washdcguy

@Fletcher Golfo Aranci is indeed a sleepy little port. But we had a marina day in the morning, and a beautiful day for it. We cancelled our excursion to partake. They offered a shuttle over to Olbia where there was a bit more to do. No taxis to be seen at the port, but I’m sure it could have been arranged to get to one of the beaches.

Pyffii - Sojourn is in very good shape. If you didn’t know it, it would be hard to know she’s ~12 years old. All furnishings look in great condition at every venue. CanAmBrit - Our sailing is almost completely full. We heard we were at ~420. Follow up to some of the earlier questions, on our 10 night sailing, there is only one formal night. In another thread by texanaust, there was some discussion about the utility of the early cruise survey to address any concerns. Well, we completed it based on our disappointing first two nights of service, and we can say that we have never seen such a strong effort at service recovery. They really took our feedback seriously and worked to improve what we mentioned. It really seems the officers and managers on the ship want to get it right and it’s just some training for newer staff. Our discussion with one of the waiters bringing room service summed it up: in talking about The Restaurant, he said it’s so formal, so many rules. He didn’t like that part, which is the difference between polished service and “fancy like Applebees on a date night.” (Walker Hayes song reference)

We’re on Sojourn right now…. Having a great time. Masks…we’re mask wearers, and we’re in the minority. Food staff have masks (mostly), with the exception of poolside bars. Officers occasionally have them but not often. We’ve been observing before responding to this and would estimate 10% are wearing masks. There are plenty of outdoor options for dining and drinks. Tests… who knows if there will still be testing requirements by the time you board! We’ve done the proctored tests twice. It’s not zoom but a video session through their website, so you need to have a computer with a camera and it needs to stay in one position looking at the test for 15 minutes. We always pre-test before doing the proctored just to be safe. Dress… We’ve seen everything so far… tuxes to short sleeve button up shirts & slacks and everything in between. We saw no jacket enforcement. To the last question regarding food and service…. Food has been very good so far (4/5) noting we all come with different expectations and preferences. Service varies widely with a predominantly very junior, inexperienced crew. The Restaurant & Colonnade requests are forgotten often. Last night (night 3) was the first time we felt like dinner service was up to SB standards… and it was exceptional. Shout out to Cesar and everyone he’s training. Given Sojourn was the last to restart, we understand but are disappointed. We haven’t seen any signs of positive Covid on board yet, but not sure if we would. Nothing in the very active passenger rumor mill or side conversations with favorite staff. Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks TexanAust! This is the post / live review we've been hoping for. We're on the 7/28 sailing out of Monte Carlo on the Sojourn and have been very interested in the Sojourn restart and overall quality of food & service on board. Looking forward to the rest of your review. Can you share how full the ship is? We're intrigued as to whether SB is selling to full capacity yet. Hope your cabin is cleaned, TK was great, and that your Sojourn experience is going well!