ciaoYacht

I found this to be the case too on my first Seabourn cruise... I just took it as they love it so much they choose to spend all their vacation time on Seabourn! I found them to be welcoming and delightful beyond their "days-sailed" info drops 🤣

Ovation has both sauna and a steam room in each of the men’s and women’s locker rooms in the spa, and it is not free, even if you get a massage or are at the retreat. I got $600 worth of massages and still had to pay another $25 to use this area. I assume Encore is the same, as it’s essentially the same ship. Anyone can pay the $25, but I wasn’t impressed and won’t be doing that for a second time.

Pre cruise 2 nights in St. Martin. Post cruise 1 night in Barbados. Didn’t even see the Hilton come up in my search so maybe they have a minimum night requirement, but did see Fairmont which looked great but was $1600.

But what hotel is this? And what do you mean by ‘caved’? Are they charging you a premium over what you could pay otherwise? Is there some added benefit that you can’t get otherwise by booking through Amex fine hotels or a virtuoso agent?

Recommendations for hotels pre-and-post cruise in St. Martin and Barbados? Traveling Feb/Mar 2023 and in looking online I am seeing dumpy places for around $300-400/night and places that look "ok" for $1200 ++ per night. Don't mind spending money when its worth it, but for some reason its hard to get a clear picture of quality and value of accommodations in these two destinations. Can anyone with experience in these ports weigh in with their recommendations? Thank you!

Also, paper is easily recycled.

I am only 40 years old and pretty tech savvy, and I found the app perfectly OK to use... but I feel like I did miss out on the planning the day with respect to activities due to no paper copy of the Herald. I think having the Herald delivered each night would have facilitated better planning and therefore a better experience. I used the app as an afterthought, and found myself missing some activities that I would have otherwise done, or showing up late. Sometimes its nice to see everything laid out on paper as opposed to scrolling through a menu. I commend them for trying to reduce waste, but I will be requesting paper copies on my next cruise.

Hoping I "luck out" and its calm the day the ship is in Saline Bay, Mayreau!

I have been following their announcement! Exciting news for sure, but I wonder how it will compare to the Seabourn experience. While I love Four Seasons I find it to be a little more stuffy than Seabourn, with people tending to keep to themselves more so than what I’ve experienced on a cruise. Maybe their yacht sailings will be different. Also 4S has excellent service but I did find the crew on Seabourn to be a little more over the top in their service and attempts to please guests. I’ll definitely be interested to compare the two experiences. Also in following the RC Yacht it seems as if it has less inclusions than the ultra luxury segment. For example, all alcohol is not included, WiFi, etc.. I’m not sure if RC and 4S will attract people away from Seabourn and the other ultra luxury lines. They seem to be more geared towards non-cruisers or never-cruised.

I am booked on the southbound Ovation from St. Martin to Barbados departing February 25, 2023. We are only doing the 7 night so will only stop in Mayreau, but I am expecting caviar in the surf and a marina day… it’s one of the reasons I booked a Caribbean sailing! Seabourn sent some marketing materials to my house not too long ago that implied all of the Caribbean cruises feature the event. Can anyone comment with direct knowledge of this route? Thank you!

Was on Ovation in May/June. First time on Seabourn. Booked again for Feb/Mar I liked it so much! There were a few hiccups w covid recovery and availability of a few things like certain liquor, but certainly never a problem and crew did what they could to make up for it. By far one of the next vacations I’ve ever had and I routinely do land based travel at Four Seasons, etc.. I think it’s at least worth one more chance on your behalf.

Thats annoying. I recommend using a travel agent as they can typically add perks or beat the online price. I am looking for a new TA that has good connections with Seabourn, myself, as my last TA has been minimally responsive to my questions and requests recently.

Agree, if they could actually get it from provisioning.

At this point, we should be more afraid of Norovirus from sailing on ships. We have vaccines. We have testing. And people who are getting sick from "a little thing called Covid" are largely asymptomatic or getting flu-like symptoms at worst. Of course there are exceptions, but those who are still this "scared" maybe should rethink traveling in congregate residential settings, such as on a cruise.

Being that the cruise I was on had 255 passengers, social distancing, even at the bar, was a non-issue. And I'm not judging if you like to throw a few down in your undies or even need an eye-opener with your room service, its just not my cup of tea... and I'd much rather have the booze equitably shared so all can enjoy, instead of just those who choose to stay in and chug away in their rooms. I say good booze for all on Seabourn!

Yes I was a little shocked, but not completely surprised, with this type of behavior on a luxury cruise. Also heard of people trying to "pick the lock" to get more Molton Brown amenities. I am on vacation I want to enjoy myself and have someone prepare nice cocktails for me. I don't want to worry about recouping value by taking a bottle of Bourbon home with me, or toiletries for that matter. We can all afford to purchase those on our own if we can afford to sail on Seabourn!

When on Ovation in May/early June they had limited availability of some Bourbon as many passengers apparently requested them in their room and those requests are filled prior to stocking the bars (per Seabourn staff). For example, I believe the Old Fashioned in TK Grill bar called for Woodford Reserve but they were out of it, so they substituted Jack Daniels 🤮 (also out of other more preferred brands such as Makers or Four Roses). The bartender told me the reason was so many passengers had requested this to be stocked in their suites! I didn't fully believe this, but sure enough I spoke with some friends I met on the ship and they informed me they had a full, unopened bottle of Woodford in their suite that they planned to take home! I also found the same with tequila and it being of limited availability. The pool and sky bar would run out of our preferred brand and they only had Jose Cuervo or something that you can't really mix into a margarita, like Patron Citron. Then also confirmed with a "diamond" on the ship that they had multiple bottles of good tequila in their room. I really don't understand the alcohol in the suite thing - sure, it may be some peoples cup of tea, but I would much prefer for someone at the bar to craft my cocktail. So overall, the alcohol situation was mildly disappointing and even more so that people's individual requests got honored over keeping the bars well stocked. I'm sure this is a difficult balance for Seabourn as many passengers can be demanding at times (including myself), but Seabourn may need to revisit this policy until the supply chain becomes a non-issue.

Can anyone confirm if it was shown this year on Ovation? Considering a 2023 sailing during Super Bowl Sunday but I would push it back if they do not show it. Thank you!

Thanks for the feedback. If I did anything I’d absolutely book the Seabourn private vehicle for the day so id be covered by the return to ship guarantee. I’d also try to work with the excursion desk or concierge to detail plan the day. Also seeing the Pitons from the ship while sipping champagne at sunset sounds amazing! I would love if my cruise did that as well! We’re you traveling northbound or southbound?

Not sure about the covid policies systemwide but they were absolutely followed on my cruise: we had to present our vaccination cards and negative covid tests to board. Masking was optional for passengers but I crew always had masks on. For the pandemic becoming endemic and with no other form of transportation in the United States having Similar rules to sailing, I felt their covid policies were more than sufficient.

Looking to sail on the "7-Day Classic Yachtsman's Caribbean" (https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/C3S07B/8319.html) this upcoming winter and a major selling point is the stop in St. Lucia, as I've always wanted to see and hike Gros Piton. I see Seabourn does offer a tour to Gros Piton that includes hiking, but its not offered on these particular sailings. Here is the tour: Gros Piton Hike & Lunch At Ladera Resort: A UNESCO Partner Tour https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/shore-excursions/SLU/SLU018.html This tour is only offered on other sailings which I am not interested in/unable to do the dates. I believe the only difference is on the other sailings the ship docks in Castries, St. Lucia instead of Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. Castries is closer to Gros Piton, but only by about 20 minutes from what I can tell on Google Maps. Do you think there is a possibility that Seabourn might offer this tour on my sailing if I ask them? I'm sure there would be others interested as well. And who would I even contact to inquire about this? Or do you think my best bet would be to do the private vehicle for the day so that I can just do whatever I want. I would okay with the private vehicle option, but I like the idea of having a hiking guide during the tour offers, and the lunch seems nice. You insight is greatly appreciated.

I recently sailed on Seabourn Ovation May 28-June 4 from Barcelona to Rome. This was my first Seabourn cruise so I have nothing to compare it to otherwise. However, for what it's worth, I did not experience any of these issues on my cruise. I'm sorry the OP had a sub-par experience, and I know everyone's experiences may differ, but I wanted to highlight that there are many people who have an excellent time on the current Seabourn. I consider myself well traveled in the luxury market, staying at mostly Four Seasons properties along with other high end hotels when I travel. What I experienced on Seabourn was, in my opinion, the service that Four Seasons strives to offer. It greatly exceed my expectations. Here are some specific examples: My partner had a small tear in the seam of his new sports coat. We told our room attendant about it and within 10 minutes they had a tailor at our room. The jacket was fixed to perfection within 20 minutes, without charge, and we were on our way to dinner as planned! A Seabourn employee was on our excursion to Cinque Terre on her morning off. We mentioned to her how much we loved the special Molton Brown scent that was designed for Seabourn. She suggested we purchase some bed mist to take home. When we returned to our room later that day, there was a bed mist placed in our room to take home as a gift. This was beyond thoughtful. At the Thomas Keller BBQ night (yes, you did need a reservation but I was told they were able to 'squeeze' everyone in) they ran out of the special Thomas Keller potted cheesecake and instead brought us another cheesecake which happened to be delicious. The next morning the Colonnade manager found us to apologize for the inconvenience. I wouldn't have even known the difference, but she insisted on getting us the TK cheesecake nonetheless so that we could have "the complete experience." The next day at lunch she found us by the pool and surprised us with the TK cheesecakes. We made some friends on the ship and would end each night in The Club. We often stayed well past every the other guests, but the bartender never made us feel as if we were overstaying our welcome. Instead she was extremely hospitable offering us drink refills late into the night. I know had I been in her shoes I would have been rushing everyone out the door. She demonstrated the highest level of professionalism. We didn't eat in The Restaurant until the 5th night of our cruise (Chef's dinner), however, when we walked in the staff knew our names. The service and food were top notch in The Restaurant, making me wish I had dined there sooner. Furthermore, all the employees including the cruise director and a hotel manger in training for another Seabourn ship, knew our names within a day and would frequently stop by to check in on us and chat. We often went for a pre-dinner drink at TK Grill bar, and would always ask if they had any openings even though we already ate there once as allowed. The one night after we already left the bar the hostess came running after us on our way to Earth and Ocean to tell us she found a table for us. Again, going above and beyond to keep us happy. Finally, while I was doing laundry one day one of the ship's officers walked by and saw me waiting out in the hallway. He offered to bring me a glass of champagne to make my boring task a little less tedious! This showed that everyone on board really cared. The cruise was not without some minor hiccups. For example, the ship was short on some provisions such as specific alcohol brands on the first day as they were still unpacking, but the crew did what they could to account for these issues. The bartender at the pool sent another staff to 2 other bars to find us the tequila we wanted for our margaritas even thought they didn't currently have it at the pool bar. There were a couple other issues not worth mentioning, but they were not enough to ruin an amazing experience, and may occur anywhere you travel. Additionally, the fact that the crew worked so hard to right any wrongs also made these minor hiccups a non-issue. I hope any issues get ironed out but from what I experienced Seabourn made me a repeat customer!

I’m on Ovation right now as a first time Seabourn cruiser. I’ve waited until the 5th night to try the Restaurant because of all the reviews here. Tonight was the Chef’s tasting menu and my first night trying the restaurant. My novice observations: 1. Staff were amazing and professional. Knew our names on arrival despite not having dined there yet. Very attentive not letting any need go unnoticed, including helping us take a photo. 2. Menu was impressive in my opinion. I know it was the tasting menu night and not the usual choices, but I was very impressed nonetheless. 3. Loved the little touches like bread service with offers for refills, always making sure wine glass wine was full, and staff going out of their way to grab speciality teas with dessert. 4. Food quality far surpassed my expectations. Some things like the beef entree admittedly weren’t as good as TK grill (which i would expect since that is their steakhouse), but it was still delicious. And other things were better than other dining venues. Based on what I've read here I was expecting wedding quality catering food (like you’d get at a large chain hotel), and that couldn’t be further from the truth. 5. When taken as a whole The Restaurant was an overwhelmingly pleasing dining experience. I liked the change of pace to more formal venue and service than the other dinne venues on board. The decor was stunning, the food and beverage very good, and it felt like a special occasion kind of place to me. The Restaurant was a solid offering. While my opinion is based off one night only, if the other nights in the Restaurant are as good as tonight, I’d be more than ok with that. Regarding the other comments, I think the bar service has been wonderful. Any speciality cocktail I’ve asked for they’ve made to perfection. Even sent staff running to fetch alcohol that wasn’t available at the bar, if necessary. I do agree they should put menus out to make guests aware of their specialty signature cocktail offerings. These are available on the menus in the app, but nothing widely published at the bar. Also strongly agree bar snacks/bar mix would be a major plus. I hope they add this because IMO nothing makes having cocktails more enjoyable than a salty snack (at least during daytime hours, not necessarily after dinner). I’ve attached my photos from The Restaurant.

Is this posted somewhere? I looked for a source online like Seabourn website and new articles but couldn't find anything.

Traveling on Ovation soon, and I'm just curious if Seabourn ever offers upsell upgrades to better cabins? I am traveling in V2 category and not sure I would be interested in the same room with different (better) location, but would be interested in a larger room. If they do sell upgrades, what is the process? Do they contact guests by email prior to departure? Will they become available on the booking page? Or do they do so at the departure port? And are there any strategies to get a "good" upgrade deal? I've watched a few YouTube videos that said ask about an upgrade the day after departure and they may have a great deal.