Croooser

16 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Thank you for your honest feedback.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Props for exercising restraint in your response. Commendable.

OK. Just a single data point here with respect to Black Friday. Last year during O's Black Friday promo our existing 10 day September '24 Marina sailing was reduced by $900/pp. We were able to refare to that price.

So, they have in the past sometimes had some very good reduced prices on BF. Whether they will this year is anybody's guess and whether it will be what you are looking for is, well...

So, WiFi Plus = high speed always?

We have Experience More Essentials on our booked cruise.

13 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Thank you very much, very helpful!

 

So when you say "Entertainment and activities: MSC wins hands down because YC guests can go to all of the entertainment and activities and they have a lot. When you venture out of the YC it does get crowded and hectic - 5000+ guests." - this is to be expected obviously. But my understanding is that YC guests have a reserved area in the main theater and don't really care about lines when it comes to evening shows, correct? What about other venues? What kind of activities they have during the day? 

YC does have reserved seating in the main theater and the Butlers will escort YC guests if requested. The Butlers will also expedite check in at embarkation and getting on and off of the ship at ports of call. Our Butler also escorted us off of the ship at disembarkation to avoid the long line.

We did not utilize the Butlers for any other special services. We did experience Butler service in the Top Sail Lounge. There was a dedicated concierge in the TC as well.

The daily activities around the ship seemed equivalent (to us) to be much the same as the megaships on other lines. 

We enjoyed the option of being able to roam around the entire ship while still being able to enjoy the elevated experience in the YC. Some people have tried it and don't like it. But we liked it and will go again if the reviews stay positive and we find the right sailing.

OK. I'll bite. It seems like half of the Observer Critics have no first hand experience.

We have sailed 40+ times with much of that on the mainstream lines. Like some others who frequent this board, we consider ourselves Celebrity "refugees".

We sailed MSC twice in 2019. Once in a standard balcony for a family trip and once in a balcony in the Yacht Club.

Our take:

Food: We enjoyed the food in the YC and would rate it somewhere between Celebrity and Oceania in terms of quality. Like all things on MSC, there is somewhat of a more European influence. We liked the YC restaurant - the room, the ambiance, the service, etc. better than on O. Menu varied each day for lunch and dinner and included wine was OK for us and no long waits for beverage refills. There is no equivalent venue to compare to the TC on O which s where we always eat our meals on O, unless in a specialty or Waves. Also no place to measure up to Waves. You can go to the buffet open to all guests on MSC, but it's comparable to the buffet on other mainstream lines. We have eaten dinner in the specialties a few times on MSC and they were similar to specialties on Celebrity - not quite as good as O in our opinion, but OK for a change of pace.

Service: In general, we found service levels on MSC YC and O to be more readily available and more personalized. One difference in approach is that the staff in the public areas of the YC were primarily Butlers. For example, in the Topsail Lounge, service all day long was from Butlers and they all seemed to be accomplished at their roles. Another difference is that the Butlers provide some service outside the YC. For example: escorting guests for embarkation/debarkation, to reserved seating in the theater and on and off of the ship when in port. We found this to be a major benefit on a ship with 5000 or so guests. 

YC area. We spent a LOT of time in the Topsail Lounge and enjoyed it (our YC cruise was a TA. It was sometimes busy, but never overcrowded.

Entertainment and activities: MSC wins hands down because YC guests can go to all of the entertainment and activities and they have a lot. When you venture out of the YC it does get crowded and hectic - 5000+ guests.

OUR summary: YMMV: 

Food - MSC is good, but O has more choices and overall is somewhat better for us.

Service - O is good, but MSC is definitely a little bit better and more personalized for us.

Environment - The YC facilities and atmosphere was better for us.

One important caveat: Our YC experience was 2019. Just before Covid. We have no idea what may have changed in the interim.

We would definitely like to go on MSC YC again. However, the itineraries have not lined up for us and itinerary takes precedence for us. We would not consider MSC out of the YC again.

HTH

Can see present day only via app onboard. Hard copy of next day only left in suite with turn down each evening.

4 hours ago, Vallesan said:

Anyway, the whole experience left us less than happy to return to the US. Not sure we would ever get used to the rudeness in general and the ‘tipping’ culture in particular.

 

 

Seems like it might be best for you and for us from the USA if you choose not to return as most Americans would likely see your opinions as unwarranted and objectionable.

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

On the Vista the announcements are not coming in the cabin, but are still somewhat audible from the corridor speakers.  It is loud enough to wake light sleepers.

 

By the way, we have heard a rumor (from a pretty reliable source) that some soundproofing will be added to parts of the Vista, this summer.  It will be in the form of injected foam.  If true, it might help alleviate some of the complaints about noise bleed between cabins.  
 

Hank

One can only hope! Wonder if steps have been taken to avoid this issue on Allura?

4 hours ago, SATaxman said:

Thanks. I will try to find this bidding site.

We have found 3 different agencies that provide incentives. 1 via an email to someone on this board who lists her email in her sig. 2 via a website that offers to have TAs compete for your business. All 3 are large well established agencies that provide roughly the same $ incentive ... On O that means a rebate check either after final payment or after cruise is completed. In addition, 2 of them belong to Virtuoso which sometimes adds PPG on top of TA incentives, not in place of.

HTH

A point of view:

1. Whether or not Oceania anticipated that unused shorex OBC would become a margin enhancement is speculation. Maybe they did not see this coming. Only O management knows for sure.

However, given the reports on these boards from more than one recent cruise, there are issues with availability of tours AND O shipboard personnel refusing to provide an alternative means of the customer recouping the value of the unavailable shorex.

IMO, There can be no way that O is not NOW aware of the situation and is actively choosing to NOT come up with an equitable solution. Otherwise, shipboard management would have the authority to provide refundable OBC or OBC not restricted to shorex if there is no shorex resolution.  

Perhaps, they are sailing mostly full and don't see the need to make any changes?

Perhaps, their financials are horrible and they feel they have no choice other than take advantage and not allow people the opportunity to use the shorex OBC in some cases? Remember, as has been previously pointed out, they not only capture all of the revenue from the booking, but also undoubtedly don't have to pay the 3rd party excursion providers? More revenue and lower operating cost. 

But, there is no way that they don't know about this and thus far they have chosen to do what has been reported.

At this point, it is becoming a test of integrity. And so far, O is failing the test. 

2 hours ago, Mrs.Dukes said:

Thanks for sharing this with us. I am enjoying reading your review.

+1

On 3/4/2024 at 10:41 AM, Vineyard View said:

That is sad. Maybe with enough time, people will be able to identify the locations on the ship where the soundproofing is not adequate. It seems to be a predominant issue. However, it appears that there are areas where this does not occur. It would be a great benefit to know where not to book for those who are sound sensitive. I am one of those people. It all Truly makes no sense that a build would have different insulation in different areas, but I have zero knowledge on what comprises the building of a ship. There is no point in arguing if it is happening, because clearly there are areas where it is. The fact that the crew is receiving high volumes of complaints makes it difficult to dismiss. I am sorry you had such a disruptive sleep situation on your trip. That would be extremely frustrating to have to put up with. 
 

Disclaimer: We have zero knowledge of ship construction - None.

However, based on our 16 nights on Vista In November, we think that it is likely a sound insulation issue that likely exists in many/most Verandas and Concierge as they appear to be the same size and maybe same exact wall construction. Perhaps PH as well? Don't have any idea.

We think that the variable that explains why some report the issue and some don't is the guests in the next room on the TV side. If they have the TV on even at reasonable levels, the sound comes through. In our case our neighbors always had their TV on when in their room. Kept wondering for 16 days why we did not get neighbors who like to read instead of watch TV 😒.

It's the luck of the draw.

alexandria,

Are you sure that you are not confusing Flight Ease with another cruise line's air program? We are booked on our first Seabourn cruise and were able to review flight choices as soon as we made a deposit. We could choose days of travel, number and location of any connections, airline, etc. We experienced no change in price on the flights we reserved. All at a better price at that time than offered by the airlines for the same flights since Seabourn offered a Flight Ease air credit. And flights were refundable up until final payment.

We see Flight Ease as a real advantage when compared to - say Oceania's air program. Lock in the flights that we want at a good price and then cancel if we can find something better up until final payment? It's a very good program for us.

No. We lost the res for week one and had the day changed from what we had reserved for week two. Best to contact Seabourn to clarify what you have. 

No big deal for us. We do wonder if it will be more crowded in the other venues? Guess we will just roll with it.

HTH

From:  

Dear Mr. and Mrs. .....,
Thank you for contacting Seabourn Cruise Line regarding your upcoming sailing aboard Encore on 21APR24 in reservation XXXXXX.

We are sincerely sorry for the change of schedule for Solis. It will be closed the first week of your sailing, so you will only have the 1 night scheduled for 03MAY at 6:45. Once onboard you can see Guest Services to be add to a waitlist for a second night that week if you wish.

Throughout the sailing, you have several other dining options to choose from. All other venues are open, and no reservations needed. The Restaurant is our main dining venue for dinner. The Colonnade has buffet and table service for breakfast and lunch, and table service only in the evening.
The Patio is buffet and table service for breakfast and lunch and transforms to Earth and Ocean in the evening.
There is also the Sushi Restaurant available for lunch and dinner.

We do apologize again for the confusion and the changes.

We hope this information has been helpful. Please let us know if we may be of further assistance.
Kind Regards,


Xxxx.    
Seabourn Guest Services
Seabourn | Luxury Voyages and Expeditions
Xxx. Xxxxxxxxx 
w | www.seabourn.com

 

We are booked on Encore for 14 days 4/21-5/5. Seabourn has informed us that the conversion will take place starting March 16th with Solis scheduled to open on April 29th. Seems like they plan to get it done during the reposition from Singapore to Athens. 

We have had one of our two reservations cancelled due to the conversion activity.

We have decided that losing one dinner reservation is much, much better than having the cruise cancelled due to the relocation trip.

11 hours ago, CruisingIGo said:

Only loungers for PH extended balconies…… only 2 chairs & small table for lower categories.

+1. Our solution was to pack a folding step stool. Fits easily in large luggage when folded flat and does not weigh too much. One of us used the stool and one the small table. Not as nice as the lounge chairs, but passable for us. YMMV

2 hours ago, keylimecake said:

I have already made some poor decisions not understanding the O culture and customs onboard.  I did not understand that most guests eat in the MDR and we can only schedule 2 reservations for Tuscan Steak prior to sailing.  

We also plan and schedule our own land tours/ plans in each port.  Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions for the O newbies!

With respect to most guests eat in the MDR...That is true for some, but not all and perhaps not even most. We tend to avoid the MDR and go to the terrace or Waves when not at a specialty. Pretty sure that we are not alone there as we tend to sit in the same general area as do some others. We see a lot of the same people. Terrace is always quite busy at peak times for all meal times. Our preference is based on the convenience of self selecting exactly what and how much we want. In addition, much (not all) of what is on the MDR menu is on the terrace menu. Of course, if having table service is a preference, the MDR wins hands down.  

YMMV

Much appreciated the thorough review. We are contemplating a first on Azamara cruise and appreciated hearing your reactions and experiences. Think you did an admirable job of shrugging off the observer critics who chose your review to strut their stuff.

Thanks again.

56 minutes ago, roberts2005 said:

We had the noise problem on TA in a concierge cabin.  There was a previous thread on the issue.  It is a major problem.

11 hours ago, edgee said:

Thanks for your review! We were on November 16 night Vista cruise. So many things to like about Vista. We will be returning to her later this month on a cruise we had already booked, but sadly we will not cruise on her again due to paper thin walls between the cabins. Could hear even low TV volume at night, but also conversations of neighbors. Truly unfortunate.

+1 . Never experienced on 4 cruises on Riviera, but on our Vista cruise had to wear noise cancelling headphones because our neighbors had their TV on whenever they were in the room. The other obvious solution was to turn our TV on. We resorted to turning on the NAV channel just to have the Music drown out the TV from the room next door. Not ideal. The problem was not that it was on very loud. It could be heard through the wall even when it seemed like they had the volume at a reasonable level.

Our room was arranged so that the TV was back to back with our neighbors TV and our headboard back to back with the room on the other side. We never heard any noise from the headboard side.

If your neighbors don't use the TV much, you are good to go. 

No more Vista for us.

YMMV

Sailing on Seabourn for the first time in April. Have been on Riviera 4X. Seems like Vallesan's response is well balanced and probably right on, based on what we know of Riviera and what we think that we have learned about Encore..

One suggestion: We have found some of the YouTube reviews to be very helpful and informative - including when we researched Encore. The caveat is that some are cheerleaders or "influencers". Some admit that they were comped and some do not mention it one way or the other. However, we still found the videos helpful just getting a good look at the ships.

HTH

We disembarked Vista at Miami on a Sunday in November. Express was permitted off at 8:00 and everyone else queued in hectic, disorganized lines. O placed responsibility on the port, but O had no one organizing the lines (one person at the door) and no communication as to why they could not let people disembark.  It was a real goat rodeo. If O was at the mercy of the port authorities, then they could have helped things quite a bit by organizing the lines.

OP: Having vented about all of that... We had O take our luggage off and were off of the ship by  around 8:45, claimed our bags, cleared customs, got a cab and were at the MIA airport by 9:30. We could have been off at least a half hour earlier had we taken our own bags off. An 11:00 flight is very doable, provided that you are not mobility challenged which could slow things up quite a bit at both ends. 

HTH

Our experience on Vista in November was that Guest Relations staff were indifferent to the two different requests that we made which they chose not to resolve and with a not so pleasant response. This was in stark contrast to what we viewed as consistently good to excellent service levels and response from the rest of the crew that we interacted with. Example - One of those issues was with an overcharge at Toscana. So, after striking out at Guest Relations we went to the Maître D at Toscana who immediately stopped what he was doing and had the charge corrected.

For some reason Guest Relations seems to have a license to say NO. In the future we will be prepared to immediately escalate when this happens.

YMMV

On 12/19/2023 at 8:35 AM, edgee said:

The TV noise was a pretty big problem for us, as our neighbors played their TV until midnight and we normally go to sleep right after the show...about 10:15 or so. We had already booked a return to Vista in late Jan. We know that we can only hope that our neighbors will not use their tv in the late evening. Partial solution is to open balcony door so the noise of the sea serves as a white noise...or use a white noise app on our phones. That was only a partial solution for us. Should not have to be dependent on just hoping our neighbors are quiet. While we love the ship, this may be our last cruise on Vista for that reason.

Yep. Loved the ship, but not willing to roll the dice on the sound from next door. Had to use over the ear, noise cancelling headphones with white noise to block it out. Never had anywhere near that problem on four trips on Riviera. Sure seems like they did something different. Cancelled a Vista cruise next year because of the noise and replaced it with a, first for us, Seabourn that also has an itinerary that we prefer.

YMMV

Was able to refare September '24 Marina sailing. Still shows original booking date and cancellation policies.

Thanks for taking the time and effort. I appreciate it.