Berlitz Downgrading

[jenidallas]

The quality of service is definitely down at present, due to a number of experienced staff being taken away to start up Encore and far too many raw recruits being brought on board at the same time. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has been on board recently or is on board now.

 

However, this has probably happened since Berlitz did its new ratings.

 

I'm on Odyssey now wrapping up the grossly mismarketed "Sommelier's Odyssey" wine cruise. I concur that the level of service is down and that this does not feel like the line I've come to love at all. There are still things that are still classically Seabourn, but many that are now just phoned in "tick the box" type experiences.

 

A few of the highlights and letdowns of this sailing (pardon my stream of conscience rambling):

 

* The "wine cruise"... oh, where do I begin on what an epic marketing disaster this was. Guest relations and cruise director staff have all stated that they had NO idea this cruise was marketed as it was (on the Seabourn.com splash page rotation for months, via special promotion in the club news, etc.) I was told in advance via my agent (via sales) that they would provide a full listing of special events when we boarded but that there would be a couple dozen special offerings. Guess what? Nada. I asked in Seabourn Square and they looked at me as if I were speaking in tongues. I found out at dinner the first evening that there was a list of tastings and dinners on offer so I inquired after dinner. I was told "that is only for the people onboard who are interested in wine" and that if I was one of them, then I should have been at the lecture on Greek wine earlier that evening. (Sorry, I wasn't... both because it conflicted with the only solo gathering and because I don't find all-purpose port lecturers to be wine experts in general!) The sheet contained five events - a free olive oil tasting (already fully booked full, sorry), two pay-extra afternoon wine tastings, and two pay-extra wine dinners in Restaurant 2. I signed up for one of the wine dinners only to find out later that it was not a special dinner at all... just normal R2 dinner with a $75 supplement for 3 wines that night. What?!?! Other than a couple of "come after dinner and try orzo or grappa in the Observation Bar" type of events (with no publicity and barely even a mention in the Herald), that was the extent of the wine focus.

 

* The special wine shore excursion (added outside the normal Seabourn offerings) in Trapani was a trainwreck. Several of us complained and ended up getting 75% of our $170 fee refunded. Seabourn clearly did not vet this appropriately! No other special wine shore excursions were offered. (I don't count normal Seabourn excursions with food/wine offered throughout the Mediterranean season to be special wine shore excursions!)

 

* I was initially told "no Shopping with the Chef" due to a lack of suitable ports in which to do it. I have heard that same line on EVERY Seabourn cruise I've taken (although half the time there ends up being an event anyway). I think Seabourn either needs to execute this properly or do away with it.

 

* No Rock the Boat Party. No epicurean event (although I'm told that tonight the Officer's Farewell/Officer's On Deck will serve that purpose).

 

* They ran out of caviar at the Caviar By The Pool sailaway. I repeat, they ran out of caviar. It started at 5:00 pm and I got down there about 5:15 pm to find a queue of people waiting to be served. I grabbed at glass of champagne and waited for the line to go down (I don't like queuing on Seabourn!) and at 5:25 when I went back and got in the line, I watched the chef scoop out the last of the current tin for the guest before me. "Sorry, no more caviar" he said to me. I laughed. (Seriously, I laughed... this is Seabourn so surely he was joking!) Nope, no more caviar. No, they didn't run out on the ship... they just were not going to open any more for me or the folks in line behind me. "Sorry, no more caviar."

 

* Entertainment has been very good. I said this after the spring transatlantic and will say it again... Seabourn's changing with the times has been a positive. Its nice to hear music from the last decade in the Club and in the shows as well as to have some variation in the types of evening activities. The removal of the guitarist and replacement with both a trio and the Club band has been great. Suzanne Jade, the current pianist in the OB, is a true gem. We enjoyed her on the transatlantic and I'm thrilled for her that she'll get to move to the Encore (where one of her duties will be playing in the Thomas Keller Grill during dinner). I understand the Encore will have not only the pianist and Club band, but also a trio and a duo. I'm told the duo will not be one of the Filipino duos from the Little Sisters but the trio will be a Filipino one.

 

* Food has been okay. Better than it was on Odyssey during the low point two summers ago but not as good as on Quest earlier this year or Sojourn on prior sailings. The menu selections are fewer. At tables with more than 3 people, entrees rarely arrived at the same time. Sauces were left off dishes that were to include them, sides never delivered, items asked to be removed were left on. In a couple of cases, when items were sent back, the same items reappeared. I watched in horror one night as cold pasta was sent back from someone at our table and reappeared heated with twice as much sauce on top smothering it. Presentation is lacking. The best offerings I've had have been via room service. The greatest win in my book is that it has been the fastest I've seen. We've managed to sit down at 7:30 or later many evenings, enjoy 3-courses, and still have time for a cocktail before the 9:45 show, even with hosted tables. That's never happened before.

 

* The Thomas Keller offerings have largely been unappealing or unappetizing. (Yes... I said it despite my prior cheerleading!) I don't predict this will be a successful long-term relationship largely due to execution.

 

* I wanted to put together my own table for dinner one evening to showcase some wines I purchased in Italy w/ Sebastian's help. I inquired mid-cruise and asked which night would be best and what we might do with F&B to make this as little of an inconvenience as possible. On prior sailings, I've co-hosted tables or been a guest at them and they've helped us coordinate invites, even prepared special dishes. This time I was treated as an inconvenience and they tried to dissuade me on several occasions from doing this at all. I finally pulled it off successfully but it required me pushing the issue. I was told by one guest who I invited (who had also been invited to a staff hosted table) that when she accepted my invitation and declined the other, she was asked "are you sure?" Really?!

 

* Service has been variable. There are extremely attentive staff (like Nigel at the Pool Bar) and then there are those who clearly would rather be anywhere but on the ship based on the disdain with which they treat guests. (This coming less from my own personal experience and more from watching them interact with others.) I've seen servers get positively snippy with guests at hosted tables.

 

* I have had a brand-new suite stewardess (this is her second sailing, I believe) and while nothing has been horrible, it has definitely been unimpressive. Bathrobes disappeared from my suite one night (which I discovered when stepping out of the shower wet)... not only the one hanging on the hook in my bathroom but also the one that had been hanging in the closet all week. I had several occasions where items I had placed in the trash reappeared on the countertop after the room was serviced (among them, an empty medication casing, a discarded empty conditioner bottle, several empty envelopes, and folded day-old news sheets).

 

* So many new staff members. "No" or "we can't do that" seem to be familiar phrases now.

 

* Lots of hosted tables on this sailing. They took very good care of their solo travelers (and there were a LOT of them) on this sailing. I was invited to tables nightly. My only minor complaint was that they tried to corral us to the Colonnade for a hosted table on formal night... I guess the assumption was that solos don't want to be formal? I found that slightly disappointing but several of us declined that invitation and sat together on our own in The Restaurant with all the non-solos. We survived. (I only accepted 3 or 4 of my hosted invitations all sailing but it was nice to know I received them... I'd never have been alone unless I wanted to be. Seabourn is a VERY easy line for solos!)

 

* It took 3 days to get all my onboard credit applied correctly. I've never had that problem in the past but I'm glad now that I asked when the little onboard cards didn't appear in my suite on Day 1.

 

* I am convinced that the staff in Seabourn Square are hired solely for their ability to appear stoic and demonstrate absolutely no emotion or concern when troubles are presented. I visited with them on three different occasions about issues or questions. But only on Day 9 when another guest complained and mentioned me by name that I was already in touch with the US sales department via my agency did the Guest Services Manager call to ask me why I was unhappy.

 

* I booked a specific A1 suite because as a solo, they did not offer good supplements for anything V1 or above when I was booking (full disclosure - I paid 125% for the A1 but they wanted 175% for the V1 which I deemed too much). I am used to seeing buy-up offers come when the ship is not sold out and decided I'd accept one of those when offered. They never came... and my agent was told that there would be none forthcoming because the ship was sold out. This as they continued to discount cabins and offer them up on consolidator sites. I was told to ask at check-in. I was again told "no upgrades". Imagine my displeasure when I found out that several others on the same rate as me had been offered upgrades (some paid, some complimentary). I am told the sailing is not full and was never full - they lost out on the additional revenue I was willing to pay.

 

I need to state for the record that I am not a vocal complainer. I'm the type to suffer quietly and not speak up in the hopes that things will get better or that perhaps I'm overreacting. I've been a huge Seabourn fan girl/cheerleader in the past. But I just cancelled our transatlantic booking for 2017 as I feel the need to watch and wait as Encore comes on line to see what the overall impact will be on the brand.

Edited November 7, 2016 by jenidallas

[lincslady]

Markham -jenidallas as all regular readers know is generally a Seabourn fan, within reason, as am I. I am sad to read her report, both for her own sake and for Seabourn. My recent experience, on Sojourn, was nothing like as bad as this, and I am not going to go into chapter and verse, but nevertheless it is obvious that too many new recruits have been placed on board, particularly on Sojourn, recently, and it takes time to assimilate them so that the normal relaxed, friendly attitude from staff to passengers and to each other returns. Please talk in confidence to a member of staff you know well, as I have, and ask if indeed they have found it difficult to cope with so many newcomers at once. No doubt it is improving all the time, as the new ones get more familiar with their work, but it has been less than perfect recently.

 

jeni - I have long felt that TK was not going to be a happy marriage, and I don't think it is working out well. What will happen here is anybody's guess, but it will have cost a great deal to set up and will be a big problem for management if they decide to change now, after all the publicity. We will see.

[galeforce9]

I am on Sojourn now and here is my evaluation based on what's what since we embarked in Monte Carlo 4 days ago:

 

 

 

***** the standards - from service to food quality to ship's appointments and

 

overall operation - are as complete, refined and professional as ever *****

 

 

 

So, if someone would like to illustrate where something somewhere has slipped for whatever reason, I am all ears and will be happy to take such an assertion to the next level.

 

 

 

We had dinner last night with the newest Seabourn Hotel Director, Jason Gelineau, most recenty from Oceania. A great hire: charming and energetic and especially familiar with the Sojourn's upcoming Asian routes. A real treat!

 

 

 

Anyway, we will join Encore on 20 December and will have an even broader perspective about how well Seabourn is managing its growth.

 

 

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

 

Perhaps service is a little different when dining with the hotel director. We too were in the Sojourn restaurant last night and experienced a number of drinks not brought when ordered (only on reminder 20 mins later), a huge delay between starter and main and a table set for the same course twice. I'm a huge Seabourn fan but I was not impressed yesterday.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Roxburgh]

I disembarked from Sojourn last Thursday after 17 days on board. Overall, the quality of the food and the service was outstanding. Yeah, there were a couple of screw ups (it happens) but there were also several examples of outstanding service. I continued my usual practice of telling the Maitre D. there and then for both the good and the bad.

 

A couple of irritations ....... the Keller offerings in the MDR continue to be average in my opinion. I only ever had the foie gras. Same stuff as on our last cruise. Also, the Colonnade seems to be becoming a reservation restaurant which it never was in the past. Not impressed by that although it was never hard to make a reservation. Finally, the new smoking policy cannot come quick enough.

[2SailingNomads]

Sorry to hear that it sounds like you had a bad smoking experience. I too am looking forward to it changing during our next cruise. Most fellow pax who smoke we have met have been polite and follow the rules, but not all. We saw someone on our last cruise smoking on deck 8 - clearly not in the rules.

 

I too doubt long-term the TK partnership is a good idea. To date we've not been impressed with the various ship kitchen's output, save the Colonnade's family-style - which I know others despise. Give the ship chef latitude is my opinion - and shared by others on this forum.

[markham]

Lincslady,

 

As you requested, I connected with a few passengers and crew about their perceptions of service slippage of recent weeks that may relate to the staffing of Encore.

 

One canny and engaging couple did complain about slow, incomplete and inaccurate breakfast orders at the Colonnade which they attribute to underconfident and undertrained staff e.g. toast orders delivered after the eggs are served and then with coffee when English breakfast tea was originally ordered. I responded that they must immediately speak with an assistant maitre d', give him or her the order next time, and request a permanent solution. Seabourn passengers are not personnel trainers.

 

An ass't maitre d' did confide that a good number of staff moved from here which obviously would explain the above lapse in wait staff experience. My personal view is that the problem will self-correct anyway in a few weeks as these young people form their teams - provided their supervisors participate.

 

We have seen no such lapses of service in the Colonnade, MDR, Seabourn Square or cabin service. We are well looked after by Vladen at the Observation Bar and had the terrific Signature Dinner at R2 last night. The weather has not suited us for Patio Grill time.

 

We are arriving in Dubrovnik in 90 minutes where it looks grey but is warming up. And I hasten to add that Seabourn is a great place to shelter from the US election cycle which ends today. Hooray.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[jenidallas]

I hasten to add that Seabourn is a great place to shelter from the US election cycle which ends today. Hooray.

 

Don't remind me. Not only am I being ejected from the ship this morning but I'm being pushed back into the madness of the US election!

[Solent Richard]

I disembarked from Sojourn last Thursday after 17 days on board. Overall, the quality of the food and the service was outstanding. Yeah, there were a couple of screw ups (it happens) but there were also several examples of outstanding service. I continued my usual practice of telling the Maitre D. there and then for both the good and the bad.

 

A couple of irritations ....... the Keller offerings in the MDR continue to be average in my opinion. I only ever had the foie gras. Same stuff as on our last cruise. Also, the Colonnade seems to be becoming a reservation restaurant which it never was in the past. Not impressed by that although it was never hard to make a reservation. Finally, the new smoking policy cannot come quick enough.

 

I too disembarked last Thursday and having been pointed to this thread will take a short break from writing my full review.

 

It was a first time with Seabourn for my wife and I and, while not wishing to pre-empt my review summary, I found the experience a bit like the curate's egg.

 

On the subject of food my expectations fell shortfood though I should add that Restaurant 2 was an exception. There was a definite inconsistency. Wall to wall 'Champagne and Caviar' are all very well but when Celebrity can produce a far superior 'Prime Rib' in their MDR something is definitely amiss.

 

[Host Dan]

Very surprised at all the negative reports. I hope after the Encore is sailing, things go back to the way they were.

[lincslady]

I am sure they will, Dan. It is just that management saved money by not bringing new staff into training etc. in good time for the experienced ones to be sent on to start Encore up, and recently both old and new staff and paying customers have paid the price for this.

 

While service has been mostly perfectly OK, there have been some bad glitches, and the relaxed, friendly atmosphere where staff are all well integrated with one another and therefore able to give more time to being the charming and friendly people previous passengers have come to expect, is not yet quite there. To be told 'it will be perfect in a few weeks' is not good enough when you are not going to be there in a few weeks, but are there now!

[Catlover54]

I'm on Odyssey now wrapping up the grossly mismarketed "Sommelier's Odyssey" wine cruise. I concur that the level of service is down and that this does not feel like the line I've come to love at all. There are still things that are still classically Seabourn, but many that are now just phoned in "tick the box" type experiences.

 

A few of the highlights and letdowns of this sailing (pardon my stream of conscience rambling):

 

* The "wine cruise"... oh, where do I begin on what an epic marketing disaster this was. Guest relations and cruise director staff have all stated that they had NO idea this cruise was marketed as it was (on the Seabourn.com splash page rotation for months, via special promotion in the club news, etc.) I was told in advance via my agent (via sales) that they would provide a full listing of special events when we boarded but that there would be a couple dozen special offerings. Guess what? Nada. I asked in Seabourn Square and they looked at me as if I were speaking in tongues. I found out at dinner the first evening that there was a list of tastings and dinners on offer so I inquired after dinner. I was told "that is only for the people onboard who are interested in wine" and that if I was one of them, then I should have been at the lecture on Greek wine earlier that evening. (Sorry, I wasn't... both because it conflicted with the only solo gathering and because I don't find all-purpose port lecturers to be wine experts in general!) The sheet contained five events - a free olive oil tasting (already fully booked full, sorry), two pay-extra afternoon wine tastings, and two pay-extra wine dinners in Restaurant 2. I signed up for one of the wine dinners only to find out later that it was not a special dinner at all... just normal R2 dinner with a $75 supplement for 3 wines that night. What?!?! Other than a couple of "come after dinner and try orzo or grappa in the Observation Bar" type of events (with no publicity and barely even a mention in the Herald), that was the extent of the wine focus.

 

* The special wine shore excursion (added outside the normal Seabourn offerings) in Trapani was a trainwreck. Several of us complained and ended up getting 75% of our $170 fee refunded. Seabourn clearly did not vet this appropriately! No other special wine shore excursions were offered. (I don't count normal Seabourn excursions with food/wine offered throughout the Mediterranean season to be special wine shore excursions!)

 

* I was initially told "no Shopping with the Chef" due to a lack of suitable ports in which to do it. I have heard that same line on EVERY Seabourn cruise I've taken (although half the time there ends up being an event anyway). I think Seabourn either needs to execute this properly or do away with it.

 

* No Rock the Boat Party. No epicurean event (although I'm told that tonight the Officer's Farewell/Officer's On Deck will serve that purpose).

 

* They ran out of caviar at the Caviar By The Pool sailaway. I repeat, they ran out of caviar. It started at 5:00 pm and I got down there about 5:15 pm to find a queue of people waiting to be served. I grabbed at glass of champagne and waited for the line to go down (I don't like queuing on Seabourn!) and at 5:25 when I went back and got in the line, I watched the chef scoop out the last of the current tin for the guest before me. "Sorry, no more caviar" he said to me. I laughed. (Seriously, I laughed... this is Seabourn so surely he was joking!) Nope, no more caviar. No, they didn't run out on the ship... they just were not going to open any more for me or the folks in line behind me. "Sorry, no more caviar."

 

* Entertainment has been very good. I said this after the spring transatlantic and will say it again... Seabourn's changing with the times has been a positive. Its nice to hear music from the last decade in the Club and in the shows as well as to have some variation in the types of evening activities. The removal of the guitarist and replacement with both a trio and the Club band has been great. Suzanne Jade, the current pianist in the OB, is a true gem. We enjoyed her on the transatlantic and I'm thrilled for her that she'll get to move to the Encore (where one of her duties will be playing in the Thomas Keller Grill during dinner). I understand the Encore will have not only the pianist and Club band, but also a trio and a duo. I'm told the duo will not be one of the Filipino duos from the Little Sisters but the trio will be a Filipino one.

 

* Food has been okay. Better than it was on Odyssey during the low point two summers ago but not as good as on Quest earlier this year or Sojourn on prior sailings. The menu selections are fewer. At tables with more than 3 people, entrees rarely arrived at the same time. Sauces were left off dishes that were to include them, sides never delivered, items asked to be removed were left on. In a couple of cases, when items were sent back, the same items reappeared. I watched in horror one night as cold pasta was sent back from someone at our table and reappeared heated with twice as much sauce on top smothering it. Presentation is lacking. The best offerings I've had have been via room service. The greatest win in my book is that it has been the fastest I've seen. We've managed to sit down at 7:30 or later many evenings, enjoy 3-courses, and still have time for a cocktail before the 9:45 show, even with hosted tables. That's never happened before.

 

* The Thomas Keller offerings have largely been unappealing or unappetizing. (Yes... I said it despite my prior cheerleading!) I don't predict this will be a successful long-term relationship largely due to execution.

 

* I wanted to put together my own table for dinner one evening to showcase some wines I purchased in Italy w/ Sebastian's help. I inquired mid-cruise and asked which night would be best and what we might do with F&B to make this as little of an inconvenience as possible. On prior sailings, I've co-hosted tables or been a guest at them and they've helped us coordinate invites, even prepared special dishes. This time I was treated as an inconvenience and they tried to dissuade me on several occasions from doing this at all. I finally pulled it off successfully but it required me pushing the issue. I was told by one guest who I invited (who had also been invited to a staff hosted table) that when she accepted my invitation and declined the other, she was asked "are you sure?" Really?!

 

* Service has been variable. There are extremely attentive staff (like Nigel at the Pool Bar) and then there are those who clearly would rather be anywhere but on the ship based on the disdain with which they treat guests. (This coming less from my own personal experience and more from watching them interact with others.) I've seen servers get positively snippy with guests at hosted tables.

 

* I have had a brand-new suite stewardess (this is her second sailing, I believe) and while nothing has been horrible, it has definitely been unimpressive. Bathrobes disappeared from my suite one night (which I discovered when stepping out of the shower wet)... not only the one hanging on the hook in my bathroom but also the one that had been hanging in the closet all week. I had several occasions where items I had placed in the trash reappeared on the countertop after the room was serviced (among them, an empty medication casing, a discarded empty conditioner bottle, several empty envelopes, and folded day-old news sheets).

 

* So many new staff members. "No" or "we can't do that" seem to be familiar phrases now.

 

* Lots of hosted tables on this sailing. They took very good care of their solo travelers (and there were a LOT of them) on this sailing. I was invited to tables nightly. My only minor complaint was that they tried to corral us to the Colonnade for a hosted table on formal night... I guess the assumption was that solos don't want to be formal? I found that slightly disappointing but several of us declined that invitation and sat together on our own in The Restaurant with all the non-solos. We survived. (I only accepted 3 or 4 of my hosted invitations all sailing but it was nice to know I received them... I'd never have been alone unless I wanted to be. Seabourn is a VERY easy line for solos!)

 

* It took 3 days to get all my onboard credit applied correctly. I've never had that problem in the past but I'm glad now that I asked when the little onboard cards didn't appear in my suite on Day 1.

 

* I am convinced that the staff in Seabourn Square are hired solely for their ability to appear stoic and demonstrate absolutely no emotion or concern when troubles are presented. I visited with them on three different occasions about issues or questions. But only on Day 9 when another guest complained and mentioned me by name that I was already in touch with the US sales department via my agency did the Guest Services Manager call to ask me why I was unhappy.

 

* I booked a specific A1 suite because as a solo, they did not offer good supplements for anything V1 or above when I was booking (full disclosure - I paid 125% for the A1 but they wanted 175% for the V1 which I deemed too much). I am used to seeing buy-up offers come when the ship is not sold out and decided I'd accept one of those when offered. They never came... and my agent was told that there would be none forthcoming because the ship was sold out. This as they continued to discount cabins and offer them up on consolidator sites. I was told to ask at check-in. I was again told "no upgrades". Imagine my displeasure when I found out that several others on the same rate as me had been offered upgrades (some paid, some complimentary). I am told the sailing is not full and was never full - they lost out on the additional revenue I was willing to pay.

 

I need to state for the record that I am not a vocal complainer. I'm the type to suffer quietly and not speak up in the hopes that things will get better or that perhaps I'm overreacting. I've been a huge Seabourn fan girl/cheerleader in the past. But I just cancelled our transatlantic booking for 2017 as I feel the need to watch and wait as Encore comes on line to see what the overall impact will be on the brand.

 

Thanks you for posting these details, Jeni,as I debate whether or not to cancel our April upcoming so-called "Epicurean" cruise on the Quest, or go for another trip on HL instead where every day seemed to be epicurean.

[tv24]

Thanks for your post, Jeni. And yes, you have been a big supporter of Seaborn in the past, so your experiences are of concern as we contemplate future bookings.

[jam52]

I'm on Odyssey now wrapping up the grossly mismarketed "Sommelier's Odyssey" wine cruise. I concur that the level of service is down and that this does not feel like the line I've come to love at all. There are still things that are still classically Seabourn, but many that are now just phoned in "tick the box" type experiences.

 

A few of the highlights and letdowns of this sailing (pardon my stream of conscience rambling):

 

* The "wine cruise"... oh, where do I begin on what an epic marketing disaster this was. Guest relations and cruise director staff have all stated that they had NO idea this cruise was marketed as it was (on the Seabourn.com splash page rotation for months, via special promotion in the club news, etc.) I was told in advance via my agent (via sales) that they would provide a full listing of special events when we boarded but that there would be a couple dozen special offerings. Guess what? Nada. I asked in Seabourn Square and they looked at me as if I were speaking in tongues. I found out at dinner the first evening that there was a list of tastings and dinners on offer so I inquired after dinner. I was told "that is only for the people onboard who are interested in wine" and that if I was one of them, then I should have been at the lecture on Greek wine earlier that evening. (Sorry, I wasn't... both because it conflicted with the only solo gathering and because I don't find all-purpose port lecturers to be wine experts in general!) The sheet contained five events - a free olive oil tasting (already fully booked full, sorry), two pay-extra afternoon wine tastings, and two pay-extra wine dinners in Restaurant 2. I signed up for one of the wine dinners only to find out later that it was not a special dinner at all... just normal R2 dinner with a $75 supplement for 3 wines that night. What?!?! Other than a couple of "come after dinner and try orzo or grappa in the Observation Bar" type of events (with no publicity and barely even a mention in the Herald), that was the extent of the wine focus.

 

* The special wine shore excursion (added outside the normal Seabourn offerings) in Trapani was a trainwreck. Several of us complained and ended up getting 75% of our $170 fee refunded. Seabourn clearly did not vet this appropriately! No other special wine shore excursions were offered. (I don't count normal Seabourn excursions with food/wine offered throughout the Mediterranean season to be special wine shore excursions!)

 

* I was initially told "no Shopping with the Chef" due to a lack of suitable ports in which to do it. I have heard that same line on EVERY Seabourn cruise I've taken (although half the time there ends up being an event anyway). I think Seabourn either needs to execute this properly or do away with it.

 

* No Rock the Boat Party. No epicurean event (although I'm told that tonight the Officer's Farewell/Officer's On Deck will serve that purpose).

 

* They ran out of caviar at the Caviar By The Pool sailaway. I repeat, they ran out of caviar. It started at 5:00 pm and I got down there about 5:15 pm to find a queue of people waiting to be served. I grabbed at glass of champagne and waited for the line to go down (I don't like queuing on Seabourn!) and at 5:25 when I went back and got in the line, I watched the chef scoop out the last of the current tin for the guest before me. "Sorry, no more caviar" he said to me. I laughed. (Seriously, I laughed... this is Seabourn so surely he was joking!) Nope, no more caviar. No, they didn't run out on the ship... they just were not going to open any more for me or the folks in line behind me. "Sorry, no more caviar."

 

* Entertainment has been very good. I said this after the spring transatlantic and will say it again... Seabourn's changing with the times has been a positive. Its nice to hear music from the last decade in the Club and in the shows as well as to have some variation in the types of evening activities. The removal of the guitarist and replacement with both a trio and the Club band has been great. Suzanne Jade, the current pianist in the OB, is a true gem. We enjoyed her on the transatlantic and I'm thrilled for her that she'll get to move to the Encore (where one of her duties will be playing in the Thomas Keller Grill during dinner). I understand the Encore will have not only the pianist and Club band, but also a trio and a duo. I'm told the duo will not be one of the Filipino duos from the Little Sisters but the trio will be a Filipino one.

 

* Food has been okay. Better than it was on Odyssey during the low point two summers ago but not as good as on Quest earlier this year or Sojourn on prior sailings. The menu selections are fewer. At tables with more than 3 people, entrees rarely arrived at the same time. Sauces were left off dishes that were to include them, sides never delivered, items asked to be removed were left on. In a couple of cases, when items were sent back, the same items reappeared. I watched in horror one night as cold pasta was sent back from someone at our table and reappeared heated with twice as much sauce on top smothering it. Presentation is lacking. The best offerings I've had have been via room service. The greatest win in my book is that it has been the fastest I've seen. We've managed to sit down at 7:30 or later many evenings, enjoy 3-courses, and still have time for a cocktail before the 9:45 show, even with hosted tables. That's never happened before.

 

* The Thomas Keller offerings have largely been unappealing or unappetizing. (Yes... I said it despite my prior cheerleading!) I don't predict this will be a successful long-term relationship largely due to execution.

 

* I wanted to put together my own table for dinner one evening to showcase some wines I purchased in Italy w/ Sebastian's help. I inquired mid-cruise and asked which night would be best and what we might do with F&B to make this as little of an inconvenience as possible. On prior sailings, I've co-hosted tables or been a guest at them and they've helped us coordinate invites, even prepared special dishes. This time I was treated as an inconvenience and they tried to dissuade me on several occasions from doing this at all. I finally pulled it off successfully but it required me pushing the issue. I was told by one guest who I invited (who had also been invited to a staff hosted table) that when she accepted my invitation and declined the other, she was asked "are you sure?" Really?!

 

* Service has been variable. There are extremely attentive staff (like Nigel at the Pool Bar) and then there are those who clearly would rather be anywhere but on the ship based on the disdain with which they treat guests. (This coming less from my own personal experience and more from watching them interact with others.) I've seen servers get positively snippy with guests at hosted tables.

 

* I have had a brand-new suite stewardess (this is her second sailing, I believe) and while nothing has been horrible, it has definitely been unimpressive. Bathrobes disappeared from my suite one night (which I discovered when stepping out of the shower wet)... not only the one hanging on the hook in my bathroom but also the one that had been hanging in the closet all week. I had several occasions where items I had placed in the trash reappeared on the countertop after the room was serviced (among them, an empty medication casing, a discarded empty conditioner bottle, several empty envelopes, and folded day-old news sheets).

 

* So many new staff members. "No" or "we can't do that" seem to be familiar phrases now.

 

* Lots of hosted tables on this sailing. They took very good care of their solo travelers (and there were a LOT of them) on this sailing. I was invited to tables nightly. My only minor complaint was that they tried to corral us to the Colonnade for a hosted table on formal night... I guess the assumption was that solos don't want to be formal? I found that slightly disappointing but several of us declined that invitation and sat together on our own in The Restaurant with all the non-solos. We survived. (I only accepted 3 or 4 of my hosted invitations all sailing but it was nice to know I received them... I'd never have been alone unless I wanted to be. Seabourn is a VERY easy line for solos!)

 

* It took 3 days to get all my onboard credit applied correctly. I've never had that problem in the past but I'm glad now that I asked when the little onboard cards didn't appear in my suite on Day 1.

 

* I am convinced that the staff in Seabourn Square are hired solely for their ability to appear stoic and demonstrate absolutely no emotion or concern when troubles are presented. I visited with them on three different occasions about issues or questions. But only on Day 9 when another guest complained and mentioned me by name that I was already in touch with the US sales department via my agency did the Guest Services Manager call to ask me why I was unhappy.

 

* I booked a specific A1 suite because as a solo, they did not offer good supplements for anything V1 or above when I was booking (full disclosure - I paid 125% for the A1 but they wanted 175% for the V1 which I deemed too much). I am used to seeing buy-up offers come when the ship is not sold out and decided I'd accept one of those when offered. They never came... and my agent was told that there would be none forthcoming because the ship was sold out. This as they continued to discount cabins and offer them up on consolidator sites. I was told to ask at check-in. I was again told "no upgrades". Imagine my displeasure when I found out that several others on the same rate as me had been offered upgrades (some paid, some complimentary). I am told the sailing is not full and was never full - they lost out on the additional revenue I was willing to pay.

 

I need to state for the record that I am not a vocal complainer. I'm the type to suffer quietly and not speak up in the hopes that things will get better or that perhaps I'm overreacting. I've been a huge Seabourn fan girl/cheerleader in the past. But I just cancelled our transatlantic booking for 2017 as I feel the need to watch and wait as Encore comes on line to see what the overall impact will be on the brand.

 

Agree, we were on the same cruise. The sommelier part was invisible. It was the first Seabourn cruise that we NEVER received an invite on our cabin door about a wine tasting. I stumbled across a lecture on the in suite TV about a wine lecture that occurred days before. Also agree that the food seemed a notch below what we were accustomed to. That having been said, we still put down an open ended deposit.

[shefinch]

We have just completed 18 days on the Odyssey Athens/Monte Carlo. After many years and numerous cruises with Seabourn, we have to say this was the most disappointing. Apparently numerous suites on both parts of this cruise were sold off cheaply to a low cost agent leading to a packed ship which led to overcrowded bars which in turn led to bad service. Not Seabourn as we know it! This view was shared by many Seabourn regulars on board. Very disappointing!

[Mr Luxury]

Sorry to read of your bad experience Shelagh

Are you and Larry going on the Encore

 

 

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[lincslady]

It must seem strange to 'new readers' how anomalous the recent reports on SB ships are. Obviously some people have not encountered what have been sometimes very noticeable staffing problems - they were lucky.

 

Those who have in the past been Seabourn enthusiasts - I count amongst these shefinch, jenidallas and myself for example - do not lightly complain about our cruises. To my mind the principal problem has been, over the past few months, a large number of new staff trying to learn the job, supervised by a too small number of senior staff. This so that experienced hands could be sent off to Encore.

 

I personally blame the management of the line entirely, in not thinking through the consequences of not taking new staff gradually, in small numbers at a time, to lessen the impact on the existing ships. From my own experience and what I have read here, Odyssey has suffered the most, then Sojourn, with Quest having lost a lower proportion of staff.

 

Seabourn have spent a fortune on new ships and the TK introduction, and to my mind are trying to save elsewhere. I don't know what others think?

[dalliowner]

This problem seems to arrive whenever new ships are coming on line, presumably there is not enough staff accommodation to just have extra staff on board to train with existing experienced staff.:)

[lincslady]

Just too many at the same time! Many we spoke to on Sojourn fairly recently had only been on any ship at all for 2 weeks, or 2 months. Obviously SB want Encore to be wonderful from the start, and I really hope it is.

[galeforce9]

Just too many at the same time! Many we spoke to on Sojourn fairly recently had only been on any ship at all for 2 weeks, or 2 months. Obviously SB want Encore to be wonderful from the start, and I really hope it is.

 

 

Just got back from Sojourn on Thursday. Have to report that my initial concerns in the restaurant were addressed very well and would like to thank our excellent waiters including Ener, Sebastian, Mark, Dominic....

 

 

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Edited November 19, 2016 by galeforce9

[shefinch]

Sorry to read of your bad experience Shelagh

Are you and Larry going on the Encore

 

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Yes we are on January 7th John. I think that's when you finish your cruise but I understand that those on the previous cruise will be taking part in the Inaugural ceremony so hope to see you there.

[bitob]

We have our first Seabourn cruise on the odyssey in a month. After reading this I would cancel if I could get refund. Sounds awful.

 

 

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[wire]

Sounds like you've already made up your mind about Seabourn, having never cruised with them. You should cancel. I'm sure others on board would appreciate it.

Edited November 19, 2016 by wire

[bitob]

Sounds like you've already made up your mind about Seabourn, having never cruised with them. You should cancel. I'm sure others on board would appreciate it.

 

 

Sure hope ur not on my cruise

 

 

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[vistaman]

It must seem strange to 'new readers' how anomalous the recent reports on SB ships are. Obviously some people have not encountered what have been sometimes very noticeable staffing problems - they were lucky.

 

Those who have in the past been Seabourn enthusiasts - I count amongst these shefinch, jenidallas and myself for example - do not lightly complain about our cruises. To my mind the principal problem has been, over the past few months, a large number of new staff trying to learn the job, supervised by a too small number of senior staff. This so that experienced hands could be sent off to Encore.

 

I personally blame the management of the line entirely, in not thinking through the consequences of not taking new staff gradually, in small numbers at a time, to lessen the impact on the existing ships. From my own experience and what I have read here, Odyssey has suffered the most, then Sojourn, with Quest having lost a lower proportion of staff.

 

Seabourn have spent a fortune on new ships and the TK introduction, and to my mind are trying to save elsewhere. I don't know what others think?

 

i simply do not understand why that TK grill was necessary - years ago SB spent a lot of money on royalties for another famous " media known" chef from NY - few people did appreciate that cooking style.

[lincslady]

bitob - I understand your feelings, having been one who has said things have not been as good as they should be lately. However, these new staff members will by now be getting more used to the SB routines, and I am sure things will be more like they should be (which is an exceptionally high standard compared with many other lines) by now.

 

We were told on Sojourn a few weeks ago a) that there were fewer complaints than there had been recently, and b) that things would get better shortly as the new staff got more used to everything. This was not much consolation to those who were on board when this was said, but I genuinely believe that every week the standard will improve. New staff have to study a lot, and pass exams, when they are first on board, and it is very hard for them until this has been achieved.

 

I do hope and think you will enjoy your first Seabourn cruise - and please let everyone here know what you thought on your return. For most new passengers it is a major upping in standards from the 3 or 4 star lines.