JVNYC

Was hoping to see Europe for the spring of 2019....no itineraries listed. Must be on the next round.

they're out now....go to website.

Yes, just saw that too. Thanks!

In post #26 it is noted the TA's get the link on the 14th

Thanks. I thought your post #26 said the Cruise Critic Community. Was hoping the TA's received it sooner than tomorrow and someone would post. Tomorrow is right around the corner. :)

Seabourn has changed the July, 2018 itinerary and removed all the Turkey ports from the schedule. It is a now a revised itinerary. I just received notification. That solves that!

I really liked R2 on our recent Asia cruise. It's such a nice and quiet atmosphere in there. The service was perfect. But it's also good to see that Seabourn want to come up with new ideas. The current concept of additional Thomas Keller menus in the main restaurant and reserved nights at the Colonnade was a bit confusing, in my oppinion. So I think it's a good idea to give TK a special place... Plus, I don't think it will be TK forever.... So let them try something new from time to time. :)

 

And to all those Cunard fans: The whole Seabourn experience can't really be compared to what Cunard has to offer - even in Queens Grill. The personalized service on SB, the small number of passengers, the space on open deck, luxury food, drinks, etc etc... it's a very different product. I like both - but in warmer climates would always opt for Seabourn (for the open deck dining options, more relaxed dress code, etc.)... And please don't get me started on the food in that LIDO restaurant (on QE) again :o If you are a buffet fan, AZAMARA, Europa2 and Oceania have the officially best buffet restaurants at sea.:cool:

No evening buffet on Seabourn??

No itineraries yet?? My agent didn't get the link from Oceania yet. Has anyone seen the link that can post? :)

I wonder if you are on the naughty list?

Loose Lips and all that ;)

LOL. Nope, I'm on the good list. She's just super busy and I don't mind that. That's another benefit of Cruise Critic.

May I point out that the "advance copies" go to preferred Travel Agents first?

 

Those Agents understandably want their clients to have first choice, so they are very unlikely to post the Itineraries here; in turn clients who get a heads up may have been asked not to share the information publicly, as that would water down the Agents advantage.

 

In short, and it took me five years to learn this valuable lesson, your best bet to get early information is to book through a high volume Oceania TA. :)

Thanks for the reply. I do book with a high volume TA but usually someone here posts the link for the itineraries before she sends to me. Each launch of new itineraries, someone on Cruise Critic beats her to it.

Can we hope for a preview this week? Bookings open next Wednesday so hopefully someone will get an advanced copy of the preview link and pdf and post here. Looking forward to seeing them! :)

Good day all. I'm considering booking my first Seabourn cruise and I am considering the Odyssey 14 day itinerary in July, 2018 that visits Turkey & Greece.

I thought all ships stopped visiting Turkey? Well, I should say all American owned cruise ships.

This itinerary visits Istanbul, Cesme and Kusadasi. It's very appealing, but I'm wondering if this is one of those "iffy" itineraries that will turn to all Greece.

Is anyone else considering this itinerary and have any thoughts? Thx!

Azamara needs a new ship or two. Putting one ship in Alaska all summer (yawn) and the other in the Baltic is pretty boring.

Hi!

We were just on Riviera and were told by the Oceania Club Ambassador that the Caribbean itineraries would be out on April 19th.

Rhea

That is correct. I just confirmed with my reliable Oceania contact and she confirmed April 19th as well. Looking forward to seeing them!

Yikes! Thanks for the review. Guess I won't be trying Seabourn!

I've said in a previous post that I am totally unimpressed with the room décor on Encore. The room looks like a Courtyard Marriott or Hampton Inn with Ikea furniture, so cheap looking. The only upscale feature is the bathroom. Definitely not a luxury room by any means.

Hi there. Does anyone know when the Spirit is going in for an extensive dry dock that features the Norwegian Edge platform? I haven't sailed Norwegian since 2011 and I am looking at the Spirit for Canary Islands in spring, 2019. Long way off but I'm hoping it will be done by then. Recent reviews on Spirit aren't great. Any info is greatly appreciated.

Just don't expect speed like you have at home and you will be fine. Remember you are using satellite and it's not Oceania's fault if it's slow. People get so upset about this! Seriously....unplug and enjoy yourself. :D

I definitely think the desserts are a big HIT and very far from a MISS. Just sayin....

The bathroom is the only luxury looking feature of the stateroom. The rest of it looks cheap....like a Courtyard Marriott or Hampton Inn. Cheap furniture and awful carpeting. Seriously not upscale.

Sorry, never on any other cruiseline have we experienced the crowding, loudness and rudeness that happened the few times we ate in the Terrace.

 

I thought I gave a pretty balance review of our cruise, what a shame your response to it had to be so petty.

Didn't mean to be petty, apologies. I'm like a kid at Terrace....can't get enough! :)

Hope you'll try Oceania again!

I don't think you can compare Oceania with any Celebrity cruise no matter how nice the suite. But I do agree with the OP that the MDR is a place to avoid unless you like catering halls which it reminds me of. And imo once you pay the price for a PH on O plus all the extra it's more expensive than luxury lines. Still a great cruise line.

I agree! How can you compare a Celebrity mass market ship with 3000 people compared to 1200 on Riviera/Marina?!!? It's a completely different experience! Also, this is the first time I have ever heard someone say that the Terrace was "pretty bad." Celebrity buffets are beyond crowded!

Hi JVNYC,

I'm sure no offense was intended. The Q&A was specifically on our new Destination Immersion programs, called "Stay Longer. Experience More." The instructions said..."So post any questions or thoughts relevant to Stay Longer, Experience More. We want to hear from you."

 

Discussing any possible expansion plans were not on the agenda on this forum. Sorry for any misunderstanding on our part in the instructions.

 

Bonnie

Ah! Understood! No offense taken. Thanks.

Very odd that my question was the only one that was ignored. Not cool!

Hi Larry. Any expansion plans in the future with new ships that you can share? Thanks.

We were on odyssey

 

Food was good but less variety because only 450 passengers

Unlimited caviar divine

Oceania food wins overall

 

Fellow passengers nice and friendly

 

Best baristas at sea They have these chocolate sticks that melt in your latte.....

 

Trivia was fun

 

Service much better on o

Many service failures on my cruise. We asked that our room stewardess be changed

Bread and pastries far better on o

 

 

My wife played bridge and enjoyed it. We loved seabourn square

 

We were in a verandah cabin.

There are no butlers for any cabin category

We really missed having a butler. You have to leave a note for cabin stewardess if you want something and share room service with everyone on ship. Leads to long wAits for even small things

 

O is our first choice but we will sail on seabourn to antRctica in feb 18 and would consider seabourn if itinerary intrigued us. They have some great itineraries

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Glad to hear you had a great cruise....and very happy to hear O is still your first choice!

Oceania is about choice

 

The choice not to pay for alcohol you will not drink and ship excursions you will never take .....

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

bitob, how did you enjoy Seabourn Encore as compared to Oceania? Was the food as good or better? Would love to hear your comparison and if you have a new favorite line. I'm very curious about trying Encore in 2018 but just booked Riviera again....I just can't seem to break away from Oceania....and that's a good thing!

I did not compare Oceania to Regent as we don't do tours, I did compare a 12 day Medcruise on Oceania Riviera PH witch would cost us about €6800 with tips and drink package to an 11 day Medcruise on Seabourn witch would cost us €6500.

We do love the Oceania product and will be happy to sail again, I just finding it strange that a premium line try to charge luxury line prices, on the other hand we have not sailed Seabourn it might be that there is no differens or maybe the Oceania product is even better, but why are they then calling them selfs "upper premium" and not luxury if they think they are comparable to the ones who call them selfs luxury lines?

Seabourn has considerably lowered their summer Mediterranean prices as compared to years prior. I guess people don't want to pay those prices....and they were high. Oceania dining is what wins me every time.....so many choices and everything is open all the time!! You never have to wonder if something is closed. Seabourn has issues with that. Restaurants are closed for lunch on ports days, etc. I don't want to be bothered with that.