Quick review - On board Odyssey now (Caribbean)

[russg140]

I have no idea where the Dewitt thing came from. Autocorrect strikes again! The Howell's were indeed from Gillian's Island. I'm dating myself. I love these Boards; people can discuss and share ideas/thoughts, and I want to thank you all for the reassurance. As for the track suit and Lycra? I can count on one hand the cruise lines where this is acceptable. I can count even fewer who would address it. Therein lies the problem: if the cruise line doesn't uphold/enforce its own standards then people will continue to dress/act/speak/"hog" as they see fit.

 

On our most recent cruise with Celebrity one lady wanted to "reserve" 12 chaises by placing towels on them. She did so, walked away and was gone for 45 minutes. Other guests came by and asked if the lounges were taken, to which we replied "no". The first woman returned 30 minutes later (so now easily over an hour after she originally "reserved" them) and was outraged, insisting she had reserved those loungers for her family. A crew member walked by and she voiced her complaint, to which the crew member replied, "Where are the other people in your party?" She had no answer, and he promptly removed the remaining towels, looked at the woman and calmly and politely said, "There's no reserving chairs." And walked away. It was all we could do not to stand up and cheer!

[wripro]

RussG-

 

We've sailed on many of the major cruise lines, and boarding our fourth Seabourn cruise on Saturday. We are a gay couple having celebrated our 21st anniversary last month. We are fortunate to be able to travel frequently, and Seabourn periodically. I can't think of a resort, cruise line or any venue where we have found the degree of comfortable and fascinating (in the best SMS of the word) interaction, and have made friendships- some now extended for years- with folks on board of all ages and other 'demographics". Wear a Rolex orTimex, poloshirt or POLO shirt...as long as you don't wear jeans to dinner! :-) Overwhelmingly folks have been thoughtful, kind and relaxed on Seabourn. Just be aware... it will change you view of cruising, whether Singapore to Mumbai or RT Miami.

 

Amen!

[RustyRollock]

There is absolutely no point having a few basic rules (staff prefer to call them "recommendations") if they aren't prepared to enforce them. And they aren't prepared to enforce them. It's a shame that some people seem unaware of considerate, courteous behaviour (those pesky "demographics" again) but if this is the market that Seabourn is now aiming for then they will lose as many customers as they gain, including us.

[SLSD]

You are right RustyRollock and perhaps it is our job to remind the cruise line that we DO want standards upheld.

[ab21au]

Fortunately on the cruises we have been on these experiences are few and far between. My bigger gripe is guests who are rude to the crew and treat them like servants.

[SLSD]

ab21au, We did not see this on our cruise and agree with you that it would be worse to see passengers rude to the crew.

[markham]

Crew are not servants.

 

 

No one this century and in our western culture should be able to act out the medieval (and earlier) argument that people earning their way while delivering service are servants, This means that the social contract is valued above all, and, that when someone steps over the line the rest of us and/or whoever is in charge steps up to restore stability.

 

In the case of Seabourn, I know that the staff have certain protections against abuse and I would like to think that any staff member who refers problems to his/her supervisor will be protected by the company.

 

So there should be no downside to staff enforcing printed standards of dress or anything else. Of course, the captain has within his rights to restrain, sedate or eject anyone causing harm to himself or others (see the passenger contract). I only trust that he supports the crew when dealing with rude and obnoxious passengers’ behaviors.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Sunprince]

The soocer strip and lycra crowd hits the Observation Bar at 19:00 and no one on Staff wants to do a thing about it?!

 

I hate this. Suffice it to say it would never happen on Silversea. I was on Whisper 2 weeks ago and for less, no jacket and blue jeans, such punters were turned away from the Bar.

 

I hope Seabourn management gets an earful about this dumbing down of the existing standard (which are - are they not?) printed in the Herald.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

 

 

Although I agree with the dress code, I don’t always like the time it takes effect. We are on a different (later) schedule than some of the people we have seen on Seabourn. To be fully dressed (i.e. jacket, long trousers etc) for dinner on a hot summer Med cruise and sitting in the Obs Bar at 6 or 6:30pm judging others because they may be dressed more causally at that hour is ridiculous. I am not saying the Lycra and soccer apparel is appropriate, but you should realize not everyone operates on the strict, cocktails at 6 and dinner by 7 standard.

 

 

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[SLSD]

I saw one very bad situation on our recent cruise. It involved a passenger being incredibly rude to a tour guide on an excursion. Seabourn had also sent a crew member on this excursion. I was agog over the rudeness as was my husband and many other passengers. While we did not confront the rude passenger (although I was very tempted to do so), many of us went out of our way to compliment our tour guide at the end of our excursion, telling her what an excellent job she had done--and tipping her appropriately. But, the whole episode left a very bad taste in my mouth. The rude tourist was a Russian man. I am not one to generalize, so I am making no comment about Russian tourists in general.

[Sunprince]

I saw one very bad situation on our recent cruise. It involved a passenger being incredibly rude to a tour guide on an excursion. Seabourn had also sent a crew member on this excursion. I was agog over the rudeness as was my husband and many other passengers. While we did not confront the rude passenger (although I was very tempted to do so), many of us went out of our way to compliment our tour guide at the end of our excursion, telling her what an excellent job she had done--and tipping her appropriately. But, the whole episode left a very bad taste in my mouth. The rude tourist was a Russian man. I am not one to generalize, so I am making no comment about Russian tourists in general.

 

 

 

Although I “ pick my battles” carefully, I am usually the odd man out to call out poor behaviour such as this example. Sometimes I just simply and nicely say “why do you need to be so unkind to others”. That usually shuts them up fast! If it doesn’t, then I just say “stop embarrassing yourself”. If that does not work then I put them in the “lost cause” category.

 

 

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[SLSD]

Sunprince, I've thought about this--and wish I had spoken up. I think I was afraid of making a bad thing worse.

[Sunprince]

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Edited November 11, 2017 by Sunprince

[Sunprince]

Sorry, I was replying but lost my last post. We have seen poor behaviour and sometimes it is not worth calling it out but if people are treating others without respect then that is an issue for us, especially the crew. Then I say something.

Edited November 11, 2017 by Sunprince

[texanaust]

As Seabourn slips and moves to the middle, there are other options to consider. Mass market lines are incorporating more and more 'ship within a ship' concepts. After sailing exclusively on Silversea and Seabourn for years, we...tried something else.

 

We have now sailed on NCL suite class, MSC Yacht Club and Celebrity Suites. At the suite level, the products offered are not all that different to Seabourn sans caviar. We have enjoyed huge suites with true butler service, private dining rooms and club lounge areas that rival anything SB has to offer. It was eye-opening to us and while we still enjoy Seabourn, it is not necessarily our first choice. My advice is to check out the competition, specifically the 'new suite concepts', you might be pleasantly surprised.

[oregon50]

Great option, especially for family of three. I found crew abuse towards passengers unacceptable. Maybe encountered five A team quality crew members. Guess what? Those five, while in different departments, hung out together when off duty. Celebrity Royal suite, great layout.

[markham]

Texanaust,

 

I agree that it’s smart to look at the competition and to try it for something new. I just dislike the big ship slog of getting off and on in ports and all those announcements. The vibe will have to be different and you lose the smaller ships’ intimacy whereby you know the officers and see easily and readily how the whole operation clicks.

 

Of course your points make good sense so maybe we will try it on one of those Royal Caribbean mega ships for a few days. That would be an eye opener! The television programs I have seen as to how they manage to manage 6000 passengers were incredible.

 

And about RC, I recall talking with other lines’ Safety Officers about the shenanigans they had to sort out when employed there involving rowdy and idiotic guests on their big ships. But I guess that’s what can happen anywhere with jerks.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[SLSD]

One of my biggest fears before we ever took our first cruise, was the specter of rowdy passengers. This is one of the main reasons we chose SS and then SB. I know rowdy guests

COULD happen and HAVE happened to others on these lines, but I like to think it is less likely. Am I correct?

[wripro]

Anyone who thinks they have found something they like better then SB should absolutely go with it. That's why there are so many different options...to appeal to so many different tastes.

[InCruiseMode]

Can someone currently onboard please go to the coffee bar and tell me the maker of the chocolate "squares' they put in hot chocolate and mocha cappuccinos/lattes? Thank you, I miss those!

[Steve007NY]

Just went to look for you.

Segafredo ZANETTI’

“il be ro espresso Italiana”

 

Frankly, I’ve never noticed them before. Just what I need is another delicious fattening item on the ship :-)

[InCruiseMode]

Thank you.....they used them in my Mocha's in the morning and they were great. Enjoy the cruise!!

[Steve007NY]

Thanks. My pleasure.

Amazing how after less than46 hours onboard one can already feel the tensions melt away. Talked with so many interesting folks, our team win st trivia today...Only a bit weird but- we are, apparently two of only eight people to book the serene area. Works for us but seems like the spa area crew have so little business it is somewhat sad.

Frankly, except for a cabin attendant who seems helpful But a bit clueless, we’re finding not much difffrom our best prior experiences. (Ok, I CAN live without Tanquerey Rangpur in the room!). My partner couldn’t without his diet Mountain Dew; but a case was there waiting!

[ON cruiser]

As my wife and I join the ship on Dec. 5 for our very first Seabourn cruise we have read with interest, and some trepidation, some of the comments (albeit we are also reassured by some).

 

I would just ask those who posted that they would be boarding soon to please report back on their experiences--good or bad. I also hope that any with less than satisfactory experiences do take the advice of those posters who urged reporting any concerns to ship management.

 

Smooth seas to all,

[2SailingNomads]

ON Cruiser, First off, in any environment there will be those who have a great experience and those who find all the negatives. While I was not on the particular cruise the OP was on, I have spent around 170 days on the Odyssey over the last 5 years and (in addition to many other days on all - except the Spirit - Seabourn ships) we have always had a good time. While various crew come and go, and some very good have moved to other ships, there are a set of crew who - depending on their rotation - are almost always there for the past few years and are some of Seabourn' s best. I can't tell you if they will be on-board or not (Michael, JP, James, Mimi, Darius, etc.), but go in with a positive attitude and judge for yourself, no preconceived opinions. If you have any issues, seek out the hotel manager for a discreet word, it will be resolved, as opposed to posting on CC as someone did last December for multiple days when they were unhappy w/ their stewardess (really you prefer complaining on CC instead of finding the person in charge - which gets you the result you want, unless you rather complain)

[LEESRE]

Would it be possible to tell us when is Formal Night on board. Would like to book Thomas Keller but would prefer the MDR on formal night.

We are on the next cruise after yours.

Many thanks.