Just returned from the Mediterranean

Returned last week from a 10 Mediterranean cruise. We did a very similar itinerary last year, so I have a recent experience to compare. Here are some random thoughts, in no particular order.

The service was very good, better than last year. Our stewardess learned our routine very early and was in and out quickly, almost as soon as we left the room She paid attention to details, such as making sure we always had sparkling water. We boarded on the late side and she overheard me tell my husband that I had noticed that the stewardess trays I saw go by did not have L’Occitane soap. When she brought us our soaps, not only did she hunt down a L’Occitane for us, but she gave us another bar the day before our cruise was over. While not that important to me, more staff addressed us by name than on the previous cruise. The bartenders in the club knew our drink and were preparing it before we were seated. However, only once did someone try and carry my plate from the buffet to my table for me, but that was okay by me. I always thought that service was a little silly and staff could be utilized better elsewhere.

I know it is important to many, but we had no problem with cigarette smoke, anywhere. Not even in the Observation lounge, although we were only there one evening.

Speaking of the Observation Lounge, all of the teas at afternoon tea, other than the standard English Breakfast which is poured if you don’t ask for a specific tea, were loose tea, which is an improvement from last year when only one or two of the tease were loose tea.

I thought the food had gone downhill a little. It was still acceptable, and I don’t expect 3 star Michelin level dining on a cruise ship, but it was a little bland and there were a few dishes that were downright flavorless. Restaurant 2 has passed its prime and I think it should be replaced. We used to enjoy going at least once and even sometimes twice during a cruise, but this time, we went once and were quite disappointed. Still, I think as cruise ships go, the food is decent. One consistent complaint was that the sparkling water was rarely cold. On occasion it would be, so clearly it can be, but usually it was room temperature.

The complimentary wines are worse than mediocre. It still surprises me, especially when you consider the level of name brand alcohol that is available without charge, that Seabourn consistently pours such poor complimentary wines. There are definitely better wines, even at a similar price point, that would be available.

Seating in the main dining room was a small issue. We like to dine on our own and for the first few days, the hostess simply kept seating us against the back wall. Only after we complained a little did she go out of her way to try and find us a better table, closer to a window or simply better located.

Sophie, the cruise director, was great. She was always out and about chatting with the passengers and seeming genuinely interested in making sure we were all having a good time.

In general, I think this cruise, which was our 7th on Seabourn, was about the same quality as last year. Although I have seen some decline since we first started sailing Seabourn (after jumping shift from Regent when the prices went up and the quality went down), I think Seabourn is still the best line out there for what we are looking for.

Hi CLOU,

we were on the same cruise. I agree with your comments. Service was great. Food quite good. Restaurant 2 is "same old." Hopefully Keller will change that next year. The wines were a disappointment. The whites were ok, the reds, not so good. Worst thing was that while cruising along the Riviera, they could not stock up on some good roses de Provence. The only choices were a not so dry rose d'Anjou and a cheap supermarket rose from Italy.

It was a beautiful cruise with perfect weather.

which ship was this?

which ship was this?

Sojourn

Hi CLOU,

 

we were on the same cruise. I agree with your comments. Service was great. Food quite good. Restaurant 2 is "same old." Hopefully Keller will change that next year. The wines were a disappointment. The whites were ok, the reds, not so good. Worst thing was that while cruising along the Riviera, they could not stock up on some good roses de Provence. The only choices were a not so dry rose d'Anjou and a cheap supermarket rose from Italy.

 

It was a beautiful cruise with perfect weather.

Thank you both for your comments on the Sojourn in the Med. I am on the 10 day sailing in July so very interested in hearing recent experience.

Regarding wine, I had read in another thread that you could ask the Bar Manager to source some better Rose wine in one of the French ports. Is this no longer the case?

Also re suite assignment, just wondering if either of you purchased an OB, and if so what suites were you assigned?

Many thanks

I was on deck 6 in a v3 balcony which we had reserved. I have to a agree with Marazul that the weather was perfect which certainly helped the cruise. We went off on our own in Provence and purchased several rosés, some of which we took home and a couple of which we drank on the ship on the warm afternoons.

Sunprince

Hi, I al the one who mentioned about the Roses. This has usually been on the little ships and happened as recently as this April. As with most things in life the outcome depends on the approach. First day on board we keep an open mind and try the roses they have on the ship.When they have not been of the style we prefer we find the Bar Manager and nicely ask ( not demand) if in one of the upcoming ports it would be possible to pick up some drier rose. And yes, for fun we often buy a bottle or two of rose in various Med ports .

Thank you for your comments about Sojourn.

My parents in law are celebrating a major wedding anniversary in September, and we've finally managed to persuade them to try something else rather than Silversea, so they're taking a group of family members on Sojourn in September. The cruise is in their own back yard almost!

I'm a little anxious about the cruise as they've changed to SB on our recommendation and I know how important to them this family cruise is going to be. We can take some wine of our own onboard quite easily this time as we won't be flying to meet the ship, but of course there's not much we can do about the food.

I'd definitely appreciate updates from other Sojourn cruisers as the summer progresses.

Just returned from 14 days on Odyssey around Greek islands and Black Sea.. Headlines from me:

1 Food showed a big improvement over Sojourn in 2014.Plenty of fresh fish sourced by the enthusiastic and talented Belgian Chef. Great Honeycomb in Colonnade alongside Greek Yogurt. Restaurant 2 was as expected but still good. Abundant fruit and berries unlike last year.

2 Wines steady but plenty of NZ Sauvignon Blanc ,good French Chardonnay and outstanding Chilean Cabernet. Californian reds and Italian Rose mediocre.

3 Stewardess worked hard to fit in with our needs .Standards in the suites remain high.

4CD (Verity) a delight. Talented dancers/singers and magician. Captain Dexter very visible and enthusiastic.

5 Itinerary mixed. Greek islands very good but curtailed Black Sea (Ukraine off limits) mediocre. Complimentary concert in Ephesus "brilliant" and a must do if you have never been. An outstanding welcome back to the ship by the crew with chefs, stewardesses and other team members alongside to greet.

6 In summary I think Seabourn have upped their game this year after a couple of years of Carnival; woes and"cost focus". Long may it continue. Looking forward to the new ship.

Regarding wine, I had read in another thread that you could ask the Bar Manager to source some better Rose wine in one of the French ports. Is this no longer the case?

 

Also re suite assignment, just wondering if either of you purchased an OB, and if so what suites were you assigned?

 

Many thanks

We did not purchase an OB.

As for additional roses, a couple of polite requests failed to produce any. Since by now they are on the third cruise of the same b-to-b itinerary, they might have loaded a few more wines aboard. We enjoyed some really good roses during lunches ashore.

We also just returned from a 11 day on the Sou.Weather was good.I have to give 5 stars to the staff.They as usual were fabulous.

The food was OK.Nothing to write home about but certainly not bad.We were on Deck 6 by the elevator no noise.

The Gavi wine that was complimentary is now a buy.Red wine was mostly bad but you could find something to drink.

I would have to say all in all a very good trip.

Now the bad.We had a issue with a credit on our account.We addressed it on day 1.Everyday we checked and still no answer from Seattle.We keep saying we just wanted an answer so if the credit was correct we would have time to spend it.Everyday was the same answer.The time difference was causing a delay in answering.We understood this for the first few days.An answer finally came on day 7 in the afternoon on our sea day.At this point I could not get an appointment at the spa.The people working at SQ tried and they also could do nothing.Side trips were to late to book as we already had one booked for the last day.I must say that everyone on board tried the best they could but Seattle was the holdup.At this point we had a credit that was almost useless.I did go to the shops and bought stuff I did not want.I asked to have the money put into the crew fund but Seattle rejected that.A small token was given to us at the end.We were assured that someone would contact us upon our return.3 weeks later and no contact.I even called but no one has bothered to call us.We do not want any thing just a reason why it took 7days for a simple answer.Botton line you are now dealing with Holland America not SB.After 14 years traveling with SB very disappointed on the way they are handling things. Yes before you ask my TA is also very disturbed about how difficult it is to deal with them now.

I always email the Seabourn Club with any referrals or credit that I might have on any trip before I go.

I always get a quick reply and confirmation and the credit is always waiting when I board.

These things are best done before you sail,well in advance.

Did all of that.It somehow did not get on.We had our email but thy needed Seattle to confirm.

We have never had an issue in the past.

We were on Sojourn for 21 days in May and everything was up to expectations. Staff, as usual, were excellent, food very good and wines predictable - consistent with previous experiences. Unfortunately they are what they are. There is usually something that can be found that is ok in the offerings. There was a Pinotage from South Africa that I hadn't tried before and was worthwhile. Itinerary was good and, notwithstanding having already done a number of Med cruises on Seabourn, there was little double up. My only gripe is having to visit Civitavecchia. Seabourn should seriously consider classing this as a "free" day for those not disembarking or embarking. Maybe wishful thinking! Sophie and Annabelle are a great combination as Cruise Director and Asst respectively and The Band was a big improvement on previous experiences, while the singers and dancers were good. Only criticism was that the air conditioning in The Square was too cold.

We were on Sojourn for 21 days in May and everything was up to expectations. Staff, as usual, were excellent, food very good and wines predictable - consistent with previous experiences. Unfortunately they are what they are. There is usually something that can be found that is ok in the offerings. There was a Pinotage from South Africa that I hadn't tried before and was worthwhile. Itinerary was good and, notwithstanding having already done a number of Med cruises on Seabourn, there was little double up. My only gripe is having to visit Civitavecchia. Seabourn should seriously consider classing this as a "free" day for those not disembarking or embarking. Maybe wishful thinking! Sophie and Annabelle are a great combination as Cruise Director and Asst respectively and The Band was a big improvement on previous experiences, while the singers and dancers were good. Only criticism was that the air conditioning in The Square was too cold.

Very good to hear.

The food was super on our most recent Sojourn cruise so I'm hoping for more of the same. Would very much like the same chef again in September.

We think Sophie is great, congrats to her on making CD, she was Assistant the last two times we've been onboard with her.

Yes, we really liked Sophie, she seems so genuine. I have felt that previous CD's and hostesses were extremely false, but she is fabulous.

We were on Sojourn for 21 days in May and everything was up to expectations. ..... My only gripe is having to visit Civitavecchia. Seabourn should seriously consider classing this as a "free" day for those not disembarking or embarking. Maybe wishful thinking!

That is quite right. Having to be back on board by 2:30 pm certainly kills the day! Going into Rome would be insane with that time frame. An extra two or three of hours would make some area touring possible without having to rush back. We went to Ostia Antica and had a quick lunch so we could get back on time. I wish we had more time in port. There are several excursions (other than the SB excursion to Tarquinia) that could be taken in the area that would be very interesting.

The day should either be "free" or a later departure time should be the rule. Yes, I know, port costs are very high so SB wants to leave early, but b-to-b passengers are short-changed with this schedule.

And that, plus the wines, were my only disappointments in an otherwise wonderful cruise.

Yes, we really liked Sophie, she seems so genuine. I have felt that previous CD's and hostesses were extremely false, but she is fabulous.

She was on the Spirt in March. She was great, and we agree that she is genuine and very caring. Our best CD of the three cruises we have taken.

We were recently on 2 cruises with Chef Martin. We thought the food was outstanding.

Do you think food on Seabourn depends on Chef onboard?

We were recently on 2 cruises with Chef Martin. We thought the food was outstanding.

 

Do you think food on Seabourn depends on Chef onboard?

It does to some extent but the quality of the guests also helps.

It does to some extent but the quality of the guests also helps.

I quite agree, however some guests can be rather tough and chewy. I suggest longer marinade for them.

We were recently on 2 cruises with Chef Martin. We thought the food was outstanding.

Do you think food on Seabourn depends on Chef onboard?

And seriously, yes I do think to some extent the quality depends on the chef. I know the food is sourced from the same place, however the Executive Chef or whatever title SB bestows, does have influence on the quality of what comes out of the galley.

I highly rate chefs : Jes (is he still with SB?) Neal/Neil and Martin.

Completely agree about Jes. Every time I've sailed with him it's been the best food I've ever had on SB.

And seriously, yes I do think to some extent the quality depends on the chef. I know the food is sourced from the same place, however the Executive Chef or whatever title SB bestows, does have influence on the quality of what comes out of the galley.

I highly rate chefs : Jes (is he still with SB?) Neal/Neil and Martin.

I asked Chef Martin about this on our last cruise during the shop with the chef excursion. We were at the Saturday farmers market in Ajjacio Corsica.

He said that they are supposed to follow certain menus, but can make changes, additions etc based on ingredient availability. They try to source local produce and fish where possible, especially in the colonnade.

We cruised on the transatlantic from Miami and thought the food was excellent. The first couple of nights on the following cruise ( we stayed onboard ) were noticeably worse. The service was disorganized and the food arrival times slow, with inconsistent execution at best. They staff ( who we knew by then ) attributed it to staff changeover in Barcelona. Our barista was now our sommelier, the wait staff was moved around to different stations. They said that there was a lot of staff changes in the kitchen too. Eventually the food ship righted and life carried on as normal.

The Chef, leadership and staff definitely matter.

Completely agree about Jes. Every time I've sailed with him it's been the best food I've ever had on SB.

Agree 100% excellent with flavors with a neat personality to boot