1st of March Encore Canaries Celebration 🍾 🥂

[sfvoyage]

3 hours ago, claudiaYVR said:

On the second to last night of the cruise we were sitting in the Gran Salon for the Sir Tim Rice show and someone right behind us coughed a few times. He was not wearing a mask and neither were we. We are both boosted. If I'm right, there are possibly a few people who came off the ship with Covid.

 

That's why we always wear our mask in the Grand Salon and in the Club (during trivia) even when the majority of guests do not.

 

Thanks for posting your experience.

[janecambridge]

Today we noticed a lot  of coughing and sneezing,  notably into their hands in restaurants! 

[claudiaYVR]

9 hours ago, sfvoyage said:

 

That's why we always wear our mask in the Grand Salon and in the Club (during trivia) even when the majority of guests do not.

 

Thanks for posting your experience.

If I could do it again I would absolutely do that. 

[claudiaYVR]

I think it’s safe to say there’s no such thing as a regular cold/cough nowadays. Should be taken as signs of Covid and acted upon accordingly (by both the cruise line and each individual). 

[janecambridge]

If you stop at Gran Canaria, you can leave the port, cross the road and get the number 12 or 1 bus to old town. €1.40 each way. It is really worth a walk round. 

[Emdee]

1 hour ago, janecambridge said:

If you stop at Gran Canaria, you can leave the port, cross the road and get the number 12 or 1 bus to old town. €1.40 each way. It is really worth a walk round. 

Thank. You. It is the one port I thought we would do on our own. 

[SeabournAfficionado]

Had the captains cocktail party last night. Followed by the chefs special tasting menu. It’s really something not to miss. Every course was amazing! Can’t believe we’re nearing the end of our cruise. It’s been amazing to get back to normality. 

[lincslady]

We have always enjoyed the tasting menu - not too much of anything, until the pudding, which is usually far too much of a good thing.

[ciaoYacht]

14 hours ago, SeabournAfficionado said:

Had the captains cocktail party last night. Followed by the chefs special tasting menu. It’s really something not to miss.

So I was pretty set on attending Sushi on formal night on my upcoming cruise, as others have raved about their special menu on this night.  Is the chef's special tasting menu the same thing as formal night?  If so, I may feel torn between the two!  Any recommendations on which would be better to attend? 

[janecambridge]

Sushi: hot food at lunchtime, cold food in the evening. 

[SeabournAfficionado]

12 hours ago, ciaoYacht said:

So I was pretty set on attending Sushi on formal night on my upcoming cruise, as others have raved about their special menu on this night.  Is the chef's special tasting menu the same thing as formal night?  If so, I may feel torn between the two!  Any recommendations on which would be better to attend? 

If you can, I would attend both! A chefs sushi menu was scheduled on the second night of this cruise. This was a “formal night” in the main restaurant. And we had our special outfits for it (as you do 😀). But since it was the only opportunity, we agreed to go. The sushi was all delicious. And we were pleased with our choice. And then of course, as you see, we later on into the holiday, enjoyed chefs tasting menu in the MDR. Last night we arranged a Peruvian night in the MDR. It was superb. 
 

We are in the Retreat today. Will do a little report afterward 😎

[janecambridge]

Extra treat ftom captain. Not arriving in Lisbon Saturday morning but Friday morning, so we will get a day and an evening in the city. 

At last sunshine and no wind on aft cabin balconies. 

[SLSD]

I just read on a Facebook Seabourn board that at least one couple--and probably more--have been disembarked due to testing positive for Covid.  The couple mentioned were disembarked on the island of Gran Canaria.  

[janecambridge]

We have seen 4 ambulances at port collecting someone  from ship. 3 of those times we heard emergency call-outs for medical staff a short time before. Last one,  we saw a man walking into ambulance and a very heavy  clean of the railings on the steps by ship staff in PPE. 
We have been aware of a lot  of coughing in the last week. In the restaurants, people coughing into hands and then proceeding to use serving spoons at the buffet. We have always picked up and used small serviettes to dish up our food. They are available from Ariane as you walk in. 

[SeabournAfficionado]

5 hours ago, SLSD said:

I just read on a Facebook Seabourn board that at least one couple--and probably more--have been disembarked due to testing positive for Covid.  The couple mentioned were disembarked on the island of Gran Canaria.  

There have been some cases on board. And they are normally disembarked ASAP. As well as the staff who are tested rigorously. I think it’s just a case of remaining vigilante. We tend to only have breakfast in suite. And have never liked the Colonade, because of the buffet aspect (particularly lunch) So mostly dine in the MDR.The medical team we’re called too one day. Apparently they were very seasick.  

Edited March 11, 2022 by SeabournAfficionado

[SeabournAfficionado]

I know the opinion of the retreat is often split. And yes it remains completely closed when there are no bookings, so is quite an area of deck that can be considered wasted. But we booked in yesterday. Two reasons, it was a sea day. And we fancied a change of scenery (we normally just sunbathe on the balcony)

You can actually go up there for breakfast. But , we have always had our breakfast in the room. Lunch is 12-2 and they have a lovely menu. And then afternoon tea after 4. There’s a very special wine and cocktail menu only available in there. So if that’s your thing, you really could have some fun! The cabanas all have a living room with flat screen TV in and a dining area. It’s so relaxing. And as I say, if you fancy a  chilled change of scenery, I think it’s worth considering. I’d do it again. ❤️

[cruisr]

Just got an email from friends of mine that are going to a hotel in Lisbon as they both tested positive.  Apparently they were doing tests onboard for people flying back to the US and Canada right after the cruise ended and that is how it was caught.

[Emdee]

17 hours ago, janecambridge said:

We have seen 4 ambulances at port collecting someone  from ship. 3 of those times we heard emergency call-outs for medical staff a short time before. Last one,  we saw a man walking into ambulance and a very heavy  clean of the railings on the steps by ship staff in PPE. 
We have been aware of a lot  of coughing in the last week. In the restaurants, people coughing into hands and then proceeding to use serving spoons at the buffet. We have always picked up and used small serviettes to dish up our food. They are available from Ariane as you walk in. 

Great idea . Thank you.

 

We canceled our group tours given the situation.

Do you remember if there were their taxies at the port to take people on tours?

Many thanks. 

[janecambridge]

Yes. The ones at the side of the ship, are safe. They will do tours. We did one Seabourn tour on a coach and we weren’t happy with  all those with no masks on. 

Edited March 12, 2022 by janecambridge

[cruiseej]

On 3/10/2022 at 9:42 PM, SLSD said:

I just read on a Facebook Seabourn board that at least one couple--and probably more--have been disembarked due to testing positive for Covid.  The couple mentioned were disembarked on the island of Gran Canaria.  

 

I'm wondering why they were disembarked rather than put in isolation suites aboard the ship?

[SLSD]

24 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

I'm wondering why they were disembarked rather than put in isolation suites aboard the ship?

According to the people who are on the ship and reported this, the Spanish government requires those who test positive to be disembarked at the next port.  

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, janecambridge said:

Yes. The ones at the side of the ship, are safe. They will do tours. We did one Seabourn tour on a coach and we weren’t happy with  all those with no masks on. 

Jane, have all the health issues onboard affected your enjoyment of the cruise?

[janecambridge]

No SLSD. Not at all. 
We had other problems which did, but that’s another  story!! 

[Emdee]

11 hours ago, janecambridge said:

Yes. The ones at the side of the ship, are safe. They will do tours. We did one Seabourn tour on a coach and we weren’t happy with  all those with no masks on. 

Thanks for your prompt response. After the cruise we will continue to stay in Portugal for a few days and continue on in Europe so I guess no need of the final day test.

Now to stay well and keep safe.

We are meticulous in our sanitizing and mask wearing. As long as I can enjoy the sea air sitting on my balcony I am happy. 

[John117]

Here are my thoughts on this cruise

In spite of all the conflicting information (you need a test before departure, you will be charged $100 if you turn up without one, you don’t need a test etc) from Seabourn pre cruise on their web site, direct emails and info via our TA we made it to Lisbon and to the ship. 

The Lisbon airport transfer to the ship was quite efficient in spite of panic setting in when our second bag didn’t appear on the belt and it stopped revolving.  Some 25 mins later it started again and our bag arrived. The Covid test at the port was quick and we made it on board in time to have a quick lunch at the pool grill.

Things are not quite back to normal on board. There was no welcome glass of champagne, no escort to our suite, no choice of soaps, and we didn’t meet the suite host till heading for bed first night

The buffet was almost back to normal with self serve. There were a few changes I think.  For example for breakfast there were no individual pots of yoghurt only large bowls of plain or fruit which you ladled into your bowl. Also there was a limited range of cereals but the menu has not been updated. The cereals are now dispensed from 4 tall containers into your bowl instead of the little boxes of Kelloggs available before. I guess this is also an economy measure as they can buy in bulk. The biscuits for cheese we were informed by another passenger were very soft and when he asked for a new box to be brought out it was apparently 2 years out of date?

We saw little enforcement of hand washing or mask wearing. Many people continued to wear masks although once outside on deck they were quickly removed. One good quality mask is provided by Seabourn in a standard letter envelope not sealed in a manufacturers wrapping so not that hygienic.

There is almost total reliance on the source app. A paper copy of the Herald is not delivered although I believe you can request a copy. Restaurant and bar opening times and menus are not even shown on TV. No excursion tickets are issued and these appear on your phone in your wallet. We were told these e-tickets would be scanned at the tour buses but that only happened once. It is best to screenshot your tickets so they are available if you don’t have Wi-Fi or data.

Our In-suite bar was stocked early on the first evening and other extras like pieces of lime or Evian water were also supplied on request to the suite attendant. We couldn’t drink the water supplied but at least the Evian is in recyclable glass bottles.

We tried the pool grill a few times when the weather allowed but I have to say I was not impressed by the Napa or cheese burgers. They had a small beef patty with a big bun and half a lettuce.  The burgers are much better on Regent.

 

On our 3^rd night on board we had a reservation for the TK grill.  Well we checked in on time and went into the TK bar for a drink and seemed to be forgotten about?  We reminded the hostess we were still there and were taken through almost immediately. The first thing they gave us was the expensive wine menu even before we saw what food was on offer. It was fairly chaotic in TK with meals taken to the wrong table, wait staff giving meals to the wrong person, wine top up offered from the wrong bottle etc

Our first course of crab cake was ok but things went downhill from there. My beef arrived rare instead of well done. The mashed potatoes were more like custard being extremely runny.  The Carrots were overcooked and mushy. They took my meat away to cook it a bit more but left my veg until I told them I wanted some fresh. They never asked to take my wifes meal so we both ate alone. By the time my beef arrived my wife had finished.

The desert was also poor.  It was a basic lemon tart with foam on top. Needless to say we didn’t book again for TK.

We ate in the MDR quite a lot on this cruise due to bad weather and the service and menu choice was very good. We didn’t have dinner in the Colonade as it was a buffet and we are still nervous about the food that lots of people have potentially breathed on. Some nights a reservation was also required. We did use it for lunch and breakfast occasionally but arrived soon after opening before it got crowded.

Our balcony furniture plastic feet had disintegrated and bits were lying all over the balcony. This made the chairs wobbly. We eventually got them repaired after filling in the guest service mid cruise form. An earlier verbal report to guest services got us nowhere. Our suite Steward didn’t seem to go outside to clean the balcony as there were bits of the chair feet out there throughout the cruise. The balcony doors had finger marks which never seemed to get cleaned.

The included wine on board was exactly like the list published on CC for the previous cruise. We didn’t like the map maker Sauvignon Blanc so stuck to oyster Bay which seemed to be very popular. The LAN rioja, Peru and chile wines we enjoyed but not so much the Bordeaux. Personal preference of course. The choice of included wine was disappointing for us and not as good as on our Silversea cruise last November.

The food was generally good quality and well prepared. The lunchtime portions seemed to be bigger than at dinner time? The menus were quite varied and we always found something to choose. The MDR menu at lunchtime repeats a lot of the food from pool grill. The MDR in the evening is more of a taster menu so don’t expect a pile of potatoes or fries with your main course. I got 3 small cubes of potato with my fish one night which was supposed to be “new Potatoes”.

We were only disappointed with the food a couple of nights. For example the clam chowder was very watery and the fillet Mignon was disappointing as lacking in flavor. Choosing to abandon the menu accompaniments for the steak obviously proved a challenge. I didn’t think asking for a baked potato and some asparagus would be a problem but it certainly incurred a delay. Alternative sides are not listed on the menu.

We missed the port at El Heiro and the port taxes were quickly refunded to our account. Due to incoming bad weather our 2 sea days at the end of the cruise were cut to just over one with an arrival into Lisbon at 10.00 the day before disembarkation. This was an unexpected bonus even though we had been to Lisbon before.

I’m not sure how many passengers were on board but other than the Colonade at lunchtime when the tours returned the ship never seemed to be busy. Rumor had it that we had just over 400 guests but that was not confirmed.

We also apparently had a few cases of Covid on board, both passengers and crew, and ambulances were spotted on the quay several times. We did hear announcements for the medical response team to go to specific cabins which was not very discrete!  Don’t they have phones or radios?

We enjoyed the cruise and the Seabourn crew looked after us very well although the senior officers weren’t very visible. One theory was they were making sure they didn’t catch Covid as they are probably more difficult to replace than some of the others?

One tip for those flying BA to Lisbon. Save yourself some money and don’t upgrade to business class. The ANA lounge is crowded, hot and stuffy with poor catering. You will also invariably be bussed to your plane so priority boarding is a joke as we were all crammed into the same bus which made the shipment of animals conditions look good. Social distancing must be maintained in the airport but apparently not on the bus.