Nigella

JFI - is caviar still freely available on request?

 

Thanks.

MARIANH, not sure if lincslady has seen this so will answer on her behalf.

Caviar was still freely available on request as recently as 6 weeks ago.

I have heard that there were thoughts to restrict it as some people take the mickey with it, but no evidence of that so far.

Oh brother.

 

But no worries... I will see if the Observation Bar pre-dinner snacks and if the cakes at Seabourn Square are "boring". And then I will report from our cruise which is only a week away now.

 

Happy cruising!

Well Markham, you're my last hope soI've got everything crossed that we hear positive reports from you!

Posted like that, it appears shortchanged for the big sisters too.That's my only frame of reference.

Disclaimer - What I write following here relates only to MDR.

On Sojourn a few weeks ago we noticed that the menu layout was different and that there was less choice. The menu that you've posted is fairly typical as to the type of food available during that cruise. (Uninspiring).

Once seated in the MDR, in addition to the menu as posted here, the always available menu was on the right hand side.

So the menu as posted here appears to be the daily changing menu, as printed in the Herald.

In addition there is the always available but we noticed there wasn't as much choice on there as previously. We were told that the usual dishes were all available, just not displayed on the menu. :confused:

Our server joked with us about it and suggested that if couldn't memorise it, we could bring the room service menu to dinner each evening so we could view the entire choice.

Nigella & Others: We were talking about your postings over dinner tonight. It's interesting, like so many others, you have shopped around, and at this time in your lives you have found something that works for you, Seabourn! And now it is changing, and that is hard. And some of the changes are not acceptable, and not what you are willing to pay for. On our long Seabourn cruise we met one woman who said in the face of adversity, "I am too old to invest in another cruise line." This is not to say that you are in the same space as her, and certainly not as rigid as she was. But her plea was heartfelt, and I hear your concern. We are somewhat lucky in that we still shop for the best fit for us, itineraries and price. And we love our land-based travel...we are currently in Barcelona for 45 days and having an amazing time discovering. But someday soon we may be shopping for the best cruise line that meets our needs and tastes. I hope that we are as successful as you and find the right one. Seabourn is not it so far for us, although we adore many of its features. I hope these abrupt changes do not disrupt your holidays too much and that you can find the right place to be happy. It may mean shopping around again, alas. It may mean compromising all those perks, alas.

Great post, tv24, Thank you!

Thanks to jimmyw9 for clarifying Seabourn's intentions and what is actually happening onboard with these TK changes.

However, Seabourn really isn't doing a great job of communicating to most guests onboard.

I've seen lots written by current and recent Odyssey guests, both here at CC and elsewhere online and until jimmyw9's posts, nobody was aware that this isn't a permanent change for The Colonnade. In fact we've been told that R2 was going to be a steak house type theme and that the Colonnade would be this Ad Hoc theme, with reservations essential, on alternate evenings.

Happy and relieved to learn it's not what we've been led to believe.

 

I wonder if some of the comments would be a bit less harsh if the chef in question was Gordon Ramsay, or Heston Blumenthal or perhaps someone with a French pedigree.

 

 

.

Not from me, they wouldn't be. Can't stand Ramsay, and Blumenthal's messed about with food isn't my style at all.

I've expressed my enthusiasm and long-term, long-distance admiration for Thomas Keller on another thread and I'm so looking forward to visiting Bouchon Beverly Hills in January and a trip up to The French Laundry when I visit Palo Alto in the spring.

It's the concept of passing round a serving bowl, being told what to eat in a set menu and the lack of freedom of choice about where to dine when I'm onboard that's annoying me. I'm looking forward very much to trying the Keller offerings in the MDR. So, same as you, I guess?

Definitely agree that I'd prefer it as an alternate evening theme for Patio Grill than alternate evenings in the Colonnade.

Once again the Quote function of CC isn't working for me, but Harvey, I just wanted to say that that the first sentence of your final paragraph is *exactly* how I feel about this currently.

Markham, I'm pleased you're on Odyssey soon as you're one of the posters here whose opinion about all things SB I respect very much.

Once again, I do realise that my posts are somewhat negative lately. The Sojourn cruise we took in September has caused that. I reiterate that if we hadn't already booked the Odyssey in December we would have preferred to take a lengthy break from Seabourn so we could return with a fresher attitude.

I accept that life is about change, and normally I embrace it, but I'm sad about what I see happening to SB for the future, as Markham has suggested is what I'm thinking too.

Even though we've only been cruising for about 5 years, I love it. I don't enjoy our land holidays nearly as much. I love being at sea, I love the ambience onboard SB ships. Seabourn is (was?) perfect for us.

I don't know where we'll go if we turn our backs on SB. There seems no viable alternative, Europa 2 being the best hope.

Please let me know how that works out - I'll probably be at the Sky Bar drinking dinner because I couldn't figure out where we were allowed to eat that day. Do you suppose they'll offer a tutorial?

 

We're on the 20 day shorter segment of your cruise in December, so by the time we board you should be well up to speed in the new system. If not I'll see you at the Sky Bar for dinner, I'll bring some fruit from my room to soak up the alcohol.

Markham, I was reading comments on this very subject on another site recently and none of the Seabourn regulars were keen on these changes.

Some of us are mocked here for being Seabourn "cheerleaders", well here's one former cheerleader who is boarding a Seabourn ship in just about 6 weeks' time. Following a less than stellar cruise on Sojourn in September, coupled with considering these new dining changes, I'm not really looking forward to the cruise. I want to be open-minded and will remain so about the actual food, but not about the concept.

A little bird tells me that the current requirement to make a reservation for Keller evenings in the Colonnade may only be a trial and that the longer-term aim is to make it work without necessitating advance reservations. Not sure how it can work, or how accurate my source is in this instance, but let's hope.

It sounds like room service has been untouched. I wonder if you can still get course by course service.

You probably can still get course by course service, but with the proviso that you let them know several days in advance that you'll require room service on a specific day and time, and there probably is no longer any choice. So one starter, one main course, one pudding, all selected by SB:);)

Also I just flew through Miami and if you have an ESTA you can self process now at kiosk provided. It was brilliant ☺

From the plane landing To us sitting in taxi to hotel was an hour! The fastest i''ve through an American airport ever😊

Agree, it's hugely improved in the last year.

Miami airport used to be notorious for some of the longerst waiting times of any U.S airport. I travelled through there a lot and around 90 minutes was usually the quickest time to process before they got the new machines set up. I'm flying in later this year and am actually NOT dreading it for a change:)

Hi, Mary Kay :)

I'm not sure at all about visa requirements for the USA, for many countries, but I think that an ESTA costing $14 is required instead of a visa for visitors from European countries. There will be many more countries in the world who will have to buy a full visa to enter the States. :cool:

Actually it's not just European countries. There are more than 30 visa waiver countries, most of them are indeed in Europe but Australia, Singapore, South Korea eg are all visa waiver countries so citizens can go the ESTA route instead of full visa.

What a great idea for a thread, OctoberKat.

I don't have any contributions, but would like to thank everyone for their suggestions, lots to work through here.

OK but you cannot deny the Main Dining Room is a nicer environment as the Colonnade . nicer seatings , light colours ...

SB was doing the closing down in 2010 as well, and then they gave up the policy for a while and started again in early summer this year.

I don't deny it. I completely agree with you. I don't mind the Colonnade but the MDR is calmer and more elegant and sometimes at breakfast and lunch, that's what I prefer. I want a choice, that's the thing.

I simply wanted to clarify your comment about compulsory buffet because anyone who is new to Seabourn may read that and not realise that they can have full table service if they prefer it.

I think it's an awful decision, but so far I've only been affected by it on one cruise, which was a 7 day Med cruise with a port stop every day.

All previous cruises with SB the MDR has been open for breakfast and lunch every day.

I'm concerned that this may be just the start and at some point (soon?) we may find that MDR isn't open for breakfast and lunch even on the longer cruises. Especially as you point out that they tried this in 2010 too.

Someone at Seabourn must have seen this thread. The U.K. Site has now added Quest and listed the previous Sojorn itineraries. Sojourn now has Western Med. Which is what we were looking for. Glad the hacker did not confuse us for long.

The UK site has been glitchy for the last 48 hours. Hopefully it's settled now.

At this stage, I can't comment on what's offered for vegetarian guests in the new dining concept in The Colonnade but I strongly agree with you about the necessity for making a reservation being a retrograde step. It is definitely that for us and it was one of the factors that drove us from Silversea across to Seabourn.

On SS there was no alternative to the MDR if one didn't make a reservation in advance.

I suppose on Seabourn we do still have The Colonnade on alternate evenings, and Patio Grill when it's open.

"Shutting down choice" is a perfect summation and not my idea of luxury.

Someone else may be along who can advise about vegetarian choices, if not I'm on Odyssey in December and will update as much detail as I can regarding menu choices and how the reservations system is working.

i was on the sojourn for a week

daily closure of MDR for breakfast and lunch

i was told ; we shall open it for the crossing :eek:

it that acceptable on a said to be luxury line ?

compulsory buffets twice a day ?

While I completely agree with the premise, ie MDR should be open breakfast and lunch, I have to point out that it's simply not true that the alternative is "compulsory buffets twice a day".

Guests can of course order full table service at both breakfast and lunch. At breakfast in The Colonnade I never go to the serving stations, I order at the table and it's served to me at the table.

We did a Seabourn cruise over the holidays. Loved the party atmosphere and really enjoyed the experience. What we didn't like was some of their operating procedures. Specifically, tenders service (if you didn't book their excursions, you had to wait to leave the ship). Having to pay up front for shore excursions and then ending up with $$$$ in ship board credit (they were gracious enough to cancel/credit us and then re book them all, but it was still a hassle). Another big negative was, the ship was cleared late by customs officials. Once the ship was released for debarkation, they tried to hold us on the ship, even though we were long past our departure "color coded" ticket time and we had private transportation. You never want to end anything on a negative note.

 

I think the dining experience on Seabourne definitely needed something. Hopefully this change will be well received in the long term.

 

You mentioned that I cruise SS a lot now. We are always open to new luxury experiences. After doing 30 segments on Crystal, we got tired of the same offerings and wanted to do something fresh. Fortunately, we've seen a lot of the world and now it's about ambiance, fine dining and luxurious surroundings. There are positive things to draw from each of these lines. Next year, we are going to try Regent for the first time. Depending on itineraries, we are hoping to fit in a Seabourne cruise in the near future. Another thing we have discovered, once you cruise on smaller ships, you are less likely to move back up to the larger vessels. The intimacy that you get with fewer passengers on board is a significantly different product.

Thank you for coming back to answer my questions.:)

I do remember you from the SS board when I was on there regularly also, but that's some time ago. I don't tend to read the Crystal board very often, so I wouldn't have remembered you there. I understand that you would want to do something fresh.

The problems you had regarding the tenders on Seabourn no longer exist. We've never had to wait for the SB excursions crowd to disembark before us. I wonder if this was the routine on the smaller ships. I've only cruised on the big sisters and as I say, this doesn't happen now.

You do still pay upfront for excursions which I agree is somewhat irritating.

I'm not sure that the dining experience on Seabourn will have improved since the bigger ships were introduced, I have no basis for comparison. Lots of the Seabourn old timers do now seem to be happy with the newer ships.

It's so subjective, of course. I find the dining generally good to very good on SB, but not what I really consider to be a fine dining experience.

The changes detailed in this thread have in no way made me feel very positive about the new dining, but I am trying to keep an open mind and make the most of it when we board in about 6 weeks.

Charlie Palmer[emoji3]

:D

I believe that Charlie Palmer and SB had just parted company when we first sailed with SB, so I missed the excitement of his cuisine ;)

I hope karaoke queen comes back to reply because I know that she's a regular on Silversea. We went the other way, left SS for SB. I can't see us ever returning to SS...

Pity for us as well, as we like spicy flavorful food of the world.

We're the same. . This is something that we already find rather disappointing, and were hoping the changes would address this.

It has the magic to entice us to try Seabourn again.

Would you really come back to Seabourn just because of this?

What drove you away in the first place?

 

One of the issues that I heard from the cruise was that some of the dishes had a wee bit of spice to them and that some passengers were irate that something was served spicier than looking at a black peppercorn.

 

:D oh dear.

Agree that spice levels are already generally quite tame, although I had a curry dish onboard one time that nearly blew my head off. Probably because I was expecting tame.

I exited the Odyssey today. Here are a few of my thoughts on the TK menus to date.

Ad Hoc will eventually have 7-8 menus, to date there are two while they work on execution. The reviews have mostly been positive. The downside is that there is only one menu item per evening.

I'm not a fan of what I've eaten and seen of The Restaurant additional TK menus. I ordered duck once , I was underwhelmed. An unsliced duck breast with blueberry sauce and a few vegies.

The Napa burger is essentially a regular but better quality patty with a special sauce. Ehhh. It's ok.

There's a little too much gourmet fanfare and puffery, not as much flavor and taste. My opinion only.

Thank you very much for your update, it's been good to read your thoughts about this.

Dining during our Holiday cruise on Odyssey should be interesting, to say the least! I'll try to keep an open mind.

Oh also thanks for the napa burger explanation.

Just a thought...it's Chile, not Chili, and not pronounced as Chili.

It's possible that DCCruiselover didn't know the difference in spelling before your correction, but I'd like to applaud that poster for his/her gracious response to you.

It's actually against the CC rules to correct a fellow member's spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Plus, before taking it upon yourself to point out someone's error, you should always bear in mind these days that many people are using devices with auto-correct, and their devices are often responsible for spelling mistakes.

You can normally stay onboard until just before 10am. It will depend on the port and Seabourn's own operations on the day. On our most recent cruise they were keen for everyone to disembark by 9.30am, on previous cruises we've disembarked at 10am.

I agree with Wripro, it is better for the crew if guests vacate their suite at the requested time.

On our last cruise we overslept on disembarkation morning and we didn't leave our suite until 8.15am; they'd requested us to vacate by 8am. Nobody tried to throw us out but I wouldn't want to push it any later than that.

Guests don't (normally) get sent to the theatre on disembarkation morning, you can wait in any of the public areas. Seabourn Square is often quite busy on that day but we usually have breakfast and then head there after we have a final walk around the ship.