Quest Review

Just back from the Quest. Here is the link to my l-o-n-g review.:) (Or you can find it on Seabourn Reviews entitled Quintessential Quest.)

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=502072&et_cid=2091656&et_rid=85334949&et_referrer=Boards_Million_Member_Newsub

Great review, i hope they took on board your MDR comments.

Thank you for your well balanced and informative review. [i hope that one of those asst M'd was Antonio!] Surely SB will need to better staff and train

their staff to stay competitive. They are a lovely line and usually do deservedly pride themselves on service.

Really well written review! Loved it!

Reading your review, I feel as though we're on the same cruise. Easy to picture everything written. We've even shared the same suite and have dismissed SS as the favorite line. Too, our MDR experiences match. Dinner is so much easier in the three other venues.

We too were on from FLL -> BCN. Your review matches our experience pretty well. And unfortunately we had a similar issue w/ seating from the hostess, who seemed to give you the worst table she could pick out - not every time as we mostly ate at the MDR and had a few very good tables - but on several occasions. One night in particular we were put next to a very large group that had more seats than the table normally accommodates. Two of the chairs from that table were literally 3 inches from ours. After sitting there for 2 minutes we decided it was unacceptable and flagged down the hostess telling her we wanted to be moved, she proceeded to give us a table behind the Maître D station - better but still an undesirable table, meanwhile there were plenty of 4 tops open near the windows. We had a word w/ the F&B manager the next day who apologized and insured that experience did not repeat itself. The rational for table assignments is something Seabourn management needs to address: you should be given the best available at the time you enter not the worst available, especially since on most nights there were plenty of empty tables in the MDR and we tend to eat later so any open tables should be fair game at 8:20 - 8:30.

Worth considering that the service station staff who looked after the earlier diners may be trying to avoid a late finish by taking on a late sitting as well. Lord knows they put in enough time as it is and are required bright & early for breakfast in the morning.

It's a case of marrying personnel and tables, not just tables.

Once you start re-arranging the cogs the engine soon grinds to a halt.

Henry :)

Very well-written review, but I don't understand how you can give a 5-star rating when you spent 40% of the review (legitimately) complaining about MDR food and service.

That is a fair point! I guess because we did get it resolved and then had excellent service; that is what we remembered[emoji3].

Worth considering that the service station staff who looked after the earlier diners may be trying to avoid a late finish by taking on a late sitting as well. Lord knows they put in enough time as it is and are required bright & early for breakfast in the morning.

 

It's a case of marrying personnel and tables, not just tables.

 

Once you start re-arranging the cogs the engine soon grinds to a halt.

 

 

Henry :)

Except that we were seated in the same server's station most nights and the better tables when we were seated at a poor one were still in her stations. I totally understand the hard work all the crew put in, (and contribute to the crew fund) your comment has nothing to do with the hostess deciding how to seat people. See another thread for a similar issue, albeit on another ship, the issue is having a "hostess" decide seating.

We've read this thread with special interest---we're boarding the Quest in less than two weeks....much of the staff/crew undoubtedly continuing.

In the past, we've been so impressed with dining room management...notably on our last two cruises on Quest, both with Jullian in charge. Forewarned is forearmed---do you remember the hostess's name??

Thanks

We were on the same cruise, and stayed on the ship for an additional two weeks.

We disembarked today.

With only a few exceptions we thought both the food and service were excellent in the MDR .

Daniella ( the hostess ) doesn't decide seating....BUT , she knows the preferences of guests and tries to sat them accordingly. She knew we liked particular waiters and seated us in the area we liked. Once knowing the staff, they go out of their way to remember your preferences and fulfill them.

One example...we like our coffee with dessert, cafe americano and a double espresso....we only had to order it once that way, and it always arrived. The same with our water and wine, extra sauce etc.

Daniella is better than great btw...she has to deal with a lot of demanding customers and many that have been on the ship awhile that have favorite tables. Everybody wants to be treated special.

She really aims to please.

We've sailed on many cruise lines, and nothing compares to Seabourn. The staff on the Quest is outstanding.

We were on the Quest from 5/12 until 6/6. I will do an extended review later. Daniella started out being very nice to us (we mainly ate in the Restaurant at a table for 2). Then she seated us in the worst table in the dining room when there were open tables all around. We complained and she said that "that's what is available". We saw an

Asst. Maitre'd who had been assisting me with menus (Arek) since I have celiac. He changed us right away. For a few days Daniella avoided us and then became friendly again. She soon got off and the Asst.maitre d's handled seating--a much better situation. I don't know why they need a hostess!!! Heard that she was the girl friend of another employee.

We too were on the Quest fairly recently, and also found that being seated by Daniella did not work well at times - she could be charming sometimes and frosty others, and certainly did not seem to manage where to put people as well as we have previously known. I appreciate that it makes sense not to overburden a particular waiter station at one time, but apart from this one should be given the best available table at the time, which certainly did not happen.

For a few days Daniella avoided us and then became friendly again. She soon got off and the Asst.maitre d's handled seating--a much better situation.

Shocking behavior.......might Daniella be female?

I still have not figured out why this new position was created.Seems like it is just messing up a system that from my observation has worked fine.

I still have not figured out why this new position was created.Seems like it is just messing up a system that from my observation has worked fine.

I couldn't agree more.

I have mixed feelings about this hostess concept.

On the one hand, maitres d'hotel have enough to do already with the restaurant's guest-facing operations than to be coordinating seating and chatting with guests at the front door. Hence the hostess idea.

But I really do not like the business of the hostess reserving certain tables for certain guests at certain times while shunting others elsewhere- as if there is a parallel and/or class based system in play and/ or in her head somewhere.

Seabourn is a one class line, right? So what's wrong with first-come first-served regarding table occupancy at dinners in the MDR? And before anyone says that what's best for Seabourn is doing what the hostess believes makes the restaurant run smoothly, bear in mind that there has been no information nor transparency with such an approach and what Seabourn has always offered before the hostess was hired. I would hate to think that a class system or one driven by tipping is in operation to get into the good books of the hostess on my cruise.

Happy sailing!

I think that many of those commenting here have it wrong. Yes there are a few reserved tables. The Asst Maître D people here are speaking about confirmed that, If you have eight weeks booked in the Wintergarden suite, you will get seated every night in your preferred table.

For the rest of us, they effort to keep you in the same section if you request it, and at a particular type of table if you request that too.

We liked our waitress and sommelier, they knew us and what we liked. I don't think anything is wrong with that type of accommodation.

I like the system, we try to get to know the hostess at the beginning of the cruise, we try out a few sections until we find what we like and then we settle there.

We liked Daniella, others on our cruise did too....we tipped her at the end.

Kevnzworld,

I am not sure if I understood your post about what the asst MDs are saying/doing. But it is obvious that there are a few tables that people get held for them and that no one else can have and it's not because they are all in wintergarden suites or on very long cruises.

We were on Sojourn for 40 days recently and agree that the hostess tries to sit people where they are comfortable and where they have a good rapport with wait, wine and asst MD staff. Fine with me as our primary waitress was fabulous in every way. But in our quadrant there were people who were on the same length cruise and a "usual" suite always seated at the same table. Why would that be and why can't other people sit there? Maybe they tipped, made a big fuss at embarkation, write letters to Seabourn management pre-cruise with their table number request? Who knows.

But as I wrote much earlier in this thread, I asked to sit one night at a certain table and the hostess said yes for the next night provided I came early. So we did at 7:15 pm and it was already occupied. Well, I didn't like the "early" request but would have liked a lot less a "sharpish at 7:00 or forget it" request. Which she might as well have made.

So the fact remains that there is no clear policy on table usage and the installation of a central control person responsible for seating makes me question why Seabourn does not have a policy and/or does not train the hostess to administer one. That would be fair to all passengers and to her on what is still billed as a one class no tipping required or expected cruise line.

Happy sailing!

Markham - I think the fact that the 'hostesses' are new to the job makes a difference; the experienced Maitre'ds and their Assistants handled things better - possibly also allocating certain tables to certain people etc., but making a more discreet job of doing it.

Other than the well-known lady who virtually lived on the ships, I have rarely seen a good table being obviously kept for someone. Suspect the main reason is it is those who are in the top suites, rather than for any other reason. I would absolutely hate to think it had to do with handing out a tip at the start of the cruise, but sadly this is possible.

We also had to arrive on the dot of 7 to ensure a table for 2 in a quiet spot, but the ship we were on was completely full, and this is bound to make a difference.

Having experienced the top suites on both Holland America and Seabourn, penthouse and wintergarden respectively, i know that an excellent table is reserved for you in whichever restaurant you wish to dine in. I cannot help but think that the hostess is stuck in the HAL mentality of seating people according to what they have paid, which we know is NOT Seabourn's idea.

It would be interesting to have any reports back from the other ships to see how the hostess situation is going. This would then confirm to me whether or not it is the individual who has yet to grasp the concept of Seabourn, as i fear this is the case!

Since i have yet to sail with a hostess on Seabourn I will reserve judgment as to whether or not this is an improvement. But I will say that if this new system now includes assigning table based on suite category then this will turn me away from Seabourn. As others have noted somehow over the years Seabourn has done a remarkable wonderful job of treating all passengers as equals.This "democratic" atmosphere truly is one of the hallmarks of Seabourn and I would hope that this remains. But if there are some special perks that come with premium suites it would be better and more transparent if those perks are stated in writing and not doled out in a sort of shadow system.

And I have to admit to being quite distressed by one of Kevinsworld's comments. I think it is wonderful that he liked the new system and found this hostess provided exceeds the service for which he felt she should be rewarded. However, I am very distressed that he chose to do this by tipping her at then end of the cruise. I would hope she had the good sense to refuse this tip. Seabourn has a no tipping policy and because of this I find all of the crew members can focus on providing all passengers with good service and not sucking up to those they think might remunerate them. And imagine how the hardworking crew members who did not receive a tip must have felt when they say this young woman being singled out.From my perspective the only thing worse than tipping a favored crew member or two at the end is tipping early in the cruise in the expectation of receiving better service. If you feel have have received excellent service from a crew member there is something you can do to reward them -- go tell the Hotel Manger or write a note to Seabourn or give them a special shout out on your Guest Questionnaire. But please don't muck up the no tipping policy. I would hate to see Seabourn degrade into one of those lines that leaves envelopes with "suggested per person per day gratuities" in the suites.

I recently posted the comments below about our otherwise outstanding recent trip from Dubai to Athens on the Odyssey. At that time it seemed that most of the replies to my post thought that hostesses were a good idea!

We have never expected the "best table" but do like one with a view of the restaurant and preferably in the same section. This has never been a problem in the past when the Maitre'D was dealing with the table allocations.

"The only issue that we had was the "hostess" in the main dining room. A new experience for us and one we hope will disappear although our understanding is that it is a "Holland America" thing. We were told later that our hostess had been transferred over from Holland America and was not trained in the Seabourn "can do" attitude.

The Dining Room Manager left the table allocations to the hostess and she was very inflexible about which tables she allocated. We took up the matter after the first couple of evenings on unsatisfactory tables and the problem was sorted out for us but we noticed that whilst she was very bright and cheerful when escorting people to the table of her choice, if they said they were not happy her attitude changed completely.

I feel that the Dining Room Manager should still greet guests at the door and allocate the tables leaving the hostess then to show the way! She was however quite good at escorting the guests back from the restrooms during the meal!!

Not a problem for those guests who know what to expect and what to ask for but a new cruiser on Seabourn could be very disappointed with this new system as it is not the luxury experience we have come to expect.

Seabourn is going to lose out big time if they somehow aimlessly and lazily ape the Holland America model on tipping and related aspects of class differentiation that kevnsworld and I have alluded to in our comments about this MDR hostess position, and as Chairsin, too, has observed.

Yes and yeah. I know that HAL management is Seabourn management and has been that for some years now. The cookie notification on the Seabourn website bearing the HAL corporate identification and regulations for use are a sufficient (and unfortunate enough) reminder, in my opinion. So is the HAL policy- unique among the Carnival brands- of allowing smoking on verandas...

I hope that dumbing down the Seabourn brand (or whatever you want to call it) is not in the cards. Unfortunately, that has often been seen in corporate governance, structures and practice when a large fish swallows a small one- as in this case where a mass market cruise line with 18 or so ships of varying standards swallows a premium service/price line with only 3 ships of virtually identical characteristics.

So let's be clear and helpful: I hope no one chokes on this big hotel operation. And that the dinner parties- one with a buffet of pancakes/corn syrup accompaniment can coexist (separately, of course) with the fine cuisine and service of the 5 star establishment- for the foreseeable future.

Obviously, one simple step in the branding exercise that would protect Seabourn would be proper training of these hostesses, clarity on what they do/what MDR guests can expect, and a reiteration of the no tipping policy. And HAL should continue to do over there what works there for them.

Happy sailing!