johng75370

Checked my phone and had downloaded The Club menu from April on Ovation. Here’s what they were showing at that point: Remy Martin VSOP Frapin VSOP Hennessy VSOP Courvoisier VSOP Armagnac Cles Des Ducs VSOP Along with the usual complement of 5 single malt scotchs and 4 bourbons.

If you mean Explora for sharing with others the wine we brought, no. We just chalked it up to them being new and the staff not being trained properly. Explora is a good cruise option for shorter voyages, but OMG their included wines are really cheap, and their premium wines are incredibly expensive (from our perspective). Over time I hope they sort it out, but the two sailings we've had with them really made us appreciate Seabourn for details like this.

Personally, I’m thinking the percent of passengers who care about their wines and spirits is pretty high (maybe a quarter to half), and the worse the wine quality is the more people will bring their own. Let SB deal with keeping track who brought what, and where to store all the wine suitcases. We typically bring a special bottle or two also but may need to up that. At least Seabourn handles wines well; the Caymus Special Selection we brought onboard Explora was “generously” shared by the waiter with other tables as he thought it was just one of their included wines 😮 We’ve done three SB sailings in the past 12 months, and all of them had “typical” wine lists - nothing like the Encore list. If anything, they were slightly better than usual. I’m still hoping the Encore list was an abberation, and the only real issue here is the downgrade of cognac. Fingers crossed.

I’ve gotten it from Seabourn Square. They will print out a copy for you (not sure why they don’t have a stack preprinted). That usually works; have never found success asking cabin attendant or a sommelier.

FWIW, here is the wine list from Odyssey in Alaska in early July; much different than what @galeforce9 posted from Encore (mostly to the positive). I know there is some region-to-region variation, but the difference in these lists between Odyssey in July and Encore in August is not good for Seabourn maintaining their brand reputation. Seabourn should really drop the "fine wines" labelling, and let people decide for themselves if it suits their tastes and is worth coming back to in the future. On Odyssey in July we were happy with the included list overall, and had some that would be right in line with what we have at home. But we don't think of our typical wine at home as "fine wine" in any sense.

They should see it on their boarding pass in the Seabourn Source app, or on page 3 of the final docs they can download from the SB website. I think for most voyages now the boarding time is anytime after 12:30pm, but worth checking the app or docs for their specific voyage. After they board lunch is available and access to suites are often available by 2pm if not earlier.

We had the center cabin, which is the one handicapped PS cabin. Loved how "centered" the view from the balcony is, and apart from not having a bathtub (but having a very large shower space) did not see much difference from the other PS cabins. We've been shocked at how quickly they book (and some of the prices for them as well!), but we have an Encore booking next spring where the prices and availability worked for us to get the center-right (not end). \

We really liked the Penthouse Spa suite on Ovation/Encore; it's spacious, bright, and has a huge aft-facing balcony. Because of where they are located (above all the action with only 5 cabins), you really get a different feel of the ship. Great for hosting a cocktail party! Despite the location we did not feel much ship motion (and that was on a transatlantic). Depending on the cost I'd consider a PS suite.

Compared to other lines we've sailed on recently (in particular looking at you, Explora) we've found SB's premium list to be reasonably priced when you add in the SB Club discount and their tiered discount pricing. Overall not too far from (and occasionally below) what we pay retail here in Northern California.

@Vineyard View, thanks for the suggestion. I sent an email on Sunday, and promptly received a personalized response this morning (noting both my most recent and my upcoming voyage). Here’s the bulk of it (without personal details): Ms. Leahy has reviewed your comments and asked me to respond on her behalf, and to express her sincere regret for the disappointment you experienced. We are disheartened to learn of your concerns regarding the quality of our complimentary wine program. Your comments regarding a lack of many options onboard, as well as the wine and cognac available being cheap, are truly disappointing. Please be assured that we have not reduced the level of investment in this program; in fact we are looking at a number of changes intended to refresh and enhance our offerings. In addition, we continue to provide our guests with an inviting selection of premium wines and spirits for purchase. Maintaining and investing in the quality and integrity of Seabourn is a priority at every level, and will not be compromised.

That is a very interesting sailing; you probably already know but SB President Natalya Leahy will be onboard, and the guest speakers look excellent: "Featured guests include Dame Stella Rimington, author and former head of the British Secret Service, as well as international wine educator Andrea Furjak."

Always worth asking, as we've found they usually have some options not on the list. We had the Roquesante Rose in July onboard; it's been offered onboard for years, so surprised not to see it here. On both our April and July voyages they had the Raymond Cab and Raymond Chardonnay from California, but they did not have the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio (another usual staple). Lots of variation these days.

On our last SB voyage in July the F&B manager explained that their ordering process is more complicated that I thought, and that if they run out of something unexpectedly (i.e. a rush on good bourbons) it takes 2 months to get stocks replenished. Hoping that the downgrading of cognac is a mistake that will get reversed quickly.

If it were truly about the environment they would be serving wine in reusable carafes filled from casks. It's clearly a cost-cutting move.

We've donated twice to the "Host Lifestyle Fund" (what other cruise lines refer to as the Crew Welfare Fund), and it was charged separately and was not able to have OBC used for it.

I worked for an American company, and most technical discussions would be in English, so while there was no requirement to deeply learn Japanese I did have a desire to do so. Before moving there I went through an intensive language program at Univ. of California Berkeley for a summer (first year Japanese in 2.5 months), then had language lessons three times a week when there (Iidabashi Japanese Language School in Tokyo), Passed the first-level proficiency test (JLPT1), but have dropped off since moving back to California. When I retire I hope to put more focus into my Japanese language studies. It's a hard language because I'm frankly too old to learn enough Kanji to read books, but still young enough (60) to become verbally more fluent.

As high-tech career paths go, it's mainly interesting to the participant. But where Mumbles forms the line through the story arc is in these two ways: 1. Introduced me to the concept of "foreignness", and being "the foreigner"; there were two kids in my class at The Grange that were "foreigners". Me from the US, and my friend Adrian from England. In the multi-cultural mix of San Jose/Northern California/Silicon Valley, I think it made me aware at an early age that being "the foreigner" is not easy and deserves respect/empathy. 2. Made me want to live and work in other countries as an adult (UK and Japan mainly), which I think had a "giving forward" aspect to our kids and general family to give them a "Mumbles-like" experience for their youth. Hope that makes sense, and thanks for indulging me 🙂

It took us about an hour from Mumbles and therefore an hour nearer home today allowing us to pick the dogs up from their kennels an hour earlier. I'll gate crash as well...thanks for mentioning Mumbles, where I was fortunate to live in the early '70s. I think our family was there so I could attend The Grange Primary, or maybe it was because of my Dad's job; can't remember exactly which it was. 🤔 It provided a great opportunity to see the beauty of Wales and the people thereof, and reasons to go revisit. Still have a few Welsh tapestry blankets, >50 years old and still looking good. My Mom loved that tapestry, and had a few suits made out of it; not sure if that style made sense even then :).

As West Coast residents the one big change to FlightEase that makes the Barbados departures even worse for us is that they used to “absorb” the hotel stay in the flight costs. We’ve stayed at JFK on our way to BGI compliments of Seabourn FlightEase before, which helped to justify the hassle of getting to BGI. (Full disclosure we’ve also done it on our own to stay at TWA Hotel, which SB did not include 😀.) Recently we’ve seen that FlightEase is much higher if an overnight is involved (to cover the hotel cost). Overall cost is much higher now through FlightEase versus making our own arrangements.

In our local Total Wine (a US national chain) the Montaudon is $41 and Nicolas Fueillatte is $36.

It’s been Montaudon Brut the last few years. It used to be Nicolas Feuillatte Brut. IMHO they made a change for the better, but like food and beverage in general there are a range of tastes and hard to keep everyone happy. To Seabourn’s credit the premium wine list usually features some good Champagnes at reasonable prices, so not like anyone needs to go thirsty if Montaudon doesn’t work for them.

FWIW, all the included wines are available for your cabin, so if you did choose a "house xxx" that is not to your liking the cabin attendant can change it out for one more to your liking.

Many music venues these days make ear plugs available upon request (at the bar, door, service desk, etc), and I think its a reflection of more awareness of the possible damage that can happen. Personally I’ve never had an issue on Seabourn or felt it was too loud, but they really should have them available more prominently as an option. Maybe mention it in the survey or through the app?

I've done what you're referring to on other cruise lines where it is with other people (and agree it can be a really good time). Anthology could be set up that way and may be a better "concept" than just high-end Italian. Explora's "Chef's Kitchen" where it is both a cooking class and a shared meal might be competition, but maybe not. Interested to see how it evolves.

Sit back, deep breathe, and maybe fillup glass to relax.