October 8-22 Lisbon-Civitavecchia/Ovation: Report by Another Almost Newbie

[wyattsaunt]

I enjoy reading reports by other cruisers, so thought I’d add some observations from my second Seabourn cruise.  Our first was in the Greek Islands in 2021, also on Ovation, when there were 200 fewer passengers as the pandemic was waning.  Fortunately, we didn’t notice much difference in the experience from then to now.  We are 2 couples from the Seattle area, in our early 70’s. 

 

First, the semi-objective details:

The other couple we were traveling with were to board at 1:00, we had 1:20. We showed up at the same time and were able to board together.  We chose deck 9 again because we like being near the Observation Bar, pool, Patio and Colonnade.The suites showed a bit of wear and tear, but were very clean and comfortable.  As noted on another thread, there was a pump bottle of body wash and small tubes of MB shampoo and conditioner in the shower, plus an array of MB product with a note saying they were available for purchase.  Maybe I’ve forgotten, but it seems a couple of motion-activated night lights were added (maybe just one by the bed not the one under the dressing table?). My husband activated the one next to the bed a couple times when his arm drifted down, LOL. 

Our room attendants last time were almost too good to us,  This time, they met all our expectations, but weren’t quite as proactive in restocking our fridge.  No worries, though, we could always get whatever we wanted or needed just by asking.

The Restaurant was only open on the 1 scheduled sea day.  Food was always available throughout the day at the various venues.  Top shelf spirits were readily available.  Regarding offered wines, we were told by a waiter there are 3 levels and they offer the lowest level first but if you ask for a different wine they’ll happily get it for you.  We appreciated the variety of choices in the Colonnade for breakfast and lunch, and the opportunity to eat outside since the weather was good. Last time we varied our dinner choices.  This time, other than 2 nights in the TK Grill, we dined exclusively in The Restaurant, partly because we invariably preferred the menu, and partly because we fell in love with our head waiter (Johannes from Capetown, are your ears burning?)

 

Due to scheduling issues on the website, we ended up with too many TKG reservations. Our consultant suggested we sort it when we got onboard.  Last 2-week cruise, we were allowed one 4-person reservation per person=4 nights. This time, we were told we could have one reservation per week for four if we all wanted to dine together, to allow everyone a chance for a TKG booking. This was fine with us because while we like the atmosphere in TKG, we didn’t want to have the same menu so often.  This worked out well, because it made our two nights there a little more special.

 

The two excursions we chose to go on (Gibraltar and Tangier) were great.  I regret we didn’t book the one in Toulon out to Cassis.  Otherwise, we were happy independently wandering.  None of the ports involved tenders this time, which was nice.

 

Less objective comments:

I was slightly concerned we might be a little disappointed this time because there were more passengers, and how can you top your first time, right?  Not to worry; once again, we had a blast escaping “real” life and living it up every night, getting dressed up for dinner, having long, leisurely lunches with wine and hanging out at the pool or Observation Bar during sail aways.  We were so confident we’d sail again with Seabourn, we put down a FCD on the last day.

 

Every time I felt a small, niggling complaint arise, I reminded myself how lucky we are and to be grateful we are still able to travel the world. Cruising has allowed us to do this.  Gone are the days of renting a car and driving around Europe. 
 

I did witness a few passengers exhibiting very bad behavior, and I don’t mean wearing sloppy clothing to dinner.  One morning, I saw a woman screaming at our room attendant, “Why did you not change my duvet?” over and over, even though she offered to do it immediately.  I saw a man in the buffet line yelling at the servers over and over, “Why isn’t there any regular pasta?  Where’s the spaghetti?”.  I was glad they ignored him.  As a former middle school counselor, I can tell you most children know enough to use “I”messages and use their indoor voice. 🧐

 

I welcome any questions or comments.  I really enjoy reading new posts on this thread, and hope mine has been helpful.

 

[markandjie]

Great write up, thanks for sharing!

[frantic36]

@wyattsaunt thank you for the write up.

 

We haven't been on the bigger ships for a few years but hope to go back in 2025. I have heard a rumour that Sojourn is getting some work done next year. I am speculating I admit but wonder once the Odyssey sale is complete whether more refurbishment will happen on the other ships like Ovation?

[cruiseej]

Julie, since they have no plans in the short- or medium term for any new ships, I'm sure they will periodically be refreshing each of the 6 remaining ships in the fleet. Dry dock refreshes are normal for any cruise ship; whether they're doing any more extensive changes is another matter. 

[frantic36]

@cruiseej your probably correct. I was interested to see the partial refresh they have done on Odyssey from photos a few days ago, ie the sofa in the suite. 

[robertmartha]

wyattsaunt - TY. We board a week from today (Rome to Barcelona).

TY for the waiter recommendation - always find the right waiter/team can make The Restaurant experience that much more enjoyable for us. This will be our third Seabourn cruise - first on the Ovation - so looking forward to getting away with our closest friends who we have not traveled with in some time. 

 

Bob from NY