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Seabourn No Longer Luxury??


mrsjetson28
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We just had friends return from a May cruise on Quest after more than 12 happy Seabourn cruises prior. Hated it. Said staff cuts in all areas made service slow and inadequate. Food not up to par. Staff told them the line has changed and is trying to cut costs. Complaints to management ignored. We saw the letter they wrote to head office which still has not received a response. They cancelled their Seabourn Xmas cruise and that's probably the end of their being Seabourn cruisers. We are booked later this year and are considering cancelling, although we are also Seabourn loyalists. Another couple we know (with 200 Seabourn days under their belt) that knows this couple has already cancelled their October cruise and rebooked on Oceania. So –has anyone else been on Seabourn recently and survived??

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Here is my vote:

 

After 77 days on Odyssey from Jan to March, 2016, I have another 100 days booked on Sojourn, Encore and Quest through early 2018.

 

Does that help make sense of the broader market?

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

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Be interested in others comments as we are thinking of booking another Seabourn cruise early next year to see if others think the same thing

We spent 20 days on Oceania last July and felt Seabourn was miles better for comparing dollar to dollar

Edited by Thecat123
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Some cruises can get off to a bad start and when that happens I find myself finding fault with many things that I would have looked over if I had better first impressions. This was true on my second Seabourn cruise in 2010 and have been on many wonderful SB cruises since. I wouldn't give up on them yet. All cruise lines are making cutbacks. Some are better for certain things and less for others, but I still find Seabourn to be the better overall product (and I love my club membership awards, and dancing under the stars, and the beach bbq, and the epicurean event, and ......).

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Presently on the Quest for the past two weeks. This is our first Seabourn cruise in many years and, so far, have found the emtire cruise experience up to the standards we would expect to receive on a luxury line. The food and service has been excellent. Can only go by our own experience.

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A post like that of the OP is clearly in direct opposition to the majority of other posts and therefore should be taken with a grain of salt. Of course, on the Quest that would be a grain of Sel de Mer.

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Here is my vote:

 

After 77 days on Odyssey from Jan to March, 2016, I have another 100 days booked on Sojourn, Encore and Quest through early 2018.

 

Does that help make sense of the broader market?

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

And yet another passenger on that cruise didn't get a future cruise credit. That makes things clear as mud.;)

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I think every cruise is kind of like a theater performance-- every audience is different and every performance is different in some way. We have sailed on more than 70 cruises on 'luxury lines' and 'mainstream lines' -- in regular cabins and in top suites. I think before one becomes too critical of a cruise ship/line, you have to determine if it was just 'off' for some reason or if it is a pattern. We all have our own preferences and only you know what you like and what meets your expectations. We have been on cruises that we thought were awful and others thought were great and vice verse. Go with what YOU like and enjoy and judge by your own experiences. We are currently booked on Seabourn, Regent, and Silversea. We love them all for different reasons and have had good and some not so good experiences on all of them, but nothing to prevent us from sailing with them again! Happy Sailing!

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A post like that of the OP is clearly in direct opposition to the majority of other posts and therefore should be taken with a grain of salt. Of course, on the Quest that would be a grain of Sel de Mer.

 

I take all headline-grabbing controversy-starting posts with a grain of salt, especially when they are the poster's first and only post to date. If they return with something a bit more concrete than unspecified friends who hated their cruise, hopefully with some details about what disappointed them so much so there can be a helpful discussion, then I'll put the salt-shaker down.

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I think every cruise is kind of like a theater performance-- every audience is different and every performance is different in some way. We have sailed on more than 70 cruises on 'luxury lines' and 'mainstream lines' -- in regular cabins and in top suites. I think before one becomes too critical of a cruise ship/line, you have to determine if it was just 'off' for some reason or if it is a pattern. We all have our own preferences and only you know what you like and what meets your expectations. We have been on cruises that we thought were awful and others thought were great and vice verse. Go with what YOU like and enjoy and judge by your own experiences. We are currently booked on Seabourn, Regent, and Silversea. We love them all for different reasons and have had good and some not so good experiences on all of them, but nothing to prevent us from sailing with them again! Happy Sailing!

 

Very well put

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I take all headline-grabbing controversy-starting posts with a grain of salt, especially when they are the poster's first and only post to date. If they return with something a bit more concrete than unspecified friends who hated their cruise, hopefully with some details about what disappointed them so much so there can be a helpful discussion, then I'll put the salt-shaker down.

 

+1 !

Very interesting first post. ;)

OP lit the touchpaper and stood back. Hopefully they wil return with more details, otherwise I call troll.

Interestingly, I don't see this happen very often on the SB board but it does happen quite often on SS.

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We just had friends return from a May cruise on Quest after more than 12 happy Seabourn cruises prior. Hated it. Said staff cuts in all areas made service slow and inadequate. Food not up to par. Staff told them the line has changed and is trying to cut costs. Complaints to management ignored. We saw the letter they wrote to head office which still has not received a response. They cancelled their Seabourn Xmas cruise and that's probably the end of their being Seabourn cruisers. We are booked later this year and are considering cancelling, although we are also Seabourn loyalists. Another couple we know (with 200 Seabourn days under their belt) that knows this couple has already cancelled their October cruise and rebooked on Oceania. So –has anyone else been on Seabourn recently and survived??

 

One thing to keep in mind is that sometimes people are ready for a change. I have known people who have sailed a lot on one line and for whatever reason become disillusioned. Usually though this builds up overtime. Normally if someone had 12 happy cruises and one went bad they would give it another try as no two cruses are the same. Now if it was a first cruise that is a different story.

 

Now, of the people who we know who after many cruises just said it was time to leave some left and tried other lines and found something they were more pleased with but I would say 50% or more realized it's not always greener on another line as one might think.

 

Personally, I would not let their experience deter you.

 

In the end, we all are different and you can take 100 people on the same cruise and you can have a range of experiences.

 

Keith

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One post. A flame. Reporting not first hand experience but second hand information. I myself will not put much stock in this opinion

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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On the Quest April- May it had been 4 years since sailing on SB. It Was as perfect as ever. The staff by the pool and grill ( where I spent most of my time,) did not know my name, but always knew what I like to drink, and I was never was allowed an emptied one. ( which they also knew I liked) They had great parties, so much food. We had a spa penthouse & our steward went above and beyond making sure our room was perfect and had different lotions and waters, drinks, and flowers. Maybe as I live very simple, this luxury feels like heaven. We had a wonderful time, if not even better then back in the twin days. We would ask for an item not served on the menu in the MDR and they always said not likely, they will have to check, and it always showed up. We preferred the casual nature of the colonnade however and ate there more often. Also preferred The outside seating where they provide blankets for the chilly nights. I can not imagine being treated better overall.

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An interesting post from someone who claims to be a Seabourn Loyalist presumably with previous cruises under their belt and yet has no previous history on here. Had you backed up that affinity to Seabourn with a solid history of contributions your concerns would carry more weight. Someone who seeks only to criticise never to praise rarely gets the most out of life.

 

Similarly had you actually experienced poor service and product your concerns might be taken seriously. As it is you have merely read a letter sent by someone who is obviously biased.

 

Given they are "just back" I wonder if it might be prudent to allow Seabourn a short time to respond. My experience of SB customer services is extremely positive to the point where I almost felt guilty with the level of recompense they provided for a relatively minor issue.

 

At this stage I don't intend to cancel our first 2 Encore cruises. It would seem a few others seem relatively satisfied with the Seabourn product. Are there issues if you look hard enough or have specific needs? I'm sure there are but to be fair I could also find similar fault with my dinner the other night in a restaurant of worldwide repute which cost more than an entire day on Encore in December.

 

Fortunately I don't look at the world through a magnifying glass and left a happy bunny. Certainly happier than the bunny which got served up in one of their signature dishes :)

 

 

Henry :)

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We just got off the Odyssey last Saturday, Athens/Athens 14 days. We will go over 200 days on our next cruise and have been on all 6 of their ships, past and present. We are like many that miss the little sisters, but life moves on. We have grow to love the soon to be old ships. One of the main reasons is our kids like the larger ships. There are changes, not every crew member knows your name on day 2, but it is amazing how many do. The kids they hire make my family feel as great today as they did years ago. We will continue to travel on SB, I have not seen or experienced anything better. Cheers

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One post. A flame. Reporting not first hand experience but second hand information. I myself will not put much stock in this

 

Exactly no prior presence yet the one post offers"second hand opinions" nothing but noise pollution. Sail on Seabourn and report your experience then we can respond to your critique.

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