Seabourn Odyssey - Restaurant

[Nigella]

Restaurant 2 for brunch... that's a thought..... (while we are all playing armchair cruise line consultant :D)

 

Ha! Lol, I had already thought how perfect Restaurant 2 would be when I was recalling our Le Champagne experience on Silversea.

R2 would be perfect for the late risers to have a brunch. Start it at 10am, let it continue until 11.30am. They could even supply blankies and eyeshades for those of us who are still half asleep. I'd be very happy :D

[Mr Luxury]

I thought that brunch was something you had on Sunday to try to get rid of a hangover.

[Nigella]

I thought that brunch was something you had on Sunday to try to get rid of a hangover.

 

Your definition applies when one is resident in one's own home town/city.

On holiday, brunch may be taken daily, to get rid of a hangover, or to accomodate the lazy ones like me! ;)

[Mr Luxury]

Your definition applies when one is resident in one's own home town/city.

On holiday, brunch may be taken daily, to get rid of a hangover, or to accomodate the lazy ones like me! ;)

 

I'll tip toe past your suite on my way to the MDR for my early morning porridge.

[jenidallas]

R2 would be perfect for the late risers to have a brunch. Start it at 10am, let it continue until 11.30am. They could even supply blankies and eyeshades for those of us who are still half asleep. I'd be very happy :D

 

I'd gladly trade in my R2 dinner for a R2 brunch. And it's dark enough in there that I wouldn't even need the eyeshade!

[Observer]

I had brunch (!!!) today with friends who have previously cruised only on Cunard and Silversea. They said they were considering a Seabourn back-to-back. I mentioned that I thought I recalled reading something about the MDR not being always open for breakfast and lunch. I didn't recall the details -- haven't been on Seabourn for several years. I got home, found this thread, and sent link to them. They just called to thank me and say that guaranteed access to MDR is critical for them, that they will not further consider Seabourn, and that they are now focussing on another Silversea trip.

 

Interestingly, their travel agent was not aware that they cared about MDR access and had never warned them of this Seabourn policy. Presumably the TA knew about the policy. But MDR access on a luxury line would seem to be about as easy to assume as towels in the bathrooms.

[PaulaJK]

Since MDR access is a given on the other 'luxury ' lines, the TA may never have thought to mention this. Also, if you read SB's brochure, they indicate that it will be open for all meals so perhaps this 'new normal' information [which is appearing regularly on these boards] is not generally known. It should become known because it may be important to many.

[turtlemichael]

I've come late to this thread. We are sailing Singapore to Athens next March on Sojourn. It's a 5 week cruise though I imagine it could be made up of 2-3 legs. It's hard to find the light from the heat in the thread but am I correct in assuming that the MDR will be open for lunch and dinner daily? It's only the 7 day cruises affected by this strange policy? As someone who talks to no-one, accept myself, before 1.00pm the MDR is important to me. Perhaps i should ask my TA to investigate.

[Observer]

A five week cruise is not likely to have a seven day segment. I think you may be safe. But who knows whether Seabourn will decide that the MDR will be closed on longer segments. The principle of the matter is really puzzling. It's difficult to understand why a luxury brand would have taken such a step. I have enjoyed caviar in the surf. But I would gladly exchange it for MDR access for breakfast and lunch.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Observer

[PaulaJK]

There is a post [a few topics down] from a passenger who has just completed 2 ten day cruises b2b and he stated that the dining room was open for lunch on only 2 occasions. This leads me to think that the originally explained 7 day rule has now stretched/elongated.

 

Booking seems to be becoming a bit of a c==p shoot regarding the MDR and lunch.

[Patti22]

I really hope that this is not the "new normal" for SB. After reading this thread, I pulled all of my Heralds from our Baltic and St. Petersburg cruise last July. It was a 7 day and then a 14 day fiords and North Cape. Every single day (even in St. Pete's with early tours) the restaurant was open for both breakfast (8-9:30) and lunch. We enjoyed many meals there. I can't figure out what is going on. It is not a deal-breaker for us as we enjoy SB very much but really enjoy the MDR for breakfast.

[Laylam]

I've come late to this thread. We are sailing Singapore to Athens next March on Sojourn. It's a 5 week cruise though I imagine it could be made up of 2-3 legs. It's hard to find the light from the heat in the thread but am I correct in assuming that the MDR will be open for lunch and dinner daily? It's only the 7 day cruises affected by this strange policy? As someone who talks to no-one, accept myself, before 1.00pm the MDR is important to me. Perhaps i should ask my TA to investigate.

We did this cruise on the Legend this year and the MDR was open for lunch and dinner daily. However, with the weather being so good, we ate outdoors at almost every meal.

[Mr Luxury]

We did this cruise on the Legend this year and the MDR was open for lunch and dinner daily. However, with the weather being so good, we ate outdoors at almost every meal.

 

I think it is only the

larger ships that occasionally close the MDR not the smaller.

[DUHCAR]

I think it is only the

larger ships that occasionally close the MDR not the smaller.

 

Hope so, John. We're doing a 7+7 Caribbean in November on the Spirit.

[markham]

I cannot imagine that the small ships' dining rooms would be closed for lunch. That is because the small ships Colonnade and Patio "equivalents" together could not accommodate all their passengers. So their MDRs must remain open.

 

On the Odyssey class ships that is not an issue, of course, since they have so much more space per passenger, and that includes seats in their 4 dining rooms and Seabourn Square.

 

I almost never have breakfast or lunch at the Odyssey class ships' MDR but have seen 20 or 30 max people eating there when the MDRs are open. If there is a demand for even a few tables, I would hope that Seabourn would offer the luxury as it is, after all, a luxury line.

 

Happy sailing!

[3418ahl]

After perusing many of the "mass market" boards and seeing the cuts in service, etc. that they are making, I think "luxury" cruising may be redefined in the future. After all, they are steps upwards, when the bottom step drops, so may the top!

[Rotterdam]

AS with many business today severe cost cutting for profitability is the model most firms follow. Carnivore is certainly ahead of the pack in this thought process. Since Uncle Mickey Arinson bought & consolidated cruise lines under the Carnival umbrella the quality has been reduced to the point that anyone that sailed w Seabourn / HAL, Cunard etc no longer recognizes the product the passengers grew to appreciate over the years.

 

Relatives of mine were Seabourn addicts for years, usually taking 2-3 cruises each year of variable lengths up to including one full world cruise. About 3 years ago they stopped travelling on Seabourn because they felt the cutbacks in crew onboard & food quality was not up to what they were accustomed to(they usually booked a penthouse category stateroom).

 

I have not travelled on Seabourn as I felt it just did not fit when I was younger. Living in NYC I get to go to enough black tie events etc and usually when I travel now I like to experience the location for longer periods of time than a cruise would allow me to. But I love ocean liners & being at sea so now I'll sail to get to Europe or Australia. But more than likely it won't be on Seabourn.

 

As someone stated luxury is choice and as far as food/dining is concerned it better be civilized & buffets just don't make the mark. Just the hustle & bustle & finding things is too much especially in the morning. I've yet to stay in a Ritz Carlton hotel & be told there is only buffet. The other 5+ star cruise lines off restaurant service for breakfast & lunch - so should Seabourn. Yes you can make EVERYONE happy - offer dining room & buffet options on ALL cruises as was done in the past. Enough with the cost cutting, for a per diem of $1,000 and up there should be choice.

 

I have been fortunate to communicate for several years w/ Ms Marita from Texas & she loves Seabourn and is a great ambassador for the line. Hopefully when I do finally sail on Seabourn she will be aboard & all this will be mute because we are having so much fun!

[markham]

Rotterdam,

 

Quick question: Who is paying $1000+ per day?

 

Happy sailing!

[Mr Luxury]

Rotterdam,

 

Quick question: Who is paying $1000+ per day?

 

Happy sailing!

 

Rotterdam has never even been on a Seaboun ship.

 

Funny how these threads take off sometimes.

[Rotterdam]

Rotterdam,

 

Quick question: Who is paying $1000+ per day?

 

Happy sailing!

 

 

That's pricing on a 7 day carib cruises on Sprit & Legend ($ 7,000 per couple plus taxes & fees) ...lets not even discuss travelling as a single! One price was from a major credit card / travel site , the other is from an online agency.

 

Cheers.

[wripro]

That makes it $500 per day. Fares are always calculated per person.

 

With all due respect, Rotterdam, your post reflects the fact that you have never sailed on Seabourn. While it is true that certain elements are no longer the same as they were ten or fifteen years ago, in general SB tries to deliver as good a product as it always has. And if you want to talk per diem fares, they are actually lower today than they were in 1988 when SB debuted. Then you really did pay $1000 per person. Plus, I haven't brought a tuxedo on a SB ship in three years so no one has to force himself to wear one any longer. It's much more casual than it used to be (much to many peoples' chagrin.) And if you don't want to you never have to stand in line at a buffet. Simply take a seat in the Colonnade and a waiter will bring you anything you want off a menu. The Colonnade is hardly like King's Court on the QM2. Now that's an abomination.

[oregon50]

After perusing many of the "mass market" boards and seeing the cuts in service, etc. that they are making, I think "luxury" cruising may be redefined in the future. After all, they are steps upwards, when the bottom step drops, so may the top!

 

Correcto! Which is why "ultra luxury" should be a banned marketing term.

 

When MDR is open for lunch, normal hours are 12:30-1:30. They do not encourage lingering.

[lbkjj]

We just returned in June from a 14 day Norway cruise on the Quest. The MDR was open EVERY DAY for breakfast and lunch. Lunches were sparsely attended but we enjoy the service vs the colonnade.

We also did three 14 day Seabourn cruises in 2013 and never experienced the closing described by the thread starter.

Seabourn needs to weigh in on this.

[Spree75]

I'm curious if the responders on CC are different from the vast majority of cruisers... The two cruises I've taken with Seabourn (Greek Islands 3 years ago and Baltic 2 years ago) the MDR was open for breakfast. My partner always wants to try everything so he made me go to breakfast in the MDR on both cruises. I actually prefer a hot buffet so that I can just grab what I want (as long as everything freshly prepared I can serve myself). He thought that there might be something different served in the MDR. Of course there wasn't...

 

Anyways on the Greek Island cruise (on Odyssey) we were the only ones in the MDR for the 45 minutes we were there. The two servers in the room looked really bored. On the Baltic cruise (on Pride) there was one other couple dining for the hour or so we spent there. Just seems that the extra staff could be used more efficiently in the Observation Lounge, Colannade, and running room service.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Spree75

[secoma4]

Can't help but respond to Rotterdam (who has never sailed Seabourn) and doesn't understand the pricing. His $1,000 per day is actually $500 per day (per pax). Sounds good to me!!!