Making a Big Leap

We have been sailing Crystal for almost 28 years and have alway been interested in Seabourn since when the triplets were around but they seemed a bit too small for us. After talking to people that sail both lines they have reassured us we will love Seabourn. We understand the shows are not as splashy as Crystal but they are redundant to us. Our next sailing will be on Crystal in February from Valparaiso to BA Antarctica.

Looking forward, we have booked and decided on the Encore V7785 in October and this will be our newbie voyage with Seabourners. What do we like that Crystal does not offer open dining and Crystal is doing that in the next few months by eliminating cabins and bringing the capacity to 750 guests. What we do like about the new Encore and the soon to be Ovation is that they offer more dining venues and alfresco dining under the stars and from what I hear movies under the stars. So the Encore as I understand will have more alternatives i.e. five venues for dining and I understand that R2 is only open for dinner. The Encore will feature a new Asian/Sushi restaurant for lunch and dinner. Music and dancing under the stars....Crystal does not offer any evening dining outside. Also looking at the video, the Encore will have a state of the art spa and gym which I use.

Oh, I love Caviar and being able to not be forced to a buffet at anytime unless we want to partake. We love to gamble and the more intimate Casino works for us. We booked the WG suite which looks devine. At least we know the interior sq feet and the balcony sq feet as Crystal is a total of both balcony and interior so you really don't know the interior dimensions. So for us Seabourn has new ships and Crystal will not introduce a new one until 2022. Too long for us to wait for them to get their promised act together.

What we were told is that the crew is exemplary and on a par with Crystal. We love Crystal but it really is getting long in the tooth for us and time to move on. Hopefully Seabourn will be our new home away from home.

We hope to make new friends and still keep our old long time friends from Crystal.

Sorry, I am all over the map with my musings and comments. I hope that we will be welcomed as newbies and we look so much forward to sailing the Encore and Ovation when the schedules come out.

One last comment, we have sailed SS and Regent but just did not meet our expectations and we are not demanding at all...very laid back and approachable guys.

Cheers

Miles

Posted On Seabourn as well.

Wow, you sure have done your homework! Am sure you are going to have a grand cruise. Enjoy!

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We have been sailing Crystal for almost 28 years and have alway been interested in Seabourn since when the triplets were around but they seemed a bit too small for us. After talking to people that sail both lines they have reassured us we will love Seabourn. We understand the shows are not as splashy as Crystal but they are redundant to us. Our next sailing will be on Crystal in February from Valparaiso to BA Antarctica.

 

Looking forward, we have booked and decided on the Encore V7785 in October and this will be our newbie voyage with Seabourners. What do we like that Crystal does not offer open dining and Crystal is doing that in the next few months by eliminating cabins and bringing the capacity to 750 guests. What we do like about the new Encore and the soon to be Ovation is that they offer more dining venues and alfresco dining under the stars and from what I hear movies under the stars. So the Encore as I understand will have more alternatives i.e. five venues for dining and I understand that R2 is only open for dinner. The Encore will feature a new Asian/Sushi restaurant for lunch and dinner. Music and dancing under the stars....Crystal does not offer any evening dining outside. Also looking at the video, the Encore will have a state of the art spa and gym which I use.

 

Oh, I love Caviar and being able to not be forced to a buffet at anytime unless we want to partake. We love to gamble and the more intimate Casino works for us. We booked the WG suite which looks devine. At least we know the interior sq feet and the balcony sq feet as Crystal is a total of both balcony and interior so you really don't know the interior dimensions. So for us Seabourn has new ships and Crystal will not introduce a new one until 2022. Too long for us to wait for them to get their promised act together.

 

What we were told is that the crew is exemplary and on a par with Crystal. We love Crystal but it really is getting long in the tooth for us and time to move on. Hopefully Seabourn will be our new home away from home.

 

We hope to make new friends and still keep our old long time friends from Crystal.

 

Sorry, I am all over the map with my musings and comments. I hope that we will be welcomed as newbies and we look so much forward to sailing the Encore and Ovation when the schedules come out.

 

One last comment, we have sailed SS and Regent but just did not meet our expectations and we are not demanding at all...very laid back and approachable guys.

 

Cheers

Miles

 

Posted On Seabourn as well.

OMG the WG suite is to die for. Blows CP away. Order caviar whilst getting ready for dinner. Heavenly! Of course the Thomas Keller resto is awesome also and there is no charge for it.

I've gone back to Seabourn also. There is no perfect cruiseline and I wish I could pull some things from Crystal (enrichment, magic Castle, library and DVD library) and add it to Seabourn and I'd never get off. I personally dont like the interactive tv on Seabourn and love the many many choice of DVDs on Crystal, Seabourn has improved the enrichment and not having a 20 minute magic show on Seabourn is not a deal breaker LOL so Seabourn it is. I also have a SS cruise booked. You will be very welcomed. The guests on Seabourn are lovely and I still have friends I visit with in England and these are friends I made 11 years ago while cruising on the little Legend.

We have just booked our 3rd SB cruise, because we loved and have no real complaints from our 2 others. We used the gym area extensively. The classes run by the trainers were great and after the first couple of days, it was like having a personal trainer as rarely were there other attendees. We used the kinesis wall with the trainer and liked it, something different to being at home.

I will be surprised if you don't enjoy it as we have.

Good for you, Miles. As much as we love Crystal, we've considered trying Seabourn. I'll look forward to hearing how it works for you.

Thanks for the reminders about Crystal which I have never taken seriously.

I mean, really... no open seating and no outdoor dining? Might as well be on Cunard where cruising in warm waters is a compromise when you know there are alternatives. Fine for transatlantics though.

We are 4 days from Oman having departed Aqaba yesterday. Warm, beautiful weather. Oh, and last night we did enjoy a film under the stars and after Thanksgiving turkey.

Welcome to Seabourn!

and I meant it...it was the worst ship we had on Seabourn (gone now) and you have the best, the new one. There is nothing not to like about Seabourn. The one thing I didn't like was being loaded in to a theatre before you could get to your cabin, but someone said they don't do that any more. The bread sticks and the hamburgers were THE BEST, and caviar, yum!

You will like it. I did miss the butler some, but they do a real good job.

We had the most interesting guests with us.

It was a wonderful cruise.

Be calm...it will be all good.

A Crystal cruise to Antarctica? Really??? The golden rule is never go on a ship with more than 100 passengers to Antarctica. I think maybe the Seabourn Quest with 450 might just be OK if you are prepared to compromise a bit on the experience . . . but a Crystal ship?

Whoops, I see I neglected to say that we are on Seabourn Sojourn now en route to Dubai. Just terrific food and beverage service and ambience. I cannot crow enough about Captain Tim Roberts and Hotel Director Jason Gelineau. And about crowing and/or gobbling, we all downed 18 turkeys yesterday at our Thanksgiving dinners served in the MDR and Colonnade!

Happy and healthy cruising!

A Crystal cruise to Antarctica? Really??? The golden rule is never go on a ship with more than 100 passengers to Antarctica. I think maybe the Seabourn Quest with 450 might just be OK if you are prepared to compromise a bit on the experience . . . but a Crystal ship?

This will be our third trip to Antarctica on Crystal and we loved it however the ship has no zodiacs to take guests also the ships size may be too large to get close to the landing areas.

I agree a small expedition ship is ideal that is what we did in the Galapagos. Excursions were available out of Ushuaia by air but they usually get cancelled due to weather as ours was three times.

I viewed a great video of the Quest in Antarctica taking guests ashore in zodiacs playing with the penguins. I was kicking myself for not knowing about this. I guess when Crystal builds their mega yacht (who knows when) it will have the capability of sailing both poles.

Welcome Miles,

I hope you enjoy trying out Seabourn. I know I am a cheerleader for Seabourn but I am willing to admit it doesn't always run perfectly. However we keep coming back. We did try Crystal but it didn't work for us. I hope Seabourn will be able to give you an extra cruise line to sail on.

We enjoy many aspects of Seabourn especially the crew who we find try to make your cruise enjoyable. Sometimes that can be a problem if the dining staff are new. That's one joy with open dining you can talk to the Maitre d' or hostess and move to a different section when next you dine.

Julie

and I meant it...it was the worst ship we had on Seabourn (gone now) and you have the best, the new one. There is nothing not to like about Seabourn. The one thing I didn't like was being loaded in to a theatre before you could get to your cabin, but someone said they don't do that any more. The bread sticks and the hamburgers were THE BEST, and caviar, yum!

 

You will like it. I did miss the butler some, but they do a real good job.

 

We had the most interesting guests with us.

 

It was a wonderful cruise.

 

Be calm...it will be all good.

Caroldoll, you have heard correctly about the difference at embarkation for Odyssey class ships. Now after embarkation you can go to the Colonnade for lunch and wait there. Or you can go to Seabourn Square or the pool area for drinks while you wait. I think but I can't guarantee you can also get lunch at the Patio Grill by the pool. We usually get onboard late after lunch ashore so I can't remember.

What you experienced was only on the small ships which are no longer with Seabourn.

Julie

You are correct frantic36, you can have lunch at the Patio Grill also on embarkation day. We've done it on our last several cruises.

Another vote here for the staff/crew on Seabourn, Suite Travels.

We cannot compare staff with Crystal, as we have never sailed Crystal, but have done multiple sailings in past years with Silversea and Regent. The big difference you will find is in the type of staff employed by the different lines. The staff you meet regularly on Seabourn, in the bars, restaurants and housekeeping, are recruited from almost all over the world; many from South Africa, all of Europe, east and west, South America, The Caribbean and the UK etc. All speak excellent English, and are personable and happy to chat with passengers. I can't say the same for Regent or Silversea.

There have been a few glitches in the past couple of months, as management sent many more experienced staff over to Encore, and there were too many new recruits at once, but this situation seems to be resolving quite quickly, from posts one reads.

Re Antarctica, we have not done this with Seabourn, but they do not completely fill the ship, and comments are generally very favourable on being able to go ashore in zodiacs etc.

I would like to think you have made the right choice - you have certainly done your research!

I am perusing the upcoming itineraries.

Enjoy your new adventure. Seabourn looks wonderful.

Thank you lincslady, as with anything new a hotel, house, ship, car you are bound to find some issues that eventually get worked out. I remember the Serenity having many issues on their maiden voyage. I am sure by the time we board all will be just fine. So looking forward to this sailing.

Enjoy your new adventure. Seabourn looks wonderful.

Kim, it really is something to look forward to in October. We just have one cruise left in February and the rest will be land trips to fill in our time. We again plan Africa and a trip to Thailand and attend a cooking school.

When I retired I thought I would be bored to death but no I am still checking off that bucket list now that I have the time to travel on my own terms.

Kim, it really is something to look forward to in October. We just have one cruise left in February and the rest will be land trips to fill in our time. We again plan Africa and a trip to Thailand and attend a cooking school.

 

 

 

When I retired I thought I would be bored to death but no I am still checking off that bucket list now that I have the time to travel on my own terms.

Cooking in Thailand! How nice. I am looking forward to retirement and many adventures as well...but duty still calls in the classroom. Lol.

I am more and more fascinated by options in Africa as well. I suspect it will become a favorite destination.

Let us know what you think of Seabourn when you get back. Anxious to here your point of view.

I thought I would share this beautiful video of the Quest in Antarctica. If you have not been it is a must do.

http://www.avidcruiser.com/2015/02/22/video-antarctica-seabourn-quest/

Suite Travels - I was actually meaning the recent glitches have been with the current ships -so many experienced staff have been sent to Encore it should be perfect from the word go!!

Which is, of course, quite soon now. I hope all on board will find it wonderful, even during the 'maiden' period before the official inaugural. And I have a good feeling that it will be.

A Crystal cruise to Antarctica? Really??? The golden rule is never go on a ship with more than 100 passengers to Antarctica. I think maybe the Seabourn Quest with 450 might just be OK if you are prepared to compromise a bit on the experience . . . but a Crystal ship?

Having been on the Quest in Antarctica & South Georgia last season over Christmas & New Years I have to say that for us there was no compromise on the experience.

Have a great trip. I do no believe you should be tied to one line just because it's the one you always take. New ships offer a lot.

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Suite Travels - welcome to Seabourn! It is the closest cruiseline I have found to "perfect", and I have experienced almost every one. The staff are wonderful and keen to please. The passengers are usually friendly, well travelled, interesting and a pleasure to spend time with. The ships are new and just the right size for me. We have an Encore cruise booked for next year, but an Odyssey cruise awaits first in the Caribbean! If you are thinking of doing Antarctica again, try Seabourn, it really was one of the absolute highlights of my extensive travelling life. I am sure your "Big Leap" will be a great decision!

Well a number of us from Crystal will be very interested to hear of your experience

Although I think based on this poll on alternate lines Crystal customers are considering and comments in the thread @ http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2420522&page=8 that many will not be waiting for your comments before jumping ship to lines with new ships.

Seabourn is top of the alternatives list in the poll and the new Encore product looks very tempting