Live from Seabourn Encore - Bali to Sydney December 2018

[travelberlin]

On 12/13/2018 at 12:41 PM, MaggyCan1 said:

Thank you Stickman for your very interesting and informative posts re Seabourn, The  Encore and the itinerary.   I have just returned from a SB cruise in the Caribbean on the Odyssey and enjoyed it immensely.   Having been on both Encore and Ovation, I wanted to try one of the Three Sisters and see how it was.   So, I can very much agree with your assessment of the Sushi restaurant on Encore/Ovation.   I knew I would miss it on The Odyssey, and indeed I did.   Without a doubt, my favourite dining venue on board!

 

I have booked the Sydney to Bali cruise for March 2020, and am therefore most interested in your thoughts on the itinerary, so I will continue to follow your CC musings on this intently.

 

One little item I can personally clarify:   an earlier post on this topic (I can't recall by whom), mentioned the $400 onboard credit and advised that it would be $200 for solo travelers.   As a "soloist" (my terminology!), I can personally verify that the $400 onboard credit remains at $400, even for passengers like me!   

 

Another little piece of advice to the person who posted on this thread, asking about SB's dealings with solo travelers.   SB currently has a very nice special on offer.   A 25% single supplement, versus the usual 75%!!    And a decent selection of itineraries for which it applies.   It is that offer in fact that led me to book my next two SB cruises:   Montreal to Miami in 2019, and the aforementioned Sydney to Bali in 2020.    So, definitely worth looking into for anyone who travels alone.

Thanks for the advice on solo fares. I will have a look to see if I find an itinerary I like.

Ivi

[OzKiwiJJ]

59 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

The beef carpaccio at Seabourn looks more like bresaola cuts. I have seen them served sometimes at Italian restaurants instead of the fresh version. But with onions and croutons? Never had them like that before.

Ivi

I don't think it's bresaola, which is air-cured, it looks too moist for that.

[OceanPatter]

Sorry if you've already addressed this, but how is the wi-fi on the Encore? We'll be on the Auckland-Sydney leg in March, and will need to send/receive texts on our iPhones throughout the day. If we get the all-Internet package, will we be able to do this?

Edited December 17, 2018 by OceanPatter

[Stickman1990]

2 hours ago, OceanPatter said:

We'll be on the Auckland-Sydney leg in March, and will need to send/receive texts on our iPhones throughout the day. If we get the all-Internet package, will we be able to do this?

 

I haven’t bothered with an internet package from Seabourn as I had international roaming to cover the Indonesian ports and my Aust mobile service to cover Aust ports - BUT don’t use those options while at sea as you would end up with a big bill for Cellular at Sea 

 

You can get the internet package from Seabourn (additional cost and around $400 for a full voyage) - friends have that and it seems to work reliably and at a reasonable speed - I’ve used their iPad occasionally as felt no great delay

 

There is a wifi intranet as well to pick up Menus and the Herald - that has no charge associated with it

 

Now your question on TXTs - I don’t believe the internet package will help you with those if you mean the type that come through your cellular service - you’d be better off picking those up in port of you have international roaming (not at sea) or using a internet based messaging service like Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger that uses the data service and not cellular - you could get those messages at sea once you’re logged into the internet as they come over data not cellular

 

Hope that helps 

[rols]

4 hours ago, OceanPatter said:

Sorry if you've already addressed this, but how is the wi-fi on the Encore? We'll be on the Auckland-Sydney leg in March, and will need to send/receive texts on our iPhones throughout the day. If we get the all-Internet package, will we be able to do this?

 

WiFi is generally ok but slow, there are days it's really good, there are days it's horrible. If you get the all-internet package which is quite costly, you'll be able to have one device at a time on WiFi all the time, you won't be able to have both. You can switch between them whenever you want, but it's one at a time only. 

However what do you mean when you say 'texts', do you mean SMS or messages like whatsapp or iMessage etc? SMSes will come via whatever phone signal you have, which when in port is whatever the local telco is, on board they have phone service. You'd not want to use that for actual phone calls, it's screamingly expensive, however for most carriers *incoming* international SMSes are free (or unavailable totally), *outgoing* SMSes are charged at your phone provider's international SMS rate, which for us isn't that bad for an odd text, 15c or something. Your phone company ought to have a list of charges somewhere. 

What we've been doing in the last few years is renting a roaming cellular/wifi router and taking it with us. That usually costs around $10 a day. It only works in port or very close to land but the coverage is excellent, you can take it with you on your shore excursions and have full internet, maps etc and you can connect usually up to about 5 devices to it. We'll then buy an hour or so of shipboard internet for the odd time we're at sea and need to read or send a mail, you can usually do a mail check in less than a minute and so one hour is enough for those odd times the mobile router is too far from land. 

[OceanPatter]

Thank you, rols, for your fabulous response. We just need wi-fi to receive/send texts, and will look into a roaming cellular/wi-fi router for access when we're off-ship.

[OceanPatter]

Forgot to thank you, as well, Stickman. We're in the habit of communicating via text when we are out of the country. This has generally worked well on a ship's wifi, but we were concerned when we read the mixed reviews of the Encore's wifi.

Edited December 18, 2018 by OceanPatter

[buchhalm]

On 12/17/2018 at 3:46 AM, travelberlin said:

The beef carpaccio at Seabourn looks more like bresaola cuts. I have seen them served sometimes at Italian restaurants instead of the fresh version. But with onions and croutons? Never had them like that before.

Ivi

My DW is banned from ordering carpaccio in restaurants. It is be biggest rip-off in hospitality. About a teaspoon worth of beef....

😁

[Stickman1990]

Finally getting back to wrap up the last couple of days of our cruise

 

While there are a good number of favourite wines we’ve enjoyed on board there are some generic wines appearing - eg Lindemans “SE Aust Savu Blanc” or some generic brand from Australia - not Yellow Tail but one of those generic “Australian Wine” which could be anywhere. Fortunately there are plenty of alternatives from around the world available to choose from - but given Encore is in the Australia and New Zealand region for a few months I hope they get a better range onboard for guests to try from this region 

 

Sunday night we attended the  Comedy magician, Bob Brizendine, a Seabourn regular I believe, who was very good - there was good audience participation, including one of our friends who inadvertently provided extra laughs as she helped him out 

 

Monday night - Ross Roberts, & Daniella his Assistant performed a good variety show with a number of duets and a couple of solo numbers each and continue to provide fun and laughter at Trivia, and special trivia’s like Name that Tune and Officers Team trivia

 

Tuesday 18 December

 

We went ashore on Fraser Island which was a tender port. We just walked to the Resort - but it very humid so we returned to the ship for lunch 

 

Regular sea day routine for us are Golf Putting and Baggo where we manage the occasional prize and Trivia where we have gone off the boil and are now languishing towards the rear of the field 

 

Lunch in the dining room is good and we have enjoyed three lunches there with our favourite waitress and the excellent service 

 

We continue to hear of inconsistencies in TK Grill - chicken, sole, lobster thermidor dishes can be highs or lows depending on the evening so we will stick with our three visits to date where overall we’ve been happy with but not super wowed with the food 

 

We now have our favourite staff, in the bars, restaurants and for entertainment - and know that there will be others we have not come across who are equally as good and focussed on guests 

 

We have really enjoyed meeting other guests - many from Australia but others from around the world. Many have travelled on multiple luxury lines and some on the volume lines - when I hear about people lining up for tender tickets at 4am on a commodity line I cringe. It’s interesting to hear about the things that work and differentiate lines against each other 

 

We are enjoying the modern build of Seabourn Encore and many service staff and the overall “vibe” of the ship - set by the programme and the cruise director and his team. We certainly do feel welcome as first time Seabourn cruisers and I believe the others who also first timers feel the same. I hope that those who are new to other lines feel the same

 

Wednesday 19 December 

 

On Wednesday, while cruising down the cost towards Sydney we enjoyed Baggo and Golf with some further success and prizes for placing in the competitions - our Seabourn swag bag is positively groaning with wallets, teddies, plug adapters card sets and other small momentos as well as a lovely canvas bag to hold them all but most importantly great memories from the friendly competition.  Our trivia results have slumped again today and we are now well back in the pack - the final round is Thursday. We had a lovely lunch in the Restaurant with a couple from the Sydney region - we do like the leisurely pace of dining in the Restaurant as it allows for lots of chat time between courses. Wednesday was the beginning of the farewells for the cruise with Ross Roberts, Cruise Director extraordinaire, giving each of the ladies who attended the craft group a gift of a mug with logos like “Knit Wit” and “Crafty” to remember the cruise by. In the evening there was a poolside party where officers and other senior staff served food from half a dozen booths and drinks were served - then staff representatives from all the departments paraded in on the deck 10 - and each department was acknowledged - it was a nice thing and gave passengers an opportunity to spot and acknowledge their favourite crew members. We had dinner in the Restaurant with a couple we had met over the course of the cruise through various activities and then went to the late show which was a Dance and Singing show - Burn the Floor, by the ensemble and dance couple - after that we called it a night while our friends went dancing in the Club to the live band

 

Thursday 20 December

 

Today was the final trivia and one added twist was that after the winning team had been identified all the other teams could choose to bet some, all or none of their cumulative total on a gamble round - with a bonus question answer deciding the fate of their overall score. We chose to gamble most of our points and were one of the 2 teams to get the bonus question right (Who invented the thermometer?) - unfortunately the other team had more points so we came in third - so an improvement on our otherwise mid field placing 

 

Thursday was a pretty much a sea day and we arrived off Sydney heads around 3pm - and enjoyed a lovely sail in up the harbour, under the bridge and around to White Bay Terminal. There was a big party around the pool and singing and dancing - Ross and Daniella dressed appropriately 

 

We hosted two friends onboard as guests in the evening and showed them around the ship and had dinner in the Restaurant. Hats off to Seabourn for allowing this by prior arrangement - and all complimentary with no additional charges for dining - a very pleasant surprise. Interestingly the Seabourn website says that visitors are not allowed - so we had better keep that bit of news just between us 🙂

 

After they left we watched the magician show at 9.30pm then went onto the dance party where Ross and Daniella sang and the two bands played. For those of us who stayed until the end there was impromptu karaoke of classic Christmas tunes - we had Spanish speakers singing English songs and an Italian singing a Spanish song - lots of laughter and a very nice way to end the cruise. We finished up around 12.30am

 

Many took the opportunity to head into the city for sightseeing after we docked - well did they get a treat - we had a big downpour and thunder/lightening storm - typical of a Sydney late afternoon after a hot day - but this time we had large hail - the biggest hail storm in 20 years! There are reports of damage around the city - but no problems onboard 

 

Friday 21 December 

 

Friday morning was disembarkation which went smoothly - there is a temporary structure erected to cope with a second ship to process passengers at White Bay - we were the “second ship” today as a larger Holland America ship had the main berth after we moved one spot on Thursday night. Luggage collection and Border Force processing went super smoothly and our friends picked us up - so were home in 45 minutes. We unpacked on Friday and received our email customer satisfaction survey on Saturday morning - I look forward to completing it and especially being able to highlight the staff who stood out during our cruise. After that it’s definitely time for a post holiday rest! 

 

I’ll post a summary including a comparison with Crystal, and some final thoughts but we had a great time over the last 3 weeks and will have many memories to think of to remind us of our first Seabourn Cruise 

 

 

 

Fraser Island is a Tender Port

 

 

Seabourn Encore at anchor at Fraser Island 

 

 

We we both had the same pasta dish - but I prefer a cream sauce - very tasty 

 

 

With the tomato option

 

 

Osso Bucco was very tasty 

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Stickman1990

[Stickman1990]

Some more shots from the last couple of days including Christmas Festivities and the sail in to Sydney

 

Sorry for the jumbled order of the photos - I select them chronologically they post in a random order 

 

Christmas Music Trivia with Ross, Gavin and Daniella - love the costumes 

 

 

The Salute to staff function 

 

I am am sure there are some familiar faces here 

 

 

Scallops for me in the Restaurant 

 

 

Rack of Lamb with Mint Jelly

 

 

The Cheese selection for desert for me 

 

With a Sauterne to compliment the cheese

 

 

The penultimate Herald

 

 

The Colonade kitchen - missed it earlier but always busy at breakfast and lunch times 

 

Some me of the wait staff 

 

 

The Sydney pilot accompanying us in 

 

 

 

So iconic - great to be home 

 

 

Ross and Daniella dressed for the great occasion of sail in to Sydney

 

 

This photo does not do justice to the hail storm which caused hundreds of millions of dollars damage across Sydney - the worst hail storm in over 20 years 

 

 

The last Herald for us 

 

 

Great costumes for the music trivia 

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Stickman1990

[Fly Fast Cruise Slow]

Thanks for posting Stickman, we really enjoyed following along with you.

[galeforce9]

Thank you for your excellent reports. I’m glad you enjoyed your cruise. 

 

Your petit fours looked of a much higher standard than on odyssey recently.  AND we were expected to share one plate between 3! Good job they were poor. 

[Stickman1990]

2 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

Your petit fours looked of a much higher standard than on odyssey recently.  AND we were expected to share one plate between 3! Good job they were poor. 

 

We had 4 people at the table and they bought 2 servings - they looked good but I don’t eat them so can’t report on the quality - but the cheese was yum 🙂

[teamflames]

Great report, we were on the Ovation at the same time. Sounds as though we had very similar experiences, like you I focused on the games and activities with relaxing periods in the Square on sea days. The prizes Seabourn award are impressive in both quantity and quality. One small difference I noted in the photos was the Ovation has miel washers and dryers which were very impressive as they adjusted drying time automatically by the weight in the machine.

My wife and I (also fellow Aussies) are trying our first Crystal cruise on the Symphony on January 5th, so should be exciting to compare.

merry xmas

[Stickman1990]

38 minutes ago, teamflames said:

One small difference I noted in the photos was the Ovation has miel washers and dryers which were very impressive as they adjusted drying time automatically by the weight in the machine.

My wife and I (also fellow Aussies) are trying our first Crystal cruise on the Symphony on January 5th, so should be exciting to compare

 

Good to hear you are giving Crystal a try - I think you will want to be onboard on the 4th though 🙂 - although I guess she will still be in New Orleans on the 5th 🙂 - that's a great cruise - at a great price too. I hope you enjoy it and would be interested in your comparison. There are definitely differences between the two lines - but the nice thing is both provide a good luxury cruising experience 

 

I'll post my summary here in the next day or so. We are on Crystal Serenity from Auckland to Perth in early February

 

The dryers on Encore had an auto sensing function for drying - they are good machines and only a couple of years old. I was just surprised that there were only 5 for the whole ship. You will have plenty of machines to choose from on Symphony

[rols]

14 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

The dryers on Encore had an auto sensing function for drying - they are good machines and only a couple of years old. I was just surprised that there were only 5 for the whole ship. You will have plenty of machines to choose from on Symphony

Well one point about the laundry on the Encore is that it was a retrofit, hence there's only one of them and it's not very big. When the ship was originally designed it didn't have a laundry at all. There was a lot of debate as to whether that was an incredible example of just not understanding your customers or a blatant penny pinching attempt, I'm sure you can find the threads in history. After a pretty predictable uproar from the early passengers filtered through a crew which completely understood the desire for a laundry, management was persuaded to turn an office into one. Ovation was by then on the way and even had they wanted to a change to incorporate proper laundries on several decks was not likely so it was built with one, but of the same size and in the same location. So that's why it's so small .

[Stickman1990]

Thanks - must have been the same designer who came up with the Retreat idea 🙂

Well for a retrofit it worked out pretty good - no complaints with the room itself 

 

Reminds me of two laundry room stories from our voyage (passed into me so I can’t vouch for 100% authenticity) 

 

1. The room was found locked one morning (well after 6am the normal unlock time) - staff were called and unlocked the door to find a guy in there using all 5 machines.....clearly had a backlog to clear or was going it to earn some extra $$$ for the cruise 🙂

 

2. Laundry rage occurred when a woman arrived back to find someone had taken her load out of the machine so they could load there’s. Nothing physical occurred but it was entertaining and slightly embarrassing for those who had to witness it

 

Given there are other offices across from it I guess they planned that area as offices in general 

[teamflames]

22 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

Good to hear you are giving Crystal a try - I think you will want to be onboard on the 4th though 🙂 - although I guess she will still be in New Orleans on the 5th 🙂 - that's a great cruise - at a great price too. I hope you enjoy it and would be interested in your comparison. There are definitely differences between the two lines - but the nice thing is both provide a good luxury cruising experience 

 

I'll post my summary here in the next day or so. We are on Crystal Serenity from Auckland to Perth in early February

 

The dryers on Encore had an auto sensing function for drying - they are good machines and only a couple of years old. I was just surprised that there were only 5 for the whole ship. You will have plenty of machines to choose from on Symphony

Stickman - would you be willing to send me an email to ask you a couple of questions about Crystal bookings? If so, my email is jamesamcauliffe74@gmail.com 

thanks

 

[Stickman1990]

2 hours ago, teamflames said:

Stickman - would you be willing to send me an email to ask you a couple of questions about Crystal bookings

 

More than happy to assist if I can - you have mail :-)

[teamflames]

1 hour ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

More than happy to assist if I can - you have mail 🙂

Thanks, back at you

[Stickman1990]

Overall Views & Summary

 

It’s been a couple of weeks since we disembarked Seabourn Encore in Sydney on 20 December and I’ve deliberately left it a while to write up my overall thoughts and experience so I can reflect on our experiences and draw comparisons with Crystal

 

I should start by saying this is one couples view (although we did talk to several others on board and many of them had similar experiences) of one cruise on Seabourn Encore – so should be taken as such. When I draw comparisons with Crystal I am very familiar with both the Crystal Ocean ships so feel confident about doing so

 

We took this 18 day cruise to a) enjoy a break before the holidays and b) evaluate whether Seabourn could provide an another option for us when it came to cruising (up until this cruise we’d only sailed Crystal but had done so on several occasions)

 

I do want to thank those of you on these forums who assisted me with information and advice before we boarded – it is much appreciated

 

Interestingly we met 4 other couples (including a mother/son) who are regular Crystal customers who were doing the same – clearly some of us on Crystal want to check out the options on other lines. It was amusing that we’d actually sailed several times with 3 of the couples including most recently on Symphony back in August from San Fran to New York – although we’d not met on the cruise. We also spent a lot of time with other guests we met who had sailed recently on Silversea and Regent as well as Celebrity so we got a lot of feedback on how Seabourn compared with those lines – and it was not positive for Seabourn

 

We also met several who were repeat Seabourn customers and enjoyed discussing their experiences on other Seabourn ships. We did hear quite frequently that the experience on this cruise was not representative of their previous experience on Seabourn – so maybe we were unlucky or maybe it’s something to do with the newer larger Seabourn ships scaling the Seabourn experience?

 

You can read back through the thread for specific experiences and our daily activities so this summary will focus on a review under several headings

 

The Ship

Service

Food

Bars / Beverage

Entertainment & Miscellaneous Items

Edited January 1, 2019 by Stickman1990

[Stickman1990]

The Ship:

 

Seabourn Encore is only 2 years old and still looks very fresh – it is a nicely designed vessel with great accommodation and public areas. It’s a somewhat unique design with most public areas being at the rear of the decks (with the exception of the Observation Lounge) and accommodation being midships and forward

 

I liked the way Seabourn group functions like the front desk, library, future cruises, tours, bistro, ice cream bar and lounge area in Seabourn Square – this area is well laid out and used by many guests. I fell in love with the electric recliner lounge chairs – and Henry, one of the helpful concierges in the Square, was kind enough to find out the manufacturer for me, Poltrona Frau from Italy, the Pillow model – I contacted the local agent here and discovered they are over A$8500 a chair (and that’s the manual version as opposed to the electric option) – sadly at that price I won’t be investing in a pair for home as I can use the money for more cruises J. But they really were very comfortable!

 

The main pool is a focal point with the Patio restaurant and a Bar around it as well as two levels of decks with sun lounges and a smoking area overlooking it. It’s not a large pool in comparison to Crystals – but hey there are at least 3 other pools/spas around the ship (Forward Deck 7, Aft Deck 5 and up in the Retreat) for those who want a dip and there are lots of lounges for those who enjoy the sun

 

The forward lounge, the Observation Bar, is nice but not as large as the Palm Court on Crystal – although the area outside it does afford a great view and was very popular when we sailed into Sydney harbour

 

There really is no equivalent on the Avenue Saloon piano bar to cater for those who enjoy a late night drink and singalong – Gavin did a good job in the Thomas Keller Grill bar on the piano but it’s not the sort of bar or atmosphere that the Avenue engenders

 

There is no movie theatre like the Hollywood Theatre on Crystal – a couple of times during the cruise movies were shown in the Grand Salon (the Galaxy Theatre on Crystal)

 

The Grand Salon is where shows are performed and lectures delivered (Crystal equivalent the Galaxy Theatre) – it’s not as big as the Galaxy and has several poles in the body of the theatre which block the view – so you’ve got to get in early to make sure you avoid them

 

The Club is where smaller shows and dancing in the evening is held. This is a much smaller version of the Starlite lounge

 

Laundry – as well as send out laundry and dry cleaning which was competitively priced there is one guest laundry on Deck 5. It has 5 machines and dryers and soap packets are supplied. There are 3 ironing boards and 1 steamer. All work well and if you can secure a machine it’s a great facility – the key is to get in early. I think some problems do arise during the peak times of the day with people not taking their loads out of machines promptly to allow others to do their loads

 

The suite we had on deck 7 was the entry level suite (although an upgrade from the basic level that we booked as a guarantee) and was spacious and well appointed in terms of furnishings and laid out well. A walk-in robe, separate shower and option to screen off the lounge from the bed area are all great attributes. The veranda is large and relatively private. The toiletries are Molton Brown and are good quality. The bar is supplied with a bottle of champagne on embarkation and two bottles of spirits or wine which can be requested online pre cruise. The room attendant we had was very good and deserves a big shout out – thank you Darnell

 

Given it’s size and appointments the suite is a hands down win to Seabourn over Crystal although following their recent refurbishments the public areas on Crystal match up well to Encore

Edited January 1, 2019 by Stickman1990

[Stickman1990]

Service:

There we too many lapses of service across many areas in bars and restaurants for me to be too positive about this aspect. We did speak with the Bar Manager and the Food and Beverage Manager who were both apologetic and agreed these things should not have happened. But in reality they continued to happen. Of course there were some excellent staff who consistently delivered good service – but equally there were those who seemed to have no idea. So what were some examples?

 

In the Observation Lounge Bar we consistently had to wait too long for service – usually having to physically go to the bar to get a drink or summon a waiter over for service. We witnessed one of our friends being told they did not have Bacardi or any white rum in the bar – not that they had run out but they didn’t have it. Clearly that was not correct as the Bar Manager confirmed but the response from the staff member showed they were not trained or focussed to check and obtain a bottle from stock. In the end our friend gave up ordering white rum based drinks

 

My favourite tipple is Hendricks Gin and Tonic – well I gave up hoping for Fever Tree tonic which I believed was to be available but was no where to be found and there was a limited success rate at getting a slice of cucumber in my drink as is the custom with Hendricks – more often than not it was served with lemon. Small things but unfortunately consistently wrong so we lowered our expectations of drinks service on the cruise and didn’t dare order anything complicated as a cocktail. Something I don’t expect to do on a luxury line

 

In The Restaurant it took us a week to find a great server who listened and was able to respond with answers to simple questions. My wife has a dietary requirement that was highlighted prior to boarding but we didn’t feel that it was covered off well (certainly nothing like Crystal would do with the F&B Manager and the Head Waiter and Maître D all discussing it with her regularly to check on how things were going). We had too many cases of close calls and we suspect some misses when it came to ingredients being included that should not have been. My wife tends to pick dishes that don’t have the offending ingredients in them but sometimes it’s impossible to tell so you are at the mercy of the serving staff to check and reliably inform the kitchen or the guest – that didn’t happen reliably. As for asking for a Thomas Keller dish to be adapted or something substituted – forget it (more on Mr Keller later on). In this day and age of many guests having dietary issues this could be handled better and indeed must be if guests are to avoid becoming ill and spoiling their cruise. One positive on this front was the availability of a good range of sorbets available in the Restaurant, Colonnade and Seabourn Square – these were made fresh each day. This provided a good option for dairy free desert and treats during the day

 

There were however several examples of good service from bar staff and servers – so it would be unfair to say service was down across the board – but we felt there was an issue with the overall standards set for staff and the allocation of resources across facilities. In some cases there were what seemed to be plenty of staff but they still failed to provide the expected level of service. I don’t know whether that was because of a crew changeover in Bali or the standard set by Seabourn but it does need attention

Edited January 1, 2019 by Stickman1990

[Stickman1990]

Food:

On Encore there are the following choices (and I’ve endeavoured to pair them with their Crystal equivalents where they exist)

The Restaurant on Deck 4 – the main restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (Crystal equivalent Waterside)

Thomas Keller Grill – a specialist restaurant open for dinner that must be booked in advance (Crystal equivalent Prego and Umi Uma)

Sushi – a Japanese sushi/sashimi (and some other dishes) restaurant open for lunch (Bento boxes) and dinner (I hesitate to say it but the Crystal equivalent of Umi Uma)

The Colonnade – a mix of buffet and a la carte restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (Crystal equivalent Marketplace and Churrascaria and Silk)

The Patio – a poolside buffet and limited a la carte restaurant open for lunch and dinner (Crystal equivalent the Trident Grill and Churrascaria and Silk)

 

At The Restaurant we found the food ok but not as good as on Crystal – the temperature meals were served at (putting aside the two attempts to provide a hot baked potato in the Restaurant one night and giving us cold ones) was just ok and the plating up was nothing to write home about – but it was the limited selection that disappointed. There is a traditional menu on the right and modern on the left – the traditional didn’t change so it meant there were not really that many new dishes available each day. We dined there most nights and it was ok – but where we found it excellent was for lunch where the service and food was much more consistent – we enjoyed several lingering lunches there enjoying our food and our conversations with fellow guests (and service from our favourite waitress)

 

I want to focus on the Grill by Thomas Keller – as there were several issues with this supposedly premier establishment. Seabourn has invested heavily in the Michelin recognised US chef Thomas Keller relationship and as well as this dedicated Grill other restaurants also feature dishes from Keller – I have not dined at a Keller restaurant on land so can’t compare the Seabourn experience with that but I spoke to other guests who had and they said it was quite a different menu. We were disappointed and several friends stopped eating there due to inconsistent presentation of dishes and poor service. When I say inconsistent I will use as an example the roast chicken – a dish served for two – on one occasion we enjoyed it however another night our friends who ate with us the first time ordered it again and said it was clearly burnt and dry but was still served up to them. Another time the sauces for our main courses were not served to us until we reminded the staff they were required. Or on our first visit we turned up at the time we had booked and had to wait for over 30 minutes to be seated. As I’ve commented earlier nothing changes at this restaurant – no substitutions or omissions – so the selection available for my Cow Dairy allergic wife was very limited – she couldn’t even get a plate of broccoli as a side. Rather than being a premier dining establishment it was an option that we avoided as the menu and service didn’t attract us

 

The Colonnade was our go to for breakfast and many lunches – and we especially enjoyed the area outside aft. There is good shade cover (oh how we wish this was the case at Marketplace on Crystal) and as long as the ship was moving it was ok despite the heat and humidity. We ate there once for dinner and enjoyed the a la carte service – it was Australian night but they had other theme nights including Thai, American and Indian (sorry I missed that one) – and on some nights it’s a Thomas Keller dish theme (different to his Grill restaurant) – you typically need to book for that one. I will say the staff both behind the counter and on the floor were very good in the Colonnade – they quickly knew our names and preferences and were always smiling. We were also pleased to see very good labelling of dishes at the buffet as dairy / gluten / sugar free and vegan – well done. I think the management of this restaurant have got it sorted. It’s about the same as Marketplace (except you can get poached eggs at the Colonnade!) and Churrascaria/Silk in the evenings

 

A special mention for what was I think our favourite restaurant – Sushi – Momoe and her team are really something special – genuine Japanese wait staff (and chefs) really make for fun and great service. I so wish there were Japanese serving staff in Umi Uma on Crystal to complete what is a top class Nobu establishment. Sushi is not at the same class as Umi Uma serving a range of bento boxes at lunch (and noodles when they have stock J) and then Sushi and Sashimi dishes at night. The quality is very good (and we were told one of the chefs had previously been on Crystal in Umi Uma) – but it is the service that makes it a very acceptable location for those who enjoy Japanese food

 

The Patio is ok – we only ate there at lunch and it was ok as a grill and “volume” buffet – we tended towards the burgers and hot dogs (included the Keller styled burger and hot dog). In the evening it turns into a Chop House – we never got there as it was often too hot outside when cruising the tropics. It was however in this restaurant that the staff showed the worst understanding of dietary requirements and provided inconsistent advice on ingredients in basic items

 

Caviar - a big thing is made about caviar being available 24x7 without additional charge and there is a signature Caviar in the Surf (or in our case Caviar in the Pool) event. This is good but there is a limit to how much caviar one can consume. I had it a couple of times and that was sufficient for me. The Caviar in the Pool event was interesting and gave another social opportunity for guests to get to know officers and staff and other guests

 

Afternoon Tea – this was served at 4pm in the Observation Bar and was disappointing in terms of the crockery used, the service and the catering. The crockery was a little industrial for our liking and the food, with the exception to scones which were bought around, were available in a couple of chilled units at the back of the room (I hope this is not what Crystal have in mind for us with the addition of similar units on Serenity). Unfortunately we found that providing the tea service itself and clearing tables were done very slowly resulting in tables looking a little “used” for too long as people arrived for early evening drinks. This is an area that should be improved

Edited January 1, 2019 by Stickman1990

[Stickman1990]

Bars & Beverages:

We do spend a good amount of time in bars so getting good service and well prepared drinks is important. I’m afraid Seabourn fell short in this area. I’ve already covered off the inconsistent Gin and Tonics (and no sign of a range of gins from around the world or the extensive range of gin based cocktail options that Crystal are now offering) – and the atmosphere just wasn’t the same as in places like the Palm Court, Avenue or the Cove

 

One good bit of news is that the house Champagne – Nicolas Feuillate is a nice drop that we both liked. We also found the included wines provided a good range and selection – we never struggled to get something acceptable once we worked our way through the options and found our favourites

 

On Encore there are the following bars:

 

Observation Bar – 11^th deck forward – the equivalent of the Palm Court but not as elegant and no dance floor. Too many service issues and some brusque serving staff for us to really enjoy it – although my wife did enjoy sitting knitting and participating in the craft group on sea days. During the day there is no service in the bar until around 3pm

 

The Club – on deck 5 – this is a reasonable sized bar and stage and dance floor area used for late night dancing. During the day it becomes the amphitheatre for serious Trivia and Putt Putt and Baggo competitions! Sometimes it’s used for pre-dinner shows as well. There is a bar that services this area, the pools aft and the casino. This would be the equivalent of the Starlight Club on Crystal (more like Symphony than Serenity)

 

The Bar at the Thomas Keller Grill – on deck 8 – you don’t need to be dining to drink in this bar and it has an excellent piano player (although they don’t play from 7.45pm to 9.30pm) – the barman here seems to be knowledgeable and would probably be the best bet for a cocktail request. There are plenty of comfy seats on offer and it’s ideal for pre-dinner drinks

 

Sky Bar on Deck 10 and Patio Bar on Deck 9 – outside bars servicing the pool area and the smokers area (a popular and very social spot I spent a bit of time at even though I don’t smoke). They’re ok and serve a good range of drinks. The table service is pretty good but not a patch on the Lido team on Crystal

Edited January 1, 2019 by Stickman1990