Good ship Odyssey

I know there have been some very negative posts regarding the Odyssey lately. We have been on-board for the past 3 days and I have to report that, to be fair I was not on the same time as the negatives poster was, so far our experience - and some other CC members we met have AGREED, the service and overall experience has been typical of what we expect from Seabourn. MDR has been very good and open for breakfast and lunch. There are many familiar crew we know from prior cruises still providing the same great service, some new faces working hard and learning from the experienced crew members. Several of the crew have been promoted to new positions and insure the new members know exactly what to do. The good folks at the Square have been outstanding helping us with the minor issues we had. Will post more as we are on for 33 days,

Good to hear, and reassuring.

Will be joining you in Barcelona in five days.

who is Captain, CD, MD Chef, etc.?

Sadly, there are too many people in this world (not just cruise ships) whose grossly inflated sense of entitlement and unrealistic expectations make complaining almost their default setting. They just love to nit pick and whinge.

Sadly, there are too many people in this world (not just cruise ships) whose grossly inflated sense of entitlement and unrealistic expectations make complaining almost their default setting. They just love to nit pick and whinge.

And then there are those of us who rarely complain who had to deal with multiple emails sides on this same ship earlier this month. Those issues have been well-documented by many and were largely related to the mishandled by of an inappropriately marketed sailing.

Sadly, there are too many people in this world (not just cruise ships) whose grossly inflated sense of entitlement and unrealistic expectations make complaining almost their default setting. They just love to nit pick and whinge.

+1. We certainly encounter/overhear a fair number of ridiculous and incredulous complaints that reflect more on the complainers more than on Seabourn (or other companies or situations for that matter).

There will always be chronic complainers - stories abound from future sales specialists about guests who complain bitterly and incessantly and swear they will never come back to Seabourn, but sure enough, they come back. To not let those people ruin our vacation, some of us have learned over the years to recognize them quickly and give them a wide berth.

Unfortunately I did not have the same experience as you. I just posted my review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2424485

Good to hear, and reassuring.

Will be joining you in Barcelona in five days.

who is Captain, CD, MD Chef, etc.?

David Bathgate is the Master, David E. is the CD. Honestly have not met or heard who the chef is, but meals in MDR so far have been good for both lunch and dinner.

2sailingnomads,

Glad to hear you are having a good cruise. Isn't it a funny tale of a schizophrenic cruise ship as there is a thread about terrible service on the Odyssey and yet here you are on the very same ship having a wonderful time. Please keep us updated when you have a spare minute. Hope your crossing is smooth as glass.

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We have over 200 days on Seabourn and our last cruise was April 2015. We are "Seabourn starved" and can't wait until our 39 day cruise on the Sojourn on April 23, 2017. We are always disheartened to hear negative comments. Not everything is perfect in this life and for those of us that can afford to have this wonderful experience we should just be thankful we can.;)

Ody was at its best in sept and again in oct. No problems to note. Probably better food this year than last.

Isn't it a funny tale of a schizophrenic cruise ship as there is a thread about terrible service on the Odyssey and yet here you are on the very same ship having a wonderful time.

Hi Chairsin,

It is an interesting dichotomy - I can't speak for anyone else's experience but so far it is Seabourn as we know it and expect it to be. The folks we have spoken to, both first timers and long-time Seabourn sailors have all been having a good experience. (We've met a few other CC people so maybe they'll post their take). A lot of familiar faces as far as crew go, some who have had their contracts extended due to the staffing of the Encore, but quite a few who boarded recently so maybe some of the reported personnel issues were with crew no longer on-board. Can't say, but I've been particularly impressed with the people in the Square going the extra mile. The printers are not working - seems to happen a lot on the cruises I've been on - so they can't print the newspapers, but today they went ashore and purchased copies for the Diamond members, I appreciated coming back and having a paper to read this afternoon to catch-up with the world. And our experience with staff in the MDR has been very good so far, but I know from experience you can get the bad apple sometimes, which is why we ask to be seated in a particular section once we know where the staff we like are positioned.

Enjoy Antarctica!

So does that mean if the printers are wonky on our Antarctica cruise they will go ask them penguins where the nearest newsstand is so DH can have a hard copy paper to read every day? (I know he could use one of the iPads loaded with the newspapers -- unfortunately he is a bit of a Luddite).

Please enjoy the rest of your cruise. And give all of the wonderful Odyssey crew a big hug for us.

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Good news re: Captain Bathgate - sailed with him a couple of times before - like his style - likewise David E.

So much depends on the mix of crew, senior personel and passengers; the quality of service and the on board atmosphere can change noticeably when there is a change of key personel or, on a B2B, when there is a big turnaround in passengers (and crew).

My only complaint so far are with the totally inconsiderate pax who brought the screaming children on board. In the club tonight, I don't understand why the staff do not tell the arrogant inconsiderate parents to leave, I'm spending a LOT of $ for an adult high end cruise GO TO DISNEY if you want to have screaming children. Really that ruined my night at the Club. Sorry if I offend anyone but this is Seabourn, not Disney. Of course those rude people with the screaming kids probably don't read CC or they have zero consideration for their fellow cruisers.

I have zero tolerance for that. This happened to us on Crystal and I went to the HD to complain and the kids and parents were requested to leave. Sadly they will grow up like their parents or even worse. Truly it was out of control...were these parents blind and deaf?

Not all kids are bad as we have seen well behaved kids in adult environments and kudos to those parents.

And I must admit the only flaw in our June cruise was the little screaming toddlers in the Obs Bar at 10PM. Selfish parents and grandparents!

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However stressful and discomforting it may be, one must always complain in such situations (after 9.00 pm and in an adult environment, such as a bar). Either complain to the parents direct or to Hotel Manager.

No one - not even the parents, one hopes - would tolerate that kind of behaviour from adults. Why should anyone be expected to tolerate it from children ?

And the lame response 'oh they are just little children' is no excuse. At what age should should we be expected to longer find this acceptable? 3 or 4 years? 7 to 10 ? 15?

I know there have been some very negative posts regarding the Odyssey lately. We have been on-board for the past 3 days and I have to report that, to be fair I was not on the same time as the negatives poster was, so far our experience - and some other CC members we met have AGREED, the service and overall experience has been typical of what we expect from Seabourn. MDR has been very good and open for breakfast and lunch. There are many familiar crew we know from prior cruises still providing the same great service, some new faces working hard and learning from the experienced crew members. Several of the crew have been promoted to new positions and insure the new members know exactly what to do. The good folks at the Square have been outstanding helping us with the minor issues we had. Will post more as we are on for 33 days,

Does this mean you are staying on for the transatlantic? What kind of internet plans are offered?

Roy

Good to hear, and reassuring.

Will be joining you in Barcelona in five days.

who is Captain, CD, MD Chef, etc.?

You on for t'crossing?

And then there are those of us who rarely complain who had to deal with multiple emails sides on this same ship earlier this month. Those issues have been well-documented by many and were largely related to the mishandled by of an inappropriately marketed sailing.

:confused: What are the "multiple emails sides" I think I'm missing something.

Does this mean you are staying on for the transatlantic? What kind of internet plans are offered?

 

Roy

We are on until FLL.

Per-minute $0.40

2 hours: $19.95

3 hours: $29.95

4 hours: $39.95

7 days: $239.95

Unlimited for length of cruise: $399.95

:confused: What are the "multiple emails sides" I think I'm missing something.

Multiple issues.

My iPhone auto-correct sometimes takes on a life of its own.

I'm still waiting for an explanation (which will likely never come) from Seabourn as to how they widely marketed a wine-themed sailing and then failed to execute beyond the "normal" Seabourn wine-related offerings (which they attempted to pass off as special events).

After all the attention given to their culinary/epicurean sailings by bloggers (comped, presumably) in the past showing events and in-room treats, my expectations were that they'd not completely phone this in.

We are on until FLL.

So are we - but only from Lisbon. Have seen your email in another thread and will drop you a line about meeting up for a drink. First round is on me...

Multiple issues.

 

My iPhone auto-correct sometimes takes on a life of its own.

 

I'm still waiting for an explanation (which will likely never come) from Seabourn as to how they widely marketed a wine-themed sailing and then failed to execute beyond the "normal" Seabourn wine-related offerings (which they attempted to pass off as special events).

 

After all the attention given to their culinary/epicurean sailings by bloggers (comped, presumably) in the past showing events and in-room treats, my expectations were that they'd not completely phone this in.

That doesn't sound pleasant. Reminds me of a Regent ShorEx to dine in a Chateau. They left out the part where dinner wasn't actually in the Chauteau. Rather in the barn. Next to the John Deere. On paper.

Embarked yesterday. We left a rain-lashed, windswept, freezing Manchester on Monday arriving in a rain swept, wind-lashed, but somewhat warmer Barcelona. Greatly enjoyed our two days at the Hotel 1898 (now Mrs June's second favourite hotel in the world), ate lots of octopus washed down with Rioja, and mooched around the medieval parts of the city.

Embarkation was flawless. Everything pretty good so far. Suite in need of a little minor maintenance, but nothing to die in a ditch over. Late departure as supplies held up by Lufthansa strike, set sail at 21.00 in yet more rain-lashed, windswept seas, with added thunder and lightning. Rocky night, but calm seas and sunny intervals on this Thanksgiving day.

Leaving in Lisbon, unfortunately. Quiet neighbours. Going to accept invitation to hosted table tonight - first time in five years. Small fire in crew smoking room today, otherwise no other emergencies.