Quick review - On board Odyssey now (Caribbean)

SLSD, that was our experience on the Encore recently also, no complaints. Perhaps the Odyssey is going through a “crisis” at the moment as ships seem to do from time to time from reading posts on CC.

Maybe cruising is like getting a coffee from your favorite coffee shop, except the cost is significant, most times it is fabulous but occasionally you get one not so good and it leaves a bad taste.

It terms of the dropping standards, we have cruised 3 times on SB from 2013-2017 and each experience has gotten better. So for us, not cruising on the small ships was probably a blessing, as we don’t have that to compare to.

Anyone thinking current service lapses to be temporary blip is living in a dream world. Do the numbers and face reality. It's an industry wide problem. No less so for Hapag Lloyd than Carnival.

Personally, the business plan put into effect a few years ago is not so troubling. I learned my lesson at Silversea University. I'll always believe SB maintained a very good product as long as it could under Carnival. The switch to HAL umbrella signalled end of an era.

SB still offers a fair value. It's just not the same product. Not the same passenger demographic. Do the numbers. It just can't be the same.

Back.to service lapses. I see a few crew members on third and fourth contracts that I would have bet to have been banished after their first. That was the original bad sign.

oregon50---please expand on what you see in the passenger demographic. Are you saying that passengers are less discerning? I really want to understand what you are saying.

This post has made me so depressed. I think it is the absolute worst review we have read and not what we were expecting when we board on Saturday!

Also boarding this Saturday and also feeling depressed!!

oregon50---please expand on what you see in the passenger demographic. Are you saying that passengers are less discerning? I really want to understand what you are saying.

See post 13.

Forget the 588 passenger/week capacity years. Ancient history, different world. Not one I bought.

Go to 1350 passenger/week capacity and within three years to 2550 capacity. The two new ships decreasing passenger/space/crew ratio.

I'll let the expanding numbers speak for passenger demographic. There is a market for the $$$$ crowd that could fill two 400 passenger ships. If I had the money to finance that kind of operation, I'd buy a container ship and get a better/less troubling ROI.

Oregon50, So--you think the answer is to raise fare prices to cover more and better crew, better service, better food, higher quality wine/champagne, etc. etc.

I do not quite understand your first sentence above. If you could state it again with more words and explanation, I would appreciate knowing exactly what you are saying.

I did read post #13 and understand that you believe that certain passengers "think" that they are getting the luxury experience when they are not. I don't know how you could know that. Take someone like myself. I've only cruised twice--on two of the best cruise lines available. I saw faults. I knew things were not quite like others have described (or at least as I interpreted their descriptions). At the same time, I had a great time. And, as I said above, I will be looking at things with a much more fine tooth comb next time.

But, I would not blame the expanding numbers on the passengers and their gullibility when it comes to recognizing what is luxury and what is not. Most passengers look at various cruise lines and decide which ones best fit their needs. OR, they go on recommendations from friends or travel agents. The fact that they go on a particular cruise and somehow manage to enjoy themselves despite imperfections or a dumbing down of service/quality/space, etc should not be held against the passenger (in my opinion) when comparable choices are not plentiful. In other words, if you know of something more luxurious, tell us--and we will all pursue it.

Also boarding this Saturday and also feeling depressed!!

I as well...:(

Don't be depressed. We have sailed on the triplets and also the Odyssey class ships. Although there are differences between the experiences we have felt that all of our trips have offered good value. I agree with other posters that there have been cuts from our first cruise to our last cruise but it hasn't fundamentally changed the overall experience. As far as the demographics on board I feel the itinerary is a bigger factor than anything else.

We are now booked on the Ovation next year for 38 days and although we expect a different experience once again, we feel that it will also have some minor issues as all of our cruises have. Overall however, we expect the ship to be filled with fellow passengers that will probably enjoy many of the things we enjoy as well as a hard working crew that will do their best. It is a time of growth within the company but overall we will enjoy our time on board. We too tend to focus on the vast majority of things that go well vs worrying about the odd service glitch. If I have to go get a drink myself once or twice in a while I will survive.

Don't be depressed, be excited that you are about to be on vacation with the knowledge that your experience will largely depend on your perception of how things unfold each day.

I am curious about something. Several posters here have mentioned a changing passenger demographic. Could you please be more specific. What exactly are you saying?

Are you saying that the demographic has changed in terms of passenger affluence? erudition? discernment? ability to recognize luxury vs. mediocrity? I would just appreciate more explanation instead of a veiled reference.

Also boarding this Saturday and also feeling depressed!!

Why would you feel depressed!!! If I took notice of everything I read on this and other CC forums I would never cruise with any line.

I have read the same prior to my cruises and when I got on the ship the experience was fabulous.

You must realize it is what you experience that counts, not others experiences. (and I don’t discount that their experiences are real to them).

When we first cruised we were labelled as the changing demographic. We were in our mid 40's and looking for a better upscale holiday than many sunshine climate resorts were offering. While waiting to board in Ft Lauderdale on the Legend we were terrified watching the majority of passengers come up the escalator. They were far older than us but after spending 11 days we realized that the fellow passengers were great. Being younger doesn't mean anything more than that. We take the cruises for many of the same reasons that many of the older passengers take these cruises. We have always felt that the most valuable thing that we put forward to go on these trips isn't the fare but instead our time. We still are very busy work wise but look forward to an easy format to see a variety of destinations while being waited on in the Seabourn way. When a different demographic is mentioned I can't help but think it is the younger crowd but they too are as diverse as any demographic already on board.

I as well...:(

So are we, but we are not feeling depressed but excited, full of anticipation. We are so incredibly lucky to be able to enjoy so many cruises, while many people in destinations we visit continue to suffer.

Seabourn is most definitely not middle ground in cruising terms nor is it aiming to be. In terms of people on cruise ships Seabourn is aiming for the top 5%.

You have to remember that the genuinely wealthy elite don't queue up to rub shoulders with the likes of you or I, they charter private yachts at $250,000 per week.

Seabourn hasn't changed hands, it is still owned by Carnival. Within the group it is under the wing of Holland America but they are owned by Carnival.

As cargo we have higher expectations, who would trade their current on board accommodation for that of the three sisters?

Safety technology costs and regulatory costs are ever increasing and labour costs, particularly when your front of house staff are from the Western world also rise year on year.

The fact Seabourn cruises world tours rather than standard East / West 7 day routes out of Miami adds to provisioning cost and complexity.

When I read SLSD's post I thought wow - I'm looking in a mirror. Cruiser after our own hearts.

Henry :)

I agree entirely with Henry's observations and assessments about Seabourn today. And then there is SLSD's refreshing and helpful approach when trying to make sense of someone else's "facts" and likely biases grounded in lack of clarity and hampered by lack of responsiveness.

Seabourn may not be perfect relative to someone's expectations but a Seabourn cruise is always an event I look forward wholeheartedly to joining. No other line, in my opinion, delivers the package that Seabourn does, and that includes its outgoing style and nature. We have cruised with Seabourn since 2000, starting with the Seabourn Sun and when the company was finding its footing. Suffice it to say that with the OSQ ships and now Encore Seabourn gives us choice and we are pleased to book 2 or 3 cruises with them each year!

Bottom line is that once you have sailed with Seabourn and then you return, you will always see crew and fellow passengers you know from before and you will be delighted to catch up. Won't be long now!

Happy and healthy sailing!

I am curious about something. Several posters here have mentioned a changing passenger demographic. Could you please be more specific. What exactly are you saying?

 

Are you saying that the demographic has changed in terms of passenger affluence? erudition? discernment? ability to recognize luxury vs. mediocrity? I would just appreciate more explanation instead of a veiled reference.

SLSD - just curious - you spoke very warmly of your first cruising experience with Silversea. Is there any particular reason that you have not been back? Is it to do with the size of the ships? I am wondering because we will be trying Silversea next year.

I think the 'changing demographic' might be referring to younger people, and gay couples, both of which groups have been slightly more in evidence on our recent cruises. We need a new 'demographic', whatever it means, to replace us old codgers as we drop off the twig! But we will keep going for as long as possible, and nearly always on Seabourn.

Marama, As I said in a post above, we have only cruised twice. Our first cruise was Silversea (and it was wonderful). When we began to plan a September cruise, we fully intended to sail on Silversea again. But, we started our planning in July 2017 for a September 2017 cruise! The Silversea cruise that interested us did not have a suitable suite left. I think there was only one suite left and our travel agent told us that it was a suite for which the bathroom was suitable for someone in a wheelchair and that this sort of bathroom had a tendency to get very wet each time a shower was taken. This did not sound appealing to us--so our travel agent suggested a cruise aboard the Encore as it had similar itinerary.

So--we found ourselves sailing on a larger ship than we had intended. Fortunately, the experience turned out very very well and now we are booked on the Ovation for next June.

I have a friend who cruises two or three times a year and almost always on Silversea. She enjoys them immensely, but is beginning to think she may be getting jaded and plans to try Seabourn for her next cruise.

While we were aboard Encore, we discussed cruise lines with several other passengers. Some of them said that they choose between Silversea and Seabourn based solely on itinerary. Others said that they prefer Seabourn because the crew is so much more friendly.

We probably will sail Silversea again at some point. I am a bit wary about the dining situation on Silver Muse as they have no MDR, but about eight restaurants instead. It could be baseless wariness as I have not experienced it first hand.

Lincslady, I still hope that Oregon50 will come back and explain what is meant in their post by changing demographic. I had not considered that it could refer to younger passengers! On our recent Encore cruise, I spotted perhaps three or four couples in their 40s out of a total of 571 passengers. And yes, there were gay couples--several of whom we became acquainted with. One of the guest lecturers was half of one of these couples. He was an accomplished TV network producer and told some fascinating stories about his work. It appears that Seabourn is making a concerted effort to be welcoming to the LGBTQ community as the Herald included listings for (unhosted) meetings for this group.

Nothing!

They are shooting for the $$+ and $$$ demographic, knowing enough of your ilk will stick around long enough to absorb the transition.

 

This group thinks they are living a luxury experience. You know better.

Oregon 50 - just looked up your original comment, above, and do not know what you mean, I am afraid. Is it to do with wealth or lack of it, or what?

The comment above that the truly wealthy do not travel on commercial cruise lines is well taken. My husband and I were discussing just that as we sat in the port of Monte Carlo a few weeks ago admiring all the very large private yachts. Personally, I don't care how affluent my fellow passengers are--as long as they behave with substantial decorum. In fact, I would love to be on a ship with a group of college professors or other passengers well educated on various topics.

Have you noticed the pillow count has gone from four to six? That is a huge service upgrade.

I’m in cabin 812 now and each bed has two pillows. There are two square pillows on the couch.

We did get a new, different bottle of bath gel two days ago although we boarded ~10 days ago so maybe that is a service upgrade! [emoji2]

Interesting......on Sojourn a few weeks ago they added two new pillows to bring the count to six.

Why? Because the president of SB stayed in a hotel that had six pillows on the bed. Makes sense to me.

It’s too bad the president of SB doesn’t like “fruity, herbal, decaf tea” or Caffeine Free Diet Coke. Neither are available on the Odyssey. They do have orange pekoe tea, but that’s not a fruity, herbal decaf tea... I was given hibiscus tea due to the “berries” on the tea wrapper but alas, that is also not a fruity tea. I was hoping for cinnamon apple, cranberry apple, orange spice or the like. Nope... I’ll bring my own on my upcoming Antarctica cruise since I’ll definitely need fruity, decaf, herbal hot tea during the Antarctica part! (And, no, neither the Spa nor the 4:00 afternoon tea have fruity, decaf teas.)

Oregon 50 - just looked up your original comment, above, and do not know what you mean, I am afraid. Is it to do with wealth or lack of it, or what?

Nothing to do with wealth. Everything to do with increasing capacity. Where do you think they are going to find new passengers to fill the ships?

The dollar signs were used in context of what has been written by OP. The SB product is being downgraded by design. Not a big deal to me as it is generally a fair value. My posts seldom make sense to anyone but me. It's been a lifelong burden.