Seabourn Spirit - Disappointing

[DrLove]

Just came back from a fabulous Italy-Greece cruise on the Spirit and we had afew rocky moments. Arrived at the dining room one morning for breakfast with other members of our party and were greeted by the assistant manager who took out his pocket watch and said "it's 10:04 and the room closes at 10:00, so i cannot seat you". Shocked to say the least, we explained that we were stopped by the cruise director and chatted for afew minutes. He said sorry but we're closed. Meanwhile, there were other diners in the room. Hardly a fond Seabourn experience!! We stood there in shock. Later in the day, my wife tried in vain to book a spa appt, but all times seemed to be booked. When my wife suggested that perhaps another employee might be necessary, she was rudely informed that was not an optioin. It seems most people we spoke with were very disappointed with the spa. The food and service were top notch, but overall, a tainted experience. So much for the Seabourn way!!

[Iamboatman]

Let's get this right: You showed up late for breakfast, did not wish to have it in your suite or the Veranda (both options were open to you) and you feel the need to complain...and this is top one of your only two complaints?

 

As for the spa, the concept is not to have a spa the size of the ship with 50 employees so that everyone can have any particular treatment at any particular time. No matter what cruise line or hotel, there are limits. And when did you make your appointment?

 

I think it would be unanimous from others that if those were the only two problems over an entire cruise we would consider it a spectacular time.

[Host Dan]

Sorry to interject..but... The first line of the OP was "just came back from a FABULOUS Italy - Greek cruise on the Spirit"... Enough said.

 

Host Dan

[DrLove]

I hardly think i should have been denied the dining of my choice for 4 minutes. where's the Seabourn way? or is that attitude the way??

[Iamboatman]

As is often said, "truth is another man/woman's perception". DrLove your perception is that such an event is worth complaining about even though you admit you were late. I just wonder how you can spend more time complaining about a single breakfast where Seabourn did what it said it would rather than explaining why your cruise was "fabulous". Again, just a perception.

 

DrLove, I'm not feeling any...

[sandbag7]

The good Doctor has a right to raise the questions he has while acknowleding that the cruise as a whole was excellent; the bottom line is the OP's perception that he didn't receive the vaunted service he expected. The incidents themselves do not suggest anything except slightly inappropriate behavior of several employees, but is worth noting.

Doc, on another point you indicate that the food was excellent. How did you find the quality of the wines served on an everyday basis. Were you satisfied, or did you feel it necessary (not voluntary) to order upgraded wines to have a satisfactory meal?

[bldsld]

Due to the size of the ship, the spa is quite small, as one would expect. It is always suggested that bookings be made upon embarkation if at all possible, since there does seem to be demand for alot of the services.

 

I would also imagine that the hours posted in the dining room are there in order to enable the staff to ready the kitchen and dining room for the next meal.

 

If the above 2 items were the crux of your disappointment, the cruise itself must have been fantastic!

 

Denyse

[LaPaloma]

I have to say Dr.....I assume you have a practice......DO YOU take on patients who just WANT to be seen AFTER hours. I think not! DO YOU have extra employees to do shots...exams etc....I assume not.

[TootyJane]

My mother and I were on the cruise that you and your wife were on and it was fabulous!!

 

Denyse is right. The spa is small and you are encouraged to book any appointments as soon as possible.

 

As for the dining room hours, you were late and even though there were other diners there they apparently had arrived and were seated before closing. Late is late is late -- whether it was in the Seabourn dining room or elsewhere. Even Hermes refused to open for Oprah after the store had closed.

 

Lisa :)

[uk1]

Some of these posts have been a touch unfair to DrLove's post.

 

To quote just one of the promises about what customers should expect of their Seabourn experiences, "Life on board, exceptional personalized service" and:

 

"Seabourn is a company that provides ultra-luxury cruises on small, yacht-like ships in many areas of the world. In the more than fifteen years that Seabourn has existed, it has consistently been rated not only among the top cruise lines, but among the world's premier vacation choices of any sort. The key features that set Seabourn apart from other cruise lines are:

 

A superior level of personalized service made possible by our smaller ships.

 

Superb cuisine served in a style matching the finest restaurants ashore..............."

 

The post was merely to inform others and was properly balanced, and I agree that arriving 4 minutes late and being refused service doesn't appear to be within the spirit of the personalised superior service promise made.

 

Jeff

[English Voyager]

So,why have published times?

Where does one draw a line?

6 minutes late acceptable?

8 minutes?

People already seated are asked at 10 o'clock if they require anything further from the buffet as it will be cleared away,and staff are already laying tables for lunch at mid-day.

[uk1]

So you believe that turning someone away at say 1 second past is exceptional service?

 

There are two elements to customer satisfaction. Performance and expectations management. Both are equally important. Claiming to be exceptional and not being so, creates dissapointment.

 

In the pragmatic world of "exceptional" service there are both written and unwritten rules. I would have thought that they should plan to let people in for say around a further 15 minutes or so - with a smile and comment "of course you can". If 10 is the real final time then the published time should be 09:45. That is how you manage customer satisfaction.

 

Otherwise it isn't exceptional service.

[Iamboatman]

Exceptional service doesn't mean looking the other way so people can do what they want. I always thought that elegance included respecting those around us...and the elegance, it would seem, should apply to the passengers as well as the staff.

 

The staff has to get the kitchen and the dining room ready for the next meal. Or should those waiting for lunch be held back because Seabourn is required to serve breakfast late, keep the buffet fully stocked, and allow the latecomers to linger into the 11:30AM-12:00PM period?

 

IMHO this is silly. There were two very nice alternatives: The Veranda and the Suite. Neither would be considered a penalty.

 

Reasonableness. Consideration. Elegance.

[uk1]

............. and if that works for you that's fine. But who are you or I to mandate to others what they should expect of exceptional service?

 

Customer satisfaction is about meeting or exceeding customer expectations. Expectations are influenced very heavily by the promises made, and these are often inflated. I merely suggested that DrLove seemed reasonable in positioning his dissapointment and that dissapointment to me - although as he / she said was small - was viable. "Going that bit more" is something most people understand when it is delievered and when it isn't. It just varies person to person.

 

Jeff

[its_my_dime]

DrLove-

 

I assumed that you have learned by now that negative comments about Seabourn are not welcomed by most of the contributors to this board including our "impartial" Host Dan.

[crystal808]

Sorry to interject, but I didn't find anything negative about Host Dan's response. On the contrary; I thought he was trying to put a "positive" spin on the thread.

 

Just my opinion!

Paul

[uk1]

Host Dan has been scrupulously impartial, and it was my read that he was - as said - accurately reminding people what the original post said.

 

Anyway, let's move on!

 

Jeff

[LaPaloma]

UK1...you are a lover of Silverseas....I chuckle at the thought of them admiting anyone...even 1 second off of the timing!

 

There is a very good reason for the necessity of keeping the hours as they are. The staff works lonnnnnng hard hours....they have to prepare for the lunch crowd. You can't just keep the dining room open 'til all the spoiled individuals decide to arrive. I guarantee..that alllll service will be special...during hours! THAT is what the advertisements are about!

[ackc]

Yes, Silverseas also turns away people after published hours. We saw them turn away one of the "resident" guests 2 minutes after breakfast hours and told him he would need to eat elsewhere.

[Sea-hawk]

Seabourn offers a very nice after hours breakfast in the Veranda after 10 am.As for the spa, Reservations for the Veranda also fill up and they too turn away interested patrons for dinner. Should they add more tables and staff?

[Iamboatman]

The posts on this thread speak volumes as to why the line is the line. Once 4 minutes late is OK, then 10 minutes should be fine...and then lunch is delayed and special orders for vension and eggs being placed after 20 minutes of coffee and juice is fine...and then...

 

Some people will never be satisfied. That is to say that the OP might have been fine at 4 minutes, but what about the next person and the one after that. If that third person thinks Seabourn isn't doing enough, then Seabourn is exactly in the same place it would be if it turned down the OP.

There is a difference between going the extra and setting yourself up for disaster. That's not defining anyone's expectations, it is dealing with reality. Heck we are talkin' breakfast here.:D

[uk1]

For what it's worth, I think it perfectly reasonable for a restaurant to close it's doors at spot on the closing hour, and see nothing wrong with that at all. I also feel it perfectly reasonable for a customer having read the promise made by the cruise line to feel a sense of dissapointment when turned away at just 4 minutes late. And I am perfectly able to reconcile those two apparently opposing views.

 

It is what causeas that conundrum that to me is the issue. Was the staff at the restaurant totally unreasonable? No. Was the customer totally unreasonable at feeling exceptional service meant that he should be treated with just a little flexibiity? No.

 

The issue is promising "exceptional service" and providing service that is merely pretty much in line with average elewhere and pretty identical with respect to this aspect to everything else on offer.

 

Very specifically, the customer has been told to expect that he will be treated exceptionally and the staff has been told to make no exceptions. It is the realistic management of ALL customer expectations, so that what the cruise line intend to provide and what it can provide is genuinely closely in sync with the expectations they seek to create. The management of exceptional expectations when promising exceptional service is the key issue.

 

If you make unrealistic claims in order to drum up business, and some customers take you at your word you will always create a group of people that will be dissapointed. That is the issue and neither the restuarant staff nor the customer are in my view at fault here, it is instead the creation of unrealistic expectations, and then making the customer feel it is them that are wrong when dissapointed.

 

Jeff

[bldsld]

Okay, guys, I'm going to take a wild guess here, and express what I really believe may be the truth: that the OP's time estimate of 4 minutes is not, in fact, candid. Disagree with me if you will, but Seabourn isn't going to refuse service based on 4 minutes. 10 minutes, 15 minutes, highly likely, but 4 minutes just doesn't ring true.

 

In any case, has anyone noticed that there are flood victims who are currently homeless, and we're debating the fact that somebody was denied breakfast service on Seabourn after closing time? Enough!

 

Denyse

[Iamboatman]

In any case, has anyone noticed that there are flood victims who are currently homeless, and we're debating the fact that somebody was denied breakfast service on Seabourn after closing time? Enough!

 

Denyse

 

Well said.

[Daneite]

Denyse, I agree wholeheartedly with what you have just said.

 

Kathryn