wineasmusic

First off we are practiced cruisers having been on most the Seabourn and Regent ships.

The ship is really beautiful. Have been to most the public spaces now and the are all very nicely done. We have been on for 3 days now so starting to get the feel of things and create first impressions. And yes, the first thing we did was take a picture of the dent. I'll just post random thoughts so far to get caught up.

Oddly we did not meet our room attendant until the end of the second day. We also did not get our room serviced the first night (no Hearald and had to fold the luggage bed cover to get it out of the way). Seabourn offers special soaps for the shower. We have asked, but have yet to get any. Hopefully we can get that sorted out soon.

Have recognized a number of the crew we have sailed with before. They all seem to like working on this ship. Have had a few service hiccups, but overall I think they have it figured out.

Seabourn square is now round with 4 desks. There is no single line however so you queue by a desk and just hope you picked one where the person in front has an easy question. The space is bigger and very comfortable. Had a sea day yesterday and spent about an hour enjoying coffee from the coffee bar reading my kindle.

Saw one show so far and it was very good. They do two performances a night 8:30 and 10. The head height for the performers is very low. No jumping allowed up on the stage.

We did an early dinner to catch the 8:30 show. Sat down on the patio in Colonade at 7:05 for a 3 course limited menu meal and did not finish until 8:25. Barely made the show. Finished our entrees and after 15 minutes they had not yet cleared our plates so we asked for help so we could get desert and make the show.

Did Thomas Keller Grill last night and it was really enjoyable. My steak was almost done instead of medium rare, but the meat was of such high quality it was still good. I highly recommend checking out the lounge outside the TK Grill. It is a very enjoyable place to have a drink and listen to the piano. Planning to try out the observation piano player tonight before dinner.

The food has been very good so I'm sure to gain some poundage on this cruise, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Had time for a leisurely breakfast on the patio of the Colonade. Good thing as it took over 10 minutes to get coffee. Refills were a challenge too. I get the feeling they really need another person or two on the Colonade patio to keep things moving smoothly. It is really spacious and you don't feel squeezed in like the Oddessey class ships. Wonderful space to enjoy a meal, but lots more tables so they need just a little more help.

More to come.

D2

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Jonathan Smid from Canada is the chef.

D2

I remember reading all the problems with food back in October/November. I'm happy to say they seem to be all fixed. While not perfect, so far I think it has been as good as it gets. I'm a very happy camper (although one that will gain some weight because of it).

Sailing the rural coast of Brazil so not much to see but providing some great down time to recharge the batteries.

Darrell and Peggy