Live - at snail's pace- from Sojourn

I'll keep this brief as internet is awful, the worst of any cruise so far. It' has two speeds, either dead slow or down completely.

Captain is Karlo Buer, haven't seen very much of him.

CD is Sophie Tehrani.

Exec Chef de Cuisine is Jes.

The ship is in very good condition, no complaints there.

Food quality is fine, I'm not enjoying the selections at lunch in the Colonnade, there seems to be less variety than on previous cruises and the food is served lukewarm.

For the berry lovers, there have been plenty at breakfast, including a platter of good quality strawberries.

Chef Jes has been off to market in a few ports, for dinner these evening I believe there will be fresh mussels and mackerel from the market, plus a selection of French cheeses.

There are some new wines amongst the included ones, unfortunately I haven't been able to acquire a list of them.

Something is off for me. i'm not sure if it's due to this being a 7 day cruise, if the crew are just slightly jaded by now towards the end of spending a long summer on shorter Med cruises, but something is missing from previous cruises. The guest demographic is quite different also.....

Still, we're having a very enjoyable cruise, and we have 20 days on Odyssey to look forward to later this year. Hopefully that will be more like the Seabourn I like so much.

No issues with smoking, dress code appears to be being adhered to.

I'd better post this now before the internet goes down again, home on Saturday will try to answer any questions then in case I can't get back online.

Edited to add, The Restaurant, as expected, has been closed for breakfast and lunch.

Sorry to hear about lukewarm food. Have you spoken to Jes yet? Usually hes very good at fixing things.

Nigella - sorry to hear your cruise is just not quite as good as usual. We have - just occasionally - noticed perhaps just one aspect not being up to the normal standard, and tend to feel that it is because the staff in that department are not gelling and helping each other as well as usual. Sometimes this seems to be due to just one person who is not as 'nice' as everyone else.

A pity if this is the Colonnade - nothing we enjoy more than a leisurely lunch of several small courses, outdoors at the Colonnade on a lovely day. I have heard that Chef Jes is particularly good. I wonder if you have had any of the new tasting/testing dishes at dinner from Thomas Keller that have been mentioned on Odyssey?

I do think too that 7 day cruises seem a bit different than those which are a non-divisible 12 or more; a different type of passenger often.

Look forward to hearing a bit more when you are back home.

We were just about to book the 7 day Monte Carlo cruise next Sept. Thank you for your comments. Look forward to a more complete report when you are able. We are used to the longer cruises and are interested in how passengers are dressing, etc.?

We join the Odyssey tomorrow for a total of 39 days but it consists of, until the TA part, of a series of 7-day voyages so I hope we don't have the same experience you are dealing with now, but would not be surprised. Lucky you have Sophie for the CD. On prior cruises we usually saw Karlo in the Observation Bar before dinner w/ one of the other officers.

We join the Odyssey tomorrow for a total of 39 days but it consists of, until the TA part, of a series of 7-day voyages so I hope we don't have the same experience you are dealing with now, but would not be surprised. Lucky you have Sophie for the CD. On prior cruises we usually saw Karlo in the Observation Bar before dinner w/ one of the other officers.

The fall of 2011 we went on a 28 day Greek Odyssey. But it was composed of 1 week segments and we also could tell that this was not the kind of Seabourn cruise we loved. We have been on long legs of World cruises with Seabourn and everything was so different. Last year we sailed from Barcelona to Stockholm (39 days but was 2 separate cruises and many took the full 39 days) and it was the kind of Seabourn experience we love. Jes was the chef then too and he was super!

I get the idea taking a tux on one of the short med cruises would be a waste of time? Like others have said we much prefer the longer cruises.

I do wonder why people never listen to the advice of others about seven day cruises.

They are a complete waste of time and do not have the feel of a longer trip.The crew perform differently and as soon as you have unpacked it is time to pack up again and get off the ship.

Combining back to back seven day cruises is also not a good idea.

I do wonder why people never listen to the advice of others about seven day cruises.

They are a complete waste of time and do not have the feel of a longer trip.The crew perform differently and as soon as you have unpacked it is time to pack up again and get off the ship.

Combining back to back seven day cruises is also not a good idea.

Agree 100%. In fact, on any back-to-back the 'second leg' always has a different feel. But at least with a longer back-to-back you have time to get to know the other cruisers. On a 7 day port intensive cruise that is much harder.

I'm not sure this is quite the same but I like combing a 7 day plus a TA. You get the frantic oddness of a 7 day then the far more relaxed TA portion.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N915A using Tapatalk

They are a complete waste of time and do not have the feel of a longer trip.The crew perform differently and as soon as you have unpacked it is time to pack up again and get off the ship.

Agree... if I'm going to do port intensive 7 night cruises, I'll do it on a mass market line. The feel between a 7 night Seabourn cruise and a longer one is noticeable.

I agree with the comments. just back from a 7 day SS to Alaska and while a nice time, it just was not the same as a longer trip on either SB or SS. Probably not worth the money to just do 7 days on one of these lines. looking forward to 17 days out of NZ in jan. on SB.

I'm still unable to pinpoint exactly what the problem was for me on this cruise.

We travelled as guests of my parents in-law. It was their first Seabourn cruise, although they are very experienced cruisers with the other luxury lines including 500+ nights on Silversea. They were celebrating a landmark wedding anniversary and wanted to share it with their family, and so this cruise was their way to do that. They've become very disillusioned with SS this past 3 years or so and hearing their son and myself raving about Seabourn certainly made them curious to try the line.

As their guests, we had no input into cruise duration or itinerary. I do agree with the comments about 7 day cruises, and it wouldn't be my choice to take one, however I was taught from a very young age to never look a gift horse in the mouth :D

During lunch service, I didn't feel that there was as much choice of hot food in the Colonnade this time. I wonder if anyone else has noticed that since they moved the carving station from the side to the main hot service area there is one dish less to choose from at lunch?

The carving station has been replaced with a 'Caesar Salad' section, which I'm fairly certain always existed previously, albeit with the other salads.

There were several service slips - again in the Colonnade. Orders mixed up, items forgotten, and drinks service (including water) was slower than usual. My water glass was frequently empty, whereas in the past a refill would be offered immediately, this time I was having to get the attention of the crew.

And in general, the crew seemed to be unsettled.

Food in the MDR was generally very good to excellent, chef Jes as many of us know, is a genial chap who certainly knows his food. The fresh food he bought at the market in Sete was presented at the Chef's Market dinner in the Colonnade, we all dined together that evening and it was super.

Anyway, we did have an enjoyable cruise, the dear in laws had a wonderful time. They took advantage of the onboard deposit programme and while they haven't chosen a specific cruise yet, they will take a longer cruise next time.

The itinerary was very good for anyone who's done the Med several times, been to all the major ports and is ready to explore more of what the Med has to offer. There wasn't much for the history buffs though.

The ports were:

Monaco

Bonifacio, Corsica, France

Le Lavandou, France

Palamos, Spain

Sete, France

Antibes, France

Portovenere, Italy

Monaco

The cruise was called "Yachtsman's Mediterranean" and that summed up the itinerary perfectly. We enjoyed all the ports.

cwisleman, you asked about dress in respect of this being such a short cruise, as I know you take much longer cruises usually.

We didn't see any issues with people who weren't following the dress code during dinner service, let's say it was loosely adhered to, although I personally don't see the need for anyone to show up to muster drill in their bathrobe.

On Formal night very few gentlemen were wearing a tuxedo.

Sorry this is so lengthy, if I've missed any questions or points of discussion, please ask/mention again and I'll reply later.

 

You get the frantic oddness of a 7 day

This sums up the whole thing for me!

Needless to say, I've been perfectly gracious when discussing it with my in-laws, and have kept my negativity to myself, but "frantic oddness" is exactly the correct description.

 

The carving station has been replaced with a 'Caesar Salad' section, which I'm fairly certain always existed previously, albeit with the other salads.

You are correct. It used to be on the island with cheese, other salads, and dessert. There was often a traffic jam due to the location - those having a salad made were in the middle of the traffic flow of those just sampling for their plates. As a result, they'd often offer to bring your sale to the table when completed but then it meant the station would go unattended. (I'm a Caesar salad daily at lunch gal so I experienced all the traffic flow variations!)

You are correct. It used to be on the island with cheese, other salads, and dessert. There was often a traffic jam due to the location - those having a salad made were in the middle of the traffic flow of those just sampling for their plates. As a result, they'd often offer to bring your sale to the table when completed but then it meant the station would go unattended. (I'm a Caesar salad daily at lunch gal so I experienced all the traffic flow variations!)

Yes, now you mention it I remember that there was poor traffic flow in that area, so I understand why they've moved the Caesar components to a larger counter.

I'm sure that this means that there's one hot dish less on the long counter, but my husband disagreed.

There's a discussion about butter on the Thomas Keller thread.

Reading it reminded me of something that happened on Sojourn on disembarkation day and the difference between Seabourn service and Silversea service.

At breakfast on disembarkation day, I noticed that the Colonnade had run out of the (horrid) butter that had been on offer at breakfast and lunch.

This has also happened to us on Silversea on our final cruise with them. Our last two days onboard were sea days and they'd run out of butter in La Terrazza, affecting breakfast and lunch service.

Silversea handling of situation : offer only margarine to the guests. Result, disgruntled guests.

Seabourn handling of situation : crew member goes to main galley, finds real butter, cuts up into small cubes and slices, places in same location as the packaged butter is usually found.

Result, guests who notice that a little effort has been made to offer butter that morning.

And that pretty much sums up my experience of SS vs. SB.

Couldn't agree more, Nigella - and to me this also applies to the difference between Seabourn and Regent.

I wonder how you all enjoyed Portovenere?

Couldn't agree more, Nigella - and to me this also applies to the difference between Seabourn and Regent.

 

I wonder how you all enjoyed Portovenere?

We all thought that Portovenere was very charming.

We walked along the sea front area as you suggested, took a break at one point for coffee and then walked further towards the chapel.

We got about half way up but the steps did become too much for my father-in-law so we walked across the flat area to 'Byron's Cave' to admire the views of the cliffs.

We had another rest over there and then walked back via the inside street. We tasted lots of pesto and varieties of focaccia as we made our way back towards the tender area.

A Costa ship, apparently the largest in their fleet carrying almost 4000 passengers, had docked behind us in the port of La Spezia so Portovenere was very busy, but still retained its charm.

I've just read your most recent comments on Regent board, thanks again for your observations which have been very helpful.

Nigella - I do hesitate to be over critical of other lines. I think those of us who have a favourite, which we know really well, are almost certain to find things less 'easy' on another line, where we do not know all the little wrinkles of how to get the best out of it.

Having said that, I still feel that for us personally Seabourn is way ahead of Regent, particularly in the food, wine, and staffing. I know Regent aficionados will say exactly the opposite! (Though they should not unless they have tried Seabourn.)

... I know Regent aficionados will say exactly the opposite! (Though they should not unless they have tried Seabourn.)

I wonder;)

I wonder;)

It is just that there are a few Regent fans so fanatical that I don't think they could ever admit that another line (especially Seabourn) could be as good as theirs.;)

now meow I can't believe there'd be such a person.

Nigella - I do hesitate to be over critical of other lines. I think those of us who have a favourite, which we know really well, are almost certain to find things less 'easy' on another line, where we do not know all the little wrinkles of how to get the best out of it.

 

Having said that, I still feel that for us personally Seabourn is way ahead of Regent, particularly in the food, wine, and staffing. I know Regent aficionados will say exactly the opposite! (Though they should not unless they have tried Seabourn.)

After I read a post some time ago where you mentioned you were trying Regent again after a few years' break I'd been very keen to know your experiences with them.

I thought your observations were very astute and came across as fair and balanced.

Incidentally, we only noticed the smell of smoke once on Sojourn last week, and that was on deck 7 in the outdoor area where it's permitted.

Who was the hotel manager on your cruise Nigella