CLOU

Just to clarify, and I think this is correct, the v1 and v2 balconies all used to have the metal bottoms, at least on the Odyssey class ships, but they were all on the lower passenger decks.  The higher classifications - v3 through v6 began on the slightly higher decks, deck 6 on the Odyssey class.  With the new classification Seabourn appears to have implemented, which now involves the location of the suites on the deck, some of the v1suites are on middle decks, just more to the front of the ship.  They should then have all clear balconies.  I can't remember if the same was true on the Ovation and Encore.  Can anyone confirm if they think I am understanding the new classifications. 

Am I reading this right?  Is there now no differentiation to show that the balcony suites on decks 4 and 5 half different balconies, with the bottoms being solid metal as opposed to clear?  At least I know that so I can keep it in mind when booking going forward, when I can actually book again.

The top deck does have lounge chairs.  It is relatively easy to walk around in the morning, before most people are out, but it is open all day.  We have been reading on the lounge chairs in the middle of the day, when people are doing laps.  Both activities can occur at the same time, but as people rearrange the chairs, it can become an obstacle course.  There is an outside deck on a lower deck, but it does not go all the way around the ship, so you have to do u-turns.  For me, I get my exercise on cruises either walking around the ports or destinations, or on the treadmill.  Other facets of Seabourn are much more important and appealing to me,  But,  I am not a walking junkie, so each person has to cater to his or her own priorities.

I feel bad I did not update my status earlier, but my husband checks our credit card balances daily and I asked him to let me know when our refunds posted.  Of course, he neglected to tell me that both our refunds had posted on May 29th, for our September and December cruises -  around 60 days from my cancellation of these cruises, so I consider myself lucky.  My fault for relying on him rather than also checking myself, but after 37 years of marriage I tend to assume we share one mind.

I am one of the lurkers.  We cancelled two cruises that were to sail later this year  We cancelled them on our own, before Seabourn cancelled them.  Now the first has been officially cancelled by Seabourn. The December cruise is still currently slated to sail, but we are not comfortable sailing again until we see how things develop.  We cancelled Our September 16th cruise to Europe on the Encore on March 27th and our December 22nd cruise to the Caribbean on the Sojourn on April 13, so much more recently that most others.  Of course, we have not received our deposits back yet.

Here is my example of pretension at the TK Grill. We were all handed the menus opened to the reserve wine list page instead of the food menu. This corresponds to the attitude we have had there in the past that it is expected that we order a better wine, since the complimentary wines are not good enough. 

We have found they have put us on United or Star Alliance partners (except to Reykjavik where it was IcelandAir, a significant but not unexpected downgrade) but we fly out of Dulles. United is not great but we are used to it out of Dulles. Its European partners, such as SAS from Copenhagen, like most international carriers, are better.  We have learned to always check Seabourn air, since it is sometimes, but not always, significantly cheaper. Our last two cruises Seabourn’s fare was over $1000 per person lower for business class air to Europe on convenient flights. They also accommodated a deviation of a flight into a different Italian city than the embarkation port, so we could do some pre-cruise touring.

I tried on two separate cruises to get some better beer for my brother-in-law who was sailing with us. He too tends to drink IPAs. I contacted guest relations directly and through my travel agent. I asked for Sierra Nevada or some local beer such as Canadian beer on a Canadian cruise or Icelandic beer or something from Scotland on a Northern Europe cruise. No success.  He and we also had a hard time having anyone tell us what actually was available. On the Northern Europe cruise he asked for an IPA and got the Lagunitas. He probably drank them out of their supply.

Pulled up this thread because we are about to book a Christmas and New Year's cruise for this year.  We don't observe Christmas, but we certainly have no problem with being around others who are enjoying the festivities.  We also have never been on a Seabourn cruise with more than a few children.  I was a little concerned but this thread makes me feel that the presence of children will not be too intrusive.  I was wondering if anyone on a current cruise or perhaps just returning in the next few days can add anything new.

As for bar service, not the bartender himself, we had the exact opposite experience on the Odyssey last year.  Granted, we were in the Club, which is smaller than the Observation lounge, but Denys, who got off the ship with us, had three of our drinks ready as we were sitting down.  He never had my sister's drink because she ordered something different each night so he had to check with her.  He was the first person mentioned in my survey as someone who helped make my cruise more enjoyable.

We have eaten at both French Laundry and Per Se.  We ate at French Laundry, many years ago, before we had eaten at that many other fine restaurants with which to compare it.  We were actually disappointed.  Now, every place can have an off night, and occasionally we have given a highly rated restaurant a second chance and been glad we did.  However, we have not been back to French Laundry.   Our experience at Per Se was better, but still not as good as expected or as good as similarly priced and touted restaurants.  Also, on our last cruise, we found the Thomas Keller selections in the main dining room to be disappointing, as apparently did the couple dining at the table next to us.  On one night, after my husband ordered the TK appetizer, our waiter tried to dissuade him and asked him what his second choice would be.  He brought out both, which worked out well, because my husband found the TK appetizer inedible.  But, food is a matter of taste, literally, so other people may feel differently.  

As to the snottiness, we have ignored it, and it has certainly not ruined our dinner.  I just find it an anomaly on Seabourn, it and does take something away from the experience.

Interestingly, on our Caribbean cruise, we signed up for shopping with the chef, but the chef was diverted to be with a camera crew, in the same markets, taking promotional pictures and videos, with models instead of the ragtag passengers. So, instead we were accompanied by a representative from the TK restaurant group who was on board that cruise to ensure that the TK standards were being met on the ship.  He was delightful and informative and a great ambassador for TK.

Count me among the people not all that impressed with TK. We have had dinner there once on each cruise since TK was launched, for variety's sake, but have been underwhelmed.  I have had both steak and chicken and found them to be average. I agree the chicken was salty and I like salty food.  Last time, when I split it with by brother-in-law, he thought it was underdone.  Also, on the Odyssey class ships, it feels cramped, but so did R2.  It is a much nicer setting on the newer ships.  My biggest problem, however, is the attitude.  It is the only place on Seabourn ships where I find a snobbish attitude and an upsell effort.  I found it offensive that when they handed us our menus, they were all open to the reserve wine list and not the actual food menu.  We came in with our own bottle on our most recent trip (which by the way they refused to take from us in advance and hold for us so we did not have to fetch it right before dinner, when we requested that the night before), so we short circuited the upsell, but in the past  when the reserve wines have been pushed, I have been tempted to ask them if they thought their complimentary wines were too inferior for us to drink.

I have found the availability of Fever Tree can also be affected by the location of the cruise.  Maybe because it is made in the UK, it has been unavailable on our Canada and Caribbean cruises, while I have been able to get it on European cruises.  However, I have had less luck with getting Fever Tree Light, which has only been available sporadically.

It's interesting how different people's experiences and preferences can be.  Granted, we have taken ten Seabourn cruises and only one Silversea cruise, but that was partly because of our negative impression following the SS cruise.  Unlike Accessor, the food on SS was one of it smain drawbacks for us.  We sent our meals back once in the main dining room because it was inedible, not just improperly prepared, and I cannot think of any other time I have done that anywhere.  And our experience in the club was the exact opposite.  While Seabourn's passed hors d'oeuvres may have gone a little down hill in recent years, as I think have many things on many cruise lines, they are still far superior to what was served to us in the lounges on SS just a couple of years ago. Everythings was ice cold, including greasy fried calamari and soggy pigs in a blanket.  Each cruise can be different and everyone has different tastes.

Thanks for he info. I still have a couple of years but it is finally close enough to actually be realistic to think about. If Seabourn uses your average suite level it would be hard to give us anything but a v3, since that is what we have always booked, with the exception of two upgrades. I am not sure if you can choose any seven day cruise or how they determine the amount of credit to give you, but I can worry about that when I actually hit the milestone.

This may have been addressed before but I cannot find the thread.  We are actually nearing the 140 day benchmark to earn a free seven day cruise.  While it is likely two more cruises away, I am already planning the next one, so it is at least close enough to dream about. I have a couple questions.  First, how does Seabourn determine what level suite to provide?  Logic would tell me it would be the level you sailed the most, but that may not be true.  Also, somewhere in the back of my mind I thought I recalled that you could take a longer cruise and receive a credit.  Is this correct?  If so, does this only apply to cruises that also have a separate 7 day bookable segment, so Seabourn know how much of a credit to give?

Thanks Hallam. All of the restaurants we looked at were closed on Sunday. We are staying at the Marriott, if that helps with any additional recommendations. We were looking at a lot of foodie restaurants, although after a fifteen day cruise, I am not sure if that will be necessary. 

Okay, I just posted about Reykjavik, but I also need a recommendation for a restaurant for dinner in Copenhagen on a Sunday night.  We would like something nice, but it does not need to be fine dining.  Just looking for good food.  We are open to anything.  However, every restaurant I look at seems to be closed on Sunday.  We will just have gotten off a 15 day cruise, so I may be a little burnt out.  We will be four with one pescatarian.  Any suggestions, especially from a resident would be appreciated.

We will be in Reykjavik next Friday night before embarking on our cruise on Saturday.  I would be interested in any recommendations for a dinner restaurant, especially from any residents of the city.  Went to both Grillmarkadurinn and Fiskmarkadurinn last time we were there.  They were okay but I would like to try something different.  We would like something nice, but it does not have to be the finest dining, although we are open to anything.  We will be a party of four with one pescatarian.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

hanks SKP946.  As I remembered, pretty limited for a beer drinker who likes interesting beer, and tends to drink iPAs.

Thanks SKP946 but I cannot open these links.

I have spoken to my travel agent and she spoke to Seabourn.  I asked for beers available in the UK or Iceland since those are the two countries which will be visited by the Quest right before our cruise starts in Reykjavik and so choices should be available.  We will see if anything comes of it.   

As I stated earlier, last time my advance special request was not met. Perhaps I will try again. What is a reasonable amount to ask for? This is a fifteen day cruise and my brother-in-law pretty much only drinks beer, water and Diet Coke.

I saw an old thread on this, but it did not mention what beers might be available on board.  I am not much of a beer drinker, so other than Grolsch, I don't remember what beer choices there are.  I am sailing in a few weeks with my borther-in-law and he drinks only beer.   Last time we cruised together, following advice form this board, I contacted guest relations and asked them to stock some pale ale readily available in the US (we were sailing from Boston).  Disappointingly, my request was not met.  I would like to try again.   This time we are sailing from Reykjavik, so I will request a common Icelandic beer.  However, In anticipation of disappointment again, can anyone tell me what beers are generally available on board?  You can skip any light beers, because I know that is not his style.  Thanks.

Thank you, Sucellos, for the reasoned and detailed reply.  I too had come to the conclusion that the responses on this board seemed to be a bit all over the place, just like the so-called travel information sources on line.

The one problem with the tip and the credit card is that for some ridiculous reason, most US cards do not have a PIN.  They finally have chips but the vendor has to print out a receipt for us to sign.  It is almost always just printed and presented to us, without a chance to change the number.  That means, when we tip have to  tip in cash.  I guess before they enter the bill number we could ask the if it is possible to add a tip, but that always feels awkward.