thebigcruiseguy

Does anyone know the largest group res Explora can accommodate for dining? Are there tables for 12?

We too are younger cruisers and while we haven’t yet sailed EJ- we are booked for next month. We have sailed with X, SS and Seabourn. Our experience was that SS while upscale and nice, was not for us- the physical spaces were well designed however the ship had very little energy / vibe, and the food was some of the worst we’ve ever had. Seabourn was a lovely experience, service was great, food was mostly good and the experience while not ever rowdy was fun filled, casual but elegant and service was fantastic. We think we’re going to love EJ!

Does anyone know the latest bar is on the ship, and what time is last call? Assume they have at least one bar that closes at 1 or 2am (0100 or 0200) Thanks.

Does anyone have more information on the Rolex store, specifically what models have been available on sailings? It's widely known that Rolex has extremely limited inventory at retails shops (generally none), but I have heard that Rolex does stock inventory on sailings. If so, which models have you all seen?? Thanks!

Having tried Ovation in May 2022, we were quite pleased with the overall experience. We did encounter some minor disappointment with the food, namely in The Restaurant. We happened to like TK Grill quite a bit. We chalked up the food challenges to being so soon after cruising re opened post covid. We decided to give SS (Moon) a try earlier this year, and I can confidently say (unless we want to try Nova or purely itin driven) we likely will not be returning to SS. The entertainment was AWFUL and makes SB entertainment look incredible. No comparison. Food on SS was a major letdown- probably some of the worst food at sea. We were shocked by this on so many levels. Yes the venues on Moon are gorgeous, and the mixology was fantastic (amazing cocktails etc) but the food, except in Le Dame was consistently just bad. There’s very little “vibe” or “life” at all on SS- it’s just dead after 10pm. SB for roughly the same size ship felt much more alive! The only thing I hope SB does is improve their cocktail / mixology program. I remember not having high end mixers (such as Fever Tree tonics)- that IMO would elevate the bar experience for this caliber cruise line.

We wanted to share a brief review of our experience aboard Silversea Dawn in early March, 2023 from San Juan to Bridgetown. Context: This was our very first SS cruise. We have sailed on Crystal Serenity, Seabourn Ovation and a few Celebrity ships as well. Getting to the point: SS Dawn is a gorgeous ship, definitely the most elegant we have sailed, although there were some shortcomings which may give us pause on booking another. Overall Impressions: Silversea has done a remarkable job on the design on SS Dawn, this ship is an elegant beauty from top to bottom. Of all the cruises we have taken in the past, Dawn takes first place in terms of the physical appearance of the ship. She feels like what you would expect from a newer Four Seasons Hotel. The venues are gorgeous, the ship is comfortable, and the pretentiousness we might have expected was not felt by fellow guests or the crew. We had very high expectations for SS overall, knowing it’s the pinnacle of cruising brands. Overall, we would rate the experience as a 7.5/10. The primarily reason for a less than excellent score: The Food and The Entertainment. The latter you could possibility be more forgiving as SS is known for more low key luxury, but the entertainment was just down right bad. That said, the quality and experience of the ship’s physical appearance was stellar, as was the service throughout. The Food: Wow, we were shocked at how “bad” the food really was for the highest end cruising brand in the industry. We’re not talking one or two meals bad, but I would say nearly 60% of our meal experiences left much to be desired. Could this really be, on SS? Food is highly subjective as we all know, and perhaps they were having a bad week, but we felt the overall quality and variety of food was just sub par for the brand. By comparison, Crystal (when we sailed in 2019) was leaps and bounds ahead of SS, Seabourn was also ahead in terms of food, and so were our Celebrity experiences. Where SS did do well in terms of food: Caviar on demand (a nice touch of course), Spaccanapoli and La Dame. La Terraza also deserves recognition as we thought it was much better and “restaurant like” compared to the other “cruise food” tasting venues. The buffet options at La Terraza were also quality oriented. Where did SS do poorly in terms of food: Kaiseki, Atlantide and the absolute worst: Hot Rocks. We tried our very best not to be critical, and in fact it was a consensus in our group that these venues were just down right disappointing. Flavorless, poor quality cuts of steak, seafood that did not taste fresh were among the comments we had for these venues. We tried hard to identify the source of the issues- was it staffing? Was it quality of the raw ingredients? Perhaps a combination of things, but SS really does need to assess things on the food front. Drink Offerings: this is where we thought SS really outdid themselves! Compared to other luxury lines, SS nailed the drink offerings. Mixology was stellar, the best example of course being Salt Bar. Presentation of drinks (love the linen napkins!) was stellar, as was the selection of spirits. Wine offers were also quite nice, although our only complaint was that the staff was pushing 1 selection of each type of wine in the venues, and if you didn’t ask- you would never get to try other types of wines on the included lists. Entertainment: Again, setting expectations here is key. Of course luxury lines will not have the level of entertainment options by virtue of the audience and number of guests on board. SS is intended to be subtle luxury- yes we get that, but the quality of the entertainment (with the exception of one venue, Silver Note), was the worst we’ve experienced on a cruise. Very few deck band appearances (Seabourn by comparison did a great job!), and the bands throughout were literally playing synthesized pre selected songs on keyboards. Come on SS- step things up! The acts in the theatre were also average at best. SS could easily maintain the subtle entertainment approach they have by also adding in a few more options, by the pool for example and in the main venue areas. Conclusion: This is not intended to be an exhaustive review, yet just a quick perspective on our experience. Overall, we would love an excuse to give SS another try, but based on the food and entertainment alone, we would be reluctant do to so. Highlights however did include, fantastic service throughout (The suite butlers as an example were lovely), beautiful ship with modern “hotel like” venues and of course a small initiate ship environment you would expect from a luxury line. At this point, we’re more inclined to give Seabourn or Crystal another try for our next luxury cruise experience.

The entertainment on Seabourn was truly first rate, it’s evident they have invested heavily in the quality of shows etc. The venue itself is both technologically advanced and intimate- we really enjoyed the setup and caliber of talent. You will not be disappointed in the variety and quality of shows!

As an avid reader on CC, I wanted to contribute by sharing a brief review on our recent Seabourn Ovation Mediterranean itinerary. Itinerary: Monte Carlo to Barcelona, 7 Night Context: I believe context is important to any review. We have experienced 5 Mediterranean cruises over the past few years on Celebrity, Crystal and now Seabourn. Given Crystal’s recent financial demise, our bookings were sadly cancelled which caused us to explore elsewhere. We absolutely loved the Crystal experience and booked Seabourn based on the itinerary and comparable product to Seabourn. Highlights: Overall, Seabourn delivers a fantastic luxury oriented experience. In terms of quality, it was indeed impressive. The staff shines, as does the physical product. We absolutely loved the boutique nature of Seabourn as most everything was effortless, high class and personalized as you would expect for this segment. Having sailed Crystal in the past, Seabourn does have some areas for improvement in our opinion including food & beverage, but it’s not enough to overshadow an otherwise very good experience. The Ship: Seabourn Ovation truly shines with its tasteful design and finishes throughout. Ovation is understated, nautical in terms of aesthetics and Seabourn has stuck with its traditional yacht like history which we really appreciated compared to some of the newer more model “hotel like” cruise ships. You will not be disappointed with the ship itself in any way. It’s small yet benefits from enough venues to the point you won’t get bored easily. Everything on board is very well laid out and easy to navigate. The Staterooms (We were in a V4 Verandah): Again, Seabourn has really hit it out of the park with it’s entry level staterooms, “Suites” as they call them. Ovation benefits from an all verandah stateroom format so no room is bad. Note that Deck 5 Verandahs do not have full glass like all the others- we were on deck 6 with the normal glass verandahs which we quite enjoyed. Standard staterooms are spacious at around 300 sq. ft. and very well designed- there’s plenty of storage, walk in closets are a nice touch and the bathrooms are exquisite with dual vanities, glass showers and a separate tub! The Molton Brown amenities are great, and the stateroom attendants are AMAZING! Dining/Cocktails: Ok, here’s where Seabourn needs to step things up. Again, Crystal was our reference point for luxury cruise dining. We had read mixed reviews on Seabourn dining but I was skeptical as dining experiences are so subjective. I will agree that Seabourn F&B needs improvement. Here are some specifics that we took away from our overall dining experience: - The “Restaurant” venue was by far our least favorite; dinners were mediocre at best. In fact, we never had a “fantastic” meal in this venue which was very disappointing for the Seabourn brand, and quite a contrast to our main dining room experiences on Crystal. Service was friendly but not well organized. While the menus offered decent variety, the overall flavors and perceived quality of the main courses were just down right disappointing. We expected so much more from Seabourn. To have one disappointing main course would be understandable, but all 6 in our party never felt that any of our dishes were impressive. We weren’t expecting fancy for every single dish, but things appeared bland in both taste and appearance and looked more similar to what you might find on premium tier lines like Celebrity. We avoided this venue to the extent possible after 3 bad meals. - Thomas Keller Grill was by far the very best dining venue on Ovation! We experienced the Grill twice during our voyage and while we understood this was the “speciality” dining experience on board, THIS is what the Restaurant should be in terms of feeling special and elevated. TK service was dynamite in every way- comparable or even better to some of the finest dining we’ve had on land. The quality of every dish was remarkable, the presentation of dishes was incredible. Seabourn should model the “specialness” of TK and try to extend this type of feel to other venues. The variety of dishes were plentiful and the quality was apparent, we LOVED TK Grill! - Sushi was also a favorite for us. Lunchtime offers Bento Boxes only (minimal sushi rolls) with dishes such as Teriyaki Chicken, Gyozo or Miso Salmon- all were fantastic! Dinner time offers a wide variety of sushi only. Our only criticism was that there were no hot dishes whatsoever for dinner which we thought was a bit of a miss. For example if they offered tempura and one other hot item at dinner it would make it a more democratic venue for those who don’t appreciate Sushi. The Staff at this venue were AMAZING as well. -Collenade did a really nice job for breakfast and lunchtime- we were impressed with the variety and quality of food on display. Dinner is primarily a la carte but we found the menu to be very limited with max 3-4 mains per night. We had the lobster dinner and it was sadly very disappointing. - Earth & Ocean at The Patio- we wanted to dine here our last night, however Seabourn fails to announce that this venue is closed on the last evening of the voyage as they do their closing party. We wished that Seabourn would have been more clear about closures etc. so we could better plan. - Bars Overall (Observation, Casino Bar, Sky Bar, Pool Bar, TK Bar) While the bar venues were nice in terms of overall appearance, Seabourn has really dropped the ball with cocktails overall. Yes, you can get a basic martini, margarita, mixed drink etc., but speciality cocktails are very much lacking and not well publicized. Cocktail menus are hard to come by, and when they are available, the drinks just aren’t that good. For a luxury line you would expect speciality drinks to have flare, fun garnishes for example and higher end mixers. Seabourn doesn’t offer Fever Tree or other speciality tonics etc., and I really think this is a big miss. Schweppes Seabourn? Come on! How about some speciality G+T’s? Martinis with creative garnishes or appearances? Nada. Perhaps this is in line with their overall more understated luxury vibe but beverages were very underwhelming. It was also difficult to know what they had in terms of variety of spirits as they only would place a limited number of “included” spirits out. Included wines overall were quite nice and they offered a good variety but again it was confusing without a published menu to know what was on offer by glass, and typically they would only show you one option as though it was the only option (unless you pushed/asked). Observation Bar as a venue is indeed lovely, but service was hit or miss as the staff seemed overwhelmed with the sheer demand. Seabourn does put out a nice spread of light food in the evenings which was a nice touch, but no nuts or other things we had expected. -Service was very personalized and the staff clearly are very happy and it shows. Given the number of venues I’d say it was difficult for the staff to remember preferences but understandable for a ship with a capacity of ~600 passengers (although our sailing was around 425). There were definitely some standout crew members and we were really impressed with the smaller touches such as the staff goodbye appreciation event on the last evening as well as select members of the staff lined up to say goodbye as we disembarked. The Crowd: as you might expect for a luxury tier - the crowd did skew older, mostly 60/70 somethings but the crowd was quite active overall. We did feel at times that this loyal Seabourn passengers weren’t particularly welcoming to the newbies. In this respect it did feel a bit country club vibe at times- a large contrast to Crystal. In Summary we would definitely book another Seabourn cruise but are hopeful that Seabourn will make some improvements to the dining and cocktail experience- we were expecting a lot more but with a few changes the experience would be complete. More info to come and happy to answer questions!

Things are quite stressful right now, and we’re in a similar position. As long a you have 10 days between symptoms (positive test) and embarkation day, without symptoms and fever for at least 24h, you are no longer contagious and cleared to go! That said, people can test positive for weeks so best to get a note from your doctor to clear you. Not a fun time, and BA2 is VERY contagious.