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Condition of Spirit vs. Pride and Legend

wripro

By wripro,
in Seabourn Cruise Line

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wripro

wripro

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I asked this on another thread but have received no reply. I know Hottie had some problems with the condition of the Spirit on a recent cruise. Has anyone else sailed recently and felt the ship was looking tired and worn? Thanks.

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Martita B.

Martita B.

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I was aboard the Pride during Christmas and thought she looked beautiful ~~of course, during the holidays all 3 ships look great.

I did not notice any "tiredness" or fatigue in any of the public rooms nor in my suite. I do think the leather couches in the Club

(the fish bowls) could use some attention.

Happy Sailings

Martita B.

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cands

cands

Posted
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I asked this on another thread but have received no reply. I know Hottie had some problems with the condition of the Spirit on a recent cruise. Has anyone else sailed recently and felt the ship was looking tired and worn? Thanks.

 

Hi,

We spent a wonderful 8 weeks on Spirit.

 

Being 'glass half full' people, we didn't go out of our way to look for things. The crew seemed to be constantly painting and polishing, etc. The teak decks were getting lots of attention and were in pristine shape.

Pretty much all of the public areas looked fine to us. The carpets and fabrics were good, except maybe the carpets on deck 4, which were okay but often seemed a bit grotty. The corridor was like a crew super-highway with all sorts of 'below deck' types trudging through day and night.

 

The cabin carpet and soft furnishings were in excellent shape. The marble coffee table had a huge crack in it and the marble in the bathroom had a well used patina (I guess this goes with the territory of real marble as it ages).

The furniture in the cabin was as-new.

 

I don't think you have anything to worry about. Yes, you can tell she is not brand-new but she is in tip-top shape.

 

Cheers,

Steve.

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wripro

wripro

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Steve,

 

Thanks so much for your reply. It has alleviated my concerns, especially since you spent so much time on board. (Btw, I followed your travelogue closely.) I am well aware that the Spirit is twenty years old and there's no way she can appear new. I actually like the history that can be read in her furnishings and fittings.

 

Two years ago when I was on the Pride we sailed through the Gulf of Lyons during a terrible storm. The windows in one suite on Deck 4 blew out and flooded the suite and adjoining corridor. The crew worked so hard that within 24 hours one would never have known anything had happened. And it certainly didn't stop me from sailing on the Pride again.

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T&T Vikings

T&T Vikings

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T&T Vikings

Will the Spirit dry dock be in Lisbon? As the ship will come from Rome and starts the TA Crossing on Nov. 15th, from Lisbon I'm guessing the ship work will be done here in the Lisbon yard.

Thanks!

Martita B.

 

You are right Martita;), Spirits last port of call with passengers is in Malaga,Spain -then next day the Atlantic ocean and then following day Lisbon 0700-1200

T&T

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floridaphilly

floridaphilly

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I have just returned from 14 days on the Spirit on the Hong Kong to Singapore sailing. I am sorry to say that I did think the ship looked rather shabby. I am not bothered with the age of the ship (i.e. low ceilings, no balconies, etc) but rather with the cleanliness. The laundry room was filthy, the chairs in the club and Horizon need cleaning. The walls going down the hallways need a good scrubbing and more. Several times we had to send dishes back because of lipstick or other stains.

In addition I feel that the service in the dining room and Veranda has slipped. We constantly had to look for servers to fill coffee cups or water glasses. There was virtually no one on deck during sea days.

I am not a complainer and am not over demanding, however there clearly was a problem.

One observation is that a number of us are coming from spectacular rooms in Hong Kong before boarding. By comparison, the ship looks even more shabby. They should go out of their way to have fabulous flower arrangements in the lobby and other low effort touches to give an excellent first impression. We talked to 4-5 first timers who said they were most disappointed in the appearance.

Phyllis

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newsmike48

newsmike48

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The laundry room was filthy, the chairs in the club and Horizon need cleaning. The walls going down the hallways need a good scrubbing and more. Several times we had to send dishes back because of lipstick or other stains.

In addition I feel that the service in the dining room and Veranda has slipped.

Phyllis

 

Hi Phyllis

Glad you and Ed got back safely.

I would echo some of your comments -we had to send back 3 or 4 cups in the Veranda with lipstick stains-I suspect the staying power of lipstick has developed faster than dishwasher detergent- but generally I was more than happy with service in restaurants

Additionally the ironing board was horizontal only when the ship lurched 40 degrees to starboard !

There were also 16 trainees from the Seabourn academy on board in addition to normal staff numbers, possibly could have been used more at Sky Bar daytime-Ivana often seemed to be doing it on her own.

Carpet on deck 4 and staircases need changing

On the plus side -going off-topic

-cabin stewardess was outstanding -Monique-the best we have had.

-tasting menu in 2 -exceptional food and service, wish I'd tried it earlier in the cruise

-on board entertainment - The Romantics (Niels and Connie) and Judith and Arvin-I forget the name of their group-were far and away the best and most versatile singers in the Club, I've heard on any ship

Ian-Australian violinist-absolutely brilliant guest entertainer

It was also lovely to meet the other CCers on board-Jagi in addition to Phyllis

 

Regards

 

Mike

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Martita B.

Martita B.

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Speaking of Ivana and the Spirit Sky Bar was the new plastic barware in place? I don't care for the new wine glasses ~~they are much too large ~~looks akin to a New Orleans hurricane drink glass ~~would hold half a bottle of wine! Nelson would always give me one of the smaller glasses.

Happy Sailing's

Martita B.

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Seabourn-nail

Seabourn-nail

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Speaking of Ivana and the Spirit Sky Bar was the new plastic barware in place? I don't care for the new wine glasses ~~they are much too large ~~looks akin to a New Orleans hurricane drink glass ~~would hold half a bottle of wine! Nelson would always give me one of the smaller glasses.

 

Happy Sailing's

Martita B.

Funny that you mention this Martha! René and I like the new glasses much better. Wine simply breaths better in bigger glasses! Well, you can have as much as you like anyway, so that is not the issue.

Marja

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wripro

wripro

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Phyliis,

 

Thanks for your comments. I can't understand how SB could let the Spirit deteriorate like that. It's very disconcerting as I approach boarding for 22 days. I too have never minded the age of the ships, but they have always been spotless and so well maintained. And lipstick on glasses is unacceptable.

 

My worry when I saw that the new SB cadets were onboard training for the Odyssey was that staff would spend more time training than taking care of guests.

 

If Pam Conover is reading these comments I hope she makes changes NOW!!!!

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Host Dan

Host Dan

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As far as the new barware, the wine glasses are ridiculously big and bulky, whereas the rocks glasses are quite nice.

It is my inderstanding that the 16 SB cadets are to "shadow" current front staff, not take away from guest service. Can anyone comment as if this is true? I heard this from Pam Conover herself.

 

Host Dan

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Martita B.

Martita B.

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A recent report from Jo Poelmans states "a covey of Academy Cadets boarded the Pride in Paracas Bay, Peru" ~~now all 3 ships are in full swing as to training new staff/crew.

Dan, I hope the training doesn't take away from the 6* Seabourn services we've enjoyed thru' the years.

Martita B.

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wripro

wripro

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Matt,

 

I don't usually post during cruises but you can be sure you will know what I thought once I get back. I only hope I'll be able to rebut some of the above posts.

 

As for cadets "shadowing" current staff I personally don't see how they could do that without getting in the way. Dinner service is an orchestrated event which can only be disrupted by extra bodies standing around "shadowing." It's not like there's that much extra space for them to stand and observe without getting in the way.

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