First Cruise with Seabourn

[pdx13]

Just made final payment for our upcoming cruise (April 30) aboard Quest to Northern Europe. We are staying three days in Lisbon prior to the cruise and three days in Stockholm post. Hard to believe we booked more than a year ago and are now within a few months of departure. This will be our first Seabourn experience after having traveled on Crystal several times and mainstream lines prior. We chose this cruise based upon itinerary and dates, not wanting to face the masses of tourists in mid summer, understanding that the trade off would probably be iffy weather. This forum has been a wealth of information for us, including the referral coupons, shareholder credit, and allaying potential concerns. Thanks so much to everyone on this board. I will do my best to provide an object review upon completion of our cruise although my writing will not be on par with the many talented writers on this board.

[notjaded]

Just made final payment for our upcoming cruise (April 30) aboard Quest to Northern Europe. We are staying three days in Lisbon prior to the cruise and three days in Stockholm post. Hard to believe we booked more than a year ago and are now within a few months of departure. This will be our first Seabourn experience after having traveled on Crystal several times and mainstream lines prior. We chose this cruise based upon itinerary and dates, not wanting to face the masses of tourists in mid summer, understanding that the trade off would probably be iffy weather. This forum has been a wealth of information for us, including the referral coupons, shareholder credit, and allaying potential concerns. Thanks so much to everyone on this board. I will do my best to provide an object review upon completion of our cruise although my writing will not be on par with the many talented writers on this board.

 

Bon Voyage. Look forward to your review. Safe Travels...

[catskier]

I'm am departing in Lisbon then!, your going on the next leg of Quest. It has been 4 years since we have been on Seabourn. It's hard to imagine the complaining going on.I hope it's not all true. We only had the most pleasant journeys. The Spirit, then the Odyssey. We chose this one, as there are very few trips in and out of Spain & Portugal. Enjoy your time. We are going to stay 3 days post in Lisbon. Can't wait.

[nowornever]

are hoping you will join the roll call. We embark the week before in Monte Carlo but we will look forward to meeting you. It should be a great cruise.

[Able Seaman H]

Enjoy the experience.

 

I think many of the moans and groans come from people at the extremes of the expectation scale. If anything does concern you make your feelings know to a senior staff member all of whom are accessible.

 

If you fancy doing something a bit out of the ordinary in Lisbon I can heartily recommend the Segway tours organised by Red Tour. Nothing to do with the company other than we've had 3 separate tours now (possibly 4). Great English speaking guide, small groups, an amazing place to Segway.

 

Henry :)

[pdx13]

Enjoy the experience.

 

I think many of the moans and groans come from people at the extremes of the expectation scale. If anything does concern you make your feelings know to a senior staff member all of whom are accessible.

 

If you fancy doing something a bit out of the ordinary in Lisbon I can heartily recommend the Segway tours organised by Red Tour. Nothing to do with the company other than we've had 3 separate tours now (possibly 4). Great English speaking guide, small groups, an amazing place to Segway.

 

Henry :)

 

 

 

Henry,

Thanks very much for the Lisbon tour recommendation. It sounds like something we would thoroughly enjoy.

 

As to expectations, I like to think of us as not being "high-maintenance" people. We do appreciate fine service and food particularly, but understand that there is no perfect cruise. We subscribe to the philosophy that we are extremely fortunate to be able to experience a trip of this caliber and are committed to making it a positive one. Yes, we expect superior food and service to what we would get on a mainstream line as we are paying a good deal more, but have never been on a ship to which we wouldn't happily return. However, for better or worse, one does tend to get spoiled as one moves up the scale.

[Techno123]

Seabourn was our very first cruise and we thought at the time we would be spoilt for any other cruise line. We enjoyed Oceania (2nd) and Regent (3rd) and now return to Seabourn for our 4th cruise. I hope all of the complaints about the Odyssey are over-exaggerated as we are worried that we have placed Seabourn on a pedestal and may end up being disappointed - I certainly hope not.

[secoma4]

We will be boarding Quest in Monaco and end in Copenhagen. Have done the route before, but this time the ports are generally different. Will clock up day 200 with Seabourn during the cruise and have found, during that time, there have been few instances where expectations have not been met. Like with anything, there can be flat spots, but our experience is that they are rare. One thing that is always pleasing is the continuity of the crew/staff.

[Corony]

Although in a recent post I discussed some concerns about the Thomas Keller menu introduction, all in all things are still very good on Seabourn. What tends to happen on these boards is regular cruisers tend to notice slight (and sometimes not so slight) changes to the day to day routines. Overall it's always been a great experience with staff that are professional, conscientious and always eager to please. As with all reviews, ignore the top and bottom 5% of what you read and in the middle you will get a great feel for what's really happening. It seems the Odyssey is the recent focus of the bulk of complaints. We have done our last two crises on the Odyssey and have one booked for 26 days next year with zero concerns despite what has been posted. If you get on board looking for a great cruise that's exactly what you'll find. If you get on board expecting perfection I'm not aware of any line that would please you. Just my two cents worth.

[Techno123]

If you get on board looking for a great cruise that's exactly what you'll find. If you get on board expecting perfection I'm not aware of any line that would please you. Just my two cents worth.

 

And we will be getting on-board looking for a great cruise. We aren't fussy so hopefully all will be great. We may cause a few raised eyebrows though. To persuade my beloved to take 2 weeks away I have had to accomodate a third 'person' - his beloved mountain bike. It's coming in its own suitcase and having spoken to seabourn - it will have to live in the suite with us (hope there is a fold out bed for me :D:D

[catskier]

I love it, he is taking his bike.

[Bostonactor]

We will be on the same cruise departing Lisbon April 30th and will spend 3 days in Lisbon pre-cruise. Then 3 days in Copenhagen post-cruise. This will be our 4th Seabourn cruise, 2nd on the Quest, and we are looking forward to it very much. Some cruises were better than others, but we, too, are not terribly fussy, have a good sense of humor, and feel very fortunate to be in a position to travel at this level of luxury. I also will try to post a review after the cruise, for what it's worth.

Those who are booked on the 14-day Gems of W. Europe should note that there has been a significant drop in price. Our travel agent got us the new price, but I don't imagine this will last very long.

[pdx13]

We will be on the same cruise departing Lisbon April 30th and will spend 3 days in Lisbon pre-cruise. Then 3 days in Copenhagen post-cruise. This will be our 4th Seabourn cruise, 2nd on the Quest, and we are looking forward to it very much. Some cruises were better than others, but we, too, are not terribly fussy, have a good sense of humor, and feel very fortunate to be in a position to travel at this level of luxury. I also will try to post a review after the cruise, for what it's worth.

Those who are booked on the 14-day Gems of W. Europe should note that there has been a significant drop in price. Our travel agent got us the new price, but I don't imagine this will last very long.

 

CC pays off again!! I don't think I would have noticed this had you not mentioned it. Our cruise price has dropped substantially. I am surprised our TA didn't pick up on it, but I have an email in. Hope we aren't too late.

[Bostonactor]

This is the second time it's happened for us, so I was on the lookout. I noticed it and notified out TA. She sent me the new updated booking from Seabourn the same day. I hope it works for you as well. Maybe a phone call to your TA is a good idea. Good luck.

[nowornever]

that happens....we got the reduction too but had to change cabins since our category was sold out - even with moving up one, the price was significantly less $. Our TA gets an alert when prices drop. I put this info. on a roll call but will mention it here, if any of you are interested in a Context Travel tour in Amsterdam, take a look at their website. They only take 6 people per group but they won't verify until they have 4 so we're waiting for 2-4 more. The timing is great...meets at 1 pm.

 

This will be our first on the Quest but are veterans of all of the late little sisters & of the Sojourn. We've never had a problem with any of the issues others discuss ad nauseum. Didn't care for Restaurant 2 on the Sojourn but other choices made up for it. As they say, these are real first world problems. And we are looking forward to trying the TK concept (gasp.)

 

Cheers & happy sailing all !

[pdx13]

Heard back from TA who said there had been a number of price reductions they became aware of this on Monday and pulled a bunch of files for clients; she is contacting Seabourn tomorrow.

[Bostonactor]

I don't understand your post nowornever. We got a price reduction on the suite we had already booked. There was no discussion about moving to another suite. When I looked, none of the categories for that 14-day segment had sold out. Are you on board for an additional segment that was NOT on sale?

[nowornever]

yes, we board in Monte Carlo.

[Roxburgh]

yes, we board in Monte Carlo.

 

On April 15th?

[nowornever]

April 23....

[Roxburgh]

April 23....

 

Okay. We disembark in Monaco on April 15.

[nowornever]

I read somewhere that it goes into the yard upon your disembarkation for re-furbishment for the week before we embark. Could be wrong (and frequently am.) Maybe it's something to do with the changeover to TK in R-2??? or just a normal maintenance week? Maybe someone will advise.....

[jenidallas]

I believe the ship has a week of scheduled maintenance after we dock in Monte Carlo on the 15th which includes the conversion of Restaurant 2 into the Thomas Keller concept.

 

I'm interested to see how the experience of dining at R2 on the transatlantic will be. Will they go out with a bang? Or a whimper? Or will we be guinea pigs for the staff to prep for the new menu/service?

[pdx13]

This is the second time it's happened for us, so I was on the lookout. I noticed it and notified out TA. She sent me the new updated booking from Seabourn the same day. I hope it works for you as well. Maybe a phone call to your TA is a good idea. Good luck.

 

So I heard from my TA this morning that since we entered the penalty period on Jan 1, Seabourn is offering upgrades but not voluntarily honoring the new fare. More to come. Even if we cancelled and rebooked then paid the penalty it would save us money given the substantial discount of the new fare. I can see not honoring a special discount offered in the last couple of weeks prior to the cruise, but less than two weeks after entering the penalty period seems a little harsh. We will see if our TA can work some magic.

Bostonactor, did you get the new fare after entering the penalty period?

[Roxburgh]

I believe the ship has a week of scheduled maintenance after we dock in Monte Carlo on the 15th which includes the conversion of Restaurant 2 into the Thomas Keller concept.

 

I'm interested to see how the experience of dining at R2 on the transatlantic will be. Will they go out with a bang? Or a whimper? Or will we be guinea pigs for the staff to prep for the new menu/service?

 

Only one way to find out. :D:D