Our Quest Cruise - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

[CLOU]

We were on the Quest from Lisbon to Amsterdam, June 11-22.  We have been on about 15 Seabourn cruises, having jumped ship from Regent when it started including excursions.  I am sad to report that has this been my first Seabourn cruise, I would likely not book another.  Sorry for the long post but I thought I would provide details.

The Good.  Certain specific crew members, including our room attendants, certain wait and hospitality staff int he restaurants and club, and the director and assistant director of guest services (more on that to come) were extremely personable, efficient and a pleasure to deal with.  Also, we enjoyed the food in Solis and the sushi in the Club.

The Bad.  I know food is subjective, but other than in Solis and sushi in the Club, we found the food mediocre at best and sometimes downright bad.  All meat came out medium to well done, no matter how it was order, all the soups were tepid at best, and much of the food did not resemble what was advertised.  For example, the cheese course listed four cheeses including a cheddar cheese and a bleu cheese.  Instead what was served were four non-descript white bland chesses, likely all the same.  A mushroom salad was a plain green salad that required a microscope to find any specks of mushroom.  Worse, Seabourn used to aim to please and accommodate reasonable modifications.  Twice I asked for an ingredient to be left off – both times it could easily have been done including leaving out an ingredient placed in the bowl before the soup is poured in.  Both times it arrived with the ingredient included.  Luckily this was just a taste preference and not an allergy situation.  A requested butterscotch sundae was actually prepared with caramel sauce. These are just a few examples.   Basically, it appeared no attention was paid to individual orders at all. 

As for service, with a few notable exceptions it was generally lacking with many people who didn’t seem to want to be there working.   We realize gone are the days when those of us who are only on for one segment are recognized and addressed by name (a nice but unnecessary touch), but at least in the past, everyone acted as if they were happy to be of service. When you are paying the prices of a luxury cruise line, part of what you are paying for is a certain expected level of service.  Now, we were on only one segment of the Grand Europe cruise where approximately ¼ of the passengers had been on the ship for quite some time, so perhaps the crew had already bonded with their favorites.

The Ugly.  We had a maintenance issue in our cabin which was not only an annoyance but potentially dangerous.  It took two visits to Seabourn Square, a complaint through the source app, and over 24 hours for anything to be done, when a simple fix was in order.  An attempt to order two box lunches was met by two separate Seabourn Square people providing us with incorrect instructions (which we questioned both times), and eventually resulted in only one box being delivered.  To give credit where it was due, when these issues were reported through the app, the guest services director and assistant director visited us, apologized and gave us a monetary credit, which we did not request.  The worst issue was that the shuttle stop in the town of Rouen was moved between day one and day two.  Because we took an early taxi in on day two, we had no idea.  After waiting for an hour and a half of waiting, two calls to the useless in port agent, and a call from shore to ship which went directly to the bridge instead of guest services, we walked to a stand and took a taxi back.  Back on the ship, Seabourn Square again claimed ignorance of any change in the stop and the onboard tour manager claimed he had ridden it both days to and from the same stop.  However, fellow passengers later confirmed to us that indeed the stop had been moved.  Perhaps and agent should have been posted at the old stop to redirect people.

While on board, we considered canceling our cruise already booked for next year.  For the time being, we have not cancelled, and we are hoping this cruise was an aberration.

 

 

[Covepointcruiser]

You were actually given a box lunch to take off of the ship??   Thought that was disallowed by the ports many years ago.

[tv24]

Unfortunately the Rouen shuttle bus issue has been symptomatic of a lack of accurate and timely information about shuttle buses in many ports, coupled with illegible maps.  It has been so bad that when we actually get accurate information, it is a cause for wonder and celebration.  There has been a stream of PAX going to Destination Services complaining.  I don't want to go on because this subject depresses me.

[CLOU]

Yes, I was given a box lunch. I must admit I didn’t even think about the issue of bringing food into France. I did it on one previous cruise, in Canada. Not an issue there either.

[Covepointcruiser]

Wow, that’s go to know.

[CurlerRob]

On 6/30/2024 at 6:24 PM, Covepointcruiser said:

Wow, that’s go to know.

 

It varies widely by country. Usually there are announcements made on all cruise lines when taking food off the ship is prohibited, but you should be sure to inform yourself.

 

In some countries, you will be subject to immediate fines if not detention - "I didn't know" will not help you. 🍺🥌

[whystayhome]

I assemble my own lunch. Croissant stuffed with cold cuts and cheese from the Colonnade buffet stuffed in a zip-loc from home and a piece of fruit.  Plus a cookie from Seabourn Square if I’m feeling naughty.

 

Linda

[markham]

It goes without saying that it would be reckless and foolish to do this snack business in most Pacific islands starting with Australia and New Zealand- for good reason and as announced pre-arrival by all CDs. Sniffer dogs at the port don’t discriminate.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Kiwi Afloat]

You cannot bring fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry, pork, eggs, dairy products, live plants or seeds to Australia. These products could introduce serious pests and diseases into Australia, devastating our unique environment. 

By law, you must declare any goods listed on your incoming passenger card, including certain food, plant material and animal products. 

You can be penalised if you don’t declare goods or provide an incorrect declaration. You could:

• receive a fine of up to A$5,500. 

[Kiwi Afloat]

New Zealand is equally stringent but the fine is not this brutal. Unsure what other countries around the world do but I’m not willing to risk it and if I get hungry in port would prefer to support the locals and try their cuisine 😊

[minntom]

We had a similar disappointing cruise in the spring of '23 on a 6 week cruise from florida  around UK, France and Spain ending in Dover.   

1.   Food was bad in most venues and sometimes inedible, especially in Thomas Keller.   Main dining room served few, if any, cooked vegetables with mains.   requesting vegetable sides resulted in tasteless boiled glop.   

2. The suites and ship were generally top notch, for almost $1,000 a day i expected 6 star experiences. 

3.  Internet was throttled not allowing for wifi calling or texting on our phones without "upgrading". 

4.  Fitness directory was incompetent and showed late for first class we signed up for.   Made a 45 minute class 15 minutes.

5.  Coffee shop had minimal pastries most of which weren't as good as Pepperidge farm or Publix.

6.  I could go on but if you haven't decided against Seabourn by now you're who they're looking for.

 

 Even spent 40 minutes with new President explaining what i felt were inexpensive solutions.  While she appeared to be listening, given later reviews, nothing seems to have changed.   I believe the covid epidemic set the cruise industry on its tail and they're trying to recover by cutting costs and charging first class fares.     Would NEVER sail Seabourn again.  And while Crystal has been reborn as a good imitation of the former cruise line, it still is the only cruise line worth taking.

[millybruddy]

Our recent Seabourn cruise from New York to Montreal was the best cruise I have ever been on!  The entire staff worked their butts off hoping to please us and the food was exceptional. Absolutely no complaints. 

[Mahogany]

On 9/4/2024 at 2:18 PM, minntom said:

We had a similar disappointing cruise in the spring of '23 on a 6 week cruise from florida  around UK, France and Spain ending in Dover.   

1.   Food was bad in most venues and sometimes inedible, especially in Thomas Keller.   Main dining room served few, if any, cooked vegetables with mains.   requesting vegetable sides resulted in tasteless boiled glop.   

2. The suites and ship were generally top notch, for almost $1,000 a day i expected 6 star experiences. 

3.  Internet was throttled not allowing for wifi calling or texting on our phones without "upgrading". 

4.  Fitness directory was incompetent and showed late for first class we signed up for.   Made a 45 minute class 15 minutes.

5.  Coffee shop had minimal pastries most of which weren't as good as Pepperidge farm or Publix.

6.  I could go on but if you haven't decided against Seabourn by now you're who they're looking for.

 

 Even spent 40 minutes with new President explaining what i felt were inexpensive solutions.  While she appeared to be listening, given later reviews, nothing seems to have changed.   I believe the covid epidemic set the cruise industry on its tail and they're trying to recover by cutting costs and charging first class fares.     Would NEVER sail Seabourn again.  And while Crystal has been reborn as a good imitation of the former cruise line, it still is the only cruise line worth taking.

Wow, Debbie Downer! I wonder how many potential clients lost because of #6.At least there are still a lot of us who disagree with you - and don't get me going on Crystal!

[minntom]

21 hours ago, Mahogany said:

Wow, Debbie Downer! I wonder how many potential clients lost because of #6.At least there are still a lot of us who disagree with you - and don't get me going on Crystal!

I'm curious if things have changed.   my Seabourn had 2 greens for the salad bar, crystal had 6, seabourn had 3 or 4 toppings (including frozen peas or corn) and crystal 20+.  

 

The seafood on Seabourn was always over cooked as well as dishes on the noon buffet (almost as if they were prepared long in advance correctly and continued to cook under the heat lamp waiting to be served).  Crystals Bistro selection was much more appetizing than the common area on Seabourn.   Seabourn had weird ice creams, (carrot?) Keller restaurant ice cream didn't melt!   it was gluey.   Sat in bowl for 10 minutes after i tasted and didn't melt!   I like to know if your experience was different. 

We paid for two excursions that didn't have a guide that spoke english well enough for anybody to understand.   We all complained and all we got was apologies and 10% back.   I expect a first class cruise line to do better.

[minntom]

Oh, btw, the head chef apologized personally, admitted they had problems with staffing and insisted on cooking my next fish order.   It was perfect.  But I don't want to be singled out.  I want everyone to have well cooked food.

[SLSD]

3 hours ago, minntom said:

Oh, btw, the head chef apologized personally, admitted they had problems with staffing and insisted on cooking my next fish order.   It was perfect.  But I don't want to be singled out.  I want everyone to have well cooked food.

Interesting.  I had overcooked salmon on Ovation last summer when I ordered medium rare.  This summer on Sojourn, all fish cooked as I asked --medium rare.  I think the issue that you describe happens--but not always.  I was prepared this summer to send back anything overcooked fish or meat--but it did not happen.  I was relieved, but see I will need to remain vigilant.  

[commodoredave]

Most of us have unfortunately had a less-than-acceptable cruise on occasion. However, unless that bad experience extends to another cruise, or reviews are consistently negative, I don’t give up on a cruise line. That philosophy has served me well.