Live from Seabourn Encore - Bali to Sydney December 2018

[wripro]

You could always threaten to throw them overboard. That should get a quick response!!!!!

[2SailingNomads]

8 hours ago, SLSD said:

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.  

 

 

SLSD you did not say that, rather you wrote: "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." So I was merely suggesting you call room service since you made no mention of calling multiple times.  I certainly agree that if you need to call more than once that is a service problem.

[SLSD]

No 2SailingNomads, I did not say in my original post that we called for our dishes to picked up three times.  I didn't think it was necessary.  We are not passive people---we are polite people--but we know how to ask for what we need.  I just didn't think to mention that part.  The simple fact is that the dishes were not picked up for three hours.  I apologize for not making it clear that we had repeatedly requested that they be picked up.  I had even explained to Room Service  why it was particularly important (my husband was ill and wanted to go to sleep) .  

 

By the way, I did not want to set them out in the hall to be an inconvenience for other guests as they walked by.  I did not think that this would be good form.  

[rols]

.. deleted as I'm just repeating myself .. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by rols

[Stickman1990]

3 hours ago, rols said:

.. deleted as I'm just repeating myself .. 

 

lol

I do understand the message though - I will keep an eye out for a cruise on an Odyssey class vessel

[mayaart]

On 12/25/2018 at 6:18 PM, 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

I really appreciate Stickman's summary. We just got off Encore in Auckland today. Lot of thought after 34 days from Bali to Auckland.

Caveats:  our first Seabourn cruise.  Regent gold level. HAL 3 star Mariner. Favorite cruise the Paul Gauguin.

Big crew change in Sydney. Still inconsistent over all.  Food was not remarkable, variety so so.

Daniella and Ross very good and nice voices for the sail in and out.

Staffing seemed stretched thin.

Making an effort to get to know which staff worked Best for you helped.

Excursions were over priced and the Great Barrier reef trip for$389./ person was a rip off.

I won't be looking for another on Encore.

Still hoping to get Regent Platinum.

 

[alidor]

Mayaart - we are doing this same cruise in March and we did sign up for the Great Barrier Reef Trip.  You said you thought this was a rip off.   Can I ask why you think this?

 

 

[raphael360]

On 12/2/2018 at 1:41 AM, ellbon said:

 

 

laundry is a sore subject with me.  I made it to the laundry room and had to go three times to wash clothes and took  them BACK wet and use the bathroom and anywhere needed to dry them. No dryer..  I thought Seaborn would offer It.

 

 

robin 

Hi Robin,

The 3 Odyssey class ships all have 4 washers and 4 dryers.  Are you saying the Encore has washers but no dryers?

[raphael360]

On 1/3/2019 at 1:33 PM, 2SailingNomads said:

 

SLSD you did not say that, rather you wrote: "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." So I was merely suggesting you call room service since you made no mention of calling multiple times.  I certainly agree that if you need to call more than once that is a service problem.

We've had more than 30 meals in our room on SB.  100% of the time they would call us about 90 mins after delivery to see if we were ready to have the dishes picked up.

[Stickman1990]

16 minutes ago, raphael360 said:

Hi Robin,

The 3 Odyssey class ships all have 4 washers and 4 dryers.  Are you saying the Encore has washers but no dryers?

 

No I believe she was talking about her experience on Crystal 

 

To confirm both Crystal and Seabourn Encore have matching Washer/Dryers in their free guest laundries - my point was that there is only one laundry room on Encore compared to the 3 on Crystal ships 

[ellbon]

1 hour ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

No I believe she was talking about her experience on Crystal 

 

To confirm both Crystal and Seabourn Encore have matching Washer/Dryers in their free guest laundries - my point was that there is only one laundry room on Encore compared to the 3 on Crystal ships 

 

1 hour ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

No I believe she was talking about her experience on Crystal 

 

To confirm both Crystal and Seabourn Encore have matching Washer/Dryers in their free guest laundries - my point was that there is only one laundry room on Encore compared to the 3 on Crystal ships 

Still having problems with the new CC. I keep quoting twice.yes, I was talking Crystal.  I cn not reach the dryer very well and do have to ask for help. Meanwhile I thought washers were on all decks but 5. 

[mayaart]

On 1/6/2019 at 10:50 AM, alidor said:

Mayaart - we are doing this same cruise in March and we did sign up for the Great Barrier Reef Trip.  You said you thought this was a rip off.   Can I ask why you think this?

 

 

I tried to send a reply while in an airport lounge  in Beijing but couldn't get it sent. Time change hours really had me zonked for a few days when we finally got home from Auckland. 

The Great Barrier Reef trip was run by a local commercial outfit that used to be known as Quicksilver. You might be able to look up previous reviews of their trips. It is basically a cattle car snorkeling trip out to a fixed platform. The specialist on board the catamaran gave a very short talk/discussion on the trip out. I expected much better. There was very little assistance for snorkelers on that side of the platform and it was choppy enough to bounce people around while trying to enter or exit. They did have rash guard suits for people as it is jellyfish time in the area. They did have a semi-submersible trip available for no upcharge but the scuba-doo trips were an additional $149. The underwater viewing area on the platform was a nice touch.

The same company offers a shorter trip for snorkeling out to Green Island. I heard someone say that the snorkeling there was not very good.

Seabourn's time in port made it difficult to find local outfit that could get you out to the reef and back in time to make the ships departure. I think it would be worth pursing another option.

[MightyQuinn]

Hey Stickman!  Just getting back to your Encore thread upon returning from some recent land travels.  

 

I enjoyed your comparative summary of SB vs Crystal.  It seems that, at least for now, your first love remains your true love.  Not at all surprising.  At its best, Crystal is tough to beat while SB still appears to be struggling with its larger ships.  Bummer that your first time on SB was on Encore and not on the smaller Odyssey-class ships.  But that's no excuse since the experience should be consistently excellent across the entire fleet.  I must say I'm a little wary of our upcoming 32-nite Encore voyage Auckland-Bali, but we're going in with an open mind and hope not to be disappointed.  At least I know not to expect the great cocktails that Crystal bartenders produce, looking at you Jade Martini and Elderflower Fizz!

How did the SB teddies fare in their encounter with the Black Labs?  Hope they survived so you'll have a lasting positive reminder of SB long after your memories of the service lapses have faded.  Thanks again for your posts.  It was fun to ride along.

[Stickman1990]

43 minutes ago, MightyQuinn said:

How did the SB teddies fare in their encounter with the Black Labs?  Hope they survived so you'll have a lasting positive reminder of SB long after your memories of the service lapses have faded.  Thanks again for your posts.  It was fun to ride along.

 

Ha - thanks for checking back - pleased to say the teddies have survived and joined the growing collection of soft toys - they are now lovingly cuddled and chewed. I’ll take a photo of the boys with them later on and post it

 

Only 16 days to go before we board Crystal Serenity in Auckland - we are certainly looking forward to that. I’ve set myself an objective to try each of the Gin based cocktails (menu included) - that’s going to require great personal sacrifice 🙂 - and more than 1 a day!

 

 

We did have lots of fun on our cruise and met some wonderful fellow cruisers who we hope to cruise with again - so many great memories for us and a liberal number of Seabourn merchandise from the various competitions is in use although the “high security anti theft Seabourn wallet” (loved Ross’s sales patter on the prizes) remains untouched - perhaps I’ll bring it into service on our next trip 🙂

 

I’m sure you will have a great cruise, you are visiting some great ports in Australia and New Zealand - have you been downunder before? I reckon you will have the staff trained very quickly - I think if you make a connection with a few key crew members they will look after you in bars and dining rooms. The hard product is very good and the suites are lovely and we loved the activities on sea days. As I have said several times Ross Roberts the Cruise Director (hopefully he is still on) is great and adds so much to the experience 

Edited January 19, 2019 by Stickman1990

[MightyQuinn]

Stickman, you're killing me!  How I'd love to work my way through that new Gin Menu on Crystal, with Fever Tree as the standard.  Good on you to take on the challenge!  Is your Serenity cruise Auckland-Perth?  We considered that but liked the SB itinerary just a touch more.  Our next Crystal is another river cruise and I hope their bartenders will be as skilled as on the ocean ships. 

I'm glad the SB teddies survived.  Look forward to the photo.

I agree we have an excellent Encore itinerary.  We spent 6 weeks down-under almost 30 years ago.  We were quite young and it was our first major trip so we jammed as much as possible into every day.  We saw a lot of both countries such that many ports on our cruise will be repeats but there are enough new places to make it more than worthwhile.  We plan to adopt a more leisurely approach this time around, so we don't need a vacation after our vacation like we did all those years ago!

 

I hope Ross will still be onboard.  He was CD on our Quest cruise this past September and we really enjoyed his style.  Not to mention his wardrobe of glittery jackets! 

[IsabelD]

I have sailed Bach last year, and if bartender by the name Elod is still there, you will find mixology elevated to yet another level.

 

[MightyQuinn]

9 minutes ago, IsabelD said:

I have sailed Bach last year, and if bartender by the name Elod is still there, you will find mixology elevated to yet another level.

 

 

Isabel, we also sailed Bach last year and we did have Elod as bartender!  I agree he kicked it up a notch.  He was very creative and always tempted us with special concoctions.  However, he didn't have the ingredients to make a Jade Martini, which I thought was odd given that it's a signature cocktail on the ocean ships.  I'm hoping Ravel will have an expanded spirits selection when we're on later this year. 

[IsabelD]

Onboard Guest services are usually pretty good about accommodating special requests, and most often at no extra charge.  I just came across one request which was taken care of. Crystal asks for credit card number before saying if they can do it, but they do not charge the card until letting you know potential charges, if any.   

[galeforce9]

Please please please Seabourn take note of that gin menu.  I’ve been trying to give you constructive feedback on this for the best part of two years but you won’t listen!!!

 

Please get a variety of high quality gins, all the fever tree tonics and serve them perfectly with their matched accompaniments! 

Edited January 20, 2019 by galeforce9

[Stickman1990]

41 minutes ago, galeforce9 said:

Please please please Seabourn take note of that gin menu

 

Sorry to taunt you further but...

Check out the current list of Alcohol on Crystal (not an exhaustive list of the all inclusive wines) - a selection of 9 all inclusive gins including Hendricks and The Botanist and for mixers Fever Tree is available in all bars

 

Post 110 of the thread has the latest list

 

Was it you that posted about the discussion with one of the Bar Managers on Seabourn who said that Gin wasn't so popular?

Edited January 20, 2019 by Stickman1990

[galeforce9]

20 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

Sorry to taunt you further but...

Check out the current list of Alcohol on Crystal (not an exhaustive list of the all inclusive wines) - a selection of 9 all inclusive gins including Hendricks and The Botanist and for mixers Fever Tree is available in all bars

 

Post 110 of the thread has the latest list

 

Was it you that posted about the discussion with one of the Bar Managers on Seabourn who said that Gin wasn't so popular?

Yes! Well remembered.  

[Stickman1990]

For those who enjoyed this thread and following along I just wanted to let you know we are off on another cruise today - Crystal Serenity from Auckland to Perth and then the Indian Pacific Train back to Sydney - so if you are interested in following that journey the thread can be found @ https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2627606-live-a-plane-car-cruise-train-–-crystal-serenity-auckland-perth-5-20-feb-2019/?page=2&tab=comments#comment-56717490

 

I am sure I will make some comparisons between Crystal and Seabourn I’m sure given the December cruise is fresh in our minds 

[margbem]

On 6 January 2019 at 3:50 PM, alidor said:

Mayaart - we are doing this same cruise in March and we did sign up for the Great Barrier Reef Trip.  You said you thought this was a rip off.   Can I ask why you think this?

 

 

We did a Quicksilver trip in 2015 (I know that's a long time ago, but recent reviews on Tripadvisor will back me up) and we found it really poor. It was out of Airlie Beach and we organised it ourselves as we were on a land trip. There were far too many people on the trip, it was a mad scramble to get into their stinger suits and the currents were so bad at the reef that tou had to cling on to ropes to stop getting swept away. I couldn't do it and my husband found it difficult even though he is a strong swimmer. The final straw was that a lot of the coral was dead and bleached. When we mentioned this we were told that when you see brightly coloured coral in photos it is because the pictures have been doctored or coloured lenses used. We moved on to Port Douglas and went out with a small boat with about 14 of us and it was amazing. Gorgeous coral, helpful staff and an amazing day. Think carefully and do a bit of research before you choose a trip.

[java spot]

On 1/6/2019 at 9:50 AM, alidor said:

Mayaart - we are doing this same cruise in March and we did sign up for the Great Barrier Reef Trip.  You said you thought this was a rip off.   Can I ask why you think this?

 

 

Hi Alidor - I think you may be on the cruise I am on and which I also took last year. (Sydney-Bali)  I thought the trip was good. We drove to Port Douglas and went out to Agincourt reef. The coral was beautiful, and the whole excursion was well organized, especially considering that at least half the ship went on it.  As I've done it once, I'd prefer to find a more relaxed and smaller group experience.  I am trying to organize a trip out of Cairns just a short walk from the ship to a different reef. 

[wire]

On 1/6/2019 at 5:50 AM, alidor said:

Mayaart - we are doing this same cruise in March and we did sign up for the Great Barrier Reef Trip.  You said you thought this was a rip off.   Can I ask why you think this?

 

 

We did this trip from the Encore in Late Dec. They used a Cairns outfit called Great Adventures. They do have a website with an overview. Good trip, nice boat and facilities, and the reef was in decent shape. Saw the usual assortment of reef and fish including several sharks. Only down side was the weather was not optimal because we were on the fringe of a large storm, but that was not Great Adventures or Seabourn's fault. Last time we were in Cairns and Port Douglas the reef seemed dead but has recovered nicely. Yes the trip is a bit expensive, however the reef boat was a short walk from the Encore, very convenient and efficient. The trip out to the platform was quick and relatively smooth. There was a lot of Encore people on this trip but it never really felt that crowded to me. It was a good day overall. 

Edited February 5, 2019 by wire