LIVE from the Ovation Nov 29-Dec 10

[rkacruiser]

7 minutes ago, LMB01 said:

I am able to click on the picture which enlarges it and then can be zoomed even further for easy reading.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.  Didn't work for me, though.  

[WNcruiser]

43 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I noticed that on the menus you posted and all of them sound good.  I really enjoy a well prepared souffle; something Chef rkacruiser never prepares.  

 

 

FYI:  These menus are not readable me.  Print is too small.  But, thanks for trying.  Your posting of the earlier menus were perfect!  

Ok sorry about that. I will go back to two photos for the last 2 days. 

[WNcruiser]

Tonight’s menus again 

[WNcruiser]

Here are a couple pictures of Jost Van Dyke. Please go ashore if visiting here. Many people stayed on board today and really missed a gorgeous place. Seabourn had transportation arranged for us for the 5 minute drive to the beach. 

[WNcruiser]

Well we are headed back towards Miami 😔. We have a beautiful day of sun and clouds so far. The miso salmon in the restaurant last night was excellent, best entree there I have had all cruise. It was very moist and flavorful and came with a delicious black sesame crispy rice. 
 

This morning they have a Bloody Mary bar set up at the pool. Looking forward to a lazy pool day today and will start packing tomorrow afternoon. The evening with Sir Tim Rice is tomorrow on the last night. 
 

Here are tonight’s menus and the Bloody Mary bar. 

[WNcruiser]

Good morning on the last day of our cruise. Woke up to some of the calmest seas I have seen. Had a great dinner at TK Grill last night. We finally tried the roasted chicken for 2 and it was very good, really moist with a crispy skin. 
 

Tonight is the Officers on deck goodbye party and the evening with Sir Tim Rice. Of course we have to pack sometime today as well. 
 

I want to thank everyone for following along on this wonderful cruise, our first on Seabourn. I will post a final summary and my thoughts about everything after I get home tomorrow. 
 

Here is the final menu for the Restaurant. Earth & Ocean is closed due to the Officers event. 

[WNcruiser]

Here are a couple pics of last nights dinner. The roasted chicken for two (that’s a LOT of rosemary), sliced ribeye and table side sundae. 

[highplanesdrifters]

Thank you for taking us on your  journey and posting all those lovely photos and especially the menus. I had never considered a Carribean cruise, but now may do so to fill in the gap between bigger trips. Enjoy the rest of your trip and those blue waters.

[FlyingScotSailors]

WNcruiser, thank you for taking us along on your cruise!

 

We are very pleased that you enjoyed you first Seabourn cruise.  You have made us very excited about our upcoming Ovation cruise at the end of January (our tenth on Seabourn).   Safe travels home, and we hope to meet you on a future cruise.

 

[Baz-t]

As an almost Diamond level with Seabourn, I have to agree with WNcruisers comment about the food, particularly the main dining room.

I know this is heresy to many Seabourn regulars, but Seabourn does not match Oceania’s food offering in terms of quality/taste and the number of restaurants on offer. 
In my humble opinion, the main dining room on Seabourn has a good choice on the menu, but lacks flavours and quality.

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, Baz-t said:

In my humble opinion, the main dining room on Seabourn has a good choice on the menu, but lacks flavours and quality.

Thank you WN Cruiser for your daily reports. 

 

I agree with you Baz-t. As much as I love sailing with Seabourn, I've never thought the food was the high point of the experience.  That being said, I have had wonderful steak, salmon and lamb in the The Restaurant.  

[rkacruiser]

WNcruiser, thank you very much for your informative, descriptive, interesting posts and the photos that you have shared.  Good wishes for a pleasant return trip to your home!  

[NCHPcruiser]

Loving your post and learning a lot!  I type this from the airport in San Juan after disembarking the Crystal Symphony visiting several of the same ports.   We are loyal Celebrity cruisers (usually in Sky or Celebrity suites) but have decided to try Crystal (food was incredible!) and Seabourn’s smaller ships.  Your post have convinced us to give Seabourn a try next spring.  (Really hoping some changes are made regarding the food in The Restuarant though!)

[WNcruiser]

We are safely home and I wanted to leave some final thoughts. This was a wonderful cruise and as I have mentioned the crew was incredible, by far the best service we have received on a ship. With that being said it wasn't perfect (what cruises are?) and to be honest I don't think Seabourn is a good fit for us at this point in our lives. 

 

The Ovation: It is much more of a yacht than a ship. When we first walked on I really missed having a lobby. There was no wow factor when you just see a stair case, although a beautiful one. Of course there are positives like getting anywhere in 5 minutes, and being able to walk up or down just a few decks to access almost everything. There also seemed to be a lack of windows. With all cabins forward and all public spaces aft there are no long decks or halls where you can see out. Maybe not a big deal but just wanted to mention it as we missed seeing the ocean while inside (with the exception of the observation lounge of course). 

 

The food: I have already said we were really disappointed in the food (mostly in The Restaurant) so thats all I will say. We had some excellent dinners in the TK Grill and breakfast was good at the colonnade with a large buffet as well as custom orders from your table. Lunches were hit and miss at the patio and colonnade. Food is so subjective and I don't want to persuade anyone from not trying Seabourn because of my experience. 

 

The Crew! Just Incredible. Everyone was exceptional, happy and wanting you to have the best cruise ever. Anytime you asked for something it was "right away", "my pleasure", "of course". Kevin the Hotel Director was amazing. Always around talking to all the guests, and never too busy to speak with us. He even gave us a hug goodbye yesterday as we were walking off. 

One day at the pool we were in the hot tub when it started raining. A bar waiter ran over to our chairs and grabbed my book, wiped it dry and took it with my Seabourn bag to the bar under cover. Another time I was going to ask for something and said "Is it possible" and before I could finish the waiter said "Your on Seabourn, anything is possible". This is the type of service we received from the moment we boarded. 

I will say the Captain was the least bit friendly. Very strange for such a great crew. He barely said a word the entire 11 days and had someone make his 12 noon announcements everyday. I passed him a couple times in the hallways and on deck and he just nodded, never spoke. 

 

The "suite": The Ovation has all balcony "suites" which is nice. The standard suite is 302 sq feet and all bathrooms have double sinks. Every suite except Cat V1 also has a separate tub which we never used. I wish they put in a large walk in shower instead of the rather small stand alone shower. The king bed was comfortable and the sitting room spacious with a large couch and glass dining table to for two. The bar is stocked with soft drinks, water, beer and and wine or liquor you want. Several times our cabin stewardess as they call them asked us if we wanted any additional bottles. Our suite was kept spotless. The balcony was quite large with 2 chais and 2 foot stools along with a  small table. 

 

I hope this helps all of the first timers out or those of you who want to try Seabourn. Personally I felt the ship was a little small for me, especially the last couple days. Again this is just my feeling and in 5-10 years maybe it will be just right! Feel free to ask any questions although there are much more qualified Seabourn guests who can probably answer better than me. Stay safe and healthy,

 

Steve 

Edited December 11, 2021 by WNcruiser
spelling

[madrick]

Thanks for the info.  We too are first timers on Seabourn.  Question for you, did they give you a beach tote or a backpack?  I do have a backpack from Silversea Galapagos, I could bring that!  We are on a Panama Canal cruise next March.

 

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

Personally I felt the ship was a little small for me, especially the last couple days

 

Thank you very much for your interesting and informative posts.  I really appreciated your efforts to post the menus and re-posting the ones that I found too small to read.  😍   Reading the menus of The Restaurant, I thought the selections sounded excellent.  But, of course, the quality of the ingredients and their preparation makes a major difference in the end product.  I thought it odd that every menu (if I recall correctly) for Earth & Ocean at The Patio always offered Baked Camembert.  Was that item really so popular that it was offered so frequently?  

 

I think a smaller type ship is what I ought to consider for my next cruise.  Walking the length of the long corridors on the newer ships is no longer as easy as it once was for me.  

 

WNcruiser, wherever you cruise again and on whatever ship, I wish you "fair winds and following seas"!  

[WNcruiser]

2 hours ago, madrick said:

Thanks for the info.  We too are first timers on Seabourn.  Question for you, did they give you a beach tote or a backpack?  I do have a backpack from Silversea Galapagos, I could bring that!  We are on a Panama Canal cruise next March.

 

This is what they gave everyone. It was quite useful to take things to the pool or beach.

 

[tjcox9]

The only Seabourn backpack I've seen is the one from the Quest's Antarctic adventures. It's similar to the Silver Seas Galapagos one.....light weight, water resistant.

[SLSD]

Thank you WNcruiser for all of your comments.  I've never been on a ship larger than Ovation, so I can't quite picture what you were missing on Seabourn.  I've only sailed Seabourn and Silversea.  I have seen photos of other ships that looked quite grand indeed.  I think I would describe the Seabourn ships as classic and lovely, but not grand like some of the photos I've seen of other ships.  I think it is great that there are diverse options when it comes to cruising.  I would look forward to your critique of other cruise lines as well.  

Edited December 12, 2021 by SLSD

[purpleally]

On 12/5/2021 at 5:21 PM, WNcruiser said:

I was going to wait until the end of the cruise to address this. I want to start by saying we really love the Seabourn experience. 
 

All of our breakfasts have been great as well as almost all the lunches we have had in the colonnade, patio and the sushi restaurant. 
 

Unfortunately we have not been impressed with the dinners in The Restaurant or Earth and Ocean. It isn’t the type of food as the menus mostly sound good, it is the quality and taste. We have had much better food on Oceania and Celebrity. We have heard from numerous others, including Platinum and Diamond members that they feel the same way about many of the dishes. 
 

I also want to mention the Maitre D’s and waiters have done everything they can to make us happy by trying other items as well offering to make us anything we want the next evening. Dinner in TK Grill both nights was excellent so I honestly am not sure what is going on with The Restaurant. It won’t discourage us from booking Seabourn again and I still have hope it may get better with 6 nights to go. 

I haven’t finished reading but I have to comment. We were on this cruise, have been on several Seabourn and are platinum.  I found the food to be excellent, I’m very surprised that you continue to say it was not.  As you stated, it’s subjective. This was the best cruise we have ever been on. 

[2seabournsailors]

On 12/12/2021 at 7:25 AM, rkacruiser said:

 

  I thought it odd that every menu (if I recall correctly) for Earth & Ocean at The Patio always offered Baked Camembert.  Was that item really so popular that it was offered so frequently?  

 

 

I really hope they keep the Baked Camembert on the E&O Menu, as I often have that for my main meal! My husband eats anything and everything, and we enjoy having dinner on the deck, so E&O is perfect for us. I usually only feel like something quite small for dinner and LOVE the camembert!!

[Hobar]

3 hours ago, purpleally said:

I haven’t finished reading but I have to comment. We were on this cruise, have been on several Seabourn and are platinum.  I found the food to be excellent, I’m very surprised that you continue to say it was not.  As you stated, it’s subjective. This was the best cruise we have ever been on. 

Love your post.  Glad to hear.  Some cruises have had better food than others, but never was the food not good.  Then again, I don’t spend much time (or any time) critiquing food or much else as it’s the whole experience I love and enjoy.  I look forward to boarding Dec 21 and can’t wait. 

[2SailingNomads]

On 12/12/2021 at 2:31 PM, Hobar said:

Love your post.  Glad to hear.  Some cruises have had better food than others, but never was the food not good.  Then again, I don’t spend much time (or any time) critiquing food or much else as it’s the whole experience I love and enjoy.  I look forward to boarding Dec 21 and can’t wait. 

Agree w/ purpleally and Hobar - while the food is not always what you might want it to be, same is true for an on land top rated restaurant - with very few exceptions we have had mostly good or better food on-board and if you do not like what you got you can easily order somethign else.  Of course if your tablemates are happy w/ their choice timing becomes an issue but there are plenty of choices.  An issue we have encountered is the something not coming out hot.  One of our favorite Seabourn restaurant managers had a rule: it has to be right, it has to be timely, it has to be hot.  The "hot" part sometimes has been an issue.  

 

Jealous of you Hobar as we do not board until February.  Are you on the Ovation or Odyssey?  

 

[Hobar]

1 hour ago, 2SailingNomads said:

Agree w/ purpleally and Hobar - while the food is not always what you might want it to be, same is true for an on land top rated restaurant - with very few exceptions we have had mostly good or better food on-board and if you do not like what you got you can easily order somethign else.  Of course if your tablemates are happy w/ their choice timing becomes an issue but there are plenty of choices.  An issue we have encountered is the something not coming out hot.  One of our favorite Seabourn restaurant managers had a rule: it has to be right, it has to be timely, it has to be hot.  The "hot" part sometimes has been an issue.  

 

Jealous of you Hobar as we do not board until February.  Are you on the Ovation or Odyssey?  

 

And I will be jealous of you in Feb.  That’s why it’s always important to have the next cruise booked so that you are either sailing or in-between sailings.  

[brittany12]

Can someone  who was on board please comment on the entertainment. Someone mentioned Tim Rice. Is it that same tired Tim Rice performance that's been running for years?