Roland4

Hi Nancy! Happy to hear that things seem to be getting better on Quest. We took advantage of the 20% FCC they gave us and have booked Ovation for 12 nights Reykjavik to Copenhagen at the end of May next year. It goes to several places we have wanted to see, and if the last few Toronto Springs are any indication, it won't impinge on "swimming pool season"!!😁 Larry

Well, it could be worse. You could be living up here in Ontario! All alcohol sales are controlled by the provincial government, and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario is THE largest purchaser of beverage alcohol in the world! For all that, it is almost impossible for the average person to import wine from abroad without going through hoops within hoops, and then paying taxes that make it cost prohibitive! We have done tastings in vineyards all over the world. When they approach us to join their "Wine Club", we say we live in Ontario, and every time, be it California, Australia, New Zealand or Europe, they give a knowing nod and move on to the next person! Having said all that, we have never cared for any of the C wines. Given all the great wines available in the US, I am not sure why anyone would want to go out of their way to buy them!😁

Okay, to set the record straight, we paid full price for our cruise, and yes we were in a PH as we have booked this level of accommodation, and have always paid full price, for years. Not sure why this should matter to anyone, as, much like Crystal, once you leave your room everyone is treated equally, and as far as I remember, the only time I mentioned it, even onboard, was as a point of reference on my one post about COVID. Yes, I am a TA, mostly retired, and I am open about it because people like to talk about cruises and cruise ships. After 18 years in the industry, I am fairly well-versed, and I often get asked. As a matter of preference, I don't even carry business cards when we travel and politely, but firmly, decline when asked, and it does happen, to take on someone's business. Like nancygp, we heard about the status match offer AFTER we had made the final payment for this cruise, applied, and were given Diamond status based on our 40+ cruises totalling close the 450 days. Frankly all it got us was a discount on the two bottles of wine we bought. Oh, and a load of laundry! As far as "special service" for ex-Crystal guests, I can say with certainty every member of the staff I talked did not know the match programme even existed. I lost track of the number of double-takes we got when, after being welcomed back, we admitted this was our first Seabourn cruise!

I am not suggesting there have been no problems, as there obviously have been. I am suggesting that we have seen improvement in the general service levels since the beginning of the cruise. It apparently is not back to what it should be, but it appears to be moving in the right direction. And yes, I do believe in dealing with significant issues when they occur in the hope they will be corrected. If that means a little extra attention, I am fine with that. Beats "suffering in silence" any day. As a general comment, I don't believe in waiting to the end-of-cruise evaluation, then slamming "management" when they can't respond.

With all due respect to the OP, and as first-timers on Seabourn we have nothing to compare to, but are we on different versions of the Quest?? We had a very good Italian dinner in the Colonnade last night, and the best service of the trip this evening in The Restaurant. There was certainly no evidence of being short-staffed in the section we were seated in. All "the usuals", and they have been very attentive, were there. As far as COVID is concerned, I gauge it by the "stool outside the room" described by another poster on the Trans-Atlantic thread, and in going back and forth regularly on Decks 4/5/6/7, (we are on Deck 9) I have seen exactly one on Deck 7.

We are first-time Seabourn cruisers, after many years on Crystal. We are very much enjoying this cruise, and making a concerted effort NOT to make comparisons to the onboard experience, simply because there is no point to doing so. While we have enjoyed the cruise to date, our biggest complaints are a lack of communication and attention to detail. With the massive changes to the itinerary, there has been NO ONE at the Shore Excursion Desk in Seabourne Square. We have been there at various times every day, and this afternoon at 4:00, there was finally someone there. And what did he tells us? We don't have any information for anything beyond tomorrow! Really?? To other matters. It took us most of the first day to get access to the internet. It is very fairly simple using the Source app, except there are NO instructions on how to access Source from a tablet anywhere in our room. Had to go to Seabourne Square for that! And while we are on the subject of the app, for people like me, for whom my cell phone is not a body part, having to carry it with me everywhere I go on the ship is a real PITA. And let's not get into what happens when...... ....the internet goes down and the entire "paperless" system grinds to a halt! And it was down for most of 24 hours without ANY announcement to the general public that we have been aware of as to why it was down and when we might expect it back!

The Weather Network now says the models have narrowed and there is medium-to-high confidence that Fiona will track across the Gulf of St. Lawrence on a line form Nova Scotia to Newfoundland and it will be a Cat 3/4 when it gets there. Beyond the winds, the biggest problems will be the 30+ foot waves and the almost 100+ MM of rain that will fall across the entire Gulf. This could make everything from Havre-St Pierre to Cap-Aux-Mueles off limits! I fully expect a notification from Seabourn today or tomorrow with a major change to the itinerary! I wonder if Quest is low enough to get under the bridges/hydro wires into Lake Ontario?? 🙂😮

I tend to agree Fiona is not factored in. The Weather Network, up here in Canada, forecasts for L'Anse aux Meadows and St. John's have not changed significantly in the last 4 - 5 days. The Weather Network anticipates Fiona will strengthen to a Cat 3 major hurricane as it tracks north from the Outer Bahamas. While it is still too early for a timeline, their model track lines all seem to be pointing at the Avalon Peninsula and St. John's!

Sadly, the Russian Judge must give low marks for presentation, the plate is terribly bare, and the bun top is slightly off-centre (note the Canadian spelling!!😁)!!! The Canadian Judge, of course, wants to know "Where's mine??"😁😁

I also remember that after a rather pleasant day at sea past Halifax, we got slammed on the last night by violent thunderstorms. In the shallows of the Continental Shelf we got pitched around almost as badly, or possibly worse, than we had in the North Atlantic!! Going down the gangway the next morning, the lady in front of us got down on her knees and kissed the ground!! Those of us who were on it don't call it "The Trans-Atlantic From Hell" for nothing!!!!😁😁

We were on that trip as well, and yes, the weather was the story! But as I recall, we were caught in the remnants of three post-tropical depressions in that part of the North Atlantic! I also recall we received the letter from the Captain about missing Halifax the morning AFTER we left Reykjavik, based on the tracks of the storms and the fact he was sailing toward Greenland to try and keep us out of the worst of it. And according to the navigation programme on our tablet at the time, we were due south of Halifax at 6:00 PM that evening, so no, we would never have made Halifax! And we took solid water off our balcony door on Deck Ten twice in the five days at sea! Finally, the WORST thing that happened on that cruise was the kitchen RAN OUT OF oatmeal-raisin cookies!!!😮😁😮😁Actually, as I recall, there were a bunch of Crystal senior execs onboard for meetings, and when Toni Neumiester (sp?) found out, he told the pastry chef to make them from scratch! And finally, Jim premiered Character Man even though he was suffering from the worst head cold! Yes, the show did go on!🙂

My Manager took her family on MSC back in the early years of its operation. Her comment about the crew and service was "This would be a great job if it wasn't for these annoying passengers." Looks like not much has changed!!😮

I am certainly no expert, but in our various trips to NYC, I don't think we have ever been to a theatre that is "ON" Broadway!! On various Streets yes, but not actually ON Broadway! (Waiting patiently for Jim Brochu to jump in and correct me.🙂)

Hopefully not to the extremes that some parts of the Greater Toronto Area got. From Friday to this morning, some areas in the northwest got as much as 200MM (that's 8 inches!!) of rain!! We are further to the east and we got about an inch overnight last night.

I think Emeril Lagasse would call that a Manly-Man Burger!!!😮😁😮😁

No need to turn this into a "research project". Once you clear Customs and Immigration and are out in the Arrivals area of the terminal, just follow the signs to Taxi/Limo. They are a flat rate to anywhere in the city, and they are clean and reliable. We use them every time we come home by air and have never had a problem.

Impressive!! Looks almost as good as the 12 ounce "Peppercorn Steak Frites" I had at our favourite local restaurant last night!!🙂

Maybe not such good news for the turkeys though!!!!😁😁

It was a Nobilo 2020 from Nobilo Vineyards in Marlborough. It was very good!

Maybe not baked beans, but we made a most amazing paella for dinner tonight, based off an Emeril Lagasse recipe, preceded by an appetizer of steamed mussels, freshly baked sour dough baguette and a really good New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc!! 🙂

A little harder to do now that they communicate the signs by transmitter. Not impossible, but a lot harder!🙃😁

The Red Sox have over the years been tough on the Jays, so anytime the Jays administer a good old beat down on them is a good day!! I do have to admit that the "Inside the Park Grand Slam" was more than a little cringe-worthy to watch!!😁

And we travelled to the top on a trip with my in-laws many, many years ago!!!

My Better Half's parents started cruising with HAL in the late 70s and gave us "the bug" to try it. In March 1988 we sailed our first cruise on RCI's Song of America, at 38K GRT, at the time it was the largest ship in the Caribbean. Today it would be a tender on the latest Obscenity of the Seas!!!😁 We booked a "Deluxe Oceanview" (no balconies back then), and with visions of The Love Boat in mind, entered our room to find two beds in a fixed L-shaped configuration. Very romantic! Not!🙄 The best thing that happened were our table-mates in the MDR. While wandering around the ship the first day, we had seen this older couple (keeping in mind we were late 20s/early 30s at this time) dressed in matching RCI-blue suits, and had wondered if they were staff. They arrived at our table and it turned out they were long time RCI cruisers, and they were a blast! Minnie would finish her dinner early, and head for the lounge, where she always got the best seats for the show for all of us! Now days she would be the original "chair hog"!! One evening the show was a "Scavenger Hunt", and when they asked for a pair of men's pants, Minnie's husband stood up, dropped his pants, and off she went!! I seem to recall we won that night!!

You living in the "humidity capital" of the world in the DC area know all there is to know about humidity! 😮 😮 As bad as humidity can be here in Toronto, we visited DC a number of years ago and I truly thought we were going to have to spend the entire weekend in the pool! Then, when we were leaving, our flight was delayed by massive thunderstorms. After two aborts, our Air Canada RJ pilot got permission to leave, and we took off, straight up! Looking out the window, I said to my wife, "We have never been quite this high." when the Captain came on and said "We got over the storm, we are at 50,000 feet, and are now starting our descent into Toronto!" 😮😮