RICK MEADOWS BACK AT SEABOURN AS A CONSULTANT

[nancygp]

From Cruise Industry News

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/04/former-seabourn-president-meadows-back-as-consultant/

 

Nancy

[saminina]

At least the person does have historical knowledge of Seabourn.   Plus, it is the person responsible for adding a third pillow.  Or, going from four to six pillows on a full bed.  

[adoctor]

This is the most positive news to emerge from Seattle since the resumption.

Meadows understands the Seabourn consumer and should provide a excellent counter balance to the bean counters now running the line.Smart move.

[commodoredave]

Maybe they can hire Larry Pimentel to serve as a Very Senior Advisor to Rick Meadows while Rick is serving as a Senior Advisor to Natalya.

[Cantara24]

This is great news, Natalya is showing her leadership capabilities by surrounding herself with expertise to draw from. I am feeling more positive about her appointment every day.

[BasandSyb]

So, can the whole lot of them get out of head office and onto a ship and try and order a complimentary wine and enjoy it. 
A down home experience is always good.

 

Our ship missed its supplies 2 weeks ago (diverted to Sojourn by mistake - we got their bathrobes which BTW are crazy for a hot climate! - they got our wine) and by the time bureaucratic Seattle finally gave permission for off shore purchases not much is available on small Pacific Islands - who would have thought? No Shiraz, little to no Cab Sav on board despite being in Australian waters for two weeks prior to our cruise. Do they look at their demographic and nationality make up for bookings or just use their buying power for export/auction stock of French and Californian wines?
 

Yeah ok first world problem and wine is a personal preference - but we aren’t fussy or discerning the 20+ people we know of remarking on this. Food is great, but many on board are scratching for a decent bold red to compliment the dining experience. Even the pay list is light weight. Have taken to buying in port where we can. Not enhancing the luxury inclusive feel lugging bottles back to ship, in fact it makes you feel like someone with an alcohol problem.

 

A COVERT fact finding mission is always helpful in a new job. 

[SLSD]

7 hours ago, BasandSyb said:

So, can the whole lot of them get out of head office and onto a ship and try and order a complimentary wine and enjoy it. 
A down home experience is always good.

 

Our ship missed its supplies 2 weeks ago (diverted to Sojourn by mistake - we got their bathrobes which BTW are crazy for a hot climate! - they got our wine) and by the time bureaucratic Seattle finally gave permission for off shore purchases not much is available on small Pacific Islands - who would have thought? No Shiraz, little to no Cab Sav on board despite being in Australian waters for two weeks prior to our cruise. Do they look at their demographic and nationality make up for bookings or just use their buying power for export/auction stock of French and Californian wines?
 

Yeah ok first world problem and wine is a personal preference - but we aren’t fussy or discerning the 20+ people we know of remarking on this. Food is great, but many on board are scratching for a decent bold red to compliment the dining experience. Even the pay list is light weight. Have taken to buying in port where we can. Not enhancing the luxury inclusive feel lugging bottles back to ship, in fact it makes you feel like someone with an alcohol problem.

 

A COVERT fact finding mission is always helpful in a new job. 

Interesting.  I do prefer Italian and Californian wines, but that is just a personal preference.  I am not a fan of Australian wines.  They just taste odd to me.  I've tried to like them, but mostly avoid them and I am not at all fussy.  I think wines get part of their taste from the soil and minerals the grapes grow in.  Of course they do.   It is a bit surprising that supplies were mixed up.  I get the feeling that the cruise line is a bit short handed.  

[BasandSyb]

That was in part tongue in cheek, but we generally like stronger wines - doesn’t matter where from although I think Sth Africa and Australia have some affinity here - and as Robert Parker has confirmed, the older the palate the greater need for stronger wines as our taste buds “dull”. That said, love a rose or great Pinot or even Beaujolais in the afternoon, mad about a good barolo. Can drink rubbish occasionally like anyone and put a smiley face on it, but we aren’t doing the $5 meal deal at McDonalds here 😇and don’t expect to be treated as such. 

[Mr Luxury]

On 4/7/2023 at 1:04 PM, commodoredave said:

Maybe they can hire Larry Pimentel to serve as a Very Senior Advisor to Rick Meadows while Rick is serving as a Senior Advisor to Natalya.

And if they add more advisors Natalya will end up as assistant Maitre d'

[cruiseej]

This news makes to instant disappearance of Josh Leibowitz even more mysterious. There was no transition period; he was there one day and gone the next. The article says "Leahy will consult with Meadows as needed during her onboarding process." Why bring back a retired past president to help her learn the ropes rather than draw on the immediate past president? Unless there were serious problems with the past president… We'll probably never know more, but it would be interesting to learn the back story.

[saminina]

Is this a trick question?  Post number 5 sums it up nicely without mention of Leibowitz.   I doubt anyone within CCL is mentioning his name.   Gone....good riddance!

[commodoredave]

17 hours ago, cruiseej said:

This news makes to instant disappearance of Josh Leibowitz even more mysterious. There was no transition period; he was there one day and gone the next. The article says "Leahy will consult with Meadows as needed during her onboarding process." Why bring back a retired past president to help her learn the ropes rather than draw on the immediate past president? Unless there were serious problems with the past president… We'll probably never know more, but it would be interesting to learn the back story.

When Natalya is fired/promoted/disappears, Josh may come back as an Extremely Very Senior Advisor for the next CEO. 

[2SailingNomads]

Too bad they'll never get back the great on ship management.  Manfred, Theresa, Helmut, Stefan to name just a few. All moved on. Not to mention all the crew now on Scenic, Windstar,  Regent (just disembarked a few days ago and multiple crew recognized us) and I am sure many other lines.  Unfortunately Seabourn has gone through many management challenges and now no longer what it was.  And in the wake lost many of their best crew.  We can only hope new management can restore the luster to the brand.

[LouChamp]

Aloha. It is sad in my opinion that the real titans of the cruise industry have retired and some have to come back from retirement or be recycled to fix the newbies who are looking more at saving money than maintaining or enhancing the cruise experience.  Hopefully this new return will be beneficial. All the best.

[commodoredave]

Having sailed with Seabourn pre-Carnival, I have seen many changes of leadership, and to the quality of the product, mostly in attempts to save money and broaden the brand’s appeal. Some has been positive, a good deal not so much. I’m hoping Natalya will reach back for a little of that old magic, while building on the best of the present.

[frantic36]

On 4/13/2023 at 12:00 PM, 2SailingNomads said:

Too bad they'll never get back the great on ship management.  Manfred, Theresa, Helmut, Stefan to name just a few. All moved on. Not to mention all the crew now on Scenic, Windstar,  Regent (just disembarked a few days ago and multiple crew recognized us) and I am sure many other lines.  Unfortunately Seabourn has gone through many management challenges and now no longer what it was.  And in the wake lost many of their best crew.  We can only hope new management can restore the luster to the brand.

And yet when we boarded Quest for the first time ever in January we had to learn many new to us crew. We have never sailed Quest before but many times on the other ships. Within a short period of time we found crew we enjoyed and they remembered us and our preferences. In fact that was the majority. I hope you enjoy Encore but if you decide to move to Scenic, Regent, whatever because you know crew over there,enjoy.

[Mr Luxury]

3 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

And yet when we boarded Quest for the first time ever in January we had to learn many new to us crew. We have never sailed Quest before but many times on the other ships. Within a short period of time we found crew we enjoyed and they remembered us and our preferences. In fact that was the majority. I hope you enjoy Encore but if you decide to move to Scenic, Regent, whatever because you know crew over there,enjoy.

Nice to be known but nice to meet new crew who will become old friends soon enough.

[saminina]

In the event of a mishap on your way to Fantasy Island, we'll toss a few life preservers.☺️