Embarkation--stay in Grand Salon or escape outside?

[purpleally]

My first cruise with Seabourn last year I was dismayed to be led to the Grand Salon-inside!!!! while we waited for our suite. It was so sunny and nice and I hated being inside. After a couple of hours we left to the pool deck and found a couple there, obviously been there for awhile. They were also 1st timers but they boldly went to the pool deck.

 

What do all of you do? I really really really dislike being in the grand salon, even with the champagne!

[lincslady]

My first cruise with Seabourn last year I was dismayed to be led to the Grand Salon-inside!!!! while we waited for our suite. It was so sunny and nice and I hated being inside. After a couple of hours we left to the pool deck and found a couple there, obviously been there for awhile. They were also 1st timers but they boldly went to the pool deck.

 

What do all of you do? I really really really dislike being in the grand salon, even with the champagne!

 

If you were on one of the larger ships, I have to agree: on the small ships the lounge is quite pleasant to sit in. I think on the larger ships you could 'escape' up to the Square for a sandwich/drink as soon as possible - we did find the Salon on the Sojourn rather dark and the TV was showing US news; not like arriving on a Seabourn ship at all !! And maybe outdoors you could get a sandwich - certainly a drink anyway. This to us was the worst aspect of arriving on Sojourn this summer, rather stale sandwiches and sitting in the dark.

[Tony & Trevor]

We normally arrive at the ship around noon. Once we have registered etc we then go for lunch usually sitting outside. There is no need at all to sit inside.

Never had any problems.

 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Tony

[purpleally]

Thank you. Last year we were ushered inside and staff were lined up outside the salon. It felt like we were doing something wrong if we left. This was on Odyssey. But I will go outside next week.

[JaneBP]

I like staying in the Lounge because I can see who is coming and going, watch for friends and have a little snack. Now, that's on the little sisters, and I can't remember, but think last year, our suite wasn't ready, so we went to the pool deck for drinks and met friends there.

[lincslady]

We normally arrive at the ship around noon. Once we have registered etc we then go for lunch usually sitting outside. There is no need at all to sit inside.

Never had any problems.

 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Tony

 

Yes, that is fine if you can get on the ship at noon - I was referring to the occasion when no-one got on until after 2 p.m. - newish ship, obviously some problems, and staff a bit on edge. No doubt this explains why the sandwiches were a bit dry, and they really did want everyone to go into the Salon. Obviously there was no lunch as such available then, but we did go up to the Square after a while, to discover the coffee and drinks bar with snacks. However, if you were new to Seabourn it was not the best possible introduction - people had been waiting in the port area for at least two hours in some cases.

[Donaldm]

My wife and I just completed our first Seabourn cruise. We have cruised almost 50 times on other lines. We were allowed to board the Sojourn around 1:30 on November 30 where we were led into the dimly lit Grand Salon. If we wanted food, we could join a five minute line where one crew was explaining the small tea sandwiches and handing them out one by one. We joined the line and were given our sandwich. After a while we saw other passengers being told their suites were ready and being led away. When no one approached us, we finally left the salon and found ours.

We were surprised that there was no lunch being offered. Every other ship we have traveled on has lunch available to passengers when they board complete with views of the embarkation harbor. Had we known about Seabourn's embarkation policy, we might have had lunch ashore before coming aboard. We eventually discovered that the grill opened at 2 pm and that the Seabourn Square's coffee bar was open continuously during the day.

Despite a few minor glitches, our cruise on the Seabourn Sojourn was the best of any cruise we have been on including Silversea, Regent, Crystal, etc.

[Roxburgh]

When we boarded Sojourn in Lisbon we were able to sit out at the Patio Grill, enjoy a couple of slices of Jerry's pizza all washed down with a couple of glasses of champagne. Even though our suite was ready when we boarded, we were in no hurry to go there.