Cape Town to Singapore

Couldn't they print an up-to-date complementary wines list, say every week or so? And a short description with tasting notes and food pairings. I don't think that it would take much revision once it got going.

This is all available on the Web and the wine buyer could/should do it as part of their duties. After all, the wine is suppose to match the food.

Oh dear!

Not so long ago I was savaged by a couple of regular posters for daring to suggest that Seabourn was slowly mass-marketizing itself. This all seems to be another example of this trend.

The sort of restaurants I go to have a wine list/menu. You order a bottle from the menu that you fancy or can afford, and the waiter brings, it pulls the cork and all the other formalities and then leaves the bottle on the table (red) or plonks it in an ice bucket (white/rose) ( sorry, don't have an accent on this keyboard). You then happily serve yourself and your partner/guests.

Perhaps this approach might solve many of the issues?

Clearly I don't often go to Michelin-starred joints, but I have been to a few and this approach was employed in at least one.

I don't know why they don't try this at the Patio Gril. It's a more informal venue, and we usually find it the devil of a business attracting the wine waiter's attention when we eat there.

And another thing. I do think it is a flippin' cheek to use passengers on a pretty expensive 36 day itinerary as guinea pigs or market testers for this 'initiative'.

Claiming 5 star dining does not mean it equates to a Michelin experience. Seabourn never claimed Michelin quality dining on board its ships even though in the good old days there were some meals that certainly would have qualified.

On the Odyssey for Christmas the sommelier and wine service were actually the best part of the main restaurant experience. What a shame!!!!

There seems to be a lot of angst on this thread but it really isn't as bad as some think.

Tonight we had a lovely meal outside at the Colonnade. The weather was warm and the sun was setting over the stern. The waiter offered us a South African Cabernet Sauvignon. My wife demurred and asked if they had the Albarino. They did and we drank that. It was all good.

Yes, the wine service in the Colonnade, Patio and TK Grill has not been altered. It is the MDR where service has been cut.

Last night we were offered the “wine of the day”, a white which I found outright bitter. Then I thought about the whites we believe to be still available from the list I had pocketed not long after the start of this segment when I learned about this “initiative”. But instead of asking for one of my preferreds my partner ordered a revenue wine. It was perfect.

But the point is that there are only 2 maroon jacketed sommeliers in the MDR now. Until this initiative there would have been several wine staff offering a few of each type of wine and so you could taste and select. They would have had bottles nearby for a fluid service. That includes the discussion, if needed, the pouring, and topping up, followed by service on the reds. Had I asked for an alternative house wine last night our waiter would have scrambled and that’s just not smart. First and foremost, he is not trained and/or conversant in wines nor does he have the supply easily accessible. Secondly, he has another role which is the food service.

Is this Seabourn standard we know? Is this good enough for you? We shall see what the consequences are for this “initiative” in due course, no doubt. For this cruise I just hope that they leave the other 3 venues alone!

Happy and healthy sailing!

Last night we were all woken to a PA announcement declaring something along the lines of “Bright Star alert, Mykonos Island, deck Two” At first I thought I was having a bad dream based on the current sad event on the Quest. But when DH awoke having heard the same we realized it was real. For a moment, until we had a chance to process the information, we were thinking oh no, not our Captain. Then we registered deck two (still not sure what Mykonos Island stands for) and realized it was crew quarters. This AM at breakfast we found out (from the Captain) a crew member had a rather bad fall in a stairwell. Later as we were leaving on the Shuttle bus there was an ambulance that took off for the local hospital with the crew member. Hopefully not a life threatening injury.

Today we are in La Reunion, a French department. Please don’t get me started on the inept operation of the shuttle bus to a junky little beach community/town half a mile away (the 11:15 return bus never showed, morphed into the noon bus and was so packed they had to leave some passengers behind. ) And once at the port we had to exit the bus - go through the cruise terminal and immigration and show our passes twice before a three bus loads of passengers had to wait int the humid hot sun in a long line to board. A bit overkill. I will say those who went on the tour to the volcano enjoyed it and in speaking with a couple who had been her previously confirmed the town we were originally supposed to shuttle to (St. Denis) is a charming and worth a look.

This may seem strange but one thing we have found quite interesting about where we are docked in an industrial port is that we are directly parallel with two container ships being unloaded and loaded. We spent some time on our balcony this PM getting close up show of these huge cranes doing their job. Don’t know why we find this so fascinating.

Argh. Back to the new service system in the MDF. We continue to find no more issue with wine service/selection than in the past. The beverage waiters would then (as do the all purpose waiters now) offer a featured red and white each evening. I don’t ever remember many of the beverage waiters having extensive knowledge of wine characteristics in general and offerings on the House list. When I wanted more info I would have a discussion with the Sommelier and he would make suggestions as to available wines and pairing with food we had ordered. What ever we selected was available within s few minutes and after a couple of nights when the waiters got to know us available in the dining room. I am finding this situation is exactly the same now. What this new system does prevent is the difficulty of getting wine top off late in the dinner service when many bar waiters formerly left to staff the Grand Salon, Club or Obs Bar. Now anyone passing by can fill your bladder and I find that to be a big improvement. So CC readers you are being provided with two perspectives to balance as you so chose.

Tonight I am looking forward to returning to the Grill. Yes, portions are huge but we have gotten around that issue on previous dinners there this cruise by passing on the initial crudités and rolls, sharing a main course three ways and selecting one or two desserts for the three of us. I love the quiet ambiance, the polished service and the intimate atmosphere as well as the high quality ingredients that are used in the dishes (even with a rather limited menu).

Tomorrow Mauritius and the usual Shopping With The Chef runaround. For days they said they did not know when or where and to watch the Herald. Last night saw it in our Herald as we returned from dinner at 9:30. Raced to the Square to sign up only to be told it was fully booked. So we are on the wait list hoping for a cancellation. I think much of the intrigue surrounding this very populate offering would disappear if it became a paid excursion.

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Tomorrow Mauritius and the usual Shopping With The Chef runaround. For days they said they did not know when or where and to watch the Herald. Last night saw it in our Herald as we returned from dinner at 9:30. Raced to the Square to sign up only to be told it was fully booked. So we are on the wait list hoping for a cancellation. I think much of the intrigue surrounding this very populate offering would disappear if it became a paid excursion.

I like the way Azamara organises Shopping with the Chef. Yes, it’s a paid excursion, but the group is only 14 people and the event includes three elements: shopping with the Executive Chef, shopping for local wines with the Head Sommelier and in the evening a private dinner for the group with the Executive Chef serving dishes made from the ingredients purchased earlier in the day, accompanied by the local wines purchased by the Head Sommelier.

..... the town we were originally supposed to shuttle to (St. Denis) is a charming and worth a look.

Why was the original shuttle destination cancelled/replaced?

By the way, thanks for the balanced take on the wine situation. Hopefully by the time we board all will be running smoothly! And thanks to Roxburgh for the evocative description of dinner in the Colonnade. To me that's what sailing on Seabourn is all about.

Chairsin,

One head and one assistant sommelier does not and cannot substitute for several wine/bar staff circulating within the MDR when the doors open for dinner and for the couple of hours staff are in position. And I would add that I do recall that the wine/bar staff did know about the wines they were offering, such that I did not need to track down the head sommelier for suggestions.

If you think about the numbers of guests and the resources allocated to wine service, this change reflects a degradation of service. Simple as that. I don’t have an inside track to the strategic thinkers behind this clumsy affair. No Seabourn guest, at these prices, and bearing in mind their collective experiences, would choose, on their own, to eliminate wine/bar staff from the MDR serving at times over 300 passengers favor general wait staff and 2 sommeliers.

Now, if there was a tangible rationale, or buy-in by us on the basis of benefit, that would be a different conversation. What explanation can you offer for the “wine of the day” dumbing down and/or headcount reduction objective of what was active conversations between those several wine/bar staff and their guests - as we experienced from Rio to Cape Town and Quest last month- and before this “project” was foisted upon us in Cape Town during our 55 day cruise from Rio to Singapore with no explanation whatsoever? It’s as if no one thought we would notice. Imagine that.

I do not accept that this is in my interest insofar as we might get better service should we stay late in the MDR and when wine/bar staff may move onto the Observation Bar or Club. If that were ever an issue - and it has never been one for us - they could first top us off and be on their way. Which leaves the wait staff to finish dessert, coffee/tea and petit four service which is now, in my estimation, being neglected due to the additional “wine service” they are trying to deliver.

We will have to agree to disagree about whose interest this “project” benefits. I would like to think any change benefits both/all parties, its objectives are well understood, and we see no degradation of passenger experience. Any such improvement would likely and logically be welcomed, after all. But my sense is that Seabourn passengers truly enjoy engagement with staff, in this case the wine/bar staff in the MDR. That has been compromised since Cape Town for me. You and I have different experiences, obviously.

Happy and healthy sailing!

What this new system does prevent is the difficulty of getting wine top off late in the dinner service when many bar waiters formerly left to staff the Grand Salon, Club or Obs Bar. Now anyone passing by can fill your bladder and I find that to be a big improvement.

A great point and very astute observation! I, too, have often found, when dining late, that many of the bar waiters would disappear, resulting in wine glasses not being refilled, so I concur that this new system would indeed be an improvement in this regard.

In general, while I enjoy interacting with most of the wine waiters, I have never found them to be an essential part of my dining experience or enjoyment. They rarely seem to be knowledgeable of the complimentary wine selection anyway. Typically I would either accept the daily red or white wine or ask them to bring another one; I don't engage with them to ask about which others they'd recommend or are available, since I have been sailing on Seabourn regularly and am quite familiar with the complimentary wine selection. At the start of each voyage, I'd ask for the wine list and/or consult with the bar manager or sommeliers to see if any new wines are available. From time to time, I'd ask again in case of new provision, either from corporate or local purchases, at certain ports.

In the rare cases of a wrong wine poured into an existing glass, a simple alert to the staff or management would bring a new glass, a new bottle, or a waived bottle fee, no doubt. No drama required.

Chairsin, you commented that you enjoy the “quiet ambiance” in the Grill. Each time we were there previously there was loud and pounding “we-are-trying-to-be-hip” style music, which was the key thing we disliked there, as we had to yell at each other to hear ourselves talk over the “music”, on top of the drinking pax and the echo in the small room, but where everything else was luxury and enjoyable. We considered returning only if we were each wearing ear plugs, but then we would have to text each other for conversation. The music was supposedly selected by Keller himself, and we met several other pax who complained. Have they stopped blasting?

Or maybe as I get older, if I lose my hearing, I will not notice, but that still leaves DH, who is an audiophile and picky about noise.

Catlover54, I know what you are talking about concerning the music in the TK Grill. It was SO LOUD! We asked our waiter if it cold be turned way down and it made it happen. He also told us that the music and its loud volume were the dictates of Thomas Keller. He agreed with us that the music and its volume did not fit with the general feeling of the restaurant. I am hoping that when we sail on the Ovation in June, we can also ask that the music be turned down to a lower volume.

We had a private dinner with the newish Corporate Sommelier.

 

... And it was great fun to talk with this very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guy. He is passionate about training crew in all aspects of wine service and selection and enhancing Seabourn’s wine program. He would like to see Seabourn take advantage of more local wines (when the ports of call suit).

Was this an internal promotion or an external hire? I feel like the overall wine program on Seabourn needed a boost and hopefully he is bringing new life to the lists.

We ended up ordering bottles much more often on the last three sailings I was on - a by-product of both mediocre red choices on the complimentary pour list and some interesting additions (particular via the TK restaurant) onto the bottle list.

I hope she the moves to the Ovation, she is excellent and spent lots of time enjoying her music on the Encore, TK bar.

She'll presumably be wherever Calvin is (or vice-versa). I do love these Seabourn couples though and I'm glad the line makes all efforts to keep them together... young love makes me happy!

First off the fried chicken is served in the Colonnade- not the Grill (they serve a good whole roasted chicken there every night). It is one of the TK Ad Hoc inspired dinners. In spite of comments constantly posted here looking at these family service style comfort food dinners with great disdain the room was packed - and not just with Americans. I thought as usual with these dinners the salad was amazing - beautiful fresh ingredients (including very flavorful peeled tomatoes), beautifully arranged and with a lovely herb dressing passed on the side. And then there was the chicken. As the three of us all favor dark meat we jokingly asked for a five legged chicken. What we received was a lovely pyramid of chicken legs topped by a couple of wings. I thought the chicken was very flavorful, tender and not the least bit greasy. They brine it for twelve hours before coating it in a mixture of flour and spices and cook it for twelve minutes in a pressure cooker. It is very different from Southern fried chicken but good in a different way. And as with other fried food perfect with champagne. In any event while we do not usually eat large quantities of food we finished the platter.

The TK Ad Hoc chicken night in the Colonnade was one of our favorite meals of our last sailing. Then again, I regularly order his chicken box lunch "to go" at Addendum (the Ad Hoc take-out window) when visiting Napa. I agree with you... champagne and fried chicken is a heavenly combination!!!

I feel the same way. But, I would put it this way--Calvin will be wherever SHE is and yes vice versa . I do love it that they met aboard ship and are staying together. I am truly sad that we may not be listening to Suzanne on our upcoming cruise. And I would expect Seabourn to keep their couples together. Suzanne is a jewel.

Catlover54, I know what you are talking about concerning the music in the TK Grill. It was SO LOUD! We asked our waiter if it cold be turned way down and it made it happen. He also told us that the music and its loud volume were the dictates of Thomas Keller. He agreed with us that the music and its volume did not fit with the general feeling of the restaurant. I am hoping that when we sail on the Ovation in June, we can also ask that the music be turned down to a lower volume.

I’ve only found the volume to be an issue on Encore, not Sojourn or Quest. The music is just what it is supposed to be, nice background music. I’m not sure why it’s so different between ships.

Wonder if there will be a Caviar in the Surf on either/both legs from CT to Singapore? Or maybe just in the pool?

So, here we are in Mauritius and back on-board after a hard day's touring. We were in Reunion yesterday and have enjoyed both islands. There seems to be a clear contrast between the two. Reunion clearly benefits from France's - and the EU's - largesse. One gets an impression of relative prosperity but not one of industriousness and vibrancy. Maybe they don't need to. Mauritius, on the other hand, seems industrious and vibrant but there are clearly pockets of poverty. We are in Mauritius for two days and I am looking forward to wandering around town tomorrow.

So far, the food has been good and the service, overall, has been okay. There is clearly a lot of training going on with 'old hands' such as Roberto, Jean Pierre and Slavek trying to bring the newbies up to speed. Some are pretty good already (e.g. both Eunices. Duncan, etc.) while some are going to take a little bit more time always assuming they can get there. As ever, we try to cherry pick the sections we eat at based on who is running the service team in them.

Big negative so far - for us - have been the Seabourn tours. In three out of four tours our bus has been 90% full whereas, in the past, Seabourn never packed the buses. Problems include lack of comfort, not necessarily getting a window seat, much longer getting on and off and difficulty hearing the guide at stops because too many people are crowding around. Needless to say, I have dropped off a detailed comments card and await Seabourn's response. Watch this space.

I haven't gone through my latest photos as yet but hope to include a few of my shots in my next contribution.

I would always rent a car in Mauritius. It's a great island to drive around and I think most of the major luxury resorts are happy to welcome people who want a nice lunch and a swim in the pool. Le Prince Maurice is especially pleasant though I think the newish St Regis has the best beach and mountain scenery.

I am Facebook friends with the wonderful pianist/singer Suzanne Jade who is on this voyage. I see that she has become ill in Mauritius. I hope she recovers quickly--for her sake as well as for the fortunate passengers who get to hear her performances.

I would always rent a car in Mauritius. It's a great island to drive around and I think most of the major luxury resorts are happy to welcome people who want a nice lunch and a swim in the pool. Le Prince Maurice is especially pleasant though I think the newish St Regis has the best beach and mountain scenery.

While I agree with you in theory, I'd make some comments. We got back yesterday from a week on Mauritius. If you want to see the sights you need a car or maybe driver. However, I'd rate driving Mauritius as akin to a blood sport. The Vietnamese are amateurs by comparison. Driving skills are a rarely seen art. As well, they drive on the left. The roads while reasonable quality, away from the main couple of highways and them in some places, are very busy. Be prepared!

Well we had a fun evening yesterday. It started with an invitation to a cocktail party where we met some very interesting people. We had seen them around the ship but had not talked to them before. Then it was a quiet dinner for two in the MDR. I had the sole which was washed down with an acceptable South African Chenin Blanc. For once I foreswore the souffle and had the cheese plate and a glass of port. Both service and food were good! Then it was up to the Observation Bar for Name That Tune with Sophie as, sadly, Suzanne is still ill. Fell into bed at around midnight. Today we will go into Port Louis and walk around a bit.

As I have noted all along we continue to enjoy ourselves on this cruise with service standards on par with Seabourn cruises the last 17 years. Irrespective of what might be posted here there are many positive fun passengers whose company we have been enjoying. And we are especially having fun getting to know the crew members and having a good laugh with them.

Yesterday due to a couple of cancellations we were able to go Shopping With the Chef. Always fun if you understand that markets around the world vary tremendously in terms of standards of hygiene. This was market a on the more “rustic” end of the scale but we found it fascinating. Fortunate for us and Seabourn one of the Chefs is from Mauritius was a big help in explaining what was going on and translating. As usual we left with carts full of fresh fish, fruits and vegetables. And as chef Andreas left yesterday and a Chef Henning Geise is on to oversee the new chef who just joined it was the wonderful Henning and his Sous Chef Frank who went with us and as usual a chance to interact with the chefs is a big part of this event.

Last night we had dinner with three friends in the Colonnade for another Keller dinner - this time the beef rib steak. But for me the two highlights of this dinner are the delicious Waldorf salad and the Humbodlt Fog cheese. Great company and great food. And later we were on the same Name That Tune as Roxburgh for a rousing game (which we sadly just barely lost).

Today, our second day in Mauritius, we walked about twenty minutes into town and wandered through the harbor front area in the midst of a tremendous construction project to include numerous shops, restaurants, a grand hotel and casino. Then we caught a taxi to Pamplemousse and wandered around the gardens for a while - especially enchanted by the profusion of water lillies.

In a few hours we will depart and head toward the Maldives - with four sea days first.

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