Is Seabourn for us?

[santrah]

We are looking at a 7 night Mediterranean cruise on the Ovation.  Having cruised previously our favourite line has been Azamara. We enjoy the none stuffy. Informal atmosphere with wonderful staff,, food and wine.   Their dress code suits us oerfectly.  I always wear a nice dress or smart trousers and pretty evening tops and husband a collared shirt and trousers (no jeans!).  He doesn't want to take a jacket or tux to wear on the formal night.    Therefore is there an alternative dining restaurant available and later in the evening  around the ship willl he stand out like a sore thumb in his nice collared shirt and trousers and no jacket or tux?.  It isn't like Cunard is it...where some guests are above themselves?!  

 

Also.  There are two tender ports.  Do you require tickets on the outward tender or like Azamara can you just turn up when you wish?

 

Do the restaurants require reservations in advance of sailing? 

[SLSD]

First about the tenders.  Once the ship has been cleared at the port and the announcement has been made, you are free to go to the tenders.   You do not need a ticket.  Occasionally, you are asked to wait until passengers on early excursions have tendered to the port. 

 

As far as formal nights go, there are other restaurants for dining---Earth and Ocean around the pool (my personal favorite restaurant on the ship), The Colonnade, and the Sushi restaurant.  I don't believe you would be turned away from the TK grill without a jacket--but most men would be wearing them there as it is an elegant restaurant (even though it is an American style steak house).  You could also order Room Service.  

 

Are some guests above themselves?  A few are --just as you would find on any ship, but the vast majority of Seabourn cruisers are friendly people who are not above themselves.  

[JPH814]

First of all - I had one cruise on Azamara.  Seabourn and Azamara are similar in clientele and the level of "formality" vs casualness.   Seabourn ships have a some what smaller passenger capacity.

 

As for the "formal night", the majority of men in the main dining room will be wearing a jacket, either a sport jacket or as part of a suit. Many will have a tie.  A few will even be wearing formal dinner jackets or full blown tuxedos.  (I guess I m one of the ones who you call "above themselves".  My wife and I enjoy getting dressed up so I bring formal wear.)  That will be one night out of 7  maybe 2 on a 14 day cruise.  After dinner some may keep the dressier attire, but things generally return to casual.  

 

On those "formal" nights, the Colonade restaurant is  more casual.  I am not sure about the Steakhouse.  And there is always room service if you really want to avoid those who are "above themselves".  

 

No tickets are required for tenders.  It is first come first served.  I have never had to wait more than a few minutes to board.

 

The Steakhouse (TK) is the only venue that requires reservations.  You can usually reserve one dinner before you board.  Once you are on board, you can often get one or more additional reservations (depending on the length of the cruise.  

 

 

 

[JPH814]

here is a cut and paste from  my review of our cruise in October of 2022 regarding formal night:

 

"Men’s attire is easier to classify.  Maybe 3-4%  true formal - meaning out of 100 men in the restaurant, there were 3 or 4 in tuxes or formal dinner jackets.  Men in suits and ties, about 20%.  Jacket and ties- 30%.  Jackets no ties. 30%. The rest -15% or so - were just pants and shirts.  "

[SLSD]

10 minutes ago, JPH814 said:

First of all - I had one cruise on Azamara.  Seabourn and Azamara are similar in clientele and the level of "formality" vs casualness.   Seabourn ships have a some what smaller passenger capacity.

 

As for the "formal night", the majority of men in the main dining room will be wearing a jacket, either a sport jacket or as part of a suit. Many will have a tie.  A few will even be wearing formal dinner jackets or full blown tuxedos.  (I guess I m one of the ones who you call "above themselves".  My wife and I enjoy getting dressed up so I bring formal wear.)  That will be one night out of 7  maybe 2 on a 14 day cruise.  After dinner some may keep the dressier attire, but things generally return to casual.  

 

On those "formal" nights, the Colonade restaurant is  more casual.  I am not sure about the Steakhouse.  And there is always room service if you really want to avoid those who are "above themselves".  

 

No tickets are required for tenders.  It is first come first served.  I have never had to wait more than a few minutes to board.

 

The Steakhouse (TK) is the only venue that requires reservations.  You can usually reserve one dinner before you board.  Once you are on board, you can often get one or more additional reservations (depending on the length of the cruise.  

 

 

 

JPH, get the chip off of your shoulder!  Good grief!!!~ No  one is saying that because you wear a tux you are "above yourself".  I think the poster's comment is really asking if people are nice, if people are friendly--OR, are they all very wealthy people who don't like to mix and mingle with others they consider below themselves.  

 

Her question didn't imply that her husband would go to the MDR on formal night without a jacket.  She was asking if there were other places to dine where a jacket would not be required/expected.  

 

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by SLSD

[JPH814]

4 minutes ago, SLSD said:

JPH, get the chip off of your shoulder!  Good grief!!!~ No  one is saying that because you wear a tux you are "above yourself".  I think the poster's comment is really asking if people are nice, if people are friendly--OR, are they all very wealthy people who don't like to mix and mingle with others they consider below themselves.  

 

Her question didn't imply that her husband would go to the MDR on formal night without a jacket.  She was asking if there were other places to dine where a jacket would not be required/expected.  

 

 

relax.  I think I answered her questions rather factually as best I could.  See my subsequent post for additional information. Having been on the Queen Mary I could have replied that Seabourn is no where close to Cunard  in terms of dress expectations. 

 

If she had asked about how friendly people were on Seabourn, I would have answered in glowing terms.  But she really did not ask about that, did she? She asked about dress code on formal night.

 

You can interpret her  "above themselves" comment any way you want.    

[santrah]

Thank you for your helpful responses.

 I cruised around 10 years ago on Cunard and found it too formal...so Seabourn appears to have the balance just right.   The Ovation and Seabourn certainly look like they are what we are looking for upon reading your responses.

Sandra

[santrah]

Another question please....if the weather means that the ship cannot tender do Seabourn try ttheir best to find an alternative dock/port or just pur on a seaday?   Azamara have always been efficient in alternative ports ?  Oceania don't appear to find alternatives! 

[CalmSea]

36 minutes ago, santrah said:

Another question please....if the weather means that the ship cannot tender do Seabourn try ttheir best to find an alternative dock/port or just pur on a seaday?   Azamara have always been efficient in alternative ports ?  Oceania don't appear to find alternatives! 

I think the answer is yes. In our 2019 cruise on the Quest, the sea was too rough to tender to L Anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland. The captain went to St. Anthony instead, and made last-minute arrangements to bus us to L Anse Aux Meadows. Being in quite a remote part of Newfoundland, they could only found yellow school buses. Not the most comfortable bus, but I didn't remember hearing any complaints, and we ended up visiting two ports on the same day.

[margbem]

Sandra - I think you will love Seabourn. We have sailed Azamara three times and enjoyed our cruises but Seabourn has our hearts! We are about to do our twelfth with them. We always dress smartly in an evening. Dresses or trousers and tops for me. My husband does wear a jacket but that’s because the Restaurant can be a bit chilly due to the aircon. If you want to be a bit more casual then the Colonnade, which has themed nights or Earth and Ocean are good for that. TK Grill and bar are both lovely venues. If you dress as you did on Azamara you will be fine. And we have friends who we met on Seabourn years ago and still keep in touch!

 

As a fellow Yorkshire lass I know you will be fine!

[Dunnedg]

2 hours ago, santrah said:

..if the weather means that the ship cannot tender do Seabourn try ttheir best to find an alternative dock/port or just pur on a seaday?   Azamara have always been efficient in alternative ports ?  Oceania don't appear to find alternatives! 

Which ports are tender only? I was on a recent cruise where we did a lot of tenders and one day was touch and go getting ashore although we did manage. It was a small island and as such it would have been impossible to do an alternative stop.

To be on the safe side, get your husband to pack a tie. Doesn't take up much extra room😊.

[alc13]

4 hours ago, JPH814 said:

here is a cut and paste from  my review of our cruise in October of 2022 regarding formal night:

 

"Men’s attire is easier to classify.  Maybe 3-4%  true formal - meaning out of 100 men in the restaurant, there were 3 or 4 in tuxes or formal dinner jackets.  Men in suits and ties, about 20%.  Jacket and ties- 30%.  Jackets no ties. 30%. The rest -15% or so - were just pants and shirts.  "

Off topic, sorry - but would we expect it to be even less formal than this in the Caribbean?  We are booked on a Dec cruise and were going to bring a long dress for me and suit for him, but might forgo it.

[santrah]

The tender ports are Portovenere and St Ttopez so I am guessing there are plenty of actual docking ports in the area such as .La Spezia and Nice

No problem iin packing a tie!   We don't fancy packing  a jacket to only wear  perhaps once or twice as we are looking at a week touring by car once getting to Barcelona. 

Edited August 2, 2023 by santrah
Sp.

[SLSD]

28 minutes ago, santrah said:

The tender ports are Portovenere and St Ttopez so I am guessing there are plenty of actual docking ports in the area such as .La Spezia and Nice

No problem iin packing a tie!   We don't fancy packing  a jacket to only wear  perhaps once or twice as we are looking at a week touring by car once getting to Barcelona. 

Many men do wear a jacket every night in the main restaurant onboard.  So--your husband could wear it every time you dine there and fit right in.  My husband wears his jacket there whenver we dine in that venue.

 

I love Portovenere!

Edited August 2, 2023 by SLSD

[Dunnedg]

1 hour ago, SLSD said:

Many men do wear a jacket every night in the main restaurant onboard

Not that many in my experience. I don’t but I make up for it on formal nights.

[SLSD]

1 minute ago, Dunnedg said:

Not that many in my experience. I don’t but I make up for it on formal nights.

On our recent (June) cruise, there were quite a few.  But, my real point is this--if you bring the jacket--you can wear it in that venue.  

[nolatravelgirl]

The short 7 day Med cruises tend to skew to a younger crowd, and my personal opinion, that is mostly smart dress in the evening but not would I consider stuffy formal. I think of it as what you would wear out to a nice downtown steakhouse in a major metro area.  If you could convince your husband to carry a single sport coat you would be welcome in any venue on formal evening. I have sailed Azamara and found the dress to be similar and think you will enjoy Seabourn. I just finished a Silversea cruise and what I missed most was many of the evening deck parties and different evening socials that seemed so prevalent on Seabourn and Azamara.

[cruiseej]

6 hours ago, santrah said:

Another question please....if the weather means that the ship cannot tender do Seabourn try ttheir best to find an alternative dock/port or just pur on a seaday?

 

The answer is "yes". 😂 Yes, they will try to go to an alternate port if they can find one with availability. But it might become a sea day if the weather and/or nearby ports aren't cooperative. As noted above, there are certainly other ports near both Portovenere and St Tropez — but there are also dozens of other cruise ships in the same areas of the Mediterranean at the same time, and all the docking berths may be booked, or may not have ground staff available to accommodate an additional ship on a few hours' notice.  Since most Med cruises are pretty port-intensive, and unscheduled sea day can be pretty nice if the weather is okay to be outside (although of course you miss whatever shore activities you had planned). 

[caviarforme]

11 hours ago, SLSD said:

Many men do wear a jacket every night in the main restaurant onboard.  So--your husband could wear it every time you dine there and fit right in.  My husband wears his jacket there whenver we dine in that venue.

 

I love Portovenere!

I also always wear a jacket in the MDR - your husband is a man after my own heart. SB cruising is also about style, but relaxed style. As a rapidly ageing Englishman - style comes with standards!

 

 

[Jimmycruiser]

17 hours ago, santrah said:

Thank you for your helpful responses.

 I cruised around 10 years ago on Cunard and found it too formal...so Seabourn appears to have the balance just right.   The Ovation and Seabourn certainly look like they are what we are looking for upon reading your responses.

Sandra

I think others have answered your questions. I would add that we were Azamara regulars before discovering Crystal and Seabourn. We miss the Azamazing evenings but find the food on average better on Seabourn and included wines and mixed drinks selection much better than AZ. On AZ we paid an up charge most nights to find acceptable wines and mixed drinks.

 

Also the standard veranda cabins on Seabourn much larger and nicer than the standard on AZ. Even nicer than the first level suites with butler although no butler service on Seabourn which we really do not miss. We are currently on the Ovation if other questions. We will be on Crystal for our next cruise but would not hesitate to book Seabourn for the right itinerary.

[imescaping]

On 8/2/2023 at 11:18 AM, santrah said:

Another question please....if the weather means that the ship cannot tender do Seabourn try ttheir best to find an alternative dock/port or just pur on a seaday?   Azamara have always been efficient in alternative ports ?  Oceania don't appear to find alternatives! 

I am not familiar with the Mediterranean, but on Ovation last week we were supposed to tender just outside the harbor in Heimaey Islands, but the seas were not smooth enough for the tenders. The captain was able to arrange tendering inside the harbor. I guess what I am saying is they will do their best. 
 

Also, that was our first Seabourn cruise and we don’t really fit Seabourn’s “usuall” passenger demographic. We had many of the same questions and concerns as you. We had a wonderful time found the other guests friendly, inclusive and welcoming. We didn’t bring formal attire and would have had a wonderful dinner in the Colonnade, except the seas were very rough and my husband had to excuse himself halfway through dinner. I finished dinner on my own and took dessert back to my room. 
 

Earth and Ocean was closed a lot on our cruise due to weather, so we weren’t able to experience it, but I think that would be less likely in the Mediterranean. 
 

(I have never sailed Azamara so can’t compare) 

[Dunnedg]

9 minutes ago, imescaping said:

Also, that was our first Seabourn cruise and we don’t really fit Seabourn’s “usuall” passenger demographic.

What is Seabourn’s usual demographic?
 

[imescaping]

1 minute ago, Dunnedg said:

What is Seabourn’s usual demographic?
 

Not us! LOL

But seriously, that is  why I put it in “ “ marks. To those who have never sailed SB it appears, by price and marketing, that the demo is affluent, well traveled, upper class. 

[Dunnedg]

6 minutes ago, imescaping said:

affluent, well traveled, upper class. 

You have never met me😂

[imescaping]

Just now, imescaping said:

Not us! LOL

But seriously, that is  why I put it in “ “ marks. To those who have never sailed SB it appears, by price and marketing, that the demo is affluent, well traveled, upper class. 

We only meet the well travelled demo. Our prior cruises have been among the mass cruise lines. Balconies on HAL or mini suites on Princess as our favorites, We only have one Celebrity cruise long ago when all we could manage was an Oceanview, I am sure they would be a fave too. Suites are generally out of our budget, unless we wanted to be less well travelled. We splurged on SB for my 60th BD and our 40 th wedding anniversary. We would love to do it again but it was definitely a budget stretch for us. We are not fans of the ever larger ships, and wish the smaller ships were more affordable as that is what we would prefer.