High Expectations

[CRuss]

After reading some of the Seabourn member reviews, a common thread seems to come out . . . the issue of expectations. Seabourn builds high, rather specific expectations. As long as they are met, no problem. However, should they fall short in even one, a bad review results. One reviewer merely demonstrated that she should never have booked Seabourn in the first place by complaining about the lack of tours, entertainment, and children's activities. Seabourn and it's spin-off SeaDream Yacht Club ARE NOT for children or for people traveling with them. They ARE NOT for those expecting a "tour" experience, a la Renaissance. They ARE NOT for those looking for Las Vegas-style shows (or gambling for that matter). They ARE for sophisticated travelers that enjoy the company of like-minded and like-mannered fellow passengers. They ARE for travelers that don't want to deal with other passengers unruly children. And they ARE for travelers who appreciate fine food, wine, and service. If you're that kind of traveler, I highly recommend both lines. If not, I suggest you try Carnival or Royal Caribbean (your kids will love it).

[Seabourn-nail]

I couldn´t agree more!

I don´t think we will bring our grandchildren with us on Seabourn until they will be about 16 or even 18. I do hope we will live long enough to witness that happen!

[blackbird71]

I couldn´t agree more!

I don´t think we will bring our grandchildren with us on Seabourn until they will be about 16 or even 18. I do hope we will live long enough to witness that happen!

 

IMHO it depends on the cruise. My Southern Caribbean with Marina Day, the Beach BBQ with water toys and a port a day would be ok for younger kids.

 

Be they 10 or 17, some kids will fit right in and some will not. IMHO you have to know the kid.

[SchnauzerPup]

If I can throw in my two cents. I think it is important to differentiate overall expectations from specific. If you want every little thing to be perfect and are going to have your trip "ruined" by any falling down on the part of the crew or ship, then you can't help but be dissapointed. Sure the purser forgot to make my car reservation last trip, so what?, I got a cab, I made it to the airport. The crew is human. OVERALL the experience on Seabourn is so superior that I find it quite sad when people can't see the forest for the trees.

 

We will see you on the Pride TOMORROW (and my wife still does not know)!!!!!! :):):):)

[Iamboatman]

There is always an issue raised with generalizations. I note a few:

 

1. Seabourn has some outstanding and unique tours. Blackbird mentioned the Beach BBQ. On most lines that would be a paid tour. On Seabourn it is an "experience". How about an evening at Ephesus with classical music and cocktails? There are many tours. And, with Seabourn working with various consortiums such as Ensemble, there are other complimentary tours available to guests booking through affiliated travel agents.

 

2. I hate child bashing! Every line has its share of adults who act as unruly as any child, including Seabourn. It is the individual that is the issue; not the age. That said, I would not take my 7 and 10 year olds on Seabourn even though they would be very well behaved (after almost 20 cruises they better be!!). It would just be too boring for them during the sea days and evenings. I know of others whose children seem to enjoy being the only children. Maybe the sight of children bothers you. I obviously don't mind looking at children, but there are some adults that serious put me off. That is not a Seabourn issue.

 

3. Sea Dream is not a "spin off" of Seabourn. The ships may have had a related past, but their ownership and operation is truly unrelated.

 

I do agree that if you are looking for shows, great gambling, etc. Seabourn is not the line for you. It is more about conversation and meeting new people. But remember, "sophistication" doesn't mean you can't have a good belly laugh!

[hoya68]

While I generally agree, there are notable exceptions. We just returned from the Legend Canal transit and there was a couple with three children ranging in approximate ages from 8-13. I wish all the passengers had been such good travellers and enjoyable company as that family.

[xplrcrzn]

hoya68-My friends recently returned from the same cruise (the shortened cruise) and said the three children ranged in age from 3-12 and that the youngest was NOT a good traveler (ran loose through the halls until the HM visited them). Maybe this was a different family.

[Keith1010]

Honestly in terms of children, if anyone ever asked me whether or not I would recommend taking children on a Seabourn cruise I would not recommend it as to me the cruise is really for adults.

 

Yes, I know it depends on the child but in the end I just think it would not be the best cruise for a child and to me it would take away from the parents being able to socialize and mingle with the other adult passenger's which is a big part of what makes Seabourn so special for us. After all one of the things that makes sailing with Seabourn so special is the bond that develops between fellow passenger's which takes place from meeting for a before dinner drink, or sitting together for lunch or dinner, or just sitting on deck. I think if we had children with us we wouldn't be able to enjoy these aspects of the cruise.

 

My children are now young adults but we used to take them on a cruise with us each year for about 15 years. So, I love kids and my kids were seasoned cruisers, and considered very mature for their age and did interact well with both adults and their peees. But, honestly, I would never consider taking them on a Seabourn cruise for the reasons that I mentioned.

 

Anyway, as I've said before, sailing on Seabourn is very special.

 

Keith

[MrsWaldo]

As most can see from an earlier post we are planning our first SB in late 2007 with two teenagers.

 

As i said on the post they are used to this type of cruise (in fact they don't like the mass market child oriented cruising) having been with SS and I had quite alot of negative precruise feedback on the SS board before we cruised, telling us the kids would hate it, it wouldn't be their thing etc.

 

During the cruise (they were 11 and 15 at this point).my two pestered me to book the next one on SS but there were no suitable itineraries. When i found the Asian capitals a few days ago they were pushing me to book ASAP!

As for mixing...my two dined alone in their cabin by choice a few nights (gave us the opportunity to meet and mix or dine as a couple). They introduced us to people they had met when reading by the pool (yes some children still read) and were sought after members of trivia teams. They are widely travelled and have very good general knowledge. The 11 yo knew quotes from Pride and Prejudice etc, the 15yo was invaluable for all sorts of sporting questions.

 

They love dressing for Dinner and eating good food so a SB cruise is for them. (in their words not mine!)

 

 

I'm not going to turn this into a kids v no kids thread becuase Im not naive enough to think that ALL kids will behave appropriately and that ALL parents will choose wisely and ensure their offsprings appropriate behaviour.

 

The OP states that it's expectations and certainly I agree...some reviewers don't look carefully at the product and then blame the goods.

 

If you look at lots of hotel reviews exactly the same can see seen at times.

[bgood]

I think there are a lot of factors to consider. If you were to pick some of the Med cruises in the summer with virtually a port-a-day, you really could have the kids off discovering new places all day and running themselves ragged. Then a room service supper and a movie and it's off to slumberland while the 'rents enjoy the nightlife on board as they see fit. It would be a good, sophisticated travel experience for the young ones and certainly an easy way to show them some of the terrain. As well-remarked elsewhere, there are kids and there are kids...but what an opportunity to create an experience they will never, ever forget as long as they live...

 

I have met so many people of a certain age who still puddle up when they think of voyages they took with parents or grands at a tender age. It can set the stage for a lifetime of richly rewarding wanderlust.

 

I wouldn't trade the wonder in my daughter's description of her visit to the Vatican at 12 for anything. (I wasn't along, sadly, she traveled with a friend's family.)

 

bgood

[Keith1010]

Mrs.Waldo, I just wanted you to know I always think that all of this comes down to personal choice. There is never a right or wrong on this.

 

I was just expressing my own opinion in terms of if someone asked me for advice or if I was making the decision about taking children. But, clearly there are others who take the children on say a Seabourn who are quite happy with their decision.

 

I look at many of these topics as an opportunitity to share and discuss different views but not to say one way is better than another way. Because, in the end it's not and it comes down to individual preferences.

 

I hope that you and your family have a wonderful cruise.

 

Bgood, I express similar thoughts that you mentioned about. As I mentioned in our case we took our children with us on cruises each year for 15 years and had a great time. But, in our case, my wife and I waited on taking our first Seabourn cruise until we could go by ourselves. Again, not saying one way or the other is right, just saying what we did. With that said, we took our children on two Crystal cruises when they were older but again it all came down to a personal decision. Some who we have met would say to us they would never take their children on that type of cruise and others who had their children with them would of course say they would. So, there is no right or wrong here and one way is no better than the other way.

 

Bgood I am glad that you mentioned the memories from cruising with parents. I was fortunate to have been taken on a cruise when I was only 12 years old and I have wonderful memories of the cruise. It was because of this that when I got married I kept mentioning to my wife how much I enjoyed that first cruise and finally after we were married for about 13 years I finally convinced her that we should take a cruise (with the kids) and since that time we have cruised once and in many cases multiple times each year.

 

Aren't we all so fortunate to be able to cruise?

 

Keith

[SantaAna,CA]

In answering your last question, yes, I feel incredibly fortunate, not only to be able to cruise, but to have been able to cruise on a line as incredible as Seabourn. I am sure we can all agree being on Seabourn is like nothing else. Having done some traveling, I can honestly say I feel more at home on Seabourn that I have anywhere (the crew, of course, makes you feel that way), and I've never met such delightful people as my fellow passengers.

 

I am very aware of what a rare privilege it is to have the Seabourn experience, and I look forward to sailing with them again in 2007.

 

Jane

[minxtabb]

The children on the abbreviated Panama Canal cruise were indeed aged around 3-12, not 8-12. The youngest one was left in the hot tub with us on one occasion whilst his parents reclined nearby on their loungers which we did not really appreciate. Other than that, we had no problems, sorry to hear about the running in the corridors - we must have been on a different deck.

 

Roz

[Keith1010]

In answering your last question, yes, I feel incredibly fortunate, not only to be able to cruise, but to have been able to cruise on a line as incredible as Seabourn. I am sure we can all agree being on Seabourn is like nothing else. Having done some traveling, I can honestly say I feel more at home on Seabourn that I have anywhere (the crew, of course, makes you feel that way), and I've never met such delightful people as my fellow passengers.

 

I am very aware of what a rare privilege it is to have the Seabourn experience, and I look forward to sailing with them again in 2007.

 

Jane

 

Jane actually my question was not directed to you or to anyone in particular. It's something that I will note in my posts from time to time because I always feel very fortunate that my wife and I are able to cruise. And, even more fortunate that we have cruised on some of the finest cruise lines such as Seabourn. Because of this, we try not to let little things that don't go exactly our way spoil our cruise because most things are fantastic on the cruises and again we realize there are many in this world who will never have the opportunity to cruise, let along cruise on a luxury line.

 

I do agree with you that one of the things that makes sailing on Seabourn so special are the people. We enjoy the bonding that takes place between passengers and between passengers and crew. It is very special.

 

Keith

[GrannyLorr]

As to having "High Expectations" well yes I did before our first Seabourn cruise, (our first EVER cruise)....as I had been reading this board for about a year and had read all the praises for the Line and the Crew etc. We were not disappointed. I also read my itinerary properly...did some "research" mainly on the Net....and knew much of what to expect in each place we were going. Of course there can always be things that go wrong....but with travel anywhere, "just go with the flow".

There were passengers on our cruise who were not at all prepared.......some complained of too many sea days...wanted to visit Ports every day.....must have forgotten to read the Itinerary? It was all spelled out in black and white! Another complained that we didn't go to Bali.....that had been canceled, if I remember correctly about 6 months earlier.........then others complained about the shore tours being too long.......well if a 4 hour tour seems too long for you...DON'T BOOK! I strongly believe some people should just stay home! When we had a medical emergency on board, and had to turn back towards India, one passenger said to us "I will be very angry if we miss our next Port".....

Now to children...as others have said "it all depends"...on the child, the parents, the itinerary etc etc......for me I wouldn't be taking our grandchildren on Seabourn......I would just want to relax, eat, drink, sleep etc etc (purely selfish).....and not have to worry about looking after kids. We have done the "Disney" thing with both our grandkids, that wore us out, and have promised the eldest (11) a trip to Paris (~one day~) if he does well in French.......phew...just got his School Report.......didn't do well in French!! That gives us a reprieve for a while......told him he has to get A's for the rest of his school life!! Mean Granny eh! :D

[blackbird71]

Repeat of my first Sebourn trip and high expectations. Blackbird looks at the per day rate he is paying and expects the service/food/ship to live up to that rate. I had a bad 4 day cruise on Silverseas that started with my in suite bar not being set up BUT CONTINUED with poor service and food the rest of the cruise. So Blackbird was really an unhappy camper when he saw his in suite bar not set up per the online form I filled out. All I could see was 7 more days of poor service and food. DID NOT HAPPEN. By day three I was back to booking my Mar cruise. :)

 

The food and service I got on Silverseas would have been OK on NCL and at NCL prices... Just not at Silverseas prices.

 

Likewise my New Zealand trip is on Celebrity but the daily rate is much less than Seabourn, so I will adjust what I expect in food and service. The biggest will be service. IMHO food wise I have 1) Seabourn, 2) RSSC, and 3) Celebrity. So of the cruise lines I have been on Celebrity rates up there with the best.

[SantaAna,CA]

Um....I know it wasn't directed at me personally. But like most people, I respond to "generic" questions in other's posts.

 

Jane ;)

[AllisonJames]

It makes me a little crazy that in this day and age people don't do their homework and then complain when they are "surprised" by a trip not being quite what they expected. There's so much information out there now, I remember planning my honeymoon by going to a bookstore and getting a Fodors book and reading the brief hotel reviews (which were probably two years old at least!) and thinking, "well, I GUESS, that will be okay." Now you don't have to guess -- just read the boards, folks. Regarding the children topic, as a parent of a 9 year old and a 14 year old, I can't imagine why anyone would choose a Seabourn cruise for any child under age 13 or so -- there's better cruises out there for them, they are called Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney, etc. Sure my husband and I would rather be on Seabourn again, but we are taking our kids to Alaska on Royal Caribbean because that's the best choice for them. And many of you are very gracious about the young ones running around -- if there had been little ones running around the romantic Seabourn cruise I took with my husband while leaving MY kids at home I would have not been happy. As it was I thought the few well-behaved 7 to 12 year olds that were there really shouldn't have been. Even the Captain commented to me that "this is not a cruise for children." Perhaps my children will get a Seabourn cruise for a college graduation gift but until then there are better choices for them. I think this is a big problem with parents today -- many seem to think nothing of bringing their children everywhere, even the most inappropriate settings. I have friends who insisted on bringing their very young children to adult dinner parties while I was looking forward to an adult evening out and left mine at home with a babysitter. So inconsiderate. Okay I am off my soapbox now :)

[blackbird71]

II have friends who insisted on bringing their very young children to adult dinner parties while I was looking forward to an adult evening out and left mine at home with a babysitter. So inconsiderate. Okay I am off my soapbox now :)

 

Like I said it depends on the cruise and the kids. My short 4 dayer on Silverseas had around 4 10yo on it and they were very good. I sat next to them one day and other than one's 10th birthday with cake brought by the wait staff, they were great and less noisely than some drunks on the ship. And again it was a port a day cruise which IMHO works well with kids and Silverseas/Seabourn type ships.

 

One nice thing about Seabourn is the DVD players in the suites and the tons of movies onboard. One could get a couple movies and order burgers and fries for the younger set, while the older set does a dinner for two maybe @ 2 :)

[MrsWaldo]

order burgers and fries for the younger set, :)

 

Which in the case of my two would be sent back immediately and a "proper meal" something along the lines of a good steak, some seafood, venison, spatchcock etc be requested;)

 

 

I have friends who insisted on bringing their very young children to adult dinner parties while I was looking forward to an adult evening out and left mine at home with a babysitter. So inconsiderate.""

 

I totally agree, if kids are not invited then they shouldn't be taken...and I totally agree that a SB (or SS cruise for that matter) is certainly not for kids....but at what age do they magically become adult.....does this occur at all for some???

And why is it that the paretns of some toddlers are under the false impression that EVERYONE thinks their child is cute??:rolleyes:

 

age 13 or so -- there's better cruises out there for them, they are called Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney, etc""

 

Luckily my two will be already 16 and turn 13 on the second day of the cruise...and if i put them on those other lines I'd have to drag them kicking and screaming...

 

 

People need some degree of exposure to adult environments to learn how to be adult (not saying this should occur on the cruise)...it's a longhaul which starts gradually and certainly not at the expense of other diners, pax etc

 

 

A good parent should know when their offspring is ready for their debut!

[wripro]

The problem is that too many parents do NOT know when their offspring are ready for their debut. They sit by idly and do nothing while their kids run around noisily, scream loudly and disturb the peace and quiet people expect. Worse, they think it's cute to see the kids expressing themselves. I have seen this behavior in good restaurants, five star hotels and yes even on SB and SS. Thankfully, it is very rare on these ships because most parents who travel on them know better. I do not blame the kids. They are only doing what comes naturally. I do blame the parents.

[MrsWaldo]

The problem is that too many parents do NOT know when their offspring are ready for their debut. They sit by idly and do nothing while their kids run around noisily, scream loudly and disturb the peace and quiet people expect. Worse, they think it's cute to see the kids expressing themselves. I have seen this behavior in good restaurants, five star hotels and yes even on SB and SS. Thankfully, it is very rare on these ships because most parents who travel on them know better. I do not blame the kids. They are only doing what comes naturally. I do blame the parents.

 

Whole heartedly agree... and it seems to be an increasing trend...

And it's those poor parenters who make it difficult for the ones who do the right thing...we all get tarred with the same brush!

 

 

A classic memory of my daughter comes to mind...when she was about 8 she did her fine dining debut and there was a toddler running around the restaurant...my daughter turned to the mother and gave her the evil eye, the woman stood up and collected her child from between the other diners tables...something none of the evil eyes from any of the other patrons had achieved...in aloud voice my daughter said to me...I think she finally got the message mum....restaurants are not playgrounds...