On Sojourn now..any questions…

[lux4me]

Hi all. 
 

We are on the Sojourn now for 16 days.  
The ship is looking very tired.  Needs a refresh bad.  Hard to think this is going off on a world cruise as soon as we are back.  
 

Food has been very hit and miss.  A few good dishes.   Nothing amazing.  But far  more misses.  Service in the dining room has been poor at best.  20 min after being seated to be greeted.  Long waits between courses.   Taking forever to get a glass refilled.  Staff seems overwhelmed.   Food arriving Luke warm,   Dried out sauces on plates.  
Pool staff takes a drink order and you may get it 20 min later.  We had a few occasions of not even getting the drink.  
 

we have sailed with Seabourn many times and are big fans.  
 

But this is a far cry from the product it was. 
 

if anyone has any questions about anything onboard I’ll be happy to answer 

 

 

[BasandSyb]

Sorry to hear you are not enjoying and the ship is looking sad.

Do you have any thoughts or opinion on the service issues? Training? Not enough staff? End of contract and tired? Christmas malaise away from home?

[sfvoyage]

My relatives got off the Sojourn a few days ago and said that there were service issues due to staff shortage and new staff.

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, lux4me said:

Hi all. 
 

We are on the Sojourn now for 16 days.  
The ship is looking very tired.  Needs a refresh bad.  Hard to think this is going off on a world cruise as soon as we are back.  
 

Food has been very hit and miss.  A few good dishes.   Nothing amazing.  But far  more misses.  Service in the dining room has been poor at best.  20 min after being seated to be greeted.  Long waits between courses.   Taking forever to get a glass refilled.  Staff seems overwhelmed.   Food arriving Luke warm,   Dried out sauces on plates.  
Pool staff takes a drink order and you may get it 20 min later.  We had a few occasions of not even getting the drink.  
 

we have sailed with Seabourn many times and are big fans.  
 

But this is a far cry from the product it was. 
 

if anyone has any questions about anything onboard I’ll be happy to answer 

 

 

This is very disappointing to hear.  Others probably disagree, but I thought Sojourn was a bit tired the last time we sailed on her--in 2019.  

[tv24]

Very disappointing.  Worried about the World Cruise experience.

[Mr Luxury]

6 hours ago, lux4me said:

Hi all. 
 

We are on the Sojourn now for 16 days.  
The ship is looking very tired.  Needs a refresh bad.  Hard to think this is going off on a world cruise as soon as we are back.  
 

Food has been very hit and miss.  A few good dishes.   Nothing amazing.  But far  more misses.  Service in the dining room has been poor at best.  20 min after being seated to be greeted.  Long waits between courses.   Taking forever to get a glass refilled.  Staff seems overwhelmed.   Food arriving Luke warm,   Dried out sauces on plates.  
Pool staff takes a drink order and you may get it 20 min later.  We had a few occasions of not even getting the drink.  
 

we have sailed with Seabourn many times and are big fans.  
 

But this is a far cry from the product it was. 
 

if anyone has any questions about anything onboard I’ll be happy to answer 

 

 

You won't get any resolve by posting your moans on here.

Have you spoken to the Hotel Director?

[Flamin_June]

We seem to be reading this over and over again, as the service issue drifts from one ship to another. Quest, Ovation, Odyssey, now Sojourn. Is this because of a rolling recruitment drive? Are staff not being retained and are continously having to be replaced?

What seems irksome to most folks ( and we have from time to time experienced these issues, in much more isolated and sporadic form on pre Covid cruises) is that one's cruise is being utilsed as a training exercise for new staff. In the past, as I have mentioned, this might have been three or four staff, based at different stations: we have expereinced Wait staff in the MDR or Colonnade who were clearly learning the ropes, and once an unhappy stewrdess whose first engagement was not working out for her ( she bucked up as the cruise went on) and once on the old Legend we recall a spa staffer who was dismissed after a week for not making the grade. And on a few cruises in between 2016 and 2018 it was obvious that the hotel crew  were a little short-staffed and being worked to the limit.

But now it seems that dozens, if not scores, of new inexperienced staff are being thrown in at the deep end and supervisory staff are overwhelmed. The result is unhappy crew, unhappy punters and a a plummeting reputation.

One solution might be for Seabourn to be more honest and market  certain cruises as 'training cruises' in the same way as re-positioning cruises, at a discounted rate. It would make sense to offer the reduced rate to Seabourn club members only, people who know what the levels of expectation are (Seabourn first timers might be happy with the status quo they found, lacking the expereinece to correct or guide the trainees).

This would surely be better than the current state of affairs where customers pay a premium for the stellar service Seabourn prides itself on, and then find themselves let down, and, by all accounts feeling ripped off.

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Flamin_June

[Mr Luxury]

This is happening on all cruise lines.

There is a general staff shortage on sea and on land.

Some weeks are better than others.

Who knows when the world will get back to normal.

[fudge]

These types of posts are quite worrying. We have sailed with Seabourn before but only on the Odyssey. We sail out of Barbados on the 4th Feb on the Ovation, has anyone sailed on this ship recently please?

What experience did you have? 

I realise that food can be very subjective, is there a big difference between the Odyssey and the Ovation?

On a different note, how do you find out how full the ship is at this time? 

[florisdekort]

Wow. We must be on a different Sojourn right now. Except for a few issues upon embarkation that were quickly resolved after meeting Hotel Director Harry, we’re having an amazing time. Seabourn at its finest. Food has been as good as ever. E&O continues to be my favorite. 
 

PS. The CEO will be on board for the first week of the World Cruise. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by florisdekort

[tnorton2]

We were on the Sojourn for the Dec 11-21st Caribbean cruise and did not encounter any problems with service or the food.  We cruised pre-pandemic and this was our first cruise since then, and given the current state of the cruise lines getting back up to speed, Sojourn was pretty close to what I was used to "pre-pandemic".  I do agree, the ship needs a refurb for sure.  Carpets getting a little worn, furniture is a little beat up, but this is expected for the amount of usage, day in and day out, for a cruise ship. 

[JRJTG]

@lux4me As we plan for our cruise in the coming year, I’m curious about the MDR service issues. Is there a particular time that you are trying to dine and are experiencing these issues? Are you arriving early in the dinner time schedule or near the end - or sometime in between? 

 

We usually dine a little later in the evening, so I’m just trying to temper my expectations and/or prepare for a change in our normal schedule if necessary to avoid problems. 

 

Thank you. 

[lux4me]

We spoke to the food and beverage director and he did say they are having staffing issues.  
 

I know many places are.  But if you know you are offering a lesser product,   Should you not lower the fare.  or be offering some type of compensation.   
 

I think companies will start looking at this as the new norm.   That they can get away with lackluster service and say “service issues”.  We were just at a Four Seasons for 10 days and the service could not have been better 
 

my question becomes if you are not offering me the same product as in the past why am I playing the same price or more?  

[JPH814]

Interesting to hear the two very different accounts of conditions on this cruise.  My only advice to the readers: Read them all and make up your own mind.    One way to evaluate the posts is to look at the number of posts from the person making the comments.   I tend to put more weight on comments from people with 3000 cruise critic posts than someone with 75.   But that is just me.  I also like to read the comments on other topics from the poster.  Some people have negative comments constantly.  Others are pure cheerleaders.  I put more stock in comments from a poster who report good and bad 

[skybluewaters]

We are currently on Sojourn (day #7 of a 16-day cruise) and are having an excellent luxury cruise experience. The cruise is sold out, yet the service is very good.  Yes, occasionally my glass of water gets dangerously close to being empty before it is topped off by the smiling server.  And a few times we waited several minutes longer than might be considered optimal for our entrees to arrive, but these minor hiccups were of absolutely no consequence to our enjoyment of our meals.  I suppose, if we focused all our energy on timing the waiters, we might have discerned an issue infrequently.  But why choose to do that?  

I agree that some staff are new and are obviously in the process of being trained, but they virtually all are friendly and helpful. 

Most importantly, the food has never suffered as a result of a slower than optimal delivery time.  After ~ 20 meals, we haven’t had even one dish served at anything other than proper temperature.  
The menus have been good, but not outstanding.  Some evenings there were no “wow” dishes, so I had to “settle “ for herb-crusted scallops, for example.  Earth and Ocean has been excellent, with top-notch service. TKG also has been a very nice experience.

The Observation Lounge has been hopping pre-dinner, and even with a full cruise and at peak hours, we’ve always been able to find seating. The cocktails have been mixed well and the service has been excellent. 

 

Our room attendants have always refreshed our cabin promptly and have accommodated all of our requests.  We are quite pleased with their service.  Regarding a previous comment that the ship look “tired,” I disagee.  

 

We don’t go to the talks or the shows, so can’t comment on those.  We have been disappointed with what the excursion offerings have been, so haven’t partaken of one yet.
 

Overall, we are more than pleased with this cruise.  We are experiencing a luxury cruise that is commensurate with our expectations and with the luxury cruise price point.

[florisdekort]

2 hours ago, JPH814 said:

Interesting to hear the two very different accounts of conditions on this cruise.  My only advice to the readers: Read them all and make up your own mind.    One way to evaluate the posts is to look at the number of posts from the person making the comments.   I tend to put more weight on comments from people with 3000 cruise critic posts than someone with 75.   But that is just me.  I also like to read the comments on other topics from the poster.  Some people have negative comments constantly.  Others are pure cheerleaders.  I put more stock in comments from a poster who report good and bad 

I’d also suggest reading more than just Cruise Critic. Perhaps it’s in the name, “critic”, but the negativity on here is always quadruple that of the Facebook groups. 
 

[Mr Luxury]

3 hours ago, JPH814 said:

Interesting to hear the two very different accounts of conditions on this cruise.  My only advice to the readers: Read them all and make up your own mind.    One way to evaluate the posts is to look at the number of posts from the person making the comments.   I tend to put more weight on comments from people with 3000 cruise critic posts than someone with 75.   But that is just me.  I also like to read the comments on other topics from the poster.  Some people have negative comments constantly.  Others are pure cheerleaders.  I put more stock in comments from a poster who report good and 

 

[Mr Luxury]

We do see a few of the glass half empty crowd on these boards.

[sullaRaffaello]

21 hours ago, lux4me said:

Hi all. 
 

We are on the Sojourn now for 16 days.  
The ship is looking very tired.  Needs a refresh bad.  Hard to think this is going off on a world cruise as soon as we are back.  
 

Food has been very hit and miss.  A few good dishes.   Nothing amazing.  But far  more misses.  Service in the dining room has been poor at best.  20 min after being seated to be greeted.  Long waits between courses.   Taking forever to get a glass refilled.  Staff seems overwhelmed.   Food arriving Luke warm,   Dried out sauces on plates.  
Pool staff takes a drink order and you may get it 20 min later.  We had a few occasions of not even getting the drink.  
 

we have sailed with Seabourn many times and are big fans.  
 

But this is a far cry from the product it was. 
 

if anyone has any questions about anything onboard I’ll be happy to answer 

 

 

 

 

See my response to your comment in the food thread. My only complaint was that the Restaurant was not open for 3 meals a day. When it was open, it was superb.

 

 

[saminina]

9 hours ago, skybluewaters said:

We are currently on Sojourn (day #7 of a 16-day cruise) and are having an excellent luxury cruise experience. The cruise is sold out, yet the service is very good. 

402 passengers, 360 crew on board.   I, and few others disagree with most of what you have written.

Dream on.....

[tv24]

17 hours ago, florisdekort said:

Wow. We must be on a different Sojourn right now. Except for a few issues upon embarkation that were quickly resolved after meeting Hotel Director Harry, we’re having an amazing time. Seabourn at its finest. Food has been as good as ever. E&O continues to be my favorite. 
 

PS. The CEO will be on board for the first week of the World Cruise. 

Floris:  This is a happy report.  Thanks for making me more comfortable.

[Mauzac]

Surely it's all relative isn't it?  What irks someone just passes over someone else's head.  I like seeing new staff learning, and do my best to encourage them, and hopefully they thrive from positive reaction as far as I'm concerned. I always try hard to remember their names as they're kind enough to remember mine!  

 

So, my wine glass needs topping up, I just catch someone's eye and it happens, no problem.  In 65 days on Odyssey recently, there was just one meal in the MDR when I asked for extra vegetables that didn't arrive but I was having such fun with our table mates, I only realised when I went to bed!  Once they mixed up the meals but it was rectified in seconds, so in 65 days nothing to complain about.  

 

I imagine that guest numbers have increased a lot from covid levels and some of the ships are having to get used to that.  

Edited December 28, 2022 by Mauzac

[Mr Luxury]

The thing  that I like after sailing with Seabourn for twenty six years is that the waiter or waitress that I saw all those years ago is now Hotel Director or head of food and beverage in Seattle.

I know many crew that have had a wonderful career and really improved themselves in just a few years with the training and experience that Seabourn offers.

It's good to see new staff being trained on the ships.

I'm sure we all had to learn in whatever profession we excelled in.

I know I did.

One valuable thing that I have learned from being on a ship is if you have an issue with something,speak out do not say nothing and complain when you have left the ship.

I have always had issues resolved very quickly.

 

[florisdekort]

Yesterday, at 4 pm Afternoon Tea in the Observation Bar, there were no napkins on the table. Clearly an error. 

Me to waiter: “Can I please have a napkin?”

 

Lady at the table next to us, while standing up, loudly proclaiming to the poor waiter, for all to hear, “I’m sitting here wiping my dirty fingers on your table cloth because apparently it’s the new norm to have no napkins.”

 

There’s quite a few people in the latter category on this ship, sadly. 
 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by florisdekort

[saminina]

We did same itinerary prior to shutdown.   The differences are too great to go unnoticed.   One category is obvious corporate cutbacks.  No lesser category of annoyance is fellow passengers. It is a combustible combination.   I hear only pleasant thoughts about crew.