Seabourn- quality change since acquisition by Carnival?

Travelling on Seabourn has been a longtime dream of my husband and I. I recently learnt that there has been a change of ownership ( to Carnival) for the cruise line. I was wondering if anyone who has travelled on Seabourn both before and since the change of ownership thought that the quality has deteriorated.

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Carnival has been the parent company to Seabourn for 16 years now!

In my opinion Seabourn is still the best luxury cruise line out there no matter who owns it.

In my opinion Seabourn is still the best luxury cruise line out there no matter who owns it.

We will find that out later this year on our first Seabourn cruise. We have always been told that if you love Crystal you will love Seabourn. Also everyone on this board has been so helpful and not dominated by cheerleaders as on a few other boards.

Carnival has been the parent company to Seabourn for 16 years now!

it was not so dominant when only the triplets were sailing ,

it became more clear with the Odyssey class and the HAL influences.

We will find that out later this year on our first Seabourn cruise. We have always been told that if you love Crystal you will love Seabourn. Also everyone on this board has been so helpful and not dominated by cheerleaders as on a few other boards.

I am really looking forward to your impressions of your first SB cruise.

it was not so dominant when only the triplets were sailing ,

it became more clear with the Odyssey class and the HAL influences.

People on the Crystal board are complaining about the same thing now that Genting owns it. And the same with Regent and Norwegian. The on;y independently owned luxury line is Silversea and frankly, that has diminished in quality far more.

Carnival owned 50% of Seabourn with the original owner Atlee Brynsted of Norway until April, 1998 when Carnival Corp (which owns Carnival, HAL, Princess, Cunard, Seabourn, Costa, and European brands) purchased the entire thing. So, next month it will be 19 years that Carnival Corp has owned Seabourn. Now you are thinking that there are changes?

Seabourn had been run as a standalone company (first under the presidency of Debbie Natansohn and then after her untimely death by Pam Conover) from May 2005 until April 2011. At that point for "economies of scale" they were moved to HAL HQ in SEA though sales/marketing and F and B were always kept separate.

If there are cut backs it is just like EVERY single cruise line. I have been cruising for 45 years and nothing is like it use to be.

Thanks everyone for your comments and for setting me straight on the ownership issue. As indicated I am a new devotee of cruising having cruised only twice to date (on Cunard). We are looking forward to our Seabourn cruise around the Mediterranean later this year.

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If Cunard is what you know re cruising, then you are in for a very pleasant surprise on a Seabourn ship. You will probably never want to cruise on Cunard again and find, like we did, that an occasional crossing on QM2 is the only voyage where their unique offering gets any attention from us.

The only connection between Cunard and Seabourn IS the Carnival umbrella. Seabourn, as an honest luxury brand, is just better value for what you get, as you will soon appreciate.

Happy and healthy sailing!

People on the Crystal board are complaining about the same thing now that Genting owns it. And the same with Regent and Norwegian. The on;y independently owned luxury line is Silversea and frankly, that has diminished in quality far more.

i must agree with you - the only better item on SS is the still very good and rather cheap wine list.

i really did admire the triplets with the so great service ( very homesick to those great days ) and i was a big fan of Crystal before all in and before G.

i never did Regent i always found it too expensive esp for a single.

cruising and flying as well did chaneg a lot the last decade.

If Cunard is what you know re cruising, then you are in for a very pleasant surprise on a Seabourn ship. You will probably never want to cruise on Cunard again and find, like we did, that an occasional crossing on QM2 is the only voyage where their unique offering gets any attention from us.

 

The only connection between Cunard and Seabourn IS the Carnival umbrella. Seabourn, as an honest luxury brand, is just better value for what you get, as you will soon appreciate.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

and i agree with you - despite last time on SB i was not so happy mostly caused by the daily closing down of the MDR of breakfast and lunch - every day.

Thanks everyone for your comments and for setting me straight on the ownership issue. As indicated I am a new devotee of cruising having cruised only twice to date (on Cunard). We are looking forward to our Seabourn cruise around the Mediterranean later this year.

 

 

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And Cunard is also owned by Carnival. Cunard has seen huge cutbacks in recent years. I can remember when a crossing own QE2 in the Queens Grill came with a return flight on the Concorde and chauffeur driven transfers.

And Cunard is also owned by Carnival. Cunard has seen huge cutbacks in recent years. I can remember when a crossing own QE2 in the Queens Grill came with a return flight on the Concorde and chauffeur driven transfers.

Yes, I regret not taking advantage of this moment in time. The Concorde and the transatlantic experience is now a lost era in time.

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And Cunard is also owned by Carnival. Cunard has seen huge cutbacks in recent years. I can remember when a crossing own QE2 in the Queens Grill came with a return flight on the Concorde and chauffeur driven transfers.

And thank goodness they purchased them in 1997 otherwise the line would probably not exist now.

The Concorde is still my most amazing aircraft experience. I love the suites Class and apartment Class on the A380s but breaking the sound barrier was a whole other league.

Carnival owned 50% of Seabourn with the original owner Atlee Brynsted of Norway until April, 1998 when Carnival Corp (which owns Carnival, HAL, Princess, Cunard, Seabourn, Costa, and European brands) purchased the entire thing. So, next month it will be 19 years that Carnival Corp has owned Seabourn. Now you are thinking that there are changes?

 

Seabourn had been run as a standalone company (first under the presidency of Debbie Natansohn and then after her untimely death by Pam Conover) from May 2005 until April 2011. At that point for "economies of scale" they were moved to HAL HQ in SEA though sales/marketing and F and B were always kept separate.

 

If there are cut backs it is just like EVERY single cruise line. I have been cruising for 45 years and nothing is like it use to be.

i am cruising since 1983 , and i can write pages about all those cutbacks.

i started cruising on luxury level in 1990 and then "complimentary drinks" was something exceptional - i think only done on the Sea Goddess and later on the Song of Flower and Seabourn followed by SS.

I also remember on my first and second cruise on SB , French champagne was not complimentary ( was 6 $ a glass )

And thank goodness they purchased them in 1997 otherwise the line would probably not exist now.

 

The Concorde is still my most amazing aircraft experience. I love the suites Class and apartment Class on the A380s but breaking the sound barrier was a whole other league.

i did twice a crossing in Qgrill on QE2 but i declined the offer of the Concorde and i came back business on BA - very silly First was far more expensive - probably not a deal with Cunard.

On my last crossing in 1998 the Air France Concorde was even cheaper - i simply was not feeling OK going by Concorde.

and i agree with you - despite last time on SB i was not so happy mostly caused by the daily closing down of the MDR of breakfast and lunch - every day.

IT just goes to show that everyone is different. We found the MDR on Odyssey rather large and dreary and spent almost all our time in the Colonade and Patio Grill. We ate dinner in the MDR twice to try it out but did not enjoy the experience. My favourite meal is lunch - always outside at the Colonade.

I agree with Manama about the Colonnade - I love to sit outside having lunch, it's what being on a holiday in the Med is all about (as long as we aren't docked in an industrial port when the view isn't so pretty). The MDR is ok, perhaps not the best one I have seen but if you are away from the main walk through area then nice enough.

Harnessing the buying power of a corporation such as Carnival offers great potential for Seabourn. If it was a small independent company we really would have grounds for complaint. For one thing the prices would be astronomical !

Carnival aren't stupid, they fully understand the difference between Seabourn and their mainstream party ships.

Henry :)

I have been pleasantly surprised that the different lines under the Carnival umbrella have kept their own personalities so much. P and O is nothing like Cunard, Cunard is nothing like Seabourn or Hal, etc. They all have their own fans and strengths and weaknesses.

However, I do feel that at present there has been some slippage in the quality of Seabourn, which seems pretty well entirely due to a lack of forethought, organisation, and no doubt cash, in the staffing of the ships with Encore and shortly Ovation being introduced. Maybe this is in part due to new management? I hope they have got things sorted out by now, or this summer onwards will see the same thing happening again. Quality and quantity of staff is possibly the most important difference between Seabourn and the other Carnival lines, and also Seabourn and the other small 'luxury' lines, in my opinion.

Not really to the point, but have to agree about the Colonnade being lovely when you can sit outside for breakfast and lunch, and the dining room being perfectly pleasant if you can sit near the 'edge' of the room.

I've been discusssing this issue with Seabourn "regulars" on Encore as the end of our cruise to Singapore draws near. There is almost unanimous agreement that standards are slipping, not just in staff levels and training, but also the choice and quality of food, entertainment and guest behaviour. I don't know who's running Seabourn these days, but they don't appear to understand the Seabourn ethos at all, eg the "exclusive" Retreat (completely deserted most of the time), the Great Laundry Debacle and many other small but noticeable cutbacks. I know that businesses have to adapt and evolve in order to survive and many people find any kind of change a threat, but if Seabourn isn't very careful they will lose a lot of loyal customers.

if Seabourn isn't very careful they will lose a lot of loyal customers.

Where will they go?

That's the problem!

I would keep in mind that cruise lines such as Seabourn and Cunard would likely not be around if Seabourn didn't purchase them. They were losing money.

Also, with very few exceptions can anyone point to any cruise line that is what it was 10 to 20 years ago. They all pretty much have had to cut back in certain areas to offer competitive pricing.

At the same time I am reminded that there are amenities that are available on pretty much all ships and cruise lines that weren't available ten to twenty years ago.

Times change both at sea and on land. But given a choice would most people prefer being able to cruise Seabourn or for that matter most lines or have it the way it was which likely means that most cruise lines from years past would not be sailing today.

Keith