14-28 July, 2018 Barcelona to Barcelona cruise.

We are on this cruise at the moment and I thought rather then hijacking other threads I should start my own. We, my husband and I, tend to be independent travellers so we have no ship tours booked so I can't answer questions re ship tours.

Barcelona we have been a few times and still enjoyed just wandering the streets. We went to the port just before 12MD with the intention to drop of our luggage and then go visit the Maritime Museum near the port. The Barcelona Port Authorities had decided check would not commence until 12MD exactly. So we along with others who had come even earlier had to wait. Seabourn had set up a mini bar with drinks of champagne, juices and water and there were seats available in an air-conditioned area. Check-in was fairly quick once it started. So my advice, don't come before midday.

The Maritime Museum was interesting and the audio headphones included in the price of €10pp. There was a full size replica of a Spanish Galleon plus various other smaller models of ships throughout the ages. we stayed for over an hour and could have stayed longer but wanted to check out a Tapas restaurant, Xiloka, nearby. It was a small local place with great food and good prices.

Passengers who stayed onboard the ship enjoyed lunch in either the Colonnade or Patio Grill.

Muster was at 3.30pm and sail-away at 5pm. Unpacking, setting up my wifi, booking spa appointments took up the rest of my time before getting ready for dinner.

Meals in the MDR have been very good with good service. We have eaten there three times so far.

We were in TK Grill for Formal Night, simply because we expected it to be on the second night, which is usual, but they had it on the fourth night. We did have a slight glitch re our TK bookings. They had no record of them. Luckily I had paper copies of the bookings with me and so they sorted it out and got us in at the correct times. I was glad I had my proof of bookings as TK is fully booked for the cruise.

TK food was also good. My Lobster Thermidor was not traditional but a Keller variant with a butter and ?tarragon sauce. It was nice, but I think I prefer the traditional. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his chilled lettuce with blue cheese starter and his beef fillet was cooked to perfection. Portion sizes are large so we couldn't fit in dessert.

As I said in a previous thread, Sushi was wonderful and we are looking forward to returning.

I will break this up by starting a new post under this......sorry about the length.

Julie

Are you on Encore Julie?

Looking forward to reading more!

Ports of call so far.....

Mahon, Menorca - It was a Sunday and very hot so we just walked around for 1.5 hours as most things were closed. There is a wonderful view of the bay area from the top of the town. It is up a very steep hillside with at least 200 stairs. A could walk but not if you have mobility issues. If it had been another day but Sunday we could have visited the local Gin Distillery which is about 200metres from the ship. There is also a local fish market with tapas bars, which is supposed to be very good as well.

Marseille - We tendered in which was odd to me as there was no other ships in port. We got a taxi to the train station and caught the TGV to Avignon. This is where our luck went slightly south. The TGV station is slightly out of town so we went to the taxi rank to get to the historic centre. About 20 people waiting but no taxis. Some of the French people waiting tried calling the taxi number, with no luck. Only one taxi turned up after about half an hour. So the rest of us took the local bus when it turned up and caught it into town. An interesting tour of the outskirts of Avignon residential area :p.

After getting to the Historic Centre we visited the Papal Palace and Gardens, enjoyed a local lunch then headed back to the central train station where we discovered we could catch a train to the TGV station for €1.60pp. This was good to know as again taxis were scarce. I am not sure if it is like this all the time or if it was due to the taxi drivers out partying the night before due to France winning the World Cup in football.

Luckily the rain that had been threatening held off until we were on the TGV back to Marseille. We had planned to eat ashore as we weren't leaving till 11pm but decided not to try our luck any further.

St Tropez - enjoyed walking around town with friends and checking out the fashion both in the shops and on the people. You do have to hunt a bit as St Tropez is expensive but managed to find a couple of things to buy. Enjoyed trying Bridgette Bardot's favourite pastry the "Tropezienne" and prefer the traditional to the chocolate variety. Found a busy local restaurant with good food for lunch.

Ajaccio - Went on a private tour organised by a roll call member. It was 5 hours which included visiting the Calanques of Piana which is fascinating red rock structures. Our guide dropped us off at one point so we could walk and enjoy the scenery. It reminded me a bit of the red rocks in Sedona. Caution was required due to the narrow road and traffic. This also gave us an opportunity to watch the difficulty experienced when large Seabourn tour buses needed to get around corners with oncoming traffic. Not easy. In fact on our return we got caught for about 20 minutes as a Seabourn bus was coming one way and our traffic going the other way had to back up and readjust as it was so difficult.

So my suggestion is if you do this tour with Seabourn, which would be interesting, do remember to bring patience as well. Also the roads are very winding so take precautions if you have issues with motion sickness.

For the record I noticed Ajaccio was also a port where there was a Shopping with the Chef option. I saw a small group of maybe a dozen passengers getting instructions from the Chef about the tour.

Monte Carlo - we are docked and the sun is shining. We have actually opted to take a tour of the Bridge on Encore, as we have visited Monte Carlo a few times before. I am curious to see the Bridge as I haven't noticed this option before.

Again I apologise for the length.....any questions I will try to answer.

Julie

Great reports frantic36. Don't worry about the length! I look forward to your next report.

Thank you for your thread, Julie, and especially for mentioning names of specific restaurants, foods and logistical issues.

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Thanks for the great thread Julie, keep it up please, your posts are not too long.

We did the same cruise on Encore this time last year.

Is the ship full ? Many children ?

Thanks Julie,

I am doing the same itinerary on Encore in August,thanks for some tips.

The bridge tours are interesting if you haven’t done one before.

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Thanks Julie,

I am doing the same itinerary on Encore in August,thanks for some tips.

The bridge tours are interesting if you haven’t done one before.

 

 

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Will this be your first cruise on one of the new ships MrL? If so I'll be interested to read your thoughts about it, just booked my first on the new ones on the Ovation and am already slightly regretting it!

Will this be your first cruise on one of the new ships MrL? If so I'll be interested to read your thoughts about it, just booked my first on the new ones on the Ovation and am already slightly regretting it!

We were hesitant about going on the Encore last year but wound up - with the exception of the pool area on sea days - really liking the ship. Lots of improvements in public spaces, IMO especially the TK Bar area, Grill, Sushi and the Colonnade. Plus we liked the MDR layout with the wine racks and piano and the noise level seemed quieter. Was not so crazy about the now round Square area for speaking w/ Guest Services. Also liked the colors used in the public areas better, JMO.

... Shushi ...

Must've had a few cocktails first...;p

We were hesitant about going on the Encore last year but wound up - with the exception of the pool area on sea days - really liking the ship.

I will be on Encore for our first time on the new largest (600ppl) ships late next week. I imagine every week is different but we typically spend lots of time by the pool and with a couple of sea days on the agenda I am curious about your experience. Can you elaborate?

thanks

I will be on Encore for our first time on the new largest (600ppl) ships late next week. I imagine every week is different but we typically spend lots of time by the pool and with a couple of sea days on the agenda I am curious about your experience. Can you elaborate?

thanks

I don't want to hijack frantic36's thread, but the issue with the pool area is that it is the same size as on the O-class ships yet there are an additional 150 pax so space is at a premium on a nice sea day. Probably better to start a new thread if you want to continue this discussion instead of turning an interesting and informative trip report into a discussion of the pros and cons of the Encore / Ovation.

Probably better to start a new thread if you want to continue this discussion instead of turning an interesting and informative trip report into a discussion of the pros and cons of the Encore / Ovation.

Why Mr Ed, you’re sounding very stern this morning:D:D

We have enjoyed the Encore and the Ovation, but have to admit that we are not sit by the pool people (wanting to stay out of the sun as much as possible) . We go there to have lunch by the pool or to Earth and Ocean in the evening (which we found to be excellent by the way.) We have never had difficulty finding a table for lunch or dinner.

We have utilized Guest Service in the Square many times with no difficulty. Yes the area is round, but it seems to work.

Remember that there is a hot tub on Deck 7 and also a small pool outside of the Club.

The TK Grill Lounge is our very favorite place for a before dinner drink. I hope you all like the larger ships, but, if you don't, there will just be more room for us! Have a wonderful trip. I hope you will give us a day by day report Scb71!

Will this be your first cruise on one of the new ships MrL? If so I'll be interested to read your thoughts about it, just booked my first on the new ones on the Ovation and am already slightly regretting it!

Indeed it will be my first on a gargantuan Seabourn ship [emoji15][emoji568]

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Must've had a few cocktails first...;p

Saki I think is the correct drink to go with Shuzzzi

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Indeed it will be my first on a gargantuan Seabourn ship [emoji15][emoji568]

 

 

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I was amusing myself earlier, thinking about how we had fond nicknames for the other ships.

The triplets.

The big sisters.

and now what for these two new kids on the block? The Ugly Sisters (Cinderella)? ;)

Thanks to 2SailingNomads for your positive comments earlier. Despite appearances, I am trying to keep an open mind about the ships.

Julie - sorry that your thread has slipped off track somewhat, looking forward to reading more about your Med adventure when you have the opportunity to update.

Isklaar, I have to respectfully point out that Ugly Sister doesn't fit Encore and Ovation at all. They are truly lovely ships--as you will soon see. I have no way of knowing what your experience will be--as that will have a lot to do with itinerary, crew, captain, CD, chef, etc---but I can say we loved both Encore and Ovation, In fact, now we are leery of sailing on the smaller ships. Like you, I was horrified when we booked our Encore cruise last year. I just KNEW I was going to hate it. But, as you say, it was all that was available on short notice (three months) for the itinerary we wanted. Our fears were dispelled on embarkation day.

@Frantic36

Thank you for the most informative post. We're boarding Encore in August from Monte Carlo so will just miss you. However, if you're still staying on in Barcelona do let us know... perhaps we'll cross paths? Perth is a very small world and perhaps we'll run into each other somewhere.

Julie keep writing I am looking forward to more. It gives me the feeling of being back in the Med' with Seabourn. Less withdrawal symptoms from no European Summer Cruising this year.

Hi All,

Thank you for the nice replies.

The Bridge Tour was very interesting. They announced it in The Herald the day before to sign up at Guest Services. There was only about 10 passengers and a First Officer gave a short talk and answered questions. My husband is an ex-yachtsman who has done ocean racing so he asked a few questions and enjoyed the experience to get the extra knowledge.

We were docked in Monaco so it was easy to get off and the information area was right near the ship. Easy to walk to the Oceanographic Museum. The Hop on Hop off bus is there and the Bateau Bus. Friends used the Bateau to easily access the area around the Casino and Cafe de Paris. We just walked around for a couple of hours as have been to Monaco a few times and will probably be back so weren't rushed to see anything.

To answer questions......

This is a very diverse group with quite a younger demographic will most in the mid 40's to mid 60's with outliers on the Bell Curve. There are about 20 or so children with no noticeable impact on my cruise. Having said that, there is one family I have noticed briefly a couple of times on Deck 5 pool who seem to have taken over the pool area when I see them with pool games. I am not really a pool person and the cruise is port intensive but I think it would impact me if I wanted to enjoy the usually quieter pool area on Deck 5. I have only noticed twice during the week.

Isklaar, I hope you enjoy your cruise as Encore is a beautiful ship. The Observation Bar is lovelier then the Odyssey class. Seabourn Square is very nice and I see they corrected an issue I had on the inaugural sailing where there is now a dedicated spot to line up so people can't just jump the queue. I am ambivalent about the Club area on Deck 5.

Dining choices are good to have the variety though I would definitely book TK before I board on the busy sailings. Take a copy of your bookings in case they loose them. They sorted it out very quickly and easily for me, so no problem. Sushi can get busy but if you dine early or very late it is fine, though we were lucky the night we went and easily got in at 8.15pm.. No reservations, on a first come basis.

The pool area has been crowded on Deck 9 as it is a warm cruise with many dedicated sun worshippers.....luckily I'm not one of them :cool:.

I like the big ships but my preference is still the Odyssey class and I have sailed on all three types.

The ship is sailing basically full with 519 passengers, including solo travellers and families.....all cabins are full. We are in Civitavecchia today with 200 leaving and about the same in new passengers boarding.

We had a great private tour to Cinque Terre when docked in Portovenere yesterday and we have another private tour today. I will write those up later as I need to get organised to go.

Julie

Frantic36,

Quick question: you are on Encore and mention it is full at 519 passengers with all cabins sold. If so, and I know you are on top of things, the ship is well under capacity since it can carry 600 or something like that. That would make the ship very comfortable.

All is fine for us on Quest! We are today at Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland. The ship looks just great with lots of new carpet, flooring and furnishings updated even since our Dec/Jan Antartica cruise.

We just love the attention to detail, the tempo and friendliness/can do cheerfulness of the crew.

Happy and healthy sailing!

We board the Encore on July 28. Could you please identify the captain and cruise director. LittleRedJohn

Julie, great review thank you!

We are on the Ovation for the month of October, Portovenere is one of our stops. Do you mind sharing your private tour info? I’ve always wanted to visit Cinque Terre, not sure I want to book the cruise tour. Thank you,

Jennifer

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Frantic36,

 

Quick question: you are on Encore and mention it is full at 519 passengers with all cabins sold. If so, and I know you are on top of things, the ship is well under capacity since it can carry 600 or something like that. That would make the ship very comfortable.

 

All is fine for us on Quest! We are today at Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland. The ship looks just great with lots of new carpet, flooring and furnishings updated even since our Dec/Jan Antartica cruise.

 

We just love the attention to detail, the tempo and friendliness/can do cheerfulness of the crew.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Hi Markham, so thankful I have you to check my facts ;p. Typing in a hurry.....I meant 591.....which is not the full complement of 604 but all cabins were utilised.

Glad you're having a good time on Quest.

Julie