johng75370

Another thing that seemed out of sorts - all cabins seem to get the same small fridge from what we saw. Would expect a nicer bigger fridge to go along with the better seating and dining space in the Residences.

While I am a fan of The Restaurant being open every day for breakfast and lunch, at least they seem to be keeping their word (on current and recent previous voyage) to have it open on sea days.

Another way to address that is to improve the caliber of the non-alcoholic offerings. The “Zero at Sea” program is a great step in that direction, but needs to have higher quality non-alcoholic wines and beers added to the offering (and make it all bars, not just The Club).

Holland handling the IT side of Seabourn has lead to many website and email issues that are just embarrassing. No updated list of Conversation speakers since last year, the form for choosing suite bar preferences has not worked for years, and searches for some topics bring up pages that are way out of date. My impression is that no one at Seabourn has really looked at their site or communications in a while (or maybe they spent all their budget on their "This is Your Moment" PR campaign and have no resources left for maintaining website).

No, it was a regular night. If dh is not wanting to wear a collared shirt to dinner (formal or non-formal) he will have a problem.

They are used to policing it and try to be gentle about it. Our son was with us onboard in October, and one night looked great in blazer, slacks, and collar-less shirt. He got the "excuse me sir..." from the maitre d' and was able to change quick, but they were nice about it.

As long as you follow the dress code you'll be fine (and sounds like you plan to and will have a great time). There are other options (Colonnade or Sushi) where you don't have dress up on formal night. You'll see a variety of opinions because of how it has changed over time, and also because the dress code is a minimum level and some prefer to be dressed above that. Here's what it is from the website: Evening (after 6pm): Elegant Casual. The following is the nightly dress standard for all dining venues: Men: Slacks with a collared dress shirt or sweater; Jacket Optional. Ladies: Slacks / skirt, blouse, pant suit or dress. Elegant jeans are welcome in all dining venues.

I've got an upcoming Ovation booking and in the Source app it still shows The Grill on the main screen - but if you click on "view more" it shows the current restaurants and their daily menus, including Solis (no TK Grill).

What a great way to celebrate a special anniversary - congratulations! No real “pearls of wisdom“, but in case it helps here is what came to mind: 1. Relax and enjoy; Seabourn and other smaller ship lines have the advantage of it being personal and friendly. We’ve had a number of “Seabourn moments” where they’ve gone above and beyond to make our time away special, and I hope you find the same. 2. Don’t be shy to ask. You want caviar on your Eggs Benedict, just ask. A special menu for your anniversary night? Meet with the maitre d’ at least a day ahead and it will be all taken care of. 3. Assuming you like it and plan to come back to Seabourn, the onboard “future cruise deposit” is a good deal; $500pp and it gives you 5% off whatever cruise you use it on, and it’s good for 4 years. Can only be purchased onboard. And if you do come back to Seabourn, unlike big ships you will usually recognize both crew and passengers you’ve sailed with before (much smaller community than big ships, with relatively loyal guests). 4. If you have special items that you need/want provisioned let them know as far in advance as you can and they will try to do it for you.

@Vineyard View I’ve been given a FlightEase direct phone number before and I just called it tonight. It connects to “Enroute Travel Services” (or so the voice recording said) and after punching a couple buttons was connected to a real human. That’s at 10:30pm Pacific. My assumption is they have a 24/7 operation given the global nature of the flight arrangements and ship departures.

FWIW, here are some menus from other days showing how they rotate "daily" menu items in addition to the standard Solis offerings. solis_menu_day_2.pdf solis_menu_day_4.pdf solis_menu_day_5.pdf solis_menu_day_7.pdf

We've got an upcoming Ovation booking, and here is what is posted in the Source app for today's Solis menu. Solis_menu_day_3.pdf

Flashbacks every time I recreate the white tomato soup I first had there…the picture you posted is pretty hideous and accurate, but some of the food was pretty good.

Jeff, as a long-ish time lurker here in the Cooler I have to say your baguette is one of the most impressive things I have come across <swoon>. I’m also a home baguette maker, and am still working towards the perfection that you have achieved. Deep appreciation for previous posts where you’ve gone into your process and method - the result is incredible.

In that specific case it was right before the Christmas holiday (Dec 22nd) and the only first class MIA-SFO available was on the 8pm flight at a great price, and we thought why not enjoy some of the day in Miami. We definitely could have chosen earlier. Overall we've found FlightEase to be very flexible in letting us choose the flights, even with choosing business one way and economy the other way. If you've got a booking on hold you can access FlightEase, so even before committing to a deposit you can get a sense of what flights might be available. Most of the time we've found FlightEase to be less expensive than booking directly, but sometimes it is more.

I’ve had Seabourn Square print out a couple of things for me, and it was very easy. They gave me an email address for the ship to send the document to, then called me when it was ready to pick up. If it’s something you can’t email to them I would think they will find another way to help you (maybe via USB stick or using one of their computers).

Have not heard of this before; was it in the program with some marketing-hype about it? Interesting idea, maybe being test-driven on your voyage?

Minnie, I hope you have a great voyage! You should post this in the Roll Call section: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/810-seabourn-ovation-roll-calls/

Both also speakers on Seabourn: https://www.seabourn.com/en/us/conversations/sir-alan-collins https://www.seabourn.com/en/us/conversations/niki-sepsas

At the host/hostess stands at the front of the Colonnade and The Restaurant (maybe other venues also) they have a bowl of candied ginger - even without seasickness it’s a nice post-meal treat.

They usually do offer a pass; not sure exactly how much but a lot less than list price. Maybe $150 for a 10 day cruise? I think they also have a good deal for two if you’re traveling as a couple. The changing rooms do have a sauna, but it’s small. Worth taking the spa tour after you get onboard. FWIW the prize drawing they do is pretty good odds compared to larger ships (advantages of a small ship) - I’ve won $50 off coupon, and I never win anything.

In some areas/cultures that statement reeks of snob appeal, so not sure of your point. Seabourn caters to your desire for wine and cheese as much as someone else might favor caviar and champagne. Kudos to Seabourn. Your w&c enjoyment in no way infringes on my c&c enjoyment. My partner grew up in the former Soviet Union with black and red caviar as part his upbringing; I grew up mainly in the U.S., but exposed to it at “special events” and developed a taste for it. That we both can enjoy a decent quality black caviar in various forms while onboard is really something special that we appreciate about Seabourn. It’s not snob appeal; we enjoy it for special times at home. It’s how Seabourn makes things available that make your journey special, whatever it might be. Many people pass on the caviar, so it’s not like there’s a caviar-obsessed crowd onboard or that it comes up any more than what cheese someone prefers. That’s why the dialogue on CC that happens about the source, quality, or changes to suppliers of things like caviar, champagne, wines, or cheeses are fair game and matter. Having seen people get huffy about the lack of good red Bordeaux’s or how the cheese is not served at the right temperature, not seeing anything out of the norm here regarding caviar or champagne.

Good luck, I used to love playing Scrabble until I had a horrible accident - accidentally swallowed a bag of tiles. Suffered through a week of nasty vowel movements, and in the end it spelled DISASTER.

If you choose to arrive early I don’t think you get the transfer and hotel as complimentary (e.g. you’d have to pay). We’ve had free hotel and transfers using FlightEase only for flights that require coming in a night earlier (e.g. from west coast to Miami or Barbados).

I’m glad you agree with me, although in addition to the more diverse entertainment options that you keep pointing out Crystal also has higher quality included beverages, more flexible food offerings, higher service level, more space per passenger, better bedding, and a more stable product - overall makes it worth paying more for Crystal. It’s great to have choice, and Explora and Crystal are different enough from one another that I would expect to pay more for one versus the other. I have enjoyed both products, and have upcoming bookings on both, so not saying one is always the right answer versus the other, just that IMHO Crystal deserves the higher prices it may charge.