Live from the Sojourn Barcelona - Cape Town

[Chairsin]

Markham,

While we may agree on certain Hotel Managers I would agree with you about the qualities you listed. I might also add I appreciate a Hotel Manager who is visible--- we have had a couple of cruises where we almost never saw the Hotel Manager or when we did he did not seem approachable.

 

I do agree with you that Daniel is on the ball. And speaking of Daniel we were fortunate enough to have been on a cruise where he was being shadowed by the delightful Manfred Jordan who had just joined Seabourn. Unfortunately we have not seen him since -- has anyone seem him lately?

 

 

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[medroots]

It is funny that we have differing opinions of him. I have always found him to be tuned in to everything going on and responsive to any guests who have a problem.

 

 

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Agree - I know many don't agree, but having taken several lengthy cruises with him, we think he's top notch. No detail goes unnoticed and we find him very responsive. He's not afraid of making decisions when responding to issues - there's none of this, "First I must check with Seattle" attitude that so many seem to hide behind. We've found him to be candid and straightforward and always look forward to sailing with him.

[galeforce9]

Hello Clarky

 

 

 

Many thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

 

 

 

I shall be embarking in Cape Town so it is great to have up to date news.

 

 

 

On reading the latest Seabourn brochure, I see a 'new' feature - PressReader mobile. Is this available on board?

 

 

 

If so, is there a good selection of international press and magazines (I would be interested in French & UK particularly)?

 

 

 

Is the service deducted from a wifi package, or how does it work?

 

 

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

Brian

 

 

UK newspapers represented in August on Odyssey were the Daily Mail and either the Guardian or Independent (can't quite remember). They were loaded on ipads everyday, which were on the side in Seabourn Square. The ipads were in a holder which was movable but quite bulky.

 

 

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[bandt]

Thank you for that galeforce .

 

In the brochure, it states "enjoy your favourite newspapers and magazines from your smarthphone or tablet".

 

I was hoping to enjoy reading the paper with my breakfast in my suite. (I'm not a morning person !!!) :)

 

Brian

[galeforce9]

Thank you for that galeforce .

 

 

 

In the brochure, it states "enjoy your favourite newspapers and magazines from your smarthphone or tablet".

 

 

 

I was hoping to enjoy reading the paper with my breakfast in my suite. (I'm not a morning person !!!) :)

 

 

 

Brian

 

 

Brian

 

This is probably something new then and sounds like a good step forward. Hope the OP can help.

 

 

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[frantic36]

It is funny that we have differing opinions of him. I have always found him to be tuned in to everything going on and responsive to any guests who have a problem.

 

 

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When we had a issue that required sorting out this February on Sojourn, Vitor dealt with it quickly. I found him very personable and easy to deal with.

 

Now back to this cruise. :)

 

I am looking forward to hearing more about the ports along the way. Also if anyone who disembarks in Cape Town would like to comment on their time there I would appreciate it. Visiting for the first time in January prior to getting on Sojourn so I am curious about this city.

 

Thanks, Julie

[Able Seaman H]

Currently alongside in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Due to depart 18.00hrs bound for Santa Cruz, La Palma.

 

Very light winds, 23 degrees, broken clouds but some light drizzle which makes me feel a bit better :)

 

 

Distance travelled since Monte Carlo 2,777 nautical miles.

 

 

 

Henry :)

[lincslady]

Just to go back to the Hotel Managers etc. discussion - I agree that it is better not to criticise unduly on these boards, but at the same time hope that our fellow passengers do what we do at the end of the cruise ( and think most do so), which is to note names of all the staff on board who have been wonderful, and mention them in the questionnaire. I have the distinct impression that staff can get very good reactions from the powers that be, and that this is more important to them than any financial tip would be.

[Chairsin]

Julie,

Yes, guilty as charged of being off topic. And even though I ( unfortunately) don't have your vested interest in Cape Town I would also like to hear of cruisers experiences there as well as Namibia.

 

Abel,

I thought the cruise began in Barcelona?

 

Lincslady,

Good of you to point out accentuating the positive. Those positive comments on the post cruise surveys are golden for the crew. And more so now as I understand since they went to the online version the percent of passengers who complete them has decreased.

 

And now, just a note to those who may not have seen the reports about deaths from the bubonic plague in Madagascar --- cover up and bring bug spray to protect you from flea bites.

 

 

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[wripro]

Agree with Markham re: Daniel completely. I've known him since he was a beverage manager on the Pride and seen him progress to a great hotel manager. Unlike Vitor, who can be downright unpleasant and doesn't seem to care if the passengers are happy.

[Mr Luxury]

Agree with Markham re: Daniel completely. I've known him since he was a beverage manager on the Pride and seen him progress to a great hotel manager. Unlike Vitor, who can be downright unpleasant and doesn't seem to care if the passengers are happy.

 

 

Quite right Henry,

Daniel Putzhammer is an excellent Hotel Director and his lovely partner Sarah who is a cruises sales specialist.

 

There are many wonderful crew who we have known for many years that have risen to high positions.

 

 

 

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[bandt]

Hello Clarky

 

Are you still there?

 

There seems to be a free-for-all going on about the merits or otherwise of Hotel Managers which is polluting your very interesting thread.

 

Thanks for your insight on the BCN CPT segment.

 

Brian

[Buccaneer_1]

Offtopic - in for a penny then

 

The Press reader app is able to be loaded to personal ipads, or at last it was on the Montreal to Boston Quest cruise last September. Bit complicated but the folks at the Square can sort you out reasonably quickly. From memory we were able to download at least 5 UK newspapers being the major ones as well as 3 Australian. Quite a lot of US but I don't recall which.

 

Interesting demographic when you look at the total number of posts on Cruise Critic by those who've talked about Hotel Managers on a topic that started out discussing an interesting cruise. I can't remember any of the HMs on my 16 Seabourn cruises which is either a good thing as they all performed well and unobtrusively or else I'm more easily satisfied.;)

[longton]

The ship has just had two ports of call in the Cape Verde islands. What were the excursions like?

 

I assume the weather is hotting up now as you head south towards the equator. Six sea days ahead.

 

Hope you are all enjoying the cruise.

[CraftyEC]

We did a Seabourn tour on Cape Verde last year and it was interesting, if not full of stunning features! It was fascinating to see where agriculture is developing. However, be warned that the buses are school buses, with hard plastic seats, the roads are cobbled (yes, even up the mountain) and on steep hills you tend to slide forward going downhill. Not as luxury outing, but we enjoyed it. The guides are very keen to promote tourism, they are mainly very young women, graduates in Leisure and Tourism from their university. We stopped briefly at one beach which was completely unspoilt, with Atlantic waves creasing onto the shore - the only 'facility' was a lone rubbish bin!

 

 

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[clarky]

I'm still here but the internet on board was totally unusable yesterday. It has been slow previously but yesterday it was unusable. I have given up trying to upload the photos I have taken to post. There have been many complaints from passengers who have paid the $400.00 internet package and have no internet. I'm posting this at 6.00 a.m. which is the only time the internet is usable. I'm told by my husband that there is not enough bandwidth for the passenger usage on board which is why I'm sending this post so early in the morning.

 

The two port at Cape Verde Island were actually interesting if you took a tour or got out in a taxi. The first port we took a ship tour and the scenery was magical. The second port we took a taxi to the old town which was interesting but nothing to write home about. For small islands they were interesting and the weather was very nice.

 

The food and entertainment is still of a very high standard. I'm sorry this is a short post with no pictures but I'm afraid if I don't post it now it may never go.

 

Will report back on the state of the internet which is a big deal for a lot of people on the ship who must keep be able to keep in touch with their office for business reasons. It has become a hot topic on the ship.

[Ravenscroft]

I'm still here but the internet on board was totally unusable yesterday. It has been slow previously but yesterday it was unusable. I have given up trying to upload the photos I have taken to post. There have been many complaints from passengers who have paid the $400.00 internet package and have no internet. I'm posting this at 6.00 a.m. which is the only time the internet is usable. I'm told by my husband that there is not enough bandwidth for the passenger usage on board which is why I'm sending this post so early in the morning.

 

The two port at Cape Verde Island were actually interesting if you took a tour or got out in a taxi. The first port we took a ship tour and the scenery was magical. The second port we took a taxi to the old town which was interesting but nothing to write home about. For small islands they were interesting and the weather was very nice.

 

The food and entertainment is still of a very high standard. I'm sorry this is a short post with no pictures but I'm afraid if I don't post it now it may never go.

 

Will report back on the state of the internet which is a big deal for a lot of people on the ship who must keep be able to keep in touch with their office for business reasons. It has become a hot topic on the ship.

 

Thanks for the update Clarky. I always appreciate when people take time to post when they're onboard - doubly so when you're having internet problems.

 

Very glad to hear that the food and entertainment are still a high standard.

 

Hopefully internet access will improve soon.

[clarky]

Just a quick update on the internet. We have a new satellite connection and things have improved. I think so many people complained that they had to do something.

 

I will try again tomorrow to post the photos I have been collecting.

[bandt]

Thanks, Clarky, for taking the time to keep us up to date.

 

Must say that I would prefer poor internet to poor food :)

Edited December 5, 2014 by bandt

[clarky]

Today we had one of the best lectures or Conversations as they are referred to in the Herald. It was given by Richard Stone an Artist. He is in fact the royal portrait artist. This was his first in his series of talks he will be giving on our journey to Cape Town. One of his talks will be about his time painting the portrait of Nelson Mandela. Another will be about his time with coco the gorilla who communicates in sign language. I'm really looking forward to his talks. He along with Philip Hurst have given the best talks on board.

 

Today we have been invited to an Australian party which I believe the other 142 Australians have been invited to. As mentioned in my previous posts the food on board has been of the highest standard that we have experienced on board Seabourn. The fish has been particularly excellent and the creativity of the chef has been fantastic. Tomorrow they have scheduled a Ready Steady Cooking competition with 6 of the guests being the competitors.

 

My husband who was very concerned about filling in the 6 days at sea wakes up to a full schedule every day!

 

All the crew are doing a wonderful job of serving us with their usual humour and excellent attitudes.

[Ravenscroft]

Clarky thanks once again for your updates.

 

It's all sounding very positive.

I agree with Brian (bandt) about the food vs internet, so please tell me the current chef isn't getting off in Cape Town ! :D

Glad especially to hear about the fish being good.

 

Enjoy your Australian party.

[claudiaYVR]

Clarky,

 

So glad you're having a great cruise, we're looking forward to ours on the Sojourn in March. I had asked on a separate thread for a bit of information on the gym and Ravenscroft has kindly offered to check when he gets on board on the 21 if no one has replied with the info.

 

If you happen to go to the gym, would you be able to check the maximum weight on the chest press machine? I would really appreciate it. Have a wonderful time in the remainder of your cruise.

[cwisleman]

Clarky,

 

So glad you're having a great cruise, we're looking forward to ours on the Sojourn in March. I had asked on a separate thread for a bit of information on the gym and Ravenscroft has kindly offered to check when he gets on board on the 21 if no one has replied with the info.

 

If you happen to go to the gym, would you be able to check the maximum weight on the chest press machine? I would really appreciate it. Have a wonderful time in the remainder of your cruise.

 

Yes - 120 kilos. Also bench to use if you want to lift more than that

[claudiaYVR]

Thank you very much cwisleman! that's very good news for my husband, now ready to make final payment :)

[clarky]

Hello to all who are reading my posts. Chef Neal will be getting off the ship in March. The Ready Steady Cook game that he hosted was very good fun. There were three teams consisting of three people. Two guest teams and one crew team. Chef Neal was very entertaining as he not so sneakily replaced the pepper in the crews pepper shaker with cornflakes and there salt shaker contained sugar. I did feel sorry for the judges who did have to taste the dishes that were presented to them. The Captain had a very entertaining comment "I did not need a menu as you have put every ingredient on your plate". One of the guest teams won and every one had a entertaining time. We find Chef Neal a great mix of personable and an excellent chef. Very impressed with him.

 

We had the Liar's club last night as the singer they had brought on board still has no voice. We were lucky enough to be the winning team! The pair of bears are happily sitting on our bed thanks to our stewardess Debbie.

 

The internet seams a little more reliable but I'm still not able to upload my photos for you to see which is very frustrating!

 

I'm glad we had an answer for the gym as I have been up to the gym and have not used any of those chest machines so did not have an answer and was going to find out today.

 

We are all looking forward to Bom Bom Island as it will be a caviar in the surf experience. Seabourn is taking over a resort on the island and is having a bbq along with the toys from the beach. I love to kayak so hopefully those will be out for guests use. Again I will take photos and try and post them here. If not I will give you a link so you can view all the photos of our cruise.