Yachtsman's Riviera July 24, 2010- New to Seaubourn

[CruisingDoctorWu]

Hey.. we are considering this trip.. we are a cpl in our 30's (though my parents might join us). This would be our first time on Seabourn, but we have cruised Regent and Seadream in the past. This itinerary seems to be fairly relaxed.. I was wondering if anyone had any idea about how Seabourn in the Mediterrean is, ie will swimming/water sports be an option. Any thoughts on this itinerary in particular?

 

CDW

[ganttc]

A group of us did the Seabourn Legend on that trip last year and had a fantastic time. The crowd is older than SeaDream, service more formal, but great. Cabins are superior. Pool area not as good. We absolutely loved the itinerary and entire experience. I am sure you will as well.

[CruisingDoctorWu]

Thanks! We are trying to decide between this and Silversea.... one of the things we loved on Seadream was the marina option. I've seen some Seabourn cruises in the Med which using the marina is specifically mentioned (the Pourcelles stop); would the marina option be available on this cruise?

 

cdw

[ganttc]

It was last year on the Legend..although we went in SEP and the water was COLD COLD COLD....Should be available as long as you are on one of the little sisters.

I love the SeaDream gig in the Caribbean. Just great. I'm doing SD in 2 weeks and it will be interesting to see how much of the marina they use in the Med.

Silversea is much larger ship, so a different (although I hear very good!) experience. A guy I work with sails with them all the time and loves them.

[CruisingDoctorWu]

Seadream in the Caribbean is a great gig.. those yachts are gearing to outdoor living and the Caribbean suits them well. it's unfortunate that most of there Caribbean itineraries are very similar... I've heard that they don't use the marina terribly much in the Med, but I could be mistaken... I loved using the jet skis and swimming off the back.. it appears that Seabourn limits swimming to the marina cage unfortunately....

[johnnycruise]

I am booked on the same itinerary a month earlier. After I confirmed the booking I called the Seabourn Club and asked about the marina day. (The print brochure states it will be at Le Lavandou.) The club rep gave this opinion ... once per cruise, weather permitting on a day the ship is at anchor. Since St. Tropez is a busier port, that would leave Bandol or Le Lavandou as the preferred sites for the marina day.

 

You can swim outside of the marina cage each time you fall off the banana boat.;)

 

johnny

[margbem]

We were on the Legend last September from Monte Carlo to Rome. We had our marina day in the Golfo Stella and it was brilliant! The sea was warm - believe me, I usually get in up to my ankles then run out screaming! I got straight into deep water from the ship (once everyone has had their fill of the water craft they allow you to swim freely out of the cage). We swam every day and got straight into the water - it was fabulous! Enjoy - I know you will.

[CruisingDoctorWu]

thanks for the info.. do they so the caviar surf splash in the Med? I know SeaDream's is similar, and we loved it in the Carribean!

 

CDw

[Grace Smith]

thanks for the info.. do they so the caviar surf splash in the Med? I know SeaDream's is similar, and we loved it in the Carribean!

 

CDw

 

On our last cruise they did caviar on a surf board in the cage. Everyone enjoyed!:D

[NicoleAbbate]

I really wanted to do this itinerary on this date, i have been comparing the itinerarys of seadream, and silversea, and seabourns seem to be very interesting and exciting!

 

This cruise falls during my 30th Birthday, but its impossible for us this year to go to Europe, we have Bermuda planned instead.

 

I am actively looking into doing seabourn for my 31st birthday next year in 2011, and have been researching all the lines to find an itinerary that suits what we are looking for.

[CruisingDoctorWu]

Well we booked it! Hope the volcano cooperates....

I guess this thread can be a roll call if one desires

[CruisingDoctorWu]

Just some thoughts from our trip:

- Air arranged by Seabourn from BWI to BCN via LHR on BA. Late night start+ flight delays+slowest custom line ever in BCN= 3:30 PM exit from customs hall in BCN. Private van transfer awaited; directly to the boat. My parents/sister arrived into BCN in the AM and went first to a day room then to the boat around 1 PM.

- Embarkation- easy for us; everyone else had already finished. Curious though as our bags took a good ~ 2 hours to arrive.

- Cabin: Deck 6, french balcony cabin. Only shower. I saw the bathtub suites; much prefer shower only. Bathroom was adequate size; larger than on Seadream; smaller than Regent. Molton Brown bath product were nice; somehow managed to score some Hermes soap products (which I was told were only for the VIP suites..). Walk in closet was nice. Loved the French balcony feature; laying on the couch with a nice breeze= excellent. Bed was ok; weird pillow topper. Stewardess service was excellent..

- Ship: The legend is 18 years old.. it's a little tired in places. I understand that there is a dry dock coming up. Hopefully that'll freshen things up a bit. However, I dont think that it'll fix the two biggest problems: pool location (which I knew about beforehand, but I didn't realize how awkward and small it is) and the boat just felt crowded; especially the Verandah cafe but also on the Sun Deck and at the top of the ship bar.

- Ports: Le verdure got canned because of poor tendering conditions. Sete was substituted. Otherwise, we enjoyed most of the ports. Favorite beach port was probably La Lavandou (great thursday beach market). We rented a car in Marseille and hit Avignon and Gordes which was quite nice. Most of the time we just enjoyed walking around (St. Tropez is crazy at night). Marina day was in La Lavandou, and it was a little disappointing- long lines for the rides and swimming in the cage wasn't terribly fun.

- Excursions: in Bandol we took the Aix en Provence excursion. I have been to Aix before and this excursion was disappointing, to say the least. It was booked out for I think 4.5 hours. 70 minutes driving each way. A 60 minute tour, and then about 50 minutes of free time. I think another hour would have been great; a number of people asked about the Atelier of Cezanne, but it was too far to make it there and back. More time would have been great for this great town.

- Food: Excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed everything I ate. Breakfast was usually in the Verandah cafe, with a couple of room service meals. I had eggs benedict a good amount, which was wonderful. Fresh fruit was yummy (especially the watermelon). Lunch was taken either poolside or in the Verandah cafe. My wife swears that the spaghetti bolognese was the best thing she ate all week; which they specially made for her a couple of times (usually had to get it from the main kitchen). French fries were great. Dinners were nice; I probably had Foie gras more than I should have. We had the tasting menu twice in Restaurant ; which was quite imaginative and a good experience. They were quite accommodating for my parents lactose intolerance. The caviar wasn't as nice as I had hoped (is it farmed?). The deck barbeque was excellent (paella was nice) Of note, we had requested in advance via the maitre'd and the chef sashimi- we were told no problem but we never ended up getting up.....

- Service: this was a mixed bag. Most of the people were excellent. Our cabin stewardess was top notch. However, I felt like my glass went empty probably more than I was expecting. I felt like the wait staff (especially at the Verandah) were often quite harried, because of how busy it was. Our Restaurant 2 service was excellent; they remember about my parent's lactose intolerance on our second dining experience. Of note, I think the ship capacity is 208 and there were 216 passengers on board, which probably contributing to harriness I saw...

- 216 passengers on board I say? here's one thing that was quite disappointing- the amount of kids on board. There were quite a number under 5 years of age. Of note one of the crew members had his family with him, which was great and they were well behaved. Unfortunately, that was not the uniform case. The two hot tubs on the sun deck were monopolized by a group of 5 kids- who treated it them as a pool. My wife actually got kicked by a kid who was jumping from side to side in the hot tub. The kids were poorly supervised, and there was definitely a couple who were in there in diapers...

 

 

This was our first experience with Seabourn. I would sail them again. I think that the food was definitely the highlight of the trip. I would probably look at Seadream first though. The children on board was a big negative (and we have a little kid who we left at home). I also feel that the Legend felt really crowded and was a little tired.

 

Just some thoughts.

CDW

[wripro]

I think it is becoming an axiom that those who wish to avoid kids must not sail on Seabourn (or Silversea for that matter, same issue there) during the summer months or holiday time.

[lincslady]

Dr.Wu - I am sure you would like the Sojourn. A better pool (the Legend also is the only one of the small ships which has not yet had its makeover), and the food and restaurants - we thought the Colonnade (the casual one) was excellent - lovely eggs benedict and blueberry pancakes at breakfast - obviously, as it is larger, more choice on the buffets and more comfortable seating. The Patio Grill is also lovely in the evening, simple food but beautifully cooked.

 

However it does seem that to avoid travelling with many children it is best to avoid the high summer months (this also applies to Regent and Silversea). We were on Sojourn in June with only about 5 children; fairly quiet and reasonably well behaved. Though, they should have been in school!

[Roxburgh]

Dr.Wu - I am sure you would like the Sojourn. A better pool (the Legend also is the only one of the small ships which has not yet had its makeover), and the food and restaurants - we thought the Colonnade (the casual one) was excellent - lovely eggs benedict and blueberry pancakes at breakfast - obviously, as it is larger, more choice on the buffets and more comfortable seating. The Patio Grill is also lovely in the evening, simple food but beautifully cooked.

 

However it does seem that to avoid travelling with many children it is best to avoid the high summer months (this also applies to Regent and Silversea). We were on Sojourn in June with only about 5 children; fairly quiet and reasonably well behaved. Though, they should have been in school!

 

Imagine parents allowing a little thing like school to interfere with their holidays :eek:

[Roxburgh]

I think it is becoming an axiom that those who wish to avoid kids must not sail on Seabourn (or Silversea for that matter, same issue there) during the summer months or holiday time.

 

Personally, I think it is grossly unfair to the children as Seabourn does not cater for them. We took son (29) and grandson (21 months) to Club Med last month. It was ideal. Plenty of kids and plenty of very well supervised activities for the kids. Also, tons of sport for the older kids and 20 somethings. Us older adults had our own pool (the "Zen pool") which was ideal and kids were barred from it; there was also an adults only dining room. That is my idea of being fair to the younger generation.

 

Mrs Roxburgh and I will be on Seabourn in October/November hopefully without kids.

[CruisingDoctorWu]

I think it is becoming an axiom that those who wish to avoid kids must not sail on Seabourn (or Silversea for that matter, same issue there) during the summer months or holiday time.

 

I guess the axiom would be to avoid cruising during the summer months...

even Seadream seems to be having a Family cruise this summer... maybe Cruise West?

 

I don't hate that there were kids onboard. I hate that they were poorly supervised. The hot tub is the area for relaxing, not swimming. and, yes I think that it's unfair to bring kids on Seabourn; I would think there are many more better options (even REgent has programs for kids during the summer/holiday period). I honestly think that the kids were using the hot tubs and not the pool because the parents didnt really have to supervis ethem there.

 

But, that has begged the question for my wife and I: where/what shall we cruise with the little one... I was thinking Cunard (I think that they have nannies and a nursery right?)

CDW

[lord of the seas]

I felt like my glass went empty probably more than I was expecting.

 

Yes, that often happens to me on Seabourn

Thankfully it is a regular occurrance.

[agapanthus]

As a 'teacher' from UK who is unable to travel other than in the 'school holidays', do my husband and I really have to wait until I retire before we can travel on such cruise lines without being inconvenienced by children whose parents seem determined to indulge them in the 'finest things' of life! We waited many years to be able to afford such luxury and would not have dreamed of inflicting our kids on others in our younger days. What a shame that these parents cannot see how inappropriate the inclusion of children on a six star cruise is, particularly as there are so many other wonderful opportunities for children elsewhere. If given the choice I know what our kids would have wanted...................other kids and lots of appropriate facilities...............need I say more? In every other way, a wonderful experience............happy days!!!

[lincslady]

Precisely Agapanthus - is Seabourn listening? From recent posts it sounds as if they might actually be encouraging parents to bring children on board? Anyone know?

 

Those of us who took our children when young on age-appropriate holidays do feel that nowadays parents who take their kids on Seabourn are catering more for their own wishes than the enjoyment of their children.

[agapanthus]

I am hearing that the increase in availability of 7 day cruises is contributing to a perceived decline in behaviour on Seabourn cruises. I'm sure that anybody that remotely suggested this does not in anyway mean to be offensive. We have just taken one of these apparently ill advised '7 dayers' and have managed to refrain from any such misdemeanours!!!! - Believe me, affluence is no judge of good manners and pleasant disposition!!!! Now the parents of children who think they are going to enhance everybody's experience of a six star cruise by booking and sharing their offspring's inappropriate behaviour, never mind their own? - now that's another story?????????????

[lincslady]

I am hearing that the increase in availability of 7 day cruises is contributing to a perceived decline in behaviour on Seabourn cruises. I'm sure that anybody that remotely suggested this does not in anyway mean to be offensive. We have just taken one of these apparently ill advised '7 dayers' and have managed to refrain from any such misdemeanours!!!! - Believe me, affluence is no judge of good manners and pleasant disposition!!!! Now the parents of children who think they are going to enhance everybody's experience of a six star cruise by booking and sharing their offspring's inappropriate behaviour, never mind their own? - now that's another story?????????????

 

Would love to hear if you enjoyed your cruise, and any points of interest regarding the ship, staff, other passengers, ports of call etc. Do hope you enjoyed it anyway.

[agapanthus]

Would love to hear if you enjoyed your cruise, and any points of interest regarding the ship, staff, other passengers, ports of call etc. Do hope you enjoyed it anyway.

We certainly did - all seven days of it (We had a week on land in the Nice area afterwards) - the perfect combination. (despite the short duration, we managed to restrain ourselves from behaving badly!) The service is amazing and all the staff are obviously extremely well trained. The 'children' issue was a little annoying but I supposed we walked straight into that one unwittingly. We are told that families have to pay full fare for all children (you'd think that this would be a deterrent?) so we were surprised that so many were on board. It was a minority that created a problem by monopolising the whirlpools and main pool. We all know how we feel about all that by now I suppose. We dined at a different table each night and enjoyed the company of a wide variety of people from all walks of life.

 

I cannot fault a thing really and would love to use Seabourn again. Maybe to a 'far away' destination. The ports of call on our cruise were lovely but i felt we maybe didn't really need such exotic transport for such a short distance.

 

The whole experience was very positive and we have some wonderful memories. Going on another cruise at beginning of September (Venice to Venice round trip on Splendour of the Seas) That one is much more about 'where' we're going than 'how we're getting there!!! - We honeymooned in Dubrovnik in 1973 and haven't been back there since so we're obviously looking forward to being there.

 

Regards

 

Were you on the Barcelona to Monaco cruise?

[CruisingDoctorWu]

 

Were you on the Barcelona to Monaco cruise?

 

is this a question for me? then yes. if it's not a question for me then who is it directed to?

 

Which cruise were you on?

 

CDW

[agapanthus]

Was responding to Lincslady but I suspect that you were on the Barcelona to Monaco cruise as we were. Suffering from post cruise blues????