Why do people continue to sail Seabourn

[MainLineLady]

I have only sailed Seabourn once, we generally sail on Crystal but I wanted to experience the legend and her small size. We made our reservation a year ago and now the price has dropped. Seabourn as I wrote in an earlier post will not give us the reduced price so we pay a penalty for booking early. I don't understand why people continue to sail on a line with this attitude. I, for sure will never sail Seabourn again and sadly this will color my entire experience on a trip that I was so looking forward to. How does anyone else feel about this?

 

 

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[tv24]

I have only sailed Seabourn once, we generally sail on Crystal but I wanted to experience the legend and her small size. We made our reservation a year ago and now the price has dropped. Seabourn as I wrote in an earlier post will not give us the reduced price so we pay a penalty for booking early. I don't understand why people continue to sail on a line with this attitude. I, for sure will never sail Seabourn again and sadly this will color my entire experience on a trip that I was so looking forward to. How does anyone else feel about this?

 

 

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Mainlinelady: I feel your pain, but isn't this a common issue throughout the cruise industry? Fares change over time, clever travel agents arrange special deals, groups arrange special deals, no two passengers pay the same fares. If you luckily pay a low fare, possibly because you booked at the last minute, you feel as though you hit the jackpot. But if you booked early and paid top dollar, you feel as though you were taken to the cleaners. As a careful consumer, this certainly makes me crazy. But I don't think that this is exclusive to Seabourn. Am I wrong?

[Roxburgh]

I sail on Seabourn because I like the product better than other cruise lines I have sailed with. When I look at the price of a specific cruise I decide if that is a price I am willing to pay. If it is then I book.

 

Seabourn are a business. They sell at a price that the market will bear. That price changes based on the market. Sometimes you get a great deal, sometimes you pay a bit more. You cannot time the market so you just have to decide if you are comfortable with the price at the time you booked.

[markham]

Why Seabourn again and again?

 

It's the service, food, atmosphere and now the generous loyalty club for Diamond Members.

 

What else is out there? And I include Crystal with its reputedly smaller regular cabins, 2 seatings/faux "anytime dining" and large® ship mechanics. Not for me.

 

Then there is Silversea. With that scandal of hide and seek with the US cleanliness inspectors last summer (shuttling meat between cabins out of sight), well, that shows they are running a seat of the pants operation. Safety is safety... It's an indicator of poor management.

 

And Regent's ships look very VERY tired. What's that about?

 

Pricing is an issue but one that I have found works to my favor most of the time. Maybe my TA is especially good. No, I am sure he is.

 

Happy sailing!

Edited April 22, 2014 by markham

[frantic36]

I have only sailed Seabourn once, we generally sail on Crystal but I wanted to experience the legend and her small size. We made our reservation a year ago and now the price has dropped. Seabourn as I wrote in an earlier post will not give us the reduced price so we pay a penalty for booking early. I don't understand why people continue to sail on a line with this attitude. I, for sure will never sail Seabourn again and sadly this will color my entire experience on a trip that I was so looking forward to. How does anyone else feel about this?

 

 

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When I sailed on Crystal two years ago I had the same problem with cheaper prices closer to sailing dates and on board credit offers, but I couldn't even get an offer of a cabin upgrade. I have since changed travel agents.

 

I prefer Seabourn for the smaller ship and thus more personal experience, true open dining and the crew but different people prefer different things.

[CraftyEC]

In the UK we cannot (generally) get any price reduction on any cruise, including Seabourn BUT they will sometimes offer an upgrade to the category which is now selling for the price you paid. We booked an A category early and got a V5 after only a gentle nudge. Worth a try?

 

As for why we sail Seabourn, it's because they provide the 'product' we want, i.e. a relaxing vacation with all the facilities we need and a great atmosphere. Love it!

Edited April 22, 2014 by CraftyEC

[alexandra cruiser]

to me and my TA got the price decrease on SB with NO problem. I did NOT contact company,my TA took care of it all.

Maybe you can doublecheck,since I KNOW they do it.Got over $1000 off.

Unless this is something brand new???:confused:

[Ravenscroft]

I sail on Seabourn because I like the product better than other cruise lines I have sailed with. When I look at the price of a specific cruise I decide if that is a price I am willing to pay. If it is then I book.

 

 

Exactly this.

 

As for the pricing issue, in my experience an excellent TA makes all the difference in negotiating with the cruise line when this situation occurs.

[Ravenscroft]

In the UK we cannot (generally) get any price reduction on any cruise, including Seabourn

 

Crafty, can you clarify? Do you mean you're paying the base price listed either on the SB UK website or the brochure price each time you cruise with no discounting offered by your TA?

[Mr Luxury]

In the UK we cannot (generally) get any price reduction on any cruise, including Seabourn BUT they will sometimes offer an upgrade to the category which is now selling for the price you paid. We booked an A category early and got a V5 after only a gentle nudge. Worth a try?

 

As for why we sail Seabourn, it's because they provide the 'product' we want, i.e. a relaxing vacation with all the facilities we need and a great atmosphere. Love it!

 

I have never had a problem getting a decrease in the price if the cruise line discounts a sailing.I use a UK TA.

I suppose it might depend on how good your TA is.

[wripro]

Generally, if you haven't made final payment yet SB will always match the lower price. And as others have said a good TA can make all the difference. I find the question posed by the OP rather curious because why I sail Seabourn and what I pay for it are two totally different issues imo.

[FKGirl]

Generally, if you haven't made final payment yet SB will always match the lower price. And as others have said a good TA can make all the difference. I find the question posed by the OP rather curious because why I sail Seabourn and what I pay for it are two totally different issues imo.

 

Absolutely true. If you have not made final payment, it can generally be done. Sometimes it does take some effort on the part of the TA. After final payment, they generally do not honor price reductions.

[3418ahl]

I do not know of any cruise line that will refund due to a lower price after final payment. Many lines offer lower fares even before final payment and label them "for new bookings only", which means if you want a refund, you must cancel and rebook, perhaps no longer getting the cabin you want. There are also some lines that offer an upgrade if the price drops after final payment is due.

[CraftyEC]

CraftyEC,

You need a new travel agent. I am fully satisfied with mine. It's west of Windsor Castle and is no doubt one which our Monarch would use.

Happy sailing!

 

Perhaps I do need to work on the (necessarily) cryptic references before booking the next one. To be fair, we gambled on the upgrade last time - but, before anyone gets overexcited, we WOULD have been happy to sail in any suite. Just deciding the strategy for the next booking ...

[2SailingNomads]

We sail on Seabourn for: the quality of the product; the service one receives from an excellent crew; the all-inclusive price; the freedom of dining on our terms; the size of the ships; and the company of most of our fellow passengers.

 

The price of most every travel product, e.g., car rentals, hotels, airfare, cruises, etc. fluctuate with demand and unless one wants to devote most of their time checking prices it is hard to ever get the "lowest" price, and often impossible to know if you have it or not. The actual lowest price may have been offered during a sale before your final payment was due, and unless you were checking all the time you may never know.

[Emperor Norton]

I sail Seabourn because I think while Regents prices and single supplements have skyrocketed their food and service have plummeted. Also don't get me started on their tours.

 

Oceania failed miserably at being a foodie cruise line. Perhaps they deserve another chance but as they and Regent share the same owners it's doubtful.

 

Silversea had the angriest crew at sea. It was like they were a bunch of pirates told that in port they wouldn't be allowed rum or booty. Ever. Also they couldn't cook pasta or rice. Further worst foie gras ever.

 

Crystal - room size, inflexible dining, ship size, also incompetent cruise photographers. People bringing service the last few days looking for tips.

 

Overall Seabourn offers the size ship I like, room sizes I like, a dress code I can live with and a crew that 99.5% of the time is imo far ahead of the other lines. Seabourn also seems to do a lot better job with special order items. Does that mean I might not always get the uber cheapest rate available? Yes. I'd rather pay and know what Im getting than pay and play roulette with food, service and capacity.

[Pop-I]

It is unfortunate you had that experience. That would likely not happen with a reputable TA. That said, we sail Seabourn, over and over, because of, well, everything service mostly, food, luxury, and the other passengers. Crystal is fine, but not for us. And while you are free and welcome to post about your negative experience, it will not achieve your desired effect of dissuading others. Happy sailing.

[Dmgmd50]

I have only sailed Seabourn once, we generally sail on Crystal but I wanted to experience the legend and her small size. We made our reservation a year ago and now the price has dropped. Seabourn as I wrote in an earlier post will not give us the reduced price so we pay a penalty for booking early. I don't understand why people continue to sail on a line with this attitude. I, for sure will never sail Seabourn again and sadly this will color my entire experience on a trip that I was so looking forward to. How does anyone else feel about this?

 

 

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Stop complaining and enjoy your cruise. I see on another thread that Seabourn has offered you an upgrade.

[MainLineLady]

I have read all of your responses and thank you for your input. I'm going to go into this with an open mind.

 

I wrote the initial thread immediately after finding that we wouldn't qualify for the lower price but now have calmed down a bit. We have made our final payment and I was looking for price drops and we have one of the best TA's in the business. If she can't get it, I believe it is not possible.

 

One of the reasons I wanted to try Seabourn is the larger cabin. On Crystal we book two cabins for the two of us. They have a pretty good solo rate. With Seabourn we are going to try one cabin. And whoever wrote about the staff on Crystal sucking up on the last couple of days for tips is absolutely right, I

have noticed that too.

 

Thanks again

[tv24]

We sailed Crystal once before in 2004. As I recall the cabin size was modest but acceptable. Everyone seems to agree that Seabourn offers a far larger verandah cabin size than Crystal. We were on the Sojourn for 68 days recently and found the cabin to be beautifully designed and incredibly comfortable. Tons of space to store all of your stuff. We spent a lot of time in the cabin and enjoyed it. I hope you will have a similar experience in your cabin.

[adoctor]

Why are cruise lines incapable of developing pricing models that reward the early booker? Airlines seem capable so why not Seabourn?

Regent are the worst offender in the luxury segment constantly hiking prices and then discounting back when they have capacity to fill.

Seabourn know this is poor practise but you can buy a discount voucher on board for a 5% discount off your next cruise(you don't have to book on board) which is at least a tilt at rewarding loyalty.

As others have said a good TA should be able to help and I watch prices and on board credits like a hawk once I have booked.

[Mr Luxury]

I always book way in advance.

 

The reason being is that I get the exact suite that I want.

 

I am happy with the onboard booking discount and the discount that my TA gives.

 

I then forget about it until just before final payment when I might have a look at how category prices are doing,generally the category has either sold out or it has gone up in price not often has it gone down in price.

 

The main point for me is that I get exactly what I want by booking early,if I waited for a price drop I would then not get my preferred suite and probably the price would have gone up also the only suites left would not be to my liking.

 

I don't gamble in life and like certainties.

 

Others I am sure are different.;)

Edited April 24, 2014 by Mr Luxury

[Bru92]

I have read all of your responses and thank you for your input. I'm going to go into this with an open mind.

 

I wrote the initial thread immediately after finding that we wouldn't qualify for the lower price but now have calmed down a bit. We have made our final payment and I was looking for price drops and we have one of the best TA's in the business. If she can't get it, I believe it is not possible.

 

One of the reasons I wanted to try Seabourn is the larger cabin. On Crystal we book two cabins for the two of us. They have a pretty good solo rate. With Seabourn we are going to try one cabin. And whoever wrote about the staff on Crystal sucking up on the last couple of days for tips is absolutely right, I

have noticed that too.

 

Thanks again

 

Please let us know if your travel agent gets any type of concession for you.

[Pop-I]

If size of cabin is important, book penthouse suite at least. And then you can book when you want, w/o having to rush to book early.

[MainLineLady]

If I had the money to book a Penthouse, you can be certain that I would. Then none of this would have been an issue. My TA did get us a nice onboard credit. Which to us is as good as a penthouse.

 

 

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