2SailingNomads

We had a terrible first experience at Chartreuse - worst table possible, food not so good, service poor. Decided to give it another go and it was the total opposite, so much that we went back with a couple we befriended staying in a named suite and got us all in. Prime 7 was always good, and really liked lunch there Pacific Rim was probably our favorite but agree that food sometimes came out too fast. Compass Rose first time we sat and sat and sat waiting for some water and wine. Food was good. Rest of the times service was decent.

"Also heard Eclipse is having a very hard time filling ships from a passenger perspective. There's gonna be a shakeout in the industry for sure. " I can speak to this. We have sailed on Eclipse I and II (3 times in total and over 40 days) and they can't fill the ships with paying pax, they give free or severely discounted rates to travel agents in the hope they will sell the product. (Supposedly they do sell out the Antarctica cruises) So far it has not worked and the last cruise we were on 7 weeks ago the owner came on in Miami and kissed a** of the TA's but never once came within 50 feet of us paying pax. BUT here is the thing: it is a GREAT product, multiple (depending on how one counts 5 or 6 for dinner) restaurants for 230 potential pax. Included spirits better than Seabourn, comp wines about equal but what make it great is they have some of the BEST ex-Seabourn crew (Brenden, Alex, Damir, Milos, etc... just to name a few). And more joining all the time (I recently found out my favorite Seabourn waiter is now part of Scenic) I think Scenic officers are more visible and interacting especially the Captain (love Rado and Erwan they are special people and always around) and Staff Captain. IMO there are too many ships competing in this space (Atlas with their legit BOGO fares) all the same PC6 class. So can only go to the same places. Only Le Commandant Charcot can do something special (North Pole? Yeah it was great.)

Glad to know Brent is still with Seabourn. He made our Antarctica and Alaska cruises special.

Have done many TA's on Seabourn and 1 on Regent. Similar as far as day time lectures & things to do although Regent does have Trivia it is not a blood sport as it is on some Seabourn cruises. (We do not play, just based on what we heard from various friends who do play). We were on the Splendor and think Regent - at least the larger ships - win as there are more choices for lunch open than on Seabourn. Like the Regent coffee bar where you can have a seat and someone will take your order instead of standing on a line in Seabourn Square plus the serve yourself little breakfast options. Seabourn clear winner when it comes to dinner as you only need reservations at TK - soon to be gone and the Ad Hoc dinners at Colonnade, never a problem to get whereas on Regent Prime 7, Chartreuse and Pacific Rim are all a game to play to get a reservation. Compass Rose definitely a wider choice of options but service can be good or pretty bad and the room is not appealing. Seabourn MDR smaller menu and service varies depending on who is the lead. Much better, IMO, live music on Regent.

We recently received our documents for our December Regent cruise. Listed in that package are the days for formal night. I don't know why Seabourn cannot tell people in advance.

In my 1 Regent experience (so far but have 3 more booked) Regent pax were younger than typical Seabourn. Particulars of the itinerary will change the demographics on most any cruise line I would think. Scenic about the same as Seabourn, Ponant Le Commandant pax definitely younger.

Usually not known until you are on-board. If a sea day then that is a good candidate.

I will need some additional info, but we will correspond via email not in this public thread showing your details to anyone. :)

I'd be glad to assist you, please send me an email to SailingNomads@outlook.com and I will be happy to refer you.

Nice to see the juicer, that is an improvement. Glad you are having smooth seas.

Just recently returned from Scenic and one of my biggest complaints is communication. You don't find out until the night before what time your tour starts; we had a low pax count so they alternated what restaurants were open for dinner but no advance notice of what was planned for the rotation. The crew are great but communication from the really poor web site (and all you can do is fill in flight / hotel info, contact info, etc.) Once you pick your tours you can not go back and review what you selected.

Use a VPN (as you always should when on a public WiFi) and set your server location to near where you live.

Yes it is the only PC2 class ship in the world, it is an amazing ship as far as the technology goes. Only Russian nuclear icebreakers are more powerful. Other countries ice breakers are PC3.

Ok just saw it was posted: Expert Review of Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot (cruisecritic.com)

We returned 2 weeks ago from the North Pole. Wrote a review but for some reason it hasn't posted. That was the ultimate experience but not much wild life except for that female polar bear that made us all run back to the ship... been to Greenland and Iceland multiple times and yes who ever named them was confused, each have their appeal IMO. I actually prefer Norway.

If FedEx merged with UPS it would be FedUP....

Pick up the phone and call Seabourn maybe? Get peace of mind and not wake up at 2 a.m. fretting? Just sayin

Usually the on board rep knows who we booked with and she gets a notification the next day from Seabourn. Never a problem nor with Scenic. Have not yet booked onboard with Regent but suspect similar given a conversation with the person whose contact is in every email I get from them. Seabourn does have internal sales people who multiple friends sometimes use (despite 20 cruises I never was contacted by anyone and not complaining just find it interesting people with a lot less days have been) and they compete against travel agents. Murky waters in that regard IMO

Especially from cheerleader #1 (still want to see him in his cheerleader outfit and pompoms ...) who must have nothing else to do all day but write 4000+ word responses on CC on how WONDERFUL Crystal new and old is/was.

All inclusive apparently has a different meaning in the French language. We encountered lots of upcharges. And we never were served Heidsiek even at the North Pole celebration. I am working on a forthcoming writeup of the trip, some of which was absolutely amazing and other parts disappointing.

My question exactly, I am on a vacation and so why do I have to rush for a 3 or 4 hour tour? 10 a.m. would be preferable for us. And it's true of all cruise line tours.

We have never and never will give money to bartender or any other crew hoping to get better service. We get great service for 3 reasons: it is Seabourn that is what they do; we are polite; we connect with the crew.

Please do not tip individual Seabourn crew it is included in the fare, if you wish to reward crew above and beyond what you already paid contribute to the crew welfare fund. The tender driver works as hard, but you don't know him on a personal level, as your suite attendant. Crew fund goes to all the hard working folks. And throwing money in advance to someone in anticipation of preferential service is not what Seabourn is about or at least used to be.

On Ponant they require an EKG within the last 12 months to participate.

Heading back from 90° North only 2 ships can take you there. You don't want to go on the other one. Alain Ducasse associated restaurant that has been serving up some amazing food for being on a ship. I love Seabourn but this is a different level of experience if you want to go places no one else can. Tons of PC6 class ships only 1 PC2, too bad Seabourn didn't go for PC3 level and stand out from the competition. Not disputing that Venture and Pursuit are great ships, but not ground breaking for serious experiences.