Abbreviated Legend 11/22 PC--any reviews?

[xplrcrzn]

Any opinions/reviews on the recently completed (and abbreviated) Legend Panama Canal cruise?

[minxtabb]

we just got back yesterday and will post our thoughts as soon as possible. Overall pretty happy.

 

Roz

[hoya68]

While I hope to do a more extensive review, here are a few thoughts. My wife and I were on our honeymoon and had arrived in Ft. Lauderdale a few days early. We retrieved a message from our home voicemail which was left on Saturday, explaining that the departure would be delayed from Tuesday until Wednesday, that they would lodge us at the Hyatt and provide a meal credit for us, and that we should call Seabourn immediately. We called back on early Saturday afternoon and their offices were closed for the weekend. I e-mailed my travel agent who had not heard anything from Seabourn. When I called on Monday, the Seabourn representative said about the same thing that was on the phone message. We did learn from the Cruise Critic board, the reason for the delay. On Tuesday, we went to the Hyatt and there were Seabourn representatives there to greet us. They explained that Seabourn would take care of the one night at the Hyatt, provide up to $300 meal credit ($150 per person), which we could use at any restaurant, and refund the cruise fare for one day. We thought that was a very generous offer. Seabourn also provided transfers to the port from the hotel.

 

On Wednesday the transfer to the ship went smoothly. Unfortunately the boarding process was as disorganized as one could imagine. Upon arrival at the port, we had numbers to indicate when we would board. We waited and waited, and the crew member in charge of allowing people on the ship seemed to be sending groups regardless of their number, and refusing to allow others to board. Finally we did what others did and just "made a run for it" to the obvious displeasure of the crew member in charge of the boarding (throughout the cruise, she seemed to be a completely different, and far more pleasant, person. Once we made it through security we received a warm welcome from other crew members and were escorted to the lounge to await the formalities (mug shots, etc.). When we arrived in the lounge, they were already calling numbers after ours, and when we went to the person in charge, we were asked where we had been! From then on everything went smoothly.

 

The cruise was shortened by one day (we missed one port in Costa Rica). Overall the Seaborn experience (once we made it past the "guard") was great.

Service was almost uniformly excellent. We did have very poor service in the Dining room for breakfast on two mornings and resolved not to have breakfast there again. One or two days later the maitre d'hotel asked us how things were and I explained that the dining room experience was outstanding except for breakfast. He said he was aware that there had been some problems, and urged us to give it another try. We did, and the service was up to the extremely high Seabourn standards. On our last morning we again had breakfast in the dining room and the service was again excellent.

 

This was our first Seabourn cruise and we will definitely not hesitate to choose Seabourn again. The service is outstanding and when there is a problem they go out of their way to correct it. Overall (with a couple of exceptions, especially the BarBQue on the deck) the food was very good to excellent. While the passenger mix was probably not the best (there were some groups that we wished had chosen a different cruise) most of the people were very enjoyable, and we made some friends whom we expect to keep in touch with and visit with "shore-side".

 

I hope this is helpful.

 

Steve

[LaPaloma]

I noted that the Deck Barbie was not to your liking. I agree with you whole heartedly. That seems to be a high point for so many...I find the food steam table mediocre...and really miss the comfort and luxury of the dining room. Lola

[PeaSea8ch]

Steve: I am so glad to hear of your overall wonderful experience on your first Seabourn cruise and that you will consider sailing on Seabourn in the future. I am sorry that your embarkation experience turned out the way it did as I do not know who the "guard" was but was glad you kept an open mind and did not let it affect your time onboard. I also hope you enjoyed the transit of the Panama Canal and learning it's history and the Herculean effort to get it built and operational for all these years.

 

Lola: I think as I sail on Seabourn more, I really appreciate the dining experience in the restaurant even more. On my first Seabourn cruise in 2002, only 4 passengers dined in the restaurant the night of the deck BBQ. Based on posts I have read over the past several months on this forum, I have learned that quite a few sailors now prefer the restaurant over the deck BBQ. Don't get me wrong, the BBQ is a wonderful social event and I really have enjoyed them; however, being waited on in the restaurant by the attentive saff is just so wonderful. Maybe next Nov. I will pass on the BBQ and dine in the restaurant.

[GrannyLorr]

We thoroughly enjoyed the Deck BBq's. I suppose it also depends on how long you have on board...if its a short cruise it may be preferable to dine in the Restaurant every night, but we found on a long cruise it was good to have "something different". I have heard a lot of people say how wonderful the "course by course" Room Service is, but we felt that was too much trouble for the Crew to be running up and down the stairs with every course just for us....so if we wanted Room Service, it was just something from the "Room Service Menu"....quite often "burgers and fries" (well not TOO often....just for a ~change~)

[blackbird71]

I have heard a lot of people say how wonderful the "course by course" Room Service is, but we felt that was too much trouble for the Crew to be running up and down the stairs with every course just for us....

 

So right GL, I would have it all brought at the same time. But since you have been on they have added the Sky Bar Grill dinners which are not the same as the on deck BBQ. Much limited selection and limited seating.

 

Maybe some day BB will get lucky and be on a ship so long as to get bored with the main dinning room.... :p On my 12 dayer RSSC Mariner I never did the super French restaurant, and did the Italian/Steak place on a night I would have had steak in the main restaurant. I did do the 4th restaurant because they had a series of days of Caribbean based menus and I wanted to have Jerk Chicken one night.

[CruisinMatt]

I have heard a lot of people say how wonderful the "course by course" Room Service is, but we felt that was too much trouble for the Crew to be running up and down the stairs with every course just for us....

 

I don't know, I think dining in one's suite is an option that shouldn't be overlooked for fear of overworking the crew. The staff is well trained and when we enjoy this perk, our suite waiter has alway been more than enthusiastic and never acted as if it's any trouble. Remember, this is Seabourn.

[Martita B.]

hoya68,

You mentioned "a group aboard" that you didn't care for.....can you please be more specific? I can truly say I could count on one hand the number of guests I have sailed with that were not Seabourn quality! This might happen on any cruise....or on any Line/ship.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Martita

[blackbird71]

Martita,

just a note on my 4 day Silverseas cruise. IMHO there were more ppl on the ship on tickets given to them from insurance/drug companies than paid for the cruise themselves. This made their attitude different from the paying cruisers. 10% of the men wore Tuxs on formal night and some were very casual.

 

The one night I walked into the bar, there was a table of guys shooting shots with a waiter standing next to them for the next refill. Strange....

[LaPaloma]

Paul--on our last cruise we did the dining room for dinner--then went up to the deck BBQ for the fun stuff--we enjoyed that a lot more than the full evening on the deck--didn't feel we missed a thing--got good seats on the upper(Skybar) deck to watch the show. We will do that next month on the Mexican Riviera cruise. Don

[GrannyLorr]

I don't know, I think dining in one's suite is an option that shouldn't be overlooked for fear of overworking the crew. The staff is well trained and when we enjoy this perk, our suite waiter has alway been more than enthusiastic and never acted as if it's any trouble. Remember, this is Seabourn.

 

Of course the waiters would never act as if our requests were any trouble (even if they were!!) we usually had Room Service for breakfast if we were doing a shore tour and a couple of times they offered to bring the cold stuff first, then later the hot stuff.......but we always asked for everything at once.

 

LOL BB....I wouldnt really say we were "bored" with the food in the Restaurant after so many days....just sometimes we couldnt be bothered getting dressed up, especially after a long day of sightseeing.......and just something simple to eat is nice at times...(we always had huge lunches in the Verandah, so were never really hungry at dinnertime anyway!)

As hubby couldnt fit into his trousers after 55 days....I hate to think what is going to happen after 72!

[blackbird71]

.(we always had huge lunches in the Verandah, so were never really hungry at dinnertime anyway!)

As hubby couldnt fit into his trousers after 55 days....I hate to think what is going to happen after 72!

 

Creative Pants buying is the only answer. Add 2 inches and only then buy Expando pants. As a big boy myself I should know. But I was good on my 12 day Mariner cruise and did not add a lb. I do not think I added any on my Seabourn, but those breaksticks were good..... Unlike my cruise talk buddy Tony that always adds 5 lbs in 7 days on his RCI cruises. Tony is thin but when on a cruise, if there is food being served he is there. :eek:

[hoya68]

The transit through the Panama Canal was an amazing experience. It was greatly enhanced by reading (or listening to the audible.com audio version) of The Path Between the Seas and by the tremendous onboard lecturer, Diana Preston.

 

As for the group of folks aboard that we (and I think a number of other passengers) didn't care for, I'd rather not be more specific, as it might be taken as a stereotype, which is certainly not intended. Let it just be said that rude and boorish behavior is not appropriate on any ship, but can happen through no fault of the cruise line.

 

Incidentally, the BarBQue was fun and we had been warned about the food. We probably would have eaten in the dining room, but we very much wanted to dine with four friends that we had made, who wanted to attend the BarBQue. If I were to give advice, it would be to dine in the Dining Room and then go up on deck for the dancing. But to each, his or her own.

[Seabourn-nail]

I don´t see why people should warn you for the BBQ food! Of course you can not compare BBQ food with haute cuisine. And the quality, quantity and variety of the food offered is always great in my opinion. OK, maybe I also like the food in the dining room better, but the atmosphere and the effort taken by the kitchen personnel is well worth it to try the BBQ.

[xplrcrzn]

It's not even "real" Bar-B-Que but basically an expanded version of the Sky Grill deck lunches (same Greek salad with feta squares, same potato salad, etc.) set out in a more elaborate venue. A lot of it does taste like steam table food. Deserts are a notable exception and the Bananas Foster is really great. My main problem with a lot of the non-Restaurant food onboard is that it is bland. Salting meats before grilling, for example, brings juices to the surface, which carmalize when grilled and greatly improves the taste. Most cruiselines don't do this (and I don't think Seabourn does) because so many passengers require low-sodium diets. The same kind of considerations apply to many other preparations, although Seabourn chefs will attempt to "kick up" the flavor sometimes, if you ask beforehand.