auldlassie

I Imagine it will be same as operated on the outdoor deck on the Colonnade, but am happy to be corrected by anyone who knows more details. Looks fab, BTW.

On Ovation recently over Christmas and New Year, comp list attached. BTW, the list was not entirely accurate by the time we sailed, as one white not mentioned was also available, but it was probably just due an update by then. If you do not want the offered wines on any given day, in any given restaurant, it is very simple to ask instead for one from the comped list you would prefer. Might take them a few minutes to locate if not in that particular venue, but they were always happy to go fetch. I agree these are not fine wines by any stretch, and lincslady's comment above is spot on, but I found some that were drinkable enough and strayed onto the paying list when and if I felt the need for better. They are also always happy enough for you to try a little glass of any comped wine if you do not know it and get others to try if you do not enjoy.

I had no difficulties whatsoever in getting alternative complimentary wines, right from day 1's lunch when I boarded. All I needed to do was to say, politely " No I do not want that wine, I would prefer...." and either ask for a particular wine I knew was available or to ask for a particular style, grape variety, or whatever. Never any issue, refusal, or problem, although at times a few minutes wait if the waiter or sommelier had to go find the wine I wanted from elsewhere. You can ask a sommelier for a copy of the current comped wines, although it might take them a day to give it to you, so best to ask in the interim for an alternative style or type you like until you have it. I would think you could also get the list from Seabourn square, as it clearly does exist.

Just back from 3 weeks on Ovation over the Xmas and New Year holidays. Our first Seabourn cruise since the Xmas/new year of 2019-2020, just before covid. Auldladdie and I are quite a picky couple of travellers who like our luxuries, good service and creature comforts. We have now enjoyed quite a number of cruises on several different lines and recognise comparative differences between the different operators. We honestly thought this cruise was fabulous. Most of the crew, with hardly any exceptions were helpful, chatty and lovely, doing their utmost, as before. Food in all venues varied a bit from good (at worst) to excellent, mainly toward the latter, although we got a bit jaded with the main dining room dinners by the end of 3 weeks. Simple enough to change it up with sushi or another restaurant though, as we frequently did, so we always felt we had options. Plenty to do on board, with a lively, holiday-mood, crowd of amiable, interesting, well-travelled people who enjoy chat and laughter, which was exactly how we found our previous Seabourn cruises. This was a Caribbean cruise, with several less well visited stops and one or two were not ones we found held much interest, but that is a very personal thing and it didn't happen often enough to matter much overall to us. I have heard the naysayers on this board for a while now, so we were a little concerned as to what to expect this time around, but we were delighted to find Seabourn seemed just as much fun as we remembered our from previous cruises. Tiny hiccups on rare occasions, but overall the staff did an excellent job of sorting those quickly. Keen to cruise with Seabourn soon again. Just my honest tuppenceworth! 🙂

Here is a pic of the balcony of penthouse 7114 on Vista. When you look up you realise that the shortened panel shown is open to the sky and the other higher balconies of same width don't have this extra smaller panel. Not a massive difference, but definitely more than enough room to have 2 loungers and the rest of the furniture with plenty of space to move around following the sun. Delightful!

Hi cruisingxpert, perhaps I have misunderstood what you mean, and am sorry if so, but the penthouse balconies on different decks are not all the same sq footage. If something is same width but deeper, it has to be bigger and you can see from photos, as well as axtually looking at the ship when you are alongside, that they are the same in width as the decks rise, but deeper. Just to be clear for anyone trying to book and wanting maximum space on the balcony of a penthouse.

Well, both my husband and I developed coughs on Vista in August and we discovered someone on the same deck as us had been confirmed with covid. We went to the ship's doc, filled with trepidation and ran up a considerable sum in tests for all sorts. Not covid, not even strep throat (which we were told is, like covid, subject to enforced isolation on the ship which we did not know), just acute laryngotracheitis -a sore throat and irritating cough. Some antibiotics and it was quickly sorted. So worth remembering not every cough on a ship is covid. We do indeed, as Nashna says, have to take sensible precautions, have our vaccinations and then just cross our fingers if we want to travel!

I forgot to add that the rear extended balconies on deck 7 have 2 chairs and a dining table, two loungers and a side table, all with plenty of room to be moved around to catch the sun.

I was in 7114 on a 25 night cruise on Vista this July/August The extended balconies on deck 7 at the rear are the deepest on the ship for penthouses, although when we looked up it was obvious that the other extended balconies on deck 8 and above are less deep than those on deck 7. As far as we could determine, the only small snag is that when they wash the overhanging deck, further up and overhead as we looked up from 7114, with the extension overhead to accommodate the wider restaurant floors (possibly deck 12 and above?), the water does splash down onto deck 7. Not much of a snag at all. 🙂 Loved those cabins.

I thought the safe on Vista was the smallest I have had on any cruise line or hotel, but I usually do a reasonable size cabin like a PH. Took all our stuff, but it was a squeeze.

Vista recently overnighted right on the river in the centre of Bordeaux.

No specific "medicine cabinet" in our PH bathroom on Vista. Lots of ordinary bathroom cabinet space however, so you can easily find enough space to put your meds. BTW, I cannot see a dedicated medicine cabinet/space in the link Redraider has posted. Maybe I am just missing the obvious though.

We are just back from almost a month on Vista, a non-connecting PH. We did hear a neighbour's tv one evening when they were playing a musical show or movie loudly , so they could hear it while they sat on their deck 😞 and one day the other neighbours' (both really hard of hearing, we later realised ) yelling and having a very "heated conversation" 😬 Other than that, we had another very rude New Yorker lady close by, who took calls on speakerphone or facetime on her deck every evening (both family and work - and wow she almost never stopped over-selling her business to clients, aways the same agressive spiel) between 5 and 6.30pm, (when most people are back from a busy day ashore and trying to relax in the evening sun on their decks before dinner) at a volume only the very rudest people can manage to sustain. My overall impression was that none of that was Oceania's fault, in that it was not a Vista design "flaw", more just a pity some self-centred folk have zero consideration for others around them.

Just off Vista and Acqua di Parma, Blu Mediterraneo, Arancia di Capri in our PH. I like the previous Bulgari ones, but this was every bit as lovely.

My experiences in Ember - it was neither loud nor quick nor casual, not by any measure, and nothing like Waves or the other casual spots on the ship. I say that as my true experience and I do eat out a lot at high end dining and have done for...a long time (yes, I am getting on a bit now!). One man's meat.......