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Live from the Sojourn Barcelona - Cape Town


clarky
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We boarded the ship yesterday and today is a sea day so I thought I would put my first impressions down while they are fresh in my mind.

 

The ship underwent a deep clean for three days before it cruised into Monte Carlo. We have been told by guests who joint in Monte Carlo that some carpets were replaced. The ship is certainly looking as good as ever. We have Cpt Karlo Buer at the helm and Handre as Cruise Director. We also have 8 guest Lecturers on board for this trip and I have just attended a lecture by Phillip Hurst who we have met on a previous cruise. I have also attended an arts and craft class held by Julie Warren an artist who mainly works with sculpture. I'm quietly pleased with my clay work so far and I'm planning on giving my two pieces to my children as pay back for all the art work they bought home from school for me which I heaped lots of praise on. What do they say about payback!

 

We have an Irish Chef on board. I'm yet to find out his name but the food so far has been some of the best I have experienced on any Seabourn cruise. I will keep all the foodies informed on the quality of the food and comment on his menu tonight for our first formal night.

 

One thing that has changed since we last cruised is that in our suite we are given a large page which is something like a diary. Special events are listed as are the dress code for the day. There is room left for you to put in times of the activities that you would like to attend. I really like this as it allows you to look at the week ahead and what events you would like to attend and place them in your Seabourn sheet diary. We have also received the little booklets of the ports we will be visiting. I know via the diary sheet that the block party is scheduled for the next sea day. I know this is normally in the Herald but this is a much clearer way of giving you information.

 

The wines so far have been good, not very good but decent. We also have two wine guys on board, they may be known to Americans as The world wine guys. Mike Desimone and Jeff Jensenn. They are giving wine lectures and I think this also includes tastings. They held there first one today but it clashed with another activity I was attending so can not comment personally on them. I will try and find other guests who have attended their lecture and comment on how they are being received.

 

If anyone has any questions they would like answered or anything particular they would like comments on just let me know.

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clarky,

Thank you for posting. We were supposed to be on this cruise, but life got in the way. We miss the Sojourn and hope to be onboard again soon. All info is appreciated and you have a great Captain and CD. Have sailed with both.

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Thanks for posting keep up the good work.

 

We love all of the three BIG Sisters and you certainly have a very good, in our opinion, Cruise Director, Handre we think is one of the best.

 

Look forward to your forthcoming posts.:D:D:D

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We boarded the ship yesterday and today is a sea day so I thought I would put my first impressions down while they are fresh in my mind.

 

The ship underwent a deep clean for three days before it cruised into Monte Carlo. We have been told by guests who joint in Monte Carlo that some carpets were replaced. The ship is certainly looking as good as ever. We have Cpt Karlo Buer at the helm and Handre as Cruise Director. We also have 8 guest Lecturers on board for this trip and I have just attended a lecture by Phillip Hurst who we have met on a previous cruise. I have also attended an arts and craft class held by Julie Warren an artist who mainly works with sculpture. I'm quietly pleased with my clay work so far and I'm planning on giving my two pieces to my children as pay back for all the art work they bought home from school for me which I heaped lots of praise on. What do they say about payback!

 

We have an Irish Chef on board. I'm yet to find out his name but the food so far has been some of the best I have experienced on any Seabourn cruise. I will keep all the foodies informed on the quality of the food and comment on his menu tonight for our first formal night.

 

One thing that has changed since we last cruised is that in our suite we are given a large page which is something like a diary. Special events are listed as are the dress code for the day. There is room left for you to put in times of the activities that you would like to attend. I really like this as it allows you to look at the week ahead and what events you would like to attend and place them in your Seabourn sheet diary. We have also received the little booklets of the ports we will be visiting. I know via the diary sheet that the block party is scheduled for the next sea day. I know this is normally in the Herald but this is a much clearer way of giving you information.

 

The wines so far have been good, not very good but decent. We also have two wine guys on board, they may be known to Americans as The world wine guys. Mike Desimone and Jeff Jensenn. They are giving wine lectures and I think this also includes tastings. They held there first one today but it clashed with another activity I was attending so can not comment personally on them. I will try and find other guests who have attended their lecture and comment on how they are being received.

 

If anyone has any questions they would like answered or anything particular they would like comments on just let me know.

 

chef neal? we did shopping with the chef with him in Messina and learned a lot.

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Will be following with great interest as we board in Cape Town on 21st December. I'm especially interested in the food :D

If you get the chance, Clarky, can you let us know who will be onboard for the Christmas cruise, eg Capt, HD, Chef and CD?

Many thanks in advance.

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Will be following with great interest as we board in Cape Town on 21st December. I'm especially interested in the food :D

If you get the chance, Clarky, can you let us know who will be onboard for the Christmas cruise, eg Capt, HD, Chef and CD?

Many thanks in advance.

 

 

I know that Handre will be the CD hopefully Karlo will stay on as Captain.

 

Are you bringing the whippet?

 

 

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Karlo will be getting off in Cape Town. Handre is on for entire extended exploration. I am pretty sure that Hamish Elliot will be taking over from Karlo.

 

Handre told me that he would be on at least through the end of February.

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The formal night was well attended. Everyone looked wonderful all dressed up. We arrived at about 8.00 p.m. into the dinning room as we had drinks with friends. Most of the tables were occupied but they found us a table for 6. The food was cooked to perfection. I ordered a small portion of Beef Wellington and a small portion of the lobster. The beef wellington was excellent, my husband is still taking about how tender the beef was. The lobster was also cooked perfectly. The service unfortunately was very slow, to the point where I needed to flag a staff member down and ask that someone come and take our orders. I know that the dinning room was busy but the wait was unacceptable. I'm hoping this is a one off as on our two previous nights the service was excellent.

 

Last night we ate at 2 restaurant. I know many guests have expressed their dislike of this venue but we have had some wonderful food at 2 and for us it changes things up. The food was excellent with the exception of the main offerings, the fish and the veal. Both were over-salted. We asked that this be bought to the attention of the chef. When we first experienced restaurant 2 they suggested a different wine with each course to enhance the dinning experience. They do not do this anymore which I think is shame as it takes away from the whole experience. There were only about 5 tables occupied and I think that Seabourn should probably be looking at changing this venue as it does not appear to be popular among guests. So I would give this dinning experience about a 7/10 due to over-salting and lack of wines to match the courses.

 

Yesterday we took the Seabourn tour to Cordoba. We have previously done the Seabourn tour to the Alhambra and my husband really wanted to visit the Mosque with the church inside. It did not disappoint, it is truly magnificent and I would highly recommend this tour to people who have already visited the Alhambra. The only downside of the tour was our guide who did not take a break from telling us inane facts about Spanish history for the 2.5 hours to Cordoba and the 2.5 hours back to the ship. She had a very monotone voice which did not help. I love history and appreciate learning about the history of the region we visit but her delivery was very poor.

 

Handre is a very good CD and we have cruised with him before. I believe he is staying on board until February but I will check with him and get back to you. The wine guys are holding a lecturer and tasting this evening and I will try and attend. I did hear from another guest that their 11.00 in the morning lecture was well attended. Tonight we have a local Flamenco Show on board and I'm looking forward to this.

 

As a note: Our friends have the owners suite and invited us to have drinks in their suite last night. They called room service to deliver a plate of cheese and some drinks and 45 minutes later it had not arrived. We ended up going for drinks to the bar on deck 10 and our cheese plate was delivered there. We have never had to wait so long for a room service delivery and I'm not sure what is going on with room service. Are they understaffed? The crew are a great mix of nationalities some of whom are getting off in Cape Town and some who have just joined the ship.

 

I have taken some photos of the Seabourn diary as I'm calling it and will try and include this in my next post.

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Can you enlighten us as to the Hotel Director and Maitre d' for Cape Town and beyond?

 

 

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I was told Karl will be coming on as Hotel Manager and Nick as Maitre d'. They are both favorites for us - so hope that is the case.

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.

 

Handre is a very good CD and we have cruised with him before. I believe he is staying on board until February but I will check with him and get back to you.

 

Clarky -

would you ask Handre if he will be back on the Sojourn in May? Hope so.

Thanks.

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Have been onboard since Barcelona and everything is SEABOURN! As others have shared, there are excellent changes to the menus. Chef Neal is on it. Loving every single thing and wishing all of you could be here with us. Casablanca tomorrow. The band and Danny. the guitarist, as well as Jamie Fletcher in the Observation are all wonderful as always. Cannot say enough about the "tweaking" that has been done to every little thing onboard--example is that they have fixed the coffee tasting water for tea problem that has often plagued Seabourn--thank you! Handre and Sophie are just tops, as ever. Marcel has been working his magic, too. Seabourn Square team is beyond miraculous! As my husband says,"Tell them that we are all having an absolute BALL!" Champagne wishes!

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Had dinner with Marcel last evening and Karl will be replacing him on Jan 4th. Will check tonight re: Nick

 

 

Sad now that Karl is not on for the Christmas cruise,still he gets to be at home in SA with Liselle for Christmas.

 

 

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Today we are in Casablanca. This morning we were greeted with rain. This afternoon is sunny and many people are going in to the town again after the abortive morning on the shuttle into town. We have been to Casablanca before so were happy to just walk around town. Not the most impressive port in Morocco but if you have not been to the mosque here it is worth a visit.

 

I'm so glad other guests are also commenting on the positive changes that have been made on board. I spoke with Chef Neal and he is on until the end of February so all of you who are reading with interest and will be joining the ship in Cape Town will have him and Handre on board. We are very impressed with Neal and Handre is a favourite of ours.

 

We attended the pre dinner show last night which was the Harpist Francisco Yglesia from Paraguay and while most guests liked his music it was not to our taste so we left early. We did however enjoy the comedian Martin Beaumont very much and I believe he was well received by the other guests on board also. Here is the schedule that I said I would attach for your viewing.

Schedule.jpg.0603918dafd9d1719a8050f94c75ab6b.jpg

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We also boarded in Barcelona and totally agree with the comments regarding the improvement since the World Cruise last year on the Sojourn. I am including a link to my blog, which is primarily a way for me to organize the photos I am taking on the cruise. I very seldom include photos of passengers, crew members, etc, and this is not intended to be a critique of the cruise or Seabourn. We are doing the full 116 day cruise. http://www.cliffphotos.com/SeabournSojournNovember2014.html

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Just have to share with all of you the unbelievable evening of entertainment we had last night. The Grand Salon featured the Seabourn singers and dancers with a fabulous show of songs and choreography from the 60's (our era). We all felt that we were seeing some massive stars of the future--among them Chris, who puts Lionel Richie and Aaron Neville (excuse my spelling--I am on vacation after all) to shame. This was standing ovation material. However, it got even better ~the Seabourn Way~ when we continued our evening in the Observation Lounge where Jamie Fletcher was holding court. Magical enough in her own right but Elliot Finkel was in the room and they joined forces on several over the top impromptu songs. Only 8 of us were privileged to be in their presence. A night never to be forgotten! Additionally, both of these stars are exceptionally personable and accessible to all Seabourners. WOW!

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My thanks to Clarky for starting the thread and to cruisecrazyone and Cisleman for your comments. Your posts and enthusiasm about your cruise are certainly helping to build my anticipation.

 

Please keep posting as and when you have the time, and Cisleman thank you for your wonderful pictures which I always enjoy seeing.

 

MrL - of course I'm bringing the whippet, and the flat cap is perfect attire for Formal Night, it goes beautifully with my dress. Who needs diamonds? ;)

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Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Great to hear the the ship is looking at her best. I think Seabourn knew there were some heavy hitters boarding on Dec 21st and wanted to turn on all the taps.

 

I have heard that they are going to get all the guests to go round with the mops and polishing cloths on the last sea day to make sure she sparkles :)

 

Go steady on the booze, we don't want to run out although more wine shouldn't be an issue given we never leave the coast of South Africa!

 

 

Henry :)

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