Just Off Sojourn

DH and I have just spent 21 wonderful days on Sojourn, Hong Kong to Hong Kong. We chose this itinerary because we had not been to Japan before and we were not disappointed. The ship was full (not sure of exact numbers because there were several solos) and only 14 first timers - Seabourn must be doing something right!

Smoking - I can honestly say, I didn't smell cigarette smoke anywhere on board except on the clothes of a waiter in MDR. We do not go to OB after dinner so I don't know if it was a problem there or not. There were 2 gentlemen who insisted on smoking whilst walking on tour (they always picked the same tours as us) but if you could walk in front of them, it didn't matter that much.

Block Party - yes we had one and we decided to opt out. The problem was people seemed to love it and they congregated outside our room. We were locked in! We kept looking through the peep hole to see when it was safe to come out - it went on for ever. We were left feeling very guilty that we didn't join in.

Kids - none on board - the longer the cruise the older the passengers. It was an older but fun loving crowd.

Food - it is my firm belief, TK menus are an expensive mistake. I tried 4 main courses in MDR and all were returned uneaten. The worst was a slow cooked salmon - 8 out 10 people on our table chose it and no one ate it. The texture was like mashed potato - most unpleasant. Ad Hoc in Colonnade was ok but no better than the normal fare. No sign of the Napa burger - the "missing" ingredient was never found! Half way through the cruise, TK menus were no longer offered. It appears, the chef (who will remain nameless because he is not here to defend himself) was suddenly replaced by a chef who didn't cook TK. It was lovely to get back to normal.

Booking in the Colonnade is nothing more than a nuisance. After several complaints, the wording in the Herald went from Reservations Required to Reservations Recommend. It didn't help much because we were turned away twice.

Ports were fantastic but security in this area has become a nightmare. We had face to face inspections (some at the top of the gangway and then again at the bottom of the gangway), fingerprints taken, photos taken, and our temperatures scanned. In some ports we had to carry our passports, a photocopy of our passports, another photo ID and ship ID. We were even filmed by an officer whilst standing in a queue.

Ports of call - Hualien Taiwan, Taipei Taiwan, Okinawa Japan, Kobe Japan, Hiroshima Japan, Nagasaki Japan, Busan South Korea, Shanghai China, Zhujiajian China, Xiamen China and back into Hong Kong.

We went on the ships tours which were very good but also very long. Most were all day (6 - 7 hours) and one we did was 10 hours. This ended up being over 11 hours due to traffic problems. We were welcomed back by crew and trays of Bailleys and hot chocolate - only on Seabourn! We were in Shanghai for 3 days and as we had been there before, we took the overnight tour to Hangzhou. It was a wonderful experience - somehow the guide managed to get 34 of us on and off the high speed train in 2 minutes!

We loved this trip but Seabourn is changing. In my opinion, silly little things and maybe I'm the only one who notices or even cares but for instance, the Hermes soap is smaller, the Molten Brown farewell gift is smaller, the salad course in MDR has gone, not as many staff in Colonnade, fruit of the day in the suite has gone etc. - there is a lot of competition out there, I hope they don't slip behind them.

........very much for the review.

I am hoping that by September (when we board) TK will be in the de-cendance. Some friends have just left Odyssey did not fancy TK at all.

You obviously had a good Seabourn time, despite the little irritations you mention. The most annoying one looks like it was the security, and there is not much to be done about that is there?

J

Thanks for your report.

Thanks for the review - nice to hear you enjoyed the cruise and the destinations.

Food - it is my firm belief, TK menus are an expensive mistake. I tried 4 main courses in MDR and all were returned uneaten. The worst was a slow cooked salmon - 8 out 10 people on our table chose it and no one ate it. The texture was like mashed potato - most unpleasant.

That's pretty bad, I don't think I've ever had to send a meal back on Seabourn, although we have had a couple, mostly during one or other theme night in the colonnade, which were really nothing like the description on the menu.

I had a hope that if the TK special menus, which to me always sounded like a complete gimmick, failed, Seabourn would quickly reconsider and scrap the whole project; however I suspect having started it, they are going to continue it. At this point I don't expect we'll be trying any of the TK fare on our summer cruise.

the salad course in MDR has gone

No!! Really?? Can I still get my caesar salad if I ask for it or am I going to have to pre-order it 24 hours ahead, which I'll do if I blooming well have to?

 

 

We loved this trip but Seabourn is changing. In my opinion, silly little things and maybe I'm the only one who notices or even cares but for instance, the Hermes soap is smaller, the Molten Brown farewell gift is smaller, the salad course in MDR has gone, not as many staff in Colonnade, fruit of the day in the suite has gone etc. - there is a lot of competition out there, I hope they don't slip behind them.

Thanks for your report. Our best SB cruises have been on Sojourn so I'm always interested to read up to date reviews.

It's been 3 months since our last SB cruise and I'd been hoping the TK situation would have settled by now. Sounds as if many guests still aren't enjoying it.

I noticed similar changes on our most recent cruise (which was on Odyssey), it's definitely not just you.

No!! Really?? Can I still get my caesar salad if I ask for it or am I going to have to pre-order it 24 hours ahead, which I'll do if I blooming well have to?

Caesar salad is still available every single night. We've also seen other salads on the appetizer menu most nights.

You can still have a salad course any night you want. Heck, you can divide your Restaurant meal into 5 or 6 separate courses if you like. Just because the menu isn't divided the way it used to be does not affect how you can order it.

Thank you for your trip review. We visited China many years ago and the security [from temperatures to face-to-face & multiple inspections] was in effect although it may have been upped considering 'our world'.

TK's Per Se in NYC is receiving some shaky reviews after years of being top dog. Frankly, most of what passengers have shared, except for the foie gras

& burger, sounds too successful or exciting. I imagine that TK is a contract [but don't know] and he appears in their newer brochures, so I am suspecting that he is here to stay.

I am sorry to learn of the cutbacks. 'Tis' a puzzlement since SB became successful because of these touches along with their service. I never understand why a company cutbacks on what has worked for them. No salad course is going to bother a lot of people and makes no sense. Cutting service staff in the Colonnade makes it more of a cafeteria...and I wonder whether smaller soaps don't just make you request more of same.

Joc123 You mentioned that whilst the wording in the Herald re reservation in the colonnade was changed from needed to recommended you were turned away on two occasions - do you know whether this was because there were no free tables or because there had insufficient staff there. I have never experienced that on past cruises.

Joc123 You mentioned that whilst the wording in the Herald re reservation in the colonnade was changed from needed to recommended you were turned away on two occasions - do you know whether this was because there were no free tables or because there had insufficient staff there. I have never experienced that on past cruises.

I was told that they can only have a certain number each night because of TK menus - "everything has to be fresh". When I questioned if that was possible on a ship I was then told "we have to follow orders". I get the feeling the crew aren't happy about it either. Seems to me, things are changing to accommodate something that is not working. With so many repeat passengers on board I'm glad they listened to the grumbles and replaced the chef. They must know it is not working but what can they do? We were told TK has a 4 year contract!

Caesar salad is still available every single night. We've also seen other salads on the appetizer menu most nights.

 

You can still have a salad course any night you want. Heck, you can divide your Restaurant meal into 5 or 6 separate courses if you like. Just because the menu isn't divided the way it used to be does not affect how you can order it.

I did order a green salad with my main course every night - on 3 occasions it didn't arrive, each time it was when we were with other people so I didn't mention it. Caesar salad is available every night but I don't like it - too much dressing. On this trip I don't remember salad being offered as an appetiser - happy to be corrected if I'm wrong.

More about the salad situation- I did like the TK salad on the Ad Hoc night in the Colonnade. We were with a number of people and I was the last to be served and there wasn't much left. Seems other people liked it too. My advice, make sure you get the plate first.

I did order a green salad with my main course every night - on 3 occasions it didn't arrive, each time it was when we were with other people so I didn't mention it. Caesar salad is available every night but I don't like it - too much dressing. On this trip I don't remember salad being offered as an appetiser - happy to be corrected if I'm wrong.

I think on my trip the Caesar had migrated to the "always available" portion of the menu. But maybe I'm remembering, it was hard to see past all the beef options.:(

We loved this trip but Seabourn is changing. In my opinion, silly little things and maybe I'm the only one who notices or even cares but for instance, the Hermes soap is smaller, the Molten Brown farewell gift is smaller, the salad course in MDR has gone, not as many staff in Colonnade, fruit of the day in the suite has gone etc. - there is a lot of competition out there, I hope they don't slip behind them.

The smaller soap may be due to the distributor, but I really thought the in room fruit bowl was a big waste as there is so much food all over the ship that we barely ever touched it. I imagine they realized that others weren't touching it and was leading to lots of waste.

Joc123,

Thank you for taking the time to post your impressions of your cruise. I am glad your overall impression was that you loved the trip even with the issues. I have only sailed on the

Odyssey class ships twice -- the last times was over two years ago. And even then while we enjoyed ourselves I did feel there numerous little things that made me feel they were trying to wean long times Seabourn cruisers such as ourselves from how things were done on the little ships. Things like no table side prep of certain dishes, not letting you sign up for Shopping With the Chef when you board (and in fact being unwilling to let you know which port), and making it difficult to secure a printed copy of the house wines. Staff who had been used to saying "yes" to most reasonable requests after having started on the little ships were noticeably a bit frustrated. I had hoped that Seabourn would stop introducing these changes but it appears from your post (and those of other recent cruisers) that they continue to make these little changes (perhaps hoping we won't notice?). What they seem to be forgetting is at some point Seabourn will cease being Seabourn distinct from other luxury cruise lines and will lose loyal clientele to those lines. I hope I am wrong and will certainly be observant on our upcoming June cruise.

The smaller soap may be due to the distributor, but I really thought the in room fruit bowl was a big waste as there is so much food all over the ship that we barely ever touched it. I imagine they realized that others weren't touching it and was leading to lots of waste.

The problem with the fruit is that the passengers rooms are used as storage. Not quite ready fruit gets left in the room an about the time it's actually good to eat it disappears. At least that's been my experience.

The problem with the fruit is that the passengers rooms are used as storage. Not quite ready fruit gets left in the room an about the time it's actually good to eat it disappears. At least that's been my experience.

There is no way they are serving the fruit that was once in the guest rooms.

I hope no cruise line does that. I highly doubt they would store fruit in a cabin:eek:

There is no way they are serving the fruit that was once in the guest rooms.

Pure coincidence then;)

/I'm not saying for certain they're using passenger rooms for storage, I just find it hard to believe that unripe fruit would be put in the passenger rooms and then right when its actually ripe it gets removed. It seems like a massive waste.

We board the Odyssey for a month in five days. I hate hearing about the cutbacks, but having experienced them on both Seabourn cruises I took last year, I'm prepared for whatever new is presented.

I really missed the buffet. The lame excuse about it being a health issue, was just that.....an excuse.

I also missed the food in the Observation lounge pre dinner....

They were Beta testing the TK menus in October, I'm hoping they've got it down by this point, six months later

There were plates of canapés being doled out by the crew in Jan/Feb on Odyssey in the Observation lounge pre-dinner.

There were plates of canapés being doled out by the crew in Jan/Feb on Odyssey in the Observation lounge pre-dinner.

Yes but it used to be there was a small buffet of roughly a dozen or so items that you could help yourself to. Guacamole, salsa, smoked salmon, olives,various cheese, etc., a subset of what a wait person will now bring you.

Food at Afternoon Tea is now brought around on a tray. I prefer it this way but others didn't.

The fruit can be provided. Just ask for the actual fruit you would prefer. No wastage. Simple.

My beloved hated being served food on Oceania as he loved being able to help himself on Seabourn.

However, from an infection control point of view the staff serving is understandable - anything that is left out can be sneezed on, picked up, tasted and put down or touched with hands that have just been in unmentionable places and not washed :eek:

Kevinzworld,

You say "it's just an excuse". An excuse for what? Are you certain that the catering budget for the OB has been slashed and that no one wants to admit it?

Let's be rational. The need to establish better safeguards for food in the bar is ongoing and it has been justified to me, at least, by Guenther. And as you have just read plates of the same food is being delivered to those who want it. Seems like there's no reason to be cynical about the matter.

Happy sailing!