and was amazing.

Reality is on a cruise ship none of them will be cooking your dinner.  Guy did cook mine and came out to insure it was perfect...  

Yes French Laundry can be difficult to get into unless you have booked in advance.

I had a lovely birthday dinner there with the great man himself cooking a few years ago.

I don't find any trouble getting a table in TK and it does help if you eat early or late.

I'm a 20.30-45 diner after a good bottle of  Champagne in the TK bar.

I do know several US diners that eat at 18.00-30 that also never have trouble getting a table.

 

[LMB01]

5 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Yes French Laundry can be difficult to get into unless you have booked in advance.

I had a lovely birthday dinner there with the great man himself cooking a few years ago.

I don't find any trouble getting a table in TK and it does help if you eat early or late.

I'm a 20.30-45 diner after a good bottle of  Champagne in the TK bar.

I do know several US diners that eat at 18.00-30 that also never have trouble getting a table.

 

Agree

The main reason we like the TK is it opens at 6pm and we can be done with dinner by 6:45.  It is easier to get in early and I know most people don’t want to hear this but tipping helps also.

[Mr Luxury]

3 hours ago, LMB01 said:

Agree

The main reason we like the TK is it opens at 6pm and we can be done with dinner by 6:45.  It is easier to get in early and I know most people don’t want to hear this but tipping helps also.

You don't need to tip to get a table in TK.

You'll always get a table eating dinner in the middle of the afternoon.😁

[LMB01]

4 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

You don't need to tip to get a table in TK.

You'll always get a table eating dinner in the middle of the afternoon.😁

Funny

we are in our suite by your dining time!

 

We became early risers with our careers and despite being retired, can’t break it!  (Ok, let’s be serious, husband is fine sleeping late but I am the first one at the pool deck every morning securing our lounges - then I go put laundry in!).

[Cantara24]

53 minutes ago, LMB01 said:

Funny

we are in our suite by your dining time!

 

We became early risers with our careers and despite being retired, can’t break it!  (Ok, let’s be serious, husband is fine sleeping late but I am the first one at the pool deck every morning securing our lounges - then I go put laundry in!).

So you are admitting to being a lounge hog?? Nice for you

Edited March 14, 2023 by Cantara24