Odyssey Questions, Musings, and Trip Reports

[wripro]

There has obviously been a shift of staff from the Odyssey back to the triplets. On the maiden the comments were more that they were overstaffed. It's disturbing to hear these new developments. Does anyone know if Karl is still aboard? I can't imagine he would allow his restaurant staff to underperform like this.

 

The other thing I can't understand is why they start taking reservations for the alternative restaurants at 7:30 right when most people are at dinner. Why not start at 5:00PM?

[Host Dan]

Correct. The comment was about the dress of certain people in he evening and not which restaurant they were in.

Seapenarth, I guess I "read" to much into the jeans and flip flop comment. Can you confirm they they indeed gained access to any of the restaurants in this attire, or simply changed after dinner. Thanks!

 

Host Dan

[Martita B.]

Karl would not permit understaffed dining room ~~nor would Chris Prelog (Miami)

MB

[seapenarth]

Seapenarth, I guess I "read" to much into the jeans and flip flop comment. Can you confirm they they indeed gained access to any of the restaurants in this attire, or simply changed after dinner. Thanks!

 

Host Dan

 

Do not read too much into comments which said "Some passengers dress in the evening was etc". I was not on the ship but am passing on thoughts from an email I recieved from a friend which appeared to support the views of many aboard. I do`nt know where they ate, maybe in their rooms, but we are talking of standards and the mix of passengers.

[jroettger]

I leave in ten days for the Odyssey. I do not have much hope that all of this will be sorted out before then. I had such high hopes for a great experience!

 

And I was worried that I might be underdressed for the dining room!

[mikey47]

After our Norwegian Fjords cruise on Pride in June we were sold. We have booked Odyssey for Sept 2010.

Now we read that the recent Odyssey cruise had 37 children on board!

That does affect things. I never imagined 10% of the passengers being kids.

We don't want kids on a cruise. That is not the atmosphere that so attracted us to Seabourn. It would be ruined.

With 3 big sisters as well as the small sisters could not most of them be made adult only or am I being too contentious?

[wripro]

Let's hope the good folks at SB read this thread and see how their loyal passengers feel about being overrun by kids. It is shortsighted of them to risk alienating us in order to sell a few more passages during the summer.

[curlyQ]

Let's hope the good folks at SB read this thread and see how their loyal passengers feel about being overrun by kids. It is shortsighted of them to risk alienating us in order to sell a few more passages during the summer.

 

It's not just the number of kids, Odyssey now apprears to have an understaffing problem along with many inexperienced front-line crew. How sad this is. Seabourn had better take a serious look at this and act fast before any more 'damage' is done to their hard earned image.

[mikey47]

It's not just the number of kids, Odyssey now apprears to have an understaffing problem along with many inexperienced front-line crew. How sad this is. Seabourn had better take a serious look at this and act fast before any more 'damage' is done to their hard earned image.

I agree but the staffing is in SB's control, the kids aren't unless they make some ships adult only.

[crystal808]

We have booked Odyssey for Sept 2010.

Now we read that the recent Odyssey cruise had 37 children on board!

 

I would think that, as of September, most of the "children" will be back in school. They start mid-early August here!

 

However, I understand your concerns, and certainly agree with preferring to be in an "adult" situation while on board...!

 

Paul ;)

[Martita B.]

If Micky was aboard with all the children I wonder what he thought ~~~(I've seen his personal yacht in Ft Laud ~~it's almost the size of one of the Sister's) I wouldn't think he'd be too comfortable with 37 kids running around.

MB

[LaPaloma]

I leave in ten days for the Odyssey. I do not have much hope that all of this will be sorted out before then. I had such high hopes for a great experience!

 

And I was worried that I might be underdressed for the dining room!

 

I hope that you will not let this news spoil your anticipation for the trip. We all know that each trip is a bit different...and...with a little optimism on our side..it will be a great trip. We have been on trips that had people with misbehaved children, and though we did not like it..we did not let it ruin the trip. Knowing the staff training...I would tend to believe that you will not experience this on your trip. hang in there..and have a wonderful trip. Lola ;)

[condor]

We are leaving on Odyssey on Sept. 19 and these reports are distrubing. Is there anything we can do as a group to call Seabourn's attention to these concerns and find out how they are being addressed?

[Roxburgh]

I'm not sure that Seabourn - legally - can refuse children. However, the very aggresive discounting that we are now seeing is making Seabourn more accessible to a family with children. That said, they can certainly and legally restrict specific areas of the ship such as The Club.

 

From my own experience, I would not have taken my children onboard Seabourn simply because there isn't enough for them to do. When they were younger (they are now 22 and 28) we would do Club Med or Beaches holidays because they had excellent and supervised activities for children. However, I suspect that many parents are thinking more of themselves than their children.

 

As to dress, I never cease to be surprised. Flip-flops and bare midriffs seem to be de-rigeur for the girls (lets not talk about tattoos) and most of the boys look like they have slept in their clothes. But that is only "business casual" for work :eek:. I would not be surprised if those "torn" jeans cost upwards of $200 :rolleyes:

 

The other problems mentioned sound like a mix of teething problems with a new ship and organizational problems as Seabourn come to terms with a larger fleet. Hopefully, they will get ironed out fairly quickly and certainly - I hope - before November 14th when we sail.

[T&T Vikings]

Seapenarth, I guess I "read" to much into the jeans and flip flop comment. Can you confirm they they indeed gained access to any of the restaurants in this attire, or simply changed after dinner. Thanks!

 

Host Dan

 

HostDan,

I am afraid I have to confirm what Seapenarth has been told, I was actually at the table next to the person in the restaurant :eek: It was IMHO a very odd outfit!

 

Themed4me,

I can only agree and confirm most, only exception- some of the kids was indeed very well behaving.

 

What worries me most is SKY BAR :confused: it looks naked- No decorations or cozy mirrors,shells etc. we are so familiar with on the triplets!

Only highligt and a surprice was NELSON:) , he was indeed hard working to get everything in place and workable and at the same time giving you perfect service.

T&T

[WEAVO]

Well this truly is a worry but not a huge surprise, they have to get another 400 passengers from some where?

 

We have been travelling with our girls now 24, 22, & 19 for 6 years on Seabourn, and other guest quite often comment how nice it is to see some youngsters on board, but they do dress and behave well. Once standards start dropping it will carry on unless they nip it in the bud now, don't let the rot set. this is so so sad.

 

As much as we like our girls with us, having kids running about the place is not the holiday we are after. We join Spirit soon so fingers crossed all will be well on her.

 

Regarding other problems with the ship everyone knows you should stay well clear for any new ship for at least 6 months for her to settle down, so this cannot be a surprise, even for the wonderful Seabourn, these things happen.

 

Once the dress code is en-forced these type of people wont be back, they don't like being told what to wear, Angie

[maedtotravel]

We just returned from a wonderful 7 days from Venice to Athens. All I can say is that the service was wonderful (only one dinner in the restaurant did we wait for our entree-- it was on the one formal night and I think they were surprised that everyone came to dinner there, and at the same time.) Not having cruised on other Seabourn ships I cannot imagine what their service was like if this is considered inferior. We had our two sons ages 19 and 17 with us, and they, and other older teens/young adults enjoyed each other's company. All dressed up at night and felt it was great fun to be in that environment. Maybe they are not what you would consider children? But let's be candid, there can be unpleasant adults as easily as unpleasant children --neither has a lock on that "title!" It's all in the attitude and parent's expectations.

 

As you can gather, we loved most everything about the cruise itself. However, the shore excursions were simply poor. I even spoke to the tour director (I think her name was Carol, not sure of this) and she told me most passengers want only a survey type tour and are not interested in in-depth or intellectually challenging. I find that hard to believe! With the quality of Odyssey it seems strange that passengers want to dumb down when they go on shore. Anyone care to comment?? Also, information on items such as taxis (rates, availability) if you wanted to go on shore on your own was very lacking at Seabourn Square. The young men there were delightful, but they were not given sufficient information. Hope that improves, but with "Carol's" attitude, I am not so sure!

[Tony & Trevor]

Some cruise ships/ lines do not allow children 'to book'

 

Last year we were on the Artemis-P & O line- no children whatsoever.

 

I may be wrong but did not allow under sixteens.

 

Kind regards

 

 

Tony

[Seabourn-nail]

This doesn't look good to me either!

I will try to contact somebody who is actually on board of the Odyssey now and has been for a while. Maybe I will manage to get an idea from her about the observations mentioned.

Marja

[T&T Vikings]

Odyssey Sky Bar rattan arm chairs, when resting your arm on the armrest it feels very uncomfortable, also the cushion cover is made of some sort of synthetic material causing a very hot feeling after a while.

T&T

[JunPOA]

We just returned from a wonderful 7 days from Venice to Athens. All I can say is that the service was wonderful (only one dinner in the restaurant did we wait for our entree-- it was on the one formal night and I think they were surprised that everyone came to dinner there, and at the same time.) Not having cruised on other Seabourn ships I cannot imagine what their service was like if this is considered inferior. We had our two sons ages 19 and 17 with us, and they, and other older teens/young adults enjoyed each other's company. All dressed up at night and felt it was great fun to be in that environment. Maybe they are not what you would consider children? But let's be candid, there can be unpleasant adults as easily as unpleasant children --neither has a lock on that "title!" It's all in the attitude and parent's expectations.

 

As you can gather, we loved most everything about the cruise itself. However, the shore excursions were simply poor. I even spoke to the tour director (I think her name was Carol, not sure of this) and she told me most passengers want only a survey type tour and are not interested in in-depth or intellectually challenging. I find that hard to believe! With the quality of Odyssey it seems strange that passengers want to dumb down when they go on shore. Anyone care to comment?? Also, information on items such as taxis (rates, availability) if you wanted to go on shore on your own was very lacking at Seabourn Square. The young men there were delightful, but they were not given sufficient information. Hope that improves, but with "Carol's" attitude, I am not so sure!

 

Maedtotravel - What a refreshingly informative post-thank-you. We're on the reverse route Athens-Venice Dalamation itinerary. Was wondering if you can say more about the shore excursions referenced. Are there specific excursions you experienced which you are not recommending (b/c of being dummied down).? We have on-board credits and had planned to use them on excursions, but if the value of the experience is lacking in new ports we've never experienced I am not sure it will be worth it for us. Happy to hear a good time was had with the young adults on formal night, what a wonderful family memory for you & your family.

Did you/ family use the Marina, if so any feedback on how the operations are going there?

As to your statement:

"...there can be unpleasant adults as easily as unpleasant children --neither has a lock on that "title!"

AMEN to that !!!!!;)

 

Leah, RN

[Craner4]

My wife and I just got back from our trip on the new ship and loved every minute. I was a bit surprised about the amount of children but they were really well behaved. If families want to spend all that money on their children then let them. Some people would say adults can be more annoying than any children, I'm one of them. The ship was beautiful and big enough that at times it felt like it was my own. The service was better than any hotel or restaurant I have been to. I can't believe people would complain about a little slower dinner. Enjoy yourself and stop complaining, what else to you have to do? The wine is always flowing and hopefully you are enjoying your company. I was able to call two days early and get any reservation I wanted. Don't go to the square and wait in line just call from a phone and you are good to go in two minutes. I even got a card from the people at the square which said the style of food each night. You could not see the menu but I always new what type of food it was going to be. The food was the best I have ever had. The ship was amazing and all of you that have trips in the future will have a blast. Don't let the whinny people make you nervous, they just complain to complain. I bet they would complain about the service if they ate dinner at the white house.

[Seabourn-nail]

Thank you Craner4 for your positive post; that is what we all needed!

I've also heard people complain while I was making a cruise on Seabourn and I was thinking to myself: What are you talking about?

Marja

[JunPOA]

Marja & Craner - Bring it on - Thank you - thank you !

 

I was beginning to abandon this Board with all the negative whining the past few days with virtually NO informed usable feedback from recent cruisers.

We need more posts like this !:)

[themed4me]

I am confident everyone will have a great cruise on the Odyssey -- it is a great experience. In my post I just wanted to emphasize that veterans should leave their triplet yardstick at the door and also be patient with the start-up or they will not have as good a time a they otherwise will. (Frankly, new cruisers to Seabourn will not know any better as I think the Odyssey on its worst day still better than many ships.) And as I said, we saw noticible improvement everyday.

 

This is largely thanks to the Seabourn veterans who are tirelessly providing feedback and "personal coaching" :-) over multiple weeks aboard, and a staff that is paying attention. We owe these valiant pioneers a debt of gratitude -- they are working hard for those who will come after. :-)

 

Having said that there are a lot of things that are just different -- and I do mean a lot of things. More people = less personal. Fact of life.

 

To illustrate, lets start at the beginning -- if you board and go to your suite at 3 pm then go to dinner at 7:30 and return at nine, a new guest to Seabourn might enjoy seeing that some soaps were left on the table while at dinner with a note from the attendant that she knew we were on for two weeks, and said if needed anything the best thing to do was leave her a note before we left in the morning, that was the best process over the trip. A new passenger might like this "efficient" system and the consideration. This is not the "waiting in the hall welcome, soap selection, get to know you" type process -- and do not think you will be getting your hand towels made into bunnies or any of that type of thing while on board. It's just not going to happen. PS The first note to her was "Can you please provide some toilet paper." (I am not kidding.)

 

Don't think you will be doing the evening in Ephesus in the library ruins. Just put it out of your mind. There are too many people -- just enjoy being under the stars not far from the amphitheater. I just say this becaues it illustrates the a mindset of differences you just need to get used to. There are many upside differences, the leading among them, frankly, is simply a more stable ship. But none of the upsides (yet) relate to service.

 

Everyone knows the ship is behind schedule in both having the mechanical systems and the management systems working as Seabourners expect. Accept it and get over it. Believe me the captain has has his hands full just being sure the thrusters are working properly enough to dock as planned in some places (so as to not fall back on tenders), to get the spool-up vibration under control, to get all the new crew oriented properly and so on to worry about the tee-shirts at dinner right now.

 

I know there has been a lot of discussion about the tee shirts and flip flops. I think you should appreciate the context before judging -- what the spouse is wearing has a bearing on the ensemble. If the wife is wearing a leopard print harem outfit with a cut-out midrift, I think a tee-shirt with automotive advertisements and flipflops can speak "elegant casual" in the evening in quite a very special way. Conversely when I wore a sport coat and tie one "elegant casual" evening, just to express my individuality :-), I bet there a lot of conversation at some tables: can you believe that guy wearing that!!!

 

Most amusing attire award goes to a family of five wearing camper outfits. White high top tennis shoes, black knee high socks, cargo shorts, tee shirts and camper hats -- complete with rucksacks on their backs -- while on-board. They established the early base camp for their expedition at the spa. By the time they has undone all the stuff in their day packs and spread themselves out across the posh outdoor lounge water lounging beds it created quite a remarkable Seabourn picture, but one that may not be in the in next brochure. On the other hand, if someone wanted to start a campfire on deck 7, they would have been the go-to group.

 

My point is just let it go, be on vacation, have patience, accept some diversity in tastes while the discounts are so deep. That way you can leave the blood pressure pills at home. (Except for when the baby strollers are in the club at night, and the five year olds are roaming the ship unattended -- a parent problem and a safety worry.)