Sojourn WC since HKG

Food is subjective, we mostly very much enjoy the cuisine on Seabourn, but having been on the first leg of the World Cruise agree certain things could have been better, based on prior SB cruises, on this segment. That said, I have been to many land restaurants that are highly rated and had a great appetizer only to be disappointed with the main course or vice versa. My point is very few restaurants can consistently deliver on everyone's expectations, but the food on board is very good, with a few exceptions. I would not let the various comments from posters here stop you from enjoying all that comprise the Seabourn experience. And as someone posted elsewhere, if you board expecting it to not be good you're expectations will be met, we keep sailing Seabourn because of the quality of the product including the food.

I totally agree w the above post. Sojourn's was good to very good...with some areas of disappointment that I believe can be easily corrected ..for example, the pastas. My comments refer only to my thoughts about our recent Sojourn cruise.

. You will be well fed with quality products. Think of the comments on food as the same as the comments on lounge chairs. Yes, people would like more comfortable loungers, but you still will have a lounge chair.

You will have a nice cruise. When you return please let us know both your positive and not so ,if any,

I find this thread disturbing. Last year we went on Silverseas and we thought the food was awful, that our meals on Celebrity were far superior for a fraction of the per diem. Now we are planning to go on Seabourn and the food sounds no better than Silverseas. Maybe we would be better off returning to Celebrity and pay extra for their specialty restaurants!

After 68 days on the Seabourn Sojourn, we did a back-to-back 14-day cruise on the Celebrity Millenium. We found the food quality in the premium restos on Celebrity (Blu and Olympic) to be superior to the MDR on Seabourn, and the quality in the MDR on Celebrity to be about the same as the MDR on Seabourn, although Seabourn tries to fancy it up a lot. You will have a good time on Seabourn, but mostly because of the beautiful ship, the spacious and well-managed public spaces, and the exceptional service.

justcame off the sojourn hong kong to mumbai. In the main dining room I tried sword fish tree times . each time under cooked and you had to use a knife to cut it. not very good and sent back each time.funny thing you could get it in the colonade and it was perfect.

justcame off the sojourn hong kong to mumbai. In the main dining room I tried sword fish tree times . each time under cooked and you had to use a knife to cut it. not very good and sent back each time.funny thing you could get it in the colonade and it was perfect.

I thought that you always use a knife to cut food.

My friend and TA just disembarked WC segment HKG to Mumbai. Although he said the service was over the top, the food was mediocre at best. He's been on a number of SB cruises. The thought was that because of the ports SB was visiting, they were not able to stock-up on quality items. (and he was served raw lobster, but that's another story!)

Sorry to read about the mediocre food but I would be surprised if the ports of call are the problem it's the third or fourth world cruise which has followed broadly a similar track and adverse comments didn't feature prominently on the earlier ones.

Harvey, I was on the same leg/mostly same ports, last year and the cuisine was better. It's JMO but I don't think that it was the port supplies. Again, I think that on the whole the problem wasn't the raw product but the taste appeal. That said, my husband did have 2 very chewy sirloin steaks from the classique menu and just gave up midway.

I sent only 1 dish back in 26 days...and it was the swordfish. You don't usually require a knife for swordfish, but even using a knife did not help this bone dry specimen. And it was cooked medium as requested...so go figure.

I do think that there is some cuisine problem on Sojourn.......hope that we are not going to be reading this about other ships of SB, meaning that this is not a corporate plan/change..

As a diamond member I am upset to read all the negative comments regarding food on Seabourn especially the Sojourn. We had thought of booking a lengthy cruise later this year or early 2015 but we are having second thoughts. We have enjoyed Seabourn for many years but perhaps it is time for a change to another cruise line,perhaps Crystal. If Seabourn wants to keep loyal guests then they need to do something about these problems ASAP

My friend and TA just disembarked WC segment HKG to Mumbai. Although he said the service was over the top, the food was mediocre at best. He's been on a number of SB cruises. The thought was that because of the ports SB was visiting, they were not able to stock-up on quality items. (and he was served raw lobster, but that's another story!)

There were certainly some provisioning problems for which one needs to be forgiving...although there were other provisioning issues that raised eyebrows such as no papaya in Hawaii and no berries in New Zealand. Apparently the chef rejected a shipment of lettuce in Indonesia which almost resulted in a mini-revolt among passengers; there should have been some announcement about this. But provisioning issues do not excuse the mediocre execution issues that popped up over and over. Or the bland recipes that apparently are written in Seattle by Holland America.

Kiskadee,

I agree that SB needs to look into the food issue though personally, I have never experienced the kind of food described here. But moving to Crystal will offer whole new set of things to complain about. First of all, I could never get used to a set dining time at the same time with the same people every night. I love the open dining concept. And Crystal's version of dining by reservation is a joke imo since you still have to select the time you want to dine and the number of people at your table in advance. Secondly, you now only get one included meal at their alternative restaurants. Any more will cost $30 each per meal. It's not a lot of money but it's a money grab on their part, plain and simple and anyone who says otherwise has his heads in the clouds. If Oceania can accommodate 1260 people in their alternative restaurants without charge why can't Crystal do it for fewer passengers? So be careful what you wish for.

Kiskadee,

 

I agree that SB needs to look into the food issue though personally, I have never experienced the kind of food described here. But moving to Crystal will offer whole new set of things to complain about. First of all, I could never get used to a set dining time at the same time with the same people every night. I love the open dining concept. And Crystal's version of dining by reservation is a joke imo since you still have to select the time you want to dine and the number of people at your table in advance. Secondly, you now only get one included meal at their alternative restaurants. Any more will cost $30 each per meal. It's not a lot of money but it's a money grab on their part, plain and simple and anyone who says otherwise has his heads in the clouds. If Oceania can accommodate 1260 people in their alternative restaurants without charge why can't Crystal do it for fewer passengers? So be careful what you wish for.

Wripro raises some interesting issues. While I was disappointed in the food quality on the Sojourn, I loved the flexible open seating policy. So relaxed. We have reserved a 25-day Crystal cruise for 2015, not because of any loyalty to Crystal, but because of the itinerary offered. I remember good quality in the MDR from a Crystal cruise in 2004. However, I am somewhat anxious about dining with the same group of strangers for 25 nights. Maybe we'll order a lot of room service?

tv24

Sometimes 'strangers' quickly become friends! We have been fairly lucky w. our tablemates. These days folks are often dining en suite but also at Tastes, Prego or Silk Road. This can leave you alone to enjoy each others' company, or to ask friends to join you or to join someone else who has space at their table. I hope that you experience is a good one.

tv24

 

Sometimes 'strangers' quickly become friends! We have been fairly lucky w. our tablemates. These days folks are often dining en suite but also at Tastes, Prego or Silk Road. This can leave you alone to enjoy each others' company, or to ask friends to join you or to join someone else who has space at their table. I hope that you experience is a good one.

Thanks, Paula. This is very sweet. I will hope for the best, navigate through the issues, and enjoy the cruise for the reasons we have purchased it...the itinerary, and the other on land experiences that will follow it. Thanks again.

TV24,

I certainly hope you enjoy your cruise on Crystal. It is a wonderful line, just not for everyone. And there is no luxury line out there that is the same today as it was in 2004. They have all cut costs and made changes.