Seabourn Quest 19 days ex Dover 1 May - mostly re-assuring

Here’s a few notes about our 19 days on Quest, 1 May exDover-Copenhagen-St.Petersburg-Stockholm.

First, a reassuring experience in terms of the nature of thecrew. Following some recent posts wewere a little apprehensive about the possible dilution of the experience. Without exception they were outgoing, friendlyand efficient, and a major change of crew/turnover in Copenhagen did not alterthat perception. Many were new orrecent Seabourn recruits, but good mentoring by their longer-term corecolleagues encouraged them to develop the familiar SB characteristics.

CD Jim Cannon was highly visible, always enthusiastic andresponsive. He and other officers led andmotivated their teams throughout. AndF&B Manager generated a lovely Seabourn Moment for us – a corridorconversation about cheeses resulted in a surprise delivery of lovely Norwegianmorsels to our suite just ten minutes later.

The food throughout was excellent – better than on any ofour four previous SB cruises. TK Grillhas a new Maitre – Dushan from Croatia, he is a great communicator and runs thewhole restaurant with an easy efficiency. Old favourites remain on the menu, with some outstanding new dishes suchas a vibrantly fresh Jerusalem Artichoke with a tangy garlic lemonaccompaniment, and a soft, buttery sole filet expertly disassembled at thetable. There is no pressure to buyrevenue wines, and when ordering a cognac which was chargeable I was gentlyadvised that they could supply an equally satisfying alternative at nocost. The receptionist here (such alsoworks the MDR desk) is a warm and efficient person, who will try hard fit youin for additional reservations if she can.

MDR service is faultless, and the effective teamwork gives arelaxing and efficient experience. Severalof the Maitres/Assistants are real stars, particularly the giant SerbianDamir. For us fish cookery is a test of anyrestaurant – a few seconds can make the difference. We tried a fish option many nights, includingseveral types with strange names – all glisteningly perfect. Deserts included asoft, gently poached Isle Flottant, and the cheese selection was always at thecorrect temperature, often featuring some unusual Scandinavian examples. We commend the selection of breads, each witha character and texture to remember. A particularly memorable evening wasprovided by Executive Chef Jes Paskins’ six or seven course signature dish menu,ranging from gravadlax (with avocado and a bit of gentle chili pep, roastgarlic and lime mayonnaise) through a faultless roast garlic soup, throughTournedo Rossini (suitable foie-grased and truffled) to a chocolate surprise (asecret – go for it, it is ‘surprising’.) We even managed a fresh cheese plate too… TK dishes often appeared as inserts on the dinner menu - we tried several, with the vegetarian ones being light, fresh and as original as can be. A few words don't do them justice-just try.

The interior of the Colonnade was often busy owing to the low temperatureoutside on the rear terrace. However,it’s worth braving the initial chill as the heaters prove quite efficient. You also get Brownie Points from staff and fellow pax for bravery. The usual mix of theme evenings provided aninteresting Scottish event out on the bouncy North Sea, with the best haggis we’vehad in years. We doused this in ten year old Talisker whisky – just as itshould be served in Scotland. The teamof chefs on Colonnade are visible, outgoing and love feedback.

In our perception, the base wine list has improved inquality and quantity. There are a coupleof 94/95 pointers featured – Pinotage Golden Triangle 2012 (or 2013?) ruby colourwith wonderful warmth; and then Coyam 2013, which we think has a very fullfinish and complexity resulting from a blend of syrah, carmenere, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, mourvedreand Malbec! There’s several sauvignonblancs and chardonnays from Old and New World (see the list kindly posted onthe previous Quest thread). TheSommelier team is responsive and enthusiastic, and we found our previousfavourites/choices appearing automatically.

Entertainment isthe usual SB mix, this time with great classical pianists and an amazingClarinet based jazz group The Virtuosos. Sadly, John the talented Observation bar pianist and singer was drownedout several nights by a group of loud and boorish passengers who drank solidly and monopolised bar stools. Because this was somethingof a detracting feature from an otherwise great cruise I’m posting a separatethread on this theme.

A weaker area overall wasthe decidedly poor value of most SB excursions. As example, we took to the internet and in St Petersburg arranged ourselvesa three day package of individual guide, a/c limo, negotiated and flexible itineraryfrom USD 590pp a day – way below SB’s individual package, and almost as cheapas SB’s group excursions. Similarly, wetook a local excursion in Stavanger, almost identical to SB’s for around 40% ofthe costs. In several ports, especiallyTallinn, there was no signage or timetable for the Shuttle bus at either end. In Copenhagen, the Square had incorrectinformation about the bus and there was no sign for it at the port exit doors.SB staff there couldn’t tell us its departure point! We eventually saw it zoom out from a farawaydeparture point, running 10 minutes early! Luckily, CD Jim Cannon rectified our problemby rapidly calling us a complimentary taxi. But again, its alleged departure point in the city had no SB sign orinformation so we took a taxi as return.

Suite standard andservice remained good, but we found the ‘new’ soap to be goo-ey and lacking inscent. That said, our suite lady foundsome better choices – so remember to ask. A further point, which will no doubt please the bean counters – there’sno longer a SB pad and pen in the suite. Little things maybe, but cutting corners has its effect on perceptionsof ‘luxury’.

Hope this is useful– basically all was very good on the crew/staff side and with food, beverage,restaurants. But please take a glanceat my separate posting on loud loutish drunks…

Sorry about the poor formatting on this post - tried to edit but my ICT skills can't manage it. Basically the italicised section should not be so.

We were also on the same cruise and have to agree with everything already said. The staff were all great and we look forward to rejoining the Quest in Copenhagen in a few days.

Very glad you enjoyed your cruise despite the problems with a few unpleasant passengers. The Baltic cruises are really excellent with so many outstanding ports to visit. Thank you for the review.

I'm gutted Chef Jes is on the Quest - can someone please send him back to the Odyssey by July? I had heard he was running the Colonnade on the Encore.

Huh? Jes is here on the sojourn right now.

I'm gutted Chef Jes is on the Quest - can someone please send him back to the Odyssey by July? I had heard he was running the Colonnade on the Encore.

Huh? Jes is here on the sojourn right now.

The menu sheet I have in front of me as reminder from the early days of the cruise is headed "Chef's Dinner. Please enjoy signature dishes prepared by our Executive Chef de cuisine Jes Paskins."

Whether he was onboard or not, the food was great!

Jozi,

Really? Great news!!! Your job is to make sure he stays on the Sojourn through our July cruise. ( sorry Techno -- shall we draw straws over him ?)

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Jozi,

Really? Great news!!! Your job is to make sure he stays on the Sojourn through our July cruise. ( sorry Techno -- shall we draw straws over him ?)

 

 

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And all the way through to the august cruises!

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Chef Jes left the Quest during this cruise, he was replaced by a German chef Andre. We noticed no change in the quality of the excellent food.

And all the way through to the august cruises!

 

 

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Noooooooo - we want him - can we do a King Solomon :D:D

To clarify- he came on board May 11 in Kobe. (Perhaps via transporter beam? :-). ). Served up some wonderful sushimi from northern Japan.

Huh? Jes is here on the sojourn right now.

Maybe they cloned him? If not I definitely think they should then we don't have to resort to Techno's drastic measures.

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