Westiesheepie

I spoke with Seabourn and they said we will be docking at the Nha Rhong wharf in HCMC. I confirmed it by looking at the arrivals of that dock on What's In Port. We DOT NOT dock in Phu My which is 90 minutes away from the city.

Thanks for all the info! I found out Encore will dock at the Nha Rong wharf. Very confusing but for tge eVisa can out HCMC Seaport

My Seabourn Encore cruise stops in HCMC, Da Nang and Halong Bay. So on the eVisa application, I just put HCMC as entry port? and Halong Bay as exit port? I believe our smaller ship docks close to the city in Saigon, so what is the name of that dock? The cruise is Feb 17- Mar 2 and we are in Vietnam end of Feb, can I apply for eVisa now? Thanks for all the great advice!

Thanks for the replies. Called Seabourn and the rep could not find the answer. Was not liking the 90 min drive to the city if not docked at this one.

Just spoke with Seabourn. Unfortunately for our sailing on Feb 17 Encore, they will be transitioning TK into Solis. So no TK nor Solis for us to book. Guest Relations have not been told what the plan if any is for those of us on this sailing. Bad timing for us!

We are in the FEB 17 Singapore to HKG sailing. Need to find out the port for Vietnam eVisa and planning private excursions. Thanks,

My sister has never sailed Seabourn before and wanted to know if frozen cocktails are available. I've never paid attention on my previous Seabourn cruises so couldn't answer her silly question. But apparently she really "needs" her frozen mojitos!

For example, if you are in a veranda cabin, you only get 1 reservation at each of the 4 specialty restaurants for sailings over 7 days. Suite passengers get more plus reservations open earlier for them. Another example which really made me mad was at St Barts, tender was delayed by several hours due to rough seas. We had made private arrangements and wanted to get off as soon as possible. When it was finally cleared, us 2nd class citizens had to line up to get a colored band and wait for the color to be called to for the tender. Meanwhile the penthouse guests could go whenever they wanted. The crew member literally barred me from going to the tender because they hadn't called my color yet. I facetiously asked him would this be the same protocol if we were evacuating? The suites gets in the lifeboats first? There are many more examples. Just left a bad taste. Also witnessed quite nasty behavior from passengers toward the crew which to be honest can happen on any cruise line but never that many episodes on this one sailing. As well, never sailed with so many old people. I'm no spring chicken at 65 but these passengers were 80s and even 90s.

I was on Oceania Riviera this Feb, first time ever. While it was enjoyable and someone else paid, I would not willingly book another cruise on them. Main reason being the 600+ more passengers make a big difference! Did not like being treated as second class citizens if one is in just a veranda suite. Service was nice, no complaints but not as refined as Seabourn. Oceania diehards rave about the food and while they have many more specialty restaurants and menu was good, did not find it that exceptional. Had an especially disappointing dinner at the Polo Steak restaurant. Service was inconsistent and food was lukewarm, Maine lobster rubbery.

We did a post covid cruise on the Ovation Oct 2021 and noticed the decline of service with a lot of inexperience crew members. A slight drop in food quality but it was the drop in service that was very noticeable. Totally understandable since it was one of the first cruises resuming after covid. Very interested to find out if everything has improved. Looking forward to our Encore cruise in Feb 2024 Asia cruise. I heard welcome gift of soaps is scraped. Are they still giving out the tote bags? We got one in 2021.

Thanks for the reassurance. For this itinerary we have a choice between an interconnecting cabin on the port side or one on the starboard. Travel agent is recommending the port side one for this cruise. I would rather not have an interconnecting cabin. Anyone experienced an connecting cabin on Encore?

So we were on this itinerary February 2020 and were in Singapore 3 days prior to our cruise enjoying the city and anticipating getting on the brand new Ovation. Less than 24 hrs before boarding we were notified our cruise was cancelled and all cruise lines has stopped operation. We were beyond disappointed of course but had no idea then what was awaiting the world for the next few years. In October 2021 we decided to go through the hoops and ordeal of cruising during the pandemic. After 4 required covid tests landed in Rome to board the Ovation. Being one of the first ships back at sea, we found the our cruise not up to the standard we expected of Seabourn. It was still a great cruise and if we had no previous Seabourn experience, we would have thought it fantastic. Anyhow we have decided to give this Asia itinerary another go. For those of you who have sailed Seabourn pre covid and recently, what are your thoughts on the service and food quality now? Has it improved or at least returned to pre covid standards? Also would appreciate thoughts on this itinerary. Thanks!

I just got back from my first Oceania cruise, not my choice but since someone else was paying, I gladly went along. Prior to the cruise, I went on Oceania’s board and read all the raves with many saying they preferred it even to Seabourn, Regent and Silversea, touting O’s superior dining in the Specialty restaurants. Being a Seabourn fan, I was determined not to make comparisons. But once aboard the contrasts were immediate. I did not like how passengers were treated differently according to their cabins, basically 3 classes: Suites, Concierge Verandas and Veranda. We were in a veranda and I felt like I was in steerage. Most insulting was in St Barts, tenders were delayed several hours due to rough seas, when they finally started we had to get tender tickets and wait til our color was called meanwhile, penthouse people got to go whenever they wanted before anyone else. We wondered if in an emergency, would the penthouse people be evacuated first? I like how Seabourn treats everyone onboard as valued guests. Service on Oceania was not as good, friendly or refined, even post covid with slippage of standards (we cruised Ovation in the Med Sept 2021) Seabourn’s was better. Also don’t get why people say O’s food is better than Seabourn or other luxury lines, I disagree. Food in Main Dining room quite awful. Specialty restaurants good but not superior. Also you only get 4 reservations unless in suites, so you either eat in MDR or buffet.

Did you hire your own taxi to get there? Cost? We would like to go to a beach but not join a tour as we don’t want to stay all day. Thanks.

For anyone on a recent Seabourn cruise, are they still gifting the tote bags?