New friends and familiar faces

Just back from another fantastic cruise on Seabourn. We were on the Sojourn (Monte Carlo roundtrip) and met other CCers (Frantic, 2sailingnomads, Dafne). Along with our new friends, there were many familiar faces both crew and fellow passengers. You just don't have that anywhere else.

The cruise itself was very short. Due to family obligations we were lucky to squeeze this 7 day escape in to our vacation schedule and was worth every minute. As always there were mostly highlights with very few lowlights. There were a few improvements since our last sailing, mostly in the food department. We noticed an upgrade in the breakfast pastries, the ice cream as well as the plated desserts. The dinner menu has been slightly scaled down which has allowed them to fine tune the dishes (IMO). I also noticed a couple of servers from Mauritius Island, bravo Seabourn for this diversity, I think they are truly sincere, friendly and service oriented (and speak french).

Where they have back pedaled a little bit is with the mini tapas buffet in the Observation Lounge. I had read in a recent post that the buffet has been done away with due to health reasons. I'm guessing that is due to lack of refrigeration where the buffet was displayed. The solution to bring little plates to the guests is a good one, however they are too complicated and potentially messy to actually enjoy and most go uneaten.

Another disappointment was lunch. I have mentioned several times in the past that I strongly miss having the MDR open for lunch. On our last cruise in 2015 they had set up tables in the Restaurant 2 at lunch for passengers like us who do not enjoy the movement in the Colonnade. It was a reasonable solution and appeared to be a success. On this cruise it was not an option.

Where I would say there is still room for improvement would be the coffee. The suggestion of offering an in cabin Nespresso machine as a club benefit has been brought up before. That would make me very happy, but in the meantime a quick solution would be to set one up in the Observation Lounge with self service.

I would also suggest having the trainees wear a uniform that somehow identifies them. It is easier to tolerate mistakes from staff in training.

Lastly, I would like to see a third tender added during peak hours.

These are all just little details of course. But little details are what sets Seabourn apart from the other "luxury lines".

Happy cruising everyone, and stay safe.

Les Picantins,

Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts on the cruise. I am glad that while there were a few issues that put you off overall you had a wonderful cruise. And I loved how titled it New Friends and Familiar Faces because to us that is the essence of what keeps us returning to Seabourn -- the people -- both the crew and our fellow passengers.

I love the feedback. I too love the old and new friends and get excited now as a returner to see who I will know. I'm always pleasantly surprised when a crew member remembers me... either they have incredible memories or they have a top-notch CRM system. (Since I know a tiny bit about their CRM I'm going to guess it is both!)

It seems like the MDR issue for breakfast/lunch continues to plague the shorter more post-intensive cruises. I'm going to be very curious to see what they do on the 10-night wine cruise in the fall. It would seem strange that they'd limit options on a sailing that was especially marketed to the food and wine crowd but nothing surprises me anymore. I think it would be wise for Seabourn to articulate a clear and consistent policy on MDR opening times. If it will always be closed for breakfast and/or lunch on port days or on cruises of 7 nights or less, they should state that.

Les Picantins - it was wonderful to get to know you & your very significant other, I wish we could be having a drink together at the OB right now!!! I agree with your observations especially about the MDR not being open for anything except dinner - and that particular cruise being too short :mad:

I totally agree with how great it is to get back onboard and have 20+ of the crew on the first day remember you. And if you treat them with common respect they do honestly remember you, and not use a CRM system. The never before seen people like the "Hostess" and others you've not sailed with will study the pictures of pax to try to learn your name, but if you have sailed with and interacted with most of the crew they never forget you, they not only know your name but what cruise you were both on, that is not from a CRM, rather it is an amazing aspect of sailing with Seabourn.

You make a good point about the name badge, that would definitely allow people (although not all given some behavior we observed) be more lenient towards the trainees. And I agree about the 3rd tender, on several cruises last year they did run 3. They should figure out, and based on the individual cruise and demographics the times will vary, the peak demand hours and launch a 3rd during that time.