Seabourn Sojourn 5229A Rome-Rome June 26-July 10-Live

[tryber]

1 hour ago, texanaust said:

Ok, I admit Van Halen is no longer seriously modern, but I’ve been trying to get SB to play this stuff for 21 years.  It was at least somewhat modern back in 2001!😉

 

In regards to the Trio…On the Sojourn, they cannot play anything modern.  If it is modern (like a U2 song the other night),  then they tone it down so much it becomes elevator music.

 

It wasn't even modern in 2001.  The best Van Halen music is from the '70s and their biggest hits were from 1984 (the Sammy Hagar era does not count in my book).  But I have a friend who think that all music after Bach is modern music (and inferior), so it's all relative.  🙂

[cruiseej]

Before we get into debate on which incarnation of Van Halen (or Genesis, Queen, Journey, the Stones, the Allman Brothers, etc.) had the best lineup, my only point was that in some incarnations of the band on Seabourn cruises we've been on, the band has been happy to oblige requests for modern — I'll broadly define that as "classic rock" and beyond — music. Sometimes when they've asked if there are any requests and we call one out, they say they just recently released something and surprise us. We've gotten them to play Hotel California, Dancing in the Dark, Your Song, Money for Nothing, and other stuff not on their everyday playlist rotation. And they usually have some fairly recent Top 40 hits in their repertoire as well. The trio is more hit or miss, as their job is to play mellow music, but we've gotten a few pleasant surprises from them at times. Again, it all depends on the musicians in each group, but it doesn't hurt to ask them. 

[Fletcher]

Great  view of the Sojourn today in Bastia

https://balticlivecam.com/cameras/france/bastia/port-of-bastia/

[lincslady]

Lovely - and not much hotter and sunnier there than here, for a change.

[texanaust]

On 7/6/2022 at 9:17 PM, Isklaar said:

texanaust, do you know if Kristoff is maitre d' in the Colonnade? 

Kristoff is not onboard right now.  He had to leave temporarily.  Alberto from TK seems to be acting in his place.

[texanaust]

 

 

Day 13-Bastia, Corsica, France

 

We sailed into Bastia slightly late today due to the ferries having priority at the port. The ship was cleared around 9:30amand I spent the morning wandering around the city. The city is very diverse in the sense that it has leafy promenades with lots of Parisian style cafes, but at the same time there are areas close by that are very dilapidated-some of the buildings don’t look like they have seen renovation works in several hundred years. The port itself is covered with colourful ferries that carry french holiday makers in their camper-vans to and from the mainland. 

 

Back onboard, the Restaurant was very quiet last night so service was excellent. We skipped the show in favour of having a nightcap and listening to the pianist up in the Observation lounge. This morning we had another fantastic breakfast with Chef Julius from the Patio. The Lobster Benedict that he makes for us is amazing. Its not really a proper Benedict, nor is it on the menu, so ask for a Julius if you want to try one.

 

Tonight is a new (to us) show called ‘Rock Tonight.’ It features old (I mean really old😉) modern music from the 70’s to the 90’s. Oh, oh, no…I was just reading the write up and it mentions Elton John. We can only hope that Crocodile Rock is not one of the tunes taking us on a ‘fabulous musical journey'. This song may have to join the banned Memories and Don’t Cry for Me Argentina list! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Saffron05]

Fancy a watermelon cocktail with your caviar?  I watched the barmen mix this - one whole bottle of Bacardi, one whole bottle of Malibu and one whole bottle of Midori and watermelon juice!  What’s not To like 😊.   Got to go now, their washing the outside of the ship and I’m on the balcony!

[texanaust]

 

Day 14- Portovenere, Italy

 

If you had to pick a nice final port for this cruise, then Portovenere isn't too bad! Not quite as small and posh as Portofino, but nevertheless a charming medieval village situated on the Italian Riviera. We headed over via tender around 9am and pretty much had the place to ourselves for the first hour. There is a great church on the point, very much like the one used in the Mamma Mia movie and they were actually setting up for a wedding today! The views from this point are quite amazing and if we had remembered to bring our bathers, then we could have had a dip where the poet Byron used to swim. Oh well, next time! Afterwards we took a stroll through the village and had we been hungry, sampled some of the lovely Italian delicacies on offer. 

 

Last night was the Chef’s meal. It was excellent and I’ve attached photos. Afterwards we did attend the show ‘Rock Tonight.’ It was no ‘Rock of Ages,’ but was a good attempt at trying to introduce something a little newer. I think the energy of a ‘rock' show needs to be maintained throughout but this production didn’t quite achieve that. Maybe Belinda can reinvent this show in the future, because it definitely has potential. 

 

This afternoon we did get a sort of marina day. Of course it was too rough to do anything exciting, but SB did get the zodiacs out and gave people a short ride nearby. The failure to plan for this event was its downfall. If anyone had looked at the forecast for this time of year, they would know that the wind in the Med almost always picks up in the afternoon and with that so do the waves. Had the marina been done this morning, all would have been fine. Unfortunately when you combine this will mass Saturday afternoonboating traffic, it just was not safe.

 

Well that is it for this cruise. I’m not going to post the final morning as we all know what departure day is like. Apart from the initial issues, we’ve had a great time and I can honestly say that Seabourn, at least on Sojourn, has not diminished from what it was pre-covid. If anyone has any questions, I’d be happy to answer them, but otherwise see you cruising!

 

 

 

 

[Saffron05]

23 hours ago, Saffron05 said:

Fancy a watermelon cocktail with your caviar?  I watched the barmen mix this - one whole bottle of Bacardi, one whole bottle of Malibu and one whole bottle of Midori and watermelon juice!  What’s not To like 😊.   Got to go now, their washing the outside of the ship and I’m on the balcony!

 

[Saffron05]

 

Last night we ate in The Grill by Thomas Keller.  I asked for a very small steak but was told they’re all very big - dont they have a knife?  Later, on an adjacent table a child had just such a thing…. I must say it looked excellent.  So I ordered the Dover Sole in compensation.  I wasn’t disappointed but the fish was massive and I could only eat half.  What a waste…. consider accommodating smaller portion requests in TK please.  We are not all big eaters.

Today we are in Portovenere, Italy - a small Cinque a terre port.  Its very picturesque but very popular too - especially at weekends.  It was so busy on the water the Captain wisely cancelled most watersports, but offered Zodiac rides instead.

We expect to be covid tested today, but so far nothing has happened and tomorrow we take on new guests.  The CD said we would go from full to 70 down (The Restaurant will be pleased😊).  Maybe they have quietly dropped this requirement.  I am not  aware of anyone in isolation on this week’s cruise.

 

[Fletcher]

39 minutes ago, Saffron05 said:

 

Last night we ate in The Grill by Thomas Keller.  I asked for a very small steak but was told they’re all very big - dont they have a knife?  Later, on an adjacent table a child had just such a thing…. I must say it looked excellent.  So I ordered the Dover Sole in compensation.  I wasn’t disappointed but the fish was massive and I could only eat half.  What a waste….

The unchanging menus in the TKG are simply dreadful.  Seabourn should start afresh in this department.  

[margbem]

3 hours ago, Fletcher said:

The unchanging menus in the TKG are simply dreadful.  Seabourn should start afresh in this department.  

The TK restaurant does absolutely nothing for me. Icy cold salad? Massive portions of over salted fish? Yuk

[frantic36]

4 hours ago, Saffron05 said:

The CD said we would go from full to 70 down (The Restaurant will be pleased😊).  Maybe they have quietly dropped this requirement.  I am not  aware of anyone in isolation on this week’s cruise.

 

This is good news Saffron. Both with the numbers of passengers and hopefully no need for testing each segment. My TA warned me this testing may be required and though I accepted it as part of the current travel requirement I was not looking forward to 3-4 extra tests. I keep my fingers crossed for us both it is no longer required.

[CanAmBrit]

Thank you, Texanaust, for your great reporting. We are boarding  Seabourn on August 7 and have really appreciated your photographs and candid comments.

Have a great trip home.

 

[texanaust]

Love TK!  It’s great that not everyone does, otherwise it would be even busier.  No testing between cruises-it was not even mentioned.

[travel4b]

51 minutes ago, texanaust said:

Love TK!  It’s great that not everyone does, otherwise it would be even busier.  No testing between cruises-it was not even mentioned.

We really like it, too. I don’t get all the haters; of course it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but “dreadful”??  I do get that the menu is stale by now but at least they have a rotating daily special starter and main.  

[SLSD]

9 minutes ago, travel4b said:

We really like it, too. I don’t get all the haters; of course it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but “dreadful”??  I do get that the menu is stale by now but at least they have a rotating daily special starter and main.  

  We are not haters of TK Grill.  We have dined there many times.  There were certain entrees (the chicken for two) that we found inedible because all we could taste was salt.  While we love the Dover sole, the portion for each individual is HUGE.  There is no way we could eat it all.  We hate seeing wasted food.  Also, the side dishes are very rich and also enormous.  When it is just my husband and I dining alone, we can only take two bites each--and the rest is wasted .  We have learned to make our TK Grill reservations for four--banking on the idea that we will meet fellow guests who would like to join us.  Even so, half of the side dishes go uneaten because of their size and richness.  I am NOT a hater, but think there should definitely be some fine tuning of the offerings.  Perhaps it doesn't bother others to waste large quantities of food, but it does bother us.  I do think it is time for the TK Grill to come up with new menu items.  I understand that they have "specials" each evening.  We have availed ourselves of several of them, but have found that they have not measured up (usually) to the always offered entrees.  

 

By the way, using the word "haters" is seldom accurate.  Nothing is black and white.  

[Catlover54]

18 minutes ago, SLSD said:

  We are not haters of TK Grill.  We have dined there many times.  There were certain entrees (the chicken for two) that we found inedible because all we could taste was salt.  While we love the Dover sole, the portion for each individual is HUGE.  There is no way we could eat it all.  We hate seeing wasted food.  Also, the side dishes are very rich and also enormous.  When it is just my husband and I dining alone, we can only take two bites each--and the rest is wasted .  We have learned to make our TK Grill reservations for four--banking on the idea that we will meet fellow guests who would like to join us.  Even so, half of the side dishes go uneaten because of their size and richness.  I am NOT a hater, but think there should definitely be some fine tuning of the offerings.  Perhaps it doesn't bother others to waste large quantities of food, but it does bother us.  I do think it is time for the TK Grill to come up with new menu items.  I understand that they have "specials" each evening.  We have availed ourselves of several of them, but have found that they have not measured up (usually) to the always offered entrees.  

 

By the way, using the word "haters" is seldom accurate.  Nothing is black and white.  

 

I am also in the camp that I hate food wasted.  So in TK, I planned  ahead:  I had them put leftover meat (e.g., leftover DH steak) into a doggy bag (but have a big ziplock with me just in case, and foil in the room when I travel).  This makes for a nice steak sandwich (with fresh bread) for the next day!

 

Leftover Dover sole, on the other hand, without a microwave . .  . 😛

[SLSD]

27 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

 

I am also in the camp that I hate food wasted.  So in TK, I planned  ahead:  I had them put leftover meat (e.g., leftover DH steak) into a doggy bag (but have a big ziplock with me just in case, and foil in the room when I travel).  This makes for a nice steak sandwich (with fresh bread) for the next day!

 

Leftover Dover sole, on the other hand, without a microwave . .  . 😛

But the issue here is that there is just a "chiller" in the suites (at least in the veranda suites) and not a true refrigerator.  I've read this--and so I am concerned that food put in it is not safe to keep.  

[frantic36]

7 hours ago, texanaust said:

Love TK!  It’s great that not everyone does, otherwise it would be even busier.  No testing between cruises-it was not even mentioned.

 

Thanks texanaust for the reassurance re testing. Have a safe journey home with no luggage going missing and thank you for your wonderful trip report. 

[Mr Luxury]

8 hours ago, travel4b said:

We really like it, too. I don’t get all the haters; of course it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but “dreadful”??  I do get that the menu is stale by now but at least they have a rotating daily special starter and main.  

I love TK and eat there more than the MDR

I suppose it would get repetitive if you were on for six months of the year.

[Mr Luxury]

7 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

 

I am also in the camp that I hate food wasted.  So in TK, I planned  ahead:  I had them put leftover meat (e.g., leftover DH steak) into a doggy bag (but have a big ziplock with me just in case, and foil in the room when I travel).  This makes for a nice steak sandwich (with fresh bread) for the next day!

 

Leftover Dover sole, on the other hand, without a microwave . .  . 😛

Left over food should not be stored in your suite.

The fridge is not of suitable temperature to store food and is only for drinks.

This is definitely a health hazard and one which any cruise line would not condone.

Steak sandwich does sound good though.

[Catlover54]

3 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Left over food should not be stored in your suite.

The fridge is not of suitable temperature to store food and is only for drinks.

This is definitely a health hazard and one which any cruise line would not condone.

Steak sandwich does sound good though.

 

No worries. The fridge is more than cool enough to hold an already *cooked* piece of wrapped steak for a night without creating a "health hazard" of any kind, much less one that would require evacuation of a passenger from the ship. Also, ice in the ice buckets doesn't melt by morning in the cold fridges I have had, and things easily can go in there. I've also at times kept cheese, milk, butter pats, and smoked cold cuts in cruise ship fridges for emergency snacks, and this over many years of cruising.  No butler has told me to remove them, (or have even added to my collection), nothing stunk, and I have never gotten sick eating them the next day. Nothing raw ever goes in, however (e.g., no leftover steak tatar, no herring!). I also know what the temperature in the fridge is, since I use it for medication.  I carry around a thermometer, for both fridge and room, for a variety of other reasons.

 

Long ago when we were young and spent a few years in foreign countries that were not wealthy, we learned what *really* needed a western-style "fridge" (mostly delicate raw and cream things), what only needed  a weaker cooling area (cheese) ,what could be kept on the shaded window sill any season except summer (eggs), and what to put in the attic or the basement (potatoes, bottled beer cider, and bottled water), or just in a pile next to the table, with no cooling at all (it was a very interesting pile).  Foodstuffs (and people) in relatively clean countries are fortunately surprisingly resilient, at least for short amounts of time. 😉

So the fridges we had in our homes (if any) were tiny.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

If I might ask since we’ll be on the Sojourn next July in the Med, what are the starting times for dinner in the MDR as well as up at the Colonnade? 

[Mr Luxury]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask since we’ll be on the Sojourn next July in the Med, what are the starting times for dinner in the MDR as well as up at the Colonnade? 

No use posting it now as they might be sold by next year.😉