Live from Seabourn Encore - Bali to Sydney December 2018

[Stickman1990]

Entertainment & Miscellaneous Items:

This is a bit of a catch all topic as I’ll cover off the formal entertainment plus some other activities

 

I should start by saying that even though they were offered I did not participate in the Art or Bridge classes so can’t comment on them but it was nice to see them offered on sea days 

 

Entertainment is an area where each line and each Cruise Director to some degree approach things in their own style – so for many of the areas it’s difficult and impractical to say one is better than the other (although in some cases there are clear winners)

 

Ross Roberts, Encore’s Cruise Director and his assistant Daniella Beck have a great rapport having worked together before. Ross is an absolute treasure – very visible and chatting to all around the ship – and very hands on leading Trivia (noon on Sea days) and the Craft Group (4pm on Sea days) as well as hosting shows sometimes 6pm and usually at 8.45 and 10pm. He also performs a number of shows being a talented singer (and fun dancer) – there are other things he does as well including Line Dancing under his Rocking Ross persona. We very much enjoyed our time with Ross and heard many positive comments about him

 

There are show most nights either the Ensemble or guest artists such as Singers, Musicians, Comedians and Magician – they are ok and pretty similar to those you might find on Crystal (one, Bernard Walz actually appears on Crystal from time to time) – but we do think Crystals guest entertainer line up is stronger overall

Seabourn have Guest Speakers who deliver Seabourn Conversations – the “star” on this cruise was Astronaut Scott Kelly who spend a year on the International Space Station – he was a very interesting and engaging speaker and also spent time around the ship allowing guests the opportunity to chat with him. The journeyman who delivered destination lectures as well as some others on the region was Bill Crewes from Canberra who was interesting and certainly the equal of some of the regulars on Crystal

 

We enjoy Trivia so were delighted with the number of sessions we had across this cruise. It was well run by Ross and Daniella and as well as a daily winning team (of up to 10 per team) there was a cumulative total for each team and a grand prize awarded on the last day. There was also a chance for the other teams to gamble their total points on a final question and a further runner up winner was identified. There were good prizes given out to winners (daily and cumulative) and fun was had by all. Whilst Stacey does a grand job on the Crystal World Cruise I think this was a win for Seabourn – the real prizes of Seabourn merchandise which was of good quality versus 10% off vouchers for photos and the spa sealing it for them

 

A craft group met in the Observation Bar at 4pm on Sea Days – Ross hosted the group which was well supported and embroidery kits were handed out on the first couple of days. Ross was well loved by the 15 or so ladies who participated. Ross also surprised them all with a Christmas gift on the last day. So whilst there is not the “instructor” that is sometimes found on Crystal this group provided an excellent forum for those who wanted to do craft and to get together regularly

 

There is a small Casino which I didn’t play in – but for those who enjoy Blackjack and a few of the other table games as well as slot machines it would suffice. If gaming was important to you I think Crystals Casino offers more selection and action

 

I was very pleased to be able to visit the Bridge and the Galley on tours – the senior officers leading these tours were happy to answer questions and we were able to see how the ship was controlled and we were fed – two essential services

 

Seabourn excelled by running Putt Putt Golf and Baggo competitions on sea days – these attracted upwards of 20 participants each time and a good comradery developed that continued onto meeting for meals and drinks. All who participated were welcomed including many who had never participated in such things before and success celebrated by all. It was like the World Games events on Crystal World Cruises – but this happens on Seabourn’s standard cruises on sea days. These sessions were run by the Quartet Band members who we all got to know well over the 3 weeks. Once again Seabourn didn’t skimp with prizes that were awarded to the daily winners – Seabourn branded plug adapters, toy bears, umbrellas, wallets, card sets and for some lucky winners a lovely Seabourn canvas bag (which were deemed the grand prize to secure by the participants – and my wife was lucky enough to win one at Baggo J )

 

We do like to play board games – so getting games of Scrabble and Backgammon from Seabourn Square was useful – although sadly they were is a bad state of repair and there was only 1 set of each available – and some other guests took them to their room and only returned them on the last day - dissapointing

 

When guest artists were not performing The Seabourn Ensemble of 4 singers and 2 dancers performed. I’m afraid they did little for me in terms of the format and their shows, together with the Show Band, to fell well short of acceptable. We did note that their costumes were not the best being ill fitting and in one case held together by a safety pin. In this area Crystal wins hands down – the work that Keith Cox VP of Entertainment on Crystal has done in recent years with the shows Crystal puts on such as Icons is really paying off. I have a new and elevated respect for what the Crystal lead singers, ensemble and band produce. The signature Ensemble show is the Evening with Sir Tim Rice – which are songs performed by the Ensemble – the content is great but I do think it would benefit from a stronger group of performers

 

The In Room Broadcast System is good with lots of content and the Seabourn wifi application gives access to the daily Herald, Menus as well as your Account and Press Reader for newspapers and magazines from around the world. I think on this one Seabourn and Crystal are pretty much equal

 

But it is the Internet (or rather lack thereof) that really frustrated me – there is no internet access included as standard – it is a paid service (US$400 for the 18 day cruise). Sure some people use their OBC for it or there are “extras” offered as inclusions from time to time – but as standard there is zilch. This compares with unlimited access for up to 2 devices per person on Crystal (which generally works although there is certainly room for improvement on coverage) – for me this is an important facility and a big win for Crystal

 

Visitors on Board are according to Seabourn’s website not allowed – there is even an apology for that on the website. Then when I get on board I see visitors roaming around with guests – so I checked with Seabourn Square. No problems they say – here’s the form just complete and get it back to us – just fill it in and get it back to us. How much I ask? – nothing its free is the response. What about meals? – no worries and no charge. So there you go – up to 4 visitors per suite per day are allowed subject to capacity and pre clearance. So what appeared to be a negative for Seabourn becomes a tie and possibly a win for Seabourn given the no charge versus Crystal’s fees

 

Excursions – we only took one Seabourn excursion which was well executed. Unlike Crystal there was no Seabourn staff member accompanying our tour although the local guide was very good. While we didn’t use them the Seabourn Ventures staff seemed knowledgeable and helpful. I can see this group would be a big plus in areas like Antarctica. The zodiacs that the ship carries look like a lot of fun. It’s a shame we didn’t get to experience a day when the rear hatch was opened up and the water toys deployed – I can imagine how much fun that would be

 

Dress Code - we were very comfortable with the dress code - casual during the day and what I would call smart casual at night. On the formal nights a suit without tie was not out of place - very few tuxedos were noted. One day we did get a reminder just before 6pm that long pants were required in the Observation Bar - we were just finishing a game of Scrabble and our Caviar and it wasn't formal night - I thought it was a little over the top myself. It hadn't turned 6 o'clock even. On other evenings we did not receive similar reminders - perhaps they were having a bad day. I did discuss it with the Bar Manager who said it was not a big issue and shouldn't have been raised  

Edited January 1, 2019 by Stickman1990

[Stickman1990]

Summary:

The first thing I want to say is that decisions on which cruise line is best for a person and which present the best value are very subjective and a personal decision. So my conclusions are based on our preferences and our findings on this single Seabourn cruise. Others need to decide what’s important for them and talk to those they trust and possibly try a cruise for themselves

 

I hope I have provided some assistance in outlining the facilities on Seabourn Encore and the comparison for those of you familiar with Crystal

 

Our feeling is we will focus on Crystal moving forward as the package and itineraries (we love sea days so crossing the Pacific, which Crystal does regularly works well for us) their overall offer is a better package for us

 

We would definitely consider another Seabourn cruise if the itinerary and the deal was good – but we’d expect the areas around Service to improve if we did

Edited January 1, 2019 by Stickman1990

[teamflames]

Thanks Stickman! Sitting at San Fran airport on our way to meet the Crystal Symphony, really looking forward to seeing if we share similar views. 

Appreciate your well written summary, it sounds a,azimgly similar to what we experienced on the Ovation at the same time as your sailing. We are keen to try one of the smaller Seabourn ships as regulars both on these boards plus family have highlighted that they have never experienced the type of service problems and inconsistency we (and you) experienced on these bigger ships.

The big let downs for us were drinks (like you we spend a lot of time in the bars), there was no way on the Ovation you could get a decent cocktail unless you were in the Ovation Lounge and a particular bartender was on duty. The drinks service at the pool was amongst the worst we have ever experienced. Celebrity, HAL and NCL all are far superior at drinks which is a disgrace to Seabourn given those ships are at least 4-5 times the size. Similarly we were told there was no triple sec onboard (how) along with other spirits and many beers were out of stock as well. Our experience in TK grill was also very similar with a completely rigid menu meaning my pescatarian wife was not well catered to and like you was not allowed any green vegetables at all! The output of food was incredibly inconsistent. Afternoon tea was a joke and the staff at ours were downright rude. Not a patch on the Viking experience. The worst aspect of our cruise was the embarkation which was an embarrassment to Seabourn and I hope a one off disaster, not a patch on Viking or even MSC for that matter.

Seems as though our positives were similar as well, loved the Square and the recliners, coffee was good, wine choices were varied and good quality, loved the activities and the art and jewellery classes on our cruise were first rate. Like you we had an excellent CD in Handré. Prizes were amazing. We also loved the Captain and executive chef on our cruise who were both highly visible and engaging. The suites are first rate. We were also very impressed by guest relations. We also loved the al fresco part of the Colonnade and after poor initial service received first class service after discussions with the manager.

One difference, on the Ovation there was loads of board games available in the card room as opposed to the Square and most of them were brand new.

It is interesting the similarities between the 2 big ships which suggests that Seabourn is either struggling to attain enough quality staff for these new ships or there is a problem at the management and training level (a theory often suggested by regulars onboard).

One thing we didn’t like about the ship was the lack of outdoor walking areas, no promenade or jogging track.

We still loved our cruising experience but I do think I would try the smaller ship to see if we received the famous Seabourn service levels. My parents were shocked by what we described to them and said it sounds like Seabourn has really slipped as on their cruises (10 years ago) all staff knew their names and often had drinks prepared without asking and were amazed st the quality of drinks.

Will report back from the Symphony with my own comparison in the coming weeks!

thanks again for such a detailed report.

 

[Stickman1990]

Thanks 

13 minutes ago, teamflames said:

One thing we didn’t like about the ship was the lack of outdoor walking areas, no promenade or jogging track.

 

Thanks - isn't that interesting how similar our experiences were

 

I really don't know how I missed commenting on the lack of a decent walking area - I do like to walk and on both Crystal ships there is a full real teak (we laughed when we saw the fake teak on decking areas on Encore) wrap around deck on deck 7 that allows for walker and joggers

 

You will enjoy that 

 

One of my friends is a Pescatarian and was just on Symphony a few weeks ago - I believe she enjoyed the food (and beverage) on board and found there was a good selection

 

Enjoy your cruise and I look forward to your comments - Bon Voyage 

Edited January 1, 2019 by Stickman1990

[lincslady]

Sorry to read your experiences were not up the old Seabourn standards.  It just serves to reinforce the feeling that SB aficionados have is that there has been too much expansion too quickly, without the necessary  recruitment of new staff  to give them time to learn the ropes.

 

Some of us still feel that the Odyssey class ships seem to function better overall, and with a more intimate atmosphere, and less likelihood of crowding, for instance on the pool deck in hot weather.  Do consider trying one of them.

 

 

[Fly Fast Cruise Slow]

Thank you Stickman for the comprehensive summary.

[SLSD]

Stickman,  Thank you for the excellent report.  We've sailed on both the Encore and the Ovation and I have observed most of the things you describe.  Yes, we had an almost rude crew member at tea in the Observation Bar.  Our cruise was 21 days, so we decided to try to befriend her a bit and see if things improved.  By befriend I mean going out of our way to chat with her at tea and out and about in ports if we saw her there.  It did pay off and her attitude improved greatly.  Of course her attitude should have been great to begin with.  

 

Also, on a longer cruise and on two cruises within a year, you do begin to notice repetition in the menus.  Like you, I enjoyed having lunch in the MDR when it was offered.  Since we will be crossing the Pacific in May, I expect we will be able to enjoy more lunches in the MDR.  

 

Our entertainers had great voices and I enjoyed hearing them sing.  I did NOT particularly like some of the selections--especially in the show billed as Country Music.  Being from Texas, we know our country music and what we heard was not that. 

 

We are taking our first trip on one of the smaller SB ships in May and I'm looking forward to comparing our experience on the Sojourn with our trips on the Encore and the Ovation.  

 

I've included a photo of us from Poland and the Ovation voyage.  I can finally download photos on this site! 

 

Edited January 1, 2019 by SLSD

[TRIPACIAN]

6 hours ago, lincslady said:

Sorry to read your experiences were not up the old Seabourn standards.  It just serves to reinforce the feeling that SB aficionados have is that there has been too much expansion too quickly, without the necessary  recruitment of new staff  to give them time to learn the ropes.

 

Some of us still feel that the Odyssey class ships seem to function better overall, and with a more intimate atmosphere, and less likelihood of crowding, for instance on the pool deck in hot weather.  Do consider trying one of them.

 

 

You are correct about the Odyssey class ships! We got to know one of the captains on the Odyssey and he commented that the the Odyssey class and the new “larger” ships were identical in size in length and height.  An additional deck was squeezed into this space allowing  for an additional 150 passengers.  Very little space was available for increasing the common areas.  They also needed to increase the crew areas which would be difficult.  I suspect this resulted in understaffing 

 

In in my opinion, based upon the reviews I have seen, the newer ships are just not as pleasant as the Odyssey class.  Ironically reviews from first time Seabourn guests on the larger ships, that have not been on the smaller ones,  are positive.  For many of the guest that have sailed on the smaller ships and then tried the larger ships the reviews may be negative.

 

We have not sailed on the newer ships so I am basing this totally on reviews and the Captians comments.  

[markham]

I have been on Encore for a single 6 week cruise, the 3 smaller sisters for hundreds of days, and I have written on CC many times on various threads about my personal views.

 

Bottom line for me: The Encore class ships may have more glamour for some and I like the Japanese restaurant which the others don't offer. But that's it. The Encore class ships have less space per passenger by far.

 

I have suggested that Seabourn admit it and then reduce the passenger number on the Encore class ships by 50-100. But then I have also been accused of threatening some business model which to that poster ties the overall profitability of Seabourn to the far more profitable Encore class ships. As if that poster worked there. Imagine that?

 

Anyway, for my money the smaller ships suit me and represent better value and that's all there is to it. Lesson is different strokes for different folks. No lectures, please.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[mskatiemae]

On 12/25/2018 at 3:43 PM, Stickman1990 said:

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 

I am finally getting to reading this review - Jan. 1 is truly a holiday for lollygagging around the house! The laundry room is a favorite place of mine on Crystal to meet interesting people, so this post is great to make me laugh. I just love the idea of doing laundry for making $ onboard, and makes me wonder if I could make $$ enough for a trip to the Vintage Room (Crystal's wine pairing dinners on ocean ships). And the idea of a meltdown, if true, is a sad event and evidence of a person not enjoying their voyage. I have only sailed Crystal and have met sweet people who help each other with laundry questions, and ships crew quick to respond to a laundry repair or restock call. Amazing I witnessed a married couple doing laundry together and a man ironing pants by himself - on the same voyage. When an unfortunate incident happened to me where liquid left behind in a washer turned my bright white outfit splotchy pink, I did not fret or start complaining. Instead I made a comment in my survey and packed them to wash back to white at home.

 

So thanks Stickman for adding laundry to your fascinating review/comparison!

[krb1000]

Wonderfully informative  review. Thank you for taking the time to share your voyage and final impressions with us. I enjoy your style.

[MalbecWine]

On 12/13/2018 at 6:59 AM, rols said:

 

Much enjoying your daily diary Stickman.

 

I'm interested, because I'm that kind of person, in how the kitchen handles orders for baked potatoes. We bake them occasionally, it's a fairly long process. Do they keep a few on-hand 92% baked incase they are requested? There is a quicker way of 'baking' a potato which involves one of those little boxes with a turntable,  a device I don't allow in the house but .. surely Seabourn wouldn't do that. Baked potato in the m!c0wa7e (I can't even type it) takes about 10 minutes. If you're not waiting an hour, they have some on-hand or are doing the unmentionable. 

 

If they have a rotating supply of almost baked potatoes, what else do they have back there I don't know about? I would suggest joining the galley tour and asking the hard questions, no Fox News, get some real answers. 

 

Delighted that Lady Stickman and yourself are having a good time. We also found that the service improves after a few days when you learn the people with whom you are on the same wavelength and the crew, very quickly, learns your preferences (and probably stuffs an extra potato or two in the oven). 

 

Don't forget to try the caviar. 

Baked Potaotes can be done quickly in high powered convection ovens in less than 30 minutes.  We have a Wolf convection oven and baked potatoes come out perfectly as steak restaurants do them.

 

Stickman, I am so glad that you found another fit as a Crystal substitute.  I also like this board as really no one is a cheerleader and post their real experiences.  Your posts are a breath of fresh air and never repetitive always something new to read about.

 

i also thank other posters here for sharing their knowledge on the Seabourn ships.

 

Happy New Year To All

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by MalbecWine

[travelberlin]

Thanks very much Stickman for your comprehensive review.

Ivi

[ChansonDeLaMer]

What a great, comprehensive, fair review. Thanks. We occasionally find the Crystal itineraries don’t fit our interests and schedules so we look at other options. So far, we always happily choose Crystal. The one exception was Regent, and we found it lacking. Seabourn has been on our horizon so we truly appreciate your thoughts.  

[teamflames]

Hey again stickman, here is a link to the review I wrote before Xmas for our Ovation cruise which shows our similar experience

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=642634&et_cid=3167165&et_rid=94423284&et_referrer=Boards

[Stickman1990]

15 minutes ago, teamflames said:

Hey again stickman, here is a link to the review I wrote before Xmas for our Ovation cruise which shows our similar experience

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=642634&et_cid=3167165&et_rid=94423284&et_referrer=Boards

 

Wow, it really was a similar experience, both highs and lows - and I’m even sorrier now I missed the Indian buffet

 

I guess I should lodge a formal review of our cruise with Cruise Critic 

 

I’m really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on your first Crystal Symphony Cruise this week v the Ovation experience - Bon Voyage 

[rols]

1 hour ago, teamflames said:

Hey again stickman, here is a link to the review I wrote before Xmas for our Ovation cruise which shows our similar experience

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=642634&et_cid=3167165&et_rid=94423284&et_referrer=Boards

 

I just read that review and could see some of the same shortcomings we found during our Encore summer cruise this year, and many of the highlights too (eg the suites which are excellent). 

 

One thing caught my eye, "Also the private extra cost Retreat (which strangely is never mentioned or advertised) limits a lot of usable space.". On our cruise they were pushing The Retreat as hard as possible. We got at least 4 emails before departure, at check-in there were numerous huge signs promoting it, they had a Retreat party after boarding which was announced constantly and at some point during the cruise we had a personalised letter entreating us to try it. Perhaps they've given up flogging the dead horse! One can only hope. 

 

I hope you and Stickman try the Odyssey class ships at some point. We were just thinking about the next cruise and as we weigh up alternatives we've both said "ah but that's on Encore/Ovation" and are actively hunting for a trip which works on one the others. I hope Seabourn fixes their big ship service issues soon, they've had a year plus.  

 

[MalbecWine]

Your Crystal experience will be completely different and that I can promise you as well as Stickman will.  

 

The issues you had should have never happened.

 

 

 

[Thecat123]

23 hours ago, ChansonDeLaMer said:

What a great, comprehensive, fair review. Thanks. We occasionally find the Crystal itineraries don’t fit our interests and schedules so we look at other options. So far, we always happily choose Crystal. The one exception was Regent, and we found it lacking. Seabourn has been on our horizon so we truly appreciate your thoughts.  

 

I wonder how someone who has never sailed with Seabourn or were even on this cruise can say that a review is very fair?

Just asking 

[SLSD]

I think that each person's experience on a cruise is different.  We have enjoy BOTH of our SB cruises (one a 10 day Encore voyage and another a 21 day Ovation voyage).  That being said, I can see bits of our experience in this cruise.  Nothing is ever perfect.  Some see the glass as half full---others as half empty.  Some are really bothered by certain things---others are bothered by other things.  For example:  One evening my husband was not feeling well at all.  So--we ordered room service dinner.  I was underwhelmed by the fact that our dishes were not picked up for THREE hours!  My husband wanted to so to sleep, but felt like he could not do this until our dishes were picked up.  As a result, he had a very uncomfortable evening. This was a MUCH bigger deal to me that slow service at the pool bar or at the Colonnade  My point is that we are all different and do not have the same standards.  While I don't mind walking over to get a tea sandwich , I do mind dishes left at night in our cabin after dinner.  

[teamflames]

5 hours ago, rols said:

 

I just read that review and could see some of the same shortcomings we found during our Encore summer cruise this year, and many of the highlights too (eg the suites which are excellent). 

 

One thing caught my eye, "Also the private extra cost Retreat (which strangely is never mentioned or advertised) limits a lot of usable space.". On our cruise they were pushing The Retreat as hard as possible. We got at least 4 emails before departure, at check-in there were numerous huge signs promoting it, they had a Retreat party after boarding which was announced constantly and at some point during the cruise we had a personalised letter entreating us to try it. Perhaps they've given up flogging the dead horse! One can only hope. 

 

I hope you and Stickman try the Odyssey class ships at some point. We were just thinking about the next cruise and as we weigh up alternatives we've both said "ah but that's on Encore/Ovation" and are actively hunting for a trip which works on one the others. I hope Seabourn fixes their big ship service issues soon, they've had a year plus.  

 

Hey Rols,

yes we were very surprised, after reading so much about the review we really expected it to be pushed hard but I think if you didn’t know about it you might have missed it altogether unless you were trying to enter the area. I think they gave a couple of passes to it as a prize during the raffles but that was about it.

I certainly hope to try another sailing especially on one of the smaller ships,  as mentioned we had a lovely time and it was a beautiful ship. I always try and convey our true feelings, we love cruising and almost always have a good time but a review is about the ship and company and for the price you pay to be on Seabourn some of the slight faults need to be mentioned. We are not wedded to any cruise line and not interested in being cheerleaders (which thankfully as someone mentioned already there are few of on this particular forum), we also experienced and wrote about some service flaws we encountered on both Regent and Viking.

[2SailingNomads]

2 hours ago, SLSD said:

I think that each person's experience on a cruise is different.  We have enjoy BOTH of our SB cruises (one a 10 day Encore voyage and another a 21 day Ovation voyage).  That being said, I can see bits of our experience in this cruise.  Nothing is ever perfect.  Some see the glass as half full---others as half empty.  Some are really bothered by certain things---others are bothered by other things.  For example:  One evening my husband was not feeling well at all.  So--we ordered room service dinner.  I was underwhelmed by the fact that our dishes were not picked up for THREE hours!  My husband wanted to so to sleep, but felt like he could not do this until our dishes were picked up.  As a result, he had a very uncomfortable evening. This was a MUCH bigger deal to me that slow service at the pool bar or at the Colonnade  My point is that we are all different and do not have the same standards.  While I don't mind walking over to get a tea sandwich , I do mind dishes left at night in our cabin after dinner.  

You could have called to have them picked up.  Over 15 cruises we never had an issue getting dishes picked up when we ordered room service.  

[2SailingNomads]

Thank you for exhaustive review Stickman, while our only experience to date w/ Crystal has been a river cruise, on which we thought the service was impeccable - with the caveat that there were only 44 pax on-board vs. capacity of 106 due to an itinerary change because of low water levels - along with the food.  That said, we have sailed 15 times on Seabourn (and will be joining another cruse next month) and know that every cruise is different in terms of crew and what goes right and wrong.  It seems on every cruise there is one dinner that has just about everything that can go wrong, does. We do plan on trying a Crystal ocean cruise at some point in time, given the large credit we received from the changed itinerary so it will be interesting to view it from the perspective you had on your Seabourn cruise.

 

I agree with many of the comments my friend Markham wrote above: the Encore / Ovation design was a mistake as simply adding a deck and another bar / restaurant and expanding the TK Grill space to accommodate an additional 150 pax means less space per pax, especially around the pool area, and not enough crew.  While I love the Seabourn product (or would not have sailed over 300 days on them) I believe they grew too fast - although that seems to be the business model for most cruise lines these days, more and bigger ships - and as a result, while there are many long time crew, they have had to hire a lot of new crew who need more training and experience.  I think when the next recession hits a lot of cruise lines will be struggling. 

 

I totally agree with your comments about the poles in the Grand Salon, and the O-class ships have the same issue.  And for us, we really don't care about the entertainment - that is not the reason we cruise - although we have seen a few good performers and some that we walked out on.  But we have had some, as you did, incredible speakers on board over the years, including former astronauts and the former chief engineer of NASA, who I had the pleasure of spending a few hours speaking with and hearing inside stories from.  And yes, Ross is quite the character.  

[Isklaar]

Thank you Stickman for your review.

I'm currently on Ovation and see a lot of similar issues. I'll be writing a brief summary of our cruise once I get home, suffice to say we would be very unlikely to choose to sail again on Ovation or on Encore. 

 

SLSD mentioned the wait for room service trays to be cleared. On this cruise, on our corridor at least, we are seeing trays left outside of suite doors for hours at a time. I have never seen this happen on the O class ships. 

[SLSD]

2SailingNomads,  you said: "You could have called to have them picked up.  Over 15 cruises we never had an issue getting dishes picked up when we ordered room service."    We DID call them---several times (at least three) to come and pick up the dishes---all to no avail.  We finally called Guest Services---and they sent someone for the dishes.