Live from the Seabourn Sojourn - Alaska Cruise Sept. 21

[artbcpa]

How is the weather. I thought about this cruise but we decided on the Aug 26th one instead.

 

Probably a good choice, but Alaska often has rain and clouds in August as well as September. Today, however, for the first time thus far on the cruise we had a gorgeous sunrise. Here is a link to some of my photos of this morning's sunrise:

 

[Winner]

Beautiful!!

Please stay aboard for the following cruise South to LA. I can only imagine your portrait of the Golden Gate!!

[artbcpa]

Today we are in Juneau. I am going on a photo tour this morning to see whales and other wildlife.

 

. Yesterday was mostly a quiet ship day - sunrise, cooking demonstration, reading, bridge. We did all three meals in the restaurant. Both the food and service were top notch. In fact one of the waiters overheard us talking about the crispy bacon and made sure that ours was extra crispy. We had a wonderful comedian for entertainment. The only negative I might mention would be the change in payout in the casino. It almost seems like they recalibrated the slot machines as everyone we spoke to, said they had absolutely no payouts during the last two days. I'm done for the rest of this cruise. Ellie, perhaps not. LOL

[artbcpa]

Today’s excursion was very diverse. We were on a bus, a boat and did a nature walk through the Tongas National Park and to the Mendenhall glacier.I got some wonderful photos which I will include in my next post.

 

I heard some interesting comments on board about the starting times for Seabourn’s meals; so I thought I would bring it to everyone’s attention and get some additional feedback for the benefit of newcomers. The earliest dinner is served is 7:00 PM. For several of the passengers this is too late and they have no alternative. Breakfast is not served until 7:30 AM in the Colonnade and 8:00 AM in the main restaurant. Once again, they feel they should have an earlier alternative. I pointed out that there is coffee and Danish served at 6:15 AM at Seabourn square. They said that was not adequate.

 

 

There were also some comments about the Club not opening until 6:30 PM for afternoon cocktails. It would be interesting to hear how others feel about these policies.

 

Getting back to my day, after returning from our excursion, I ate lunch and played bridge for over 3 hours. Have you ever had one of those days when everything went right? We got most of the points and, even when we didn’t, every finesse went our way. It was quite amazing.

 

Tonight, we will be going to a dance party and after dinner sweets in the Club. Tomorrow we will be going to Tracy Arm/Endicott. We will be seeing them up close in a catamaran.

[galeforce9]

Today’s excursion was very diverse. We were on a bus, a boat and did a nature walk through the Tongas National Park and to the Mendenhall glacier.I got some wonderful photos which I will include in my next post.

 

I heard some interesting comments on board about the starting times for Seabourn’s meals; so I thought I would bring it to everyone’s attention and get some additional feedback for the benefit of newcomers. The earliest dinner is served is 7:00 PM. For several of the passengers this is too late and they have no alternative. Breakfast is not served until 7:30 AM in the Colonnade and 8:00 AM in the main restaurant. Once again, they feel they should have an earlier alternative. I pointed out that there is coffee and Danish served at 6:15 AM at Seabourn square. They said that was not adequate.

 

 

There were also some comments about the Club not opening until 6:30 PM for afternoon cocktails. It would be interesting to hear how others feel about these policies.

 

Getting back to my day, after returning from our excursion, I ate lunch and played bridge for over 3 hours. Have you ever had one of those days when everything went right? We got most of the points and, even when we didn’t, every finesse went our way. It was quite amazing.

 

Tonight, we will be going to a dance party and after dinner sweets in the Club. Tomorrow we will be going to Tracy Arm/Endicott. We will be seeing them up close in a catamaran.

 

 

Sounds like you're having a good time. Re endicott/Tracey arm there will be a decision as to which one to sail up. We got Tracy arm on 26 Aug cruise. The catamaran then sails up the same one and takes you closer to the glacier in that same arm, ice flows willing. Let's hope the catamaran doesnt sail up the wrong one on your cruise, as it did on ours and a morning excursion became an afternoon one!

 

 

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[artbcpa]

What a fabulous night of dance! All the singers were great,but I must give a special shout out to Eliza, the regular lead singer with theband. She has such versatility and what a voice. We also got to hear our cruisedirector, Sophie, who graduated from entertainment to her present position. Shecertainly held her own with all the current singers. I also should mention that I started a stroll line and manyof the passengers and entertainers joined in. It was a great evening.

 

 

Here are the photos I promised from Juneau:

[oaktreerb]

 

I heard some interesting comments on board about the starting times for Seabourn’s meals; so I thought I would bring it to everyone’s attention and get some additional feedback for the benefit of newcomers. The earliest dinner is served is 7:00 PM. For several of the passengers this is too late and they have no alternative. Breakfast is not served until 7:30 AM in the Colonnade and 8:00 AM in the main restaurant. Once again, they feel they should have an earlier alternative. I pointed out that there is coffee and Danish served at 6:15 AM at Seabourn square. They said that was not adequate.

 

 

There were also some comments about the Club not opening until 6:30 PM for afternoon cocktails. It would be interesting to hear how others feel about these policies./

 

I think people on the West coast eat earlier and our work days tend to start earlier due to the need to communicate with the East coasters. (Our 8 a.m. is Easteners 11:00 a.m.) HAL, for instance, and probably other cruise lines start dinner at 5:15 to 5:30 in Alaska. Late seating closes at 9:00. Early dining is always full, late not so much.

 

The dining room will open for breakfast at 8 a.m. but the Lido starts full breakfast around 6:30 or 7:00 for people who have early excursions. There seems always to be coffee available even earlier and continental before the buffett opens fully.

 

We always try to eat dinner around 5:30 at home in San Diego so waiting until 7:00 will be a challenge. We'll just have to plan for a larger lunch. Maybe having dinner at 7:00 will keep cruisers up and about on the ship and planning for a later bedtime.

Edited September 27, 2017 by oaktreerb

[marazul]

For those adjusting to earlier/later meal times: There is always room service for an earlier meal or for a nice snack to tide you over for a later meal time. You will never go hungry on SB!

[galeforce9]

[quote

 

We always try to eat dinner around 5:30 at home in San Diego so waiting until 7:00 will be a challenge. We'll just have to plan for a larger lunch. Maybe having dinner at 7:00 will keep cruisers up and about on the ship and planning for a later bedtime.

 

 

 

What about us poor brits with a -9 hour time difference when visiting Alaska! I found I adjusted to the time difference /meal times in a day or so, so it is possible to re-set your body clock quite easily, although I do appreciate that we are all different. As others have said, room service is available, there are also canapés in the observation bar at 18 30, you can ask for some nibbles or even caviar earlier if you wish.

 

 

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[Isklaar]

 

I heard some interesting comments on board about the starting times for Seabourn’s meals; so I thought I would bring it to everyone’s attention and get some additional feedback for the benefit of newcomers. The earliest dinner is served is 7:00 PM. For several of the passengers this is too late and they have no alternative. Breakfast is not served until 7:30 AM in the Colonnade and 8:00 AM in the main restaurant. Once again, they feel they should have an earlier alternative. I pointed out that there is coffee and Danish served at 6:15 AM at Seabourn square. They said that was not adequate.

 

 

There were also some comments about the Club not opening until 6:30 PM for afternoon cocktails. It would be interesting to hear how others feel about these policies.

 

.

 

I think Seabourn mostly has dining times correct, especially keeping in mind that room service is available 24/7. Seabourn has an international guest mix and while I'm assuming that the onboard demographic on Alaska cruises is heavily US and Canada based guests, that's not always the case on all Seabourn cruises. Seabourn needs to satisfy many different nationalities and cultures, not just the US guests.

 

Most European guests wouldn't dream of having dinner at 5.30pm - I certainly wouldn't! Anytime before 8.30pm is too early for me.

 

I believe that most British guests would prefer to dine later than 5.30pm too. I'm told that the most popular time for restaurant reservations in the UK is 8pm. (British guests usually are the second largest national group onboard). Most guests from the South American nations would also dine later.

We have several Australian posters here on the SB board, hopefully they'll chip in with their thoughts.

 

It's a small ship, it's not going to have endless dining options. Also in my experience, Seabourn's restaurant timings are similar to the other luxury cruise lines with ships around the same size. Not sure about Crystal, given that their two ships are much larger.

 

 

I do agree that the Colonnade should be open earlier. On many of the cruises I've taken it has opened most days at 7am, with a 7.30am opening usually reserved for sea days. Again, breakfast can be served earlier by room service, but I do think 7.30am is too late on port days as it can make the morning quite a rush if taking excursions etc.

[Bestie098]

Australian posters: Australia has always been culturally diverse and there is no 'set' time. Early risers (e.g. those who wake up at the crack of dawn to go cycling, hit the gym or just because) will have breakfast very, very early. After 9-10am we're starting to get into the "brunch" hour where breakfast/lunch are just combined into one hearty meal.

 

I think dinner is usually had around 6:30pm - 8pm depending on whether one has young children to put to sleep in which case it may be very well earlier.

 

Then again, I don't think the majority of Seabourn cruisers have children to put to sleep and I may be a different demographic.

 

I have no problem with 24/7 room service rather than at a restaurant sit-down meal if it was out of my schedule although my preference would be breakfast be open from 6:30am.

[frantic36]

I prefer to exercise before I eat so after 7.30-8am is fine with me. If we are going off for an early excursion we would order room service. My husband seems to think in some ports with early tours he remembers the Colonnade serving breakfast at 7am.

 

We prefer to dine later and if we are peckish before dinner there is canapés in the Obs Bar or Club or the possibility of caviar. You can order food in your cabin while you are dressing for dinner to sustain you until dinner in the MDR if you need it.

 

On our Alaska cruise the passengers were predominantly from the USA but I am not sure how the new cruises to Seabourn felt about dinner times. On other cruises where we had a larger diversification of nationalities, the most popular time to eat dinner seemed to be 7.30-8.15pm. You would see an influx into the Colonnade and the MDR around that time.

 

Julie

[Chairsin]

Artbcpa

Thanks for keeping up with you travelogue. Enjoying reading yours and CWn's Glad you are having a good time even with the little hiccup of "bacongate."

 

As to the issue you overheard other passengers discussing regarding mealtimes I'm would agree that on cruises such as Alaska and Antarctica where tours are going off at all oddball times of the day -- especially Ventures kayaking and zodiac tours -- catching a meal can require some planning and creativity. But for breakfast we found if we were off early a quick coffee , juice and pastry in Seabourn Square usually worked. As to lunch we were often gone on private tours during regular lunch hours for the Colonnade but on occasion we returned by 4 and the Patio Grill was still open. More often than not we were back too late for that but managed just fine with a sandwich from Seabourn Square (and fruit in our suite). Of course we could have always gone to afternoon tea where sandwiches and pastries were served.

 

 

As to dinner hours I quite agree with Frantic and others that the dinner hours are hardly constraining nor out the norm from what I have heard about other cruise lines with open seating. As was also mentioned if this absolutely does not work for someone there is room service. I do think Seabourn manages quite well with moving staff from spot to spot so they can provide a wide variety of dining options. As to dining early being an American or West Coast thing I'm afraid I disagree. Certainly as a rule Americans don't dine as late as say those in Spain, Italy or Greece but I know most of my American friends don't dine at 5:30. But more importantly even if that were the cultural norm for Americans I think it would be ridiculous for Seabourn to cater solely to their whims. Why should a West Coast or Alaska cruise cater to the the dining hours of passengers from those places? That would be like saying they should not serve dinner until 9PM when they are cruising the Med.

 

And as Marazul so aptly noted no one is starving to death on Seabourn!

 

 

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[artbcpa]

Thank you all for your input regarding the mealtimes. I thought it would make for an interesting discussion. Now people who are considering sailing on Seabourn have more insight into the alternatives.

 

As for our Alaskan excursions, our catamaran to see the glaciers at Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm was truly breathtaking. This is always one of the main reasons people travel to Alaska. I have been to Glacier Bay twice but never here. We were very lucky in that we had clear weather and lots of calving. I have some great photos and videos, but I am not sure I will be able to upload them until I get back home. I will try and let you know.

 

As I said at the beginning of my thread I try to be objective - neither too critical nor a shill. Today I must report that we had one of the WORST experiences at breakfast we have had on ANY ship. We ate at the restaurant. The tea was lukewarm; we sent it back and it once again came back at the same temperature. Ellie ordered the fruits and nuts breakfast. There were NO nuts on the plate. I ordered pancakes. They came without syrup. I asked our waitress when she served the pancakes, but she never came back. I finally asked a waiter from another table. By the time I got the syrup, my meal was cold. Both of us ordered bacon extra crisp and I made it especially clear to the waitress about our prior experiences. It still came half-cooked. I was extremely disappointed. Then, on the way out of the restaurant, I ran into my bridge partner. She told me about her experience yesterday at bridge. (I didn't go yesterday because our wonderful excursion got back so late). The instructor told her she (the guest) couldn't play because SHE (the instructor) decided to play. l have never of an instructor taking a guest's spot. To me that usurps one of the cardinal rules of cruising, guests come first.

 

In any case every vacation has its issues. However these are ones I would not expect from a 6-star cruise line. Needless to say we will have some some comments to make to management.

[ab21au]

Re dining: Normally at home we dine around 6:30pm. On the ship we struggle to get to 7pm dining, too much going on. There were many nights we didn't want to leave the OB or TK bar as we were enjoying listening to the live music. The adjustment to dining later just happened and was not a problem.

[artbcpa]

The Internet has been been very iffy, but I finally was able to post some photos from the Dawes glacier and Endicott Arm.

[artbcpa]

Just a quick note before bed. Our team trivia team won for the 2nd day in a row.

 

If you have any specific questions about the ship or itinerary, please let me know.

[artbcpa]

We are in Port Rupert and I was just able to upload the video of the glacier calving. I added it to the end of my Endicott Arm album:

[Roxburgh]

Thank you all for your input regarding the mealtimes. I thought it would make for an interesting discussion. Now people who are considering sailing on Seabourn have more insight into the alternatives.

 

As for our Alaskan excursions, our catamaran to see the glaciers at Tracy Arm/Endicott Arm was truly breathtaking. This is always one of the main reasons people travel to Alaska. I have been to Glacier Bay twice but never here. We were very lucky in that we had clear weather and lots of calving. I have some great photos and videos, but I am not sure I will be able to upload them until I get back home. I will try and let you know.

 

As I said at the beginning of my thread I try to be objective - neither too critical nor a shill. Today I must report that we had one of the WORST experiences at breakfast we have had on ANY ship. We ate at the restaurant. The tea was lukewarm; we sent it back and it once again came back at the same temperature. Ellie ordered the fruits and nuts breakfast. There were NO nuts on the plate. I ordered pancakes. They came without syrup. I asked our waitress when she served the pancakes, but she never came back. I finally asked a waiter from another table. By the time I got the syrup, my meal was cold. Both of us ordered bacon extra crisp and I made it especially clear to the waitress about our prior experiences. It still came half-cooked. I was extremely disappointed. Then, on the way out of the restaurant, I ran into my bridge partner. She told me about her experience yesterday at bridge. (I didn't go yesterday because our wonderful excursion got back so late). The instructor told her she (the guest) couldn't play because SHE (the instructor) decided to play. l have never of an instructor taking a guest's spot. To me that usurps one of the cardinal rules of cruising, guests come first.

 

In any case every vacation has its issues. However these are ones I would not expect from a 6-star cruise line. Needless to say we will have some some comments to make to management.

 

I always make my comments to the Maire D' when the incident - which can be very good or can be bad - happens. If I get great service I tell them and if I get bad service I also tell them. I think that feedback should be as timely as possible.

[artbcpa]

I always make my comments to the Maire D' when the incident - which can be very good or can be bad - happens. If I get great service I tell them and if I get bad service I also tell them. I think that feedback should be as timely as possible.

 

Actually the Maitre D' was gone; so I decided to see if anyone was monitoring cruise critic as many of the cruise lines do.

 

Yesterday evening I did tell the restaurant manager about our experience. He thanked me for letting him know.

 

For me, the key to service is what the company does in response to a problem. No matter the level of the cruise ship (or hotel) things do go wrong. It is how they react to the issues that is the real key to great service.

[frantic36]

Artbcpa thank you for your photos and videos. I am enjoy reliving the memories of my Alaska trip.

 

I am glad you have managed to speak to the Restaurant Manager with your complaint. I would definitely not rely on using CC as a way to get a complaint about service to management. From my experience, though they may read CC occasionally, it is not a resource they rely on. Your comments directly to senior staff onboard or on mid-cruise comment cards are much more effective.

 

Julie

[artbcpa]

As we are approaching the end of our itinerary, I would like to give my feedback on the cruise. Please remember that this is only one person’s opinion (with a little input from Ellie as well). I have tried to break down the evaluation into categories so that those who don’t feel that a particular area is important to them, they can ignore those marks and concentrate on those areas that are most important to them. I also felt that it might be helpful if I rated the categories against two other luxury cruise lines we have traveled on, Crystal and the newest entry into luxury cruising, Viking Ocean. We have not sailed on Silversea or Regent; so, I cannot include them in my comparison.

 

Layout of the ship- I judged this category on ease to get around the ship, central meeting place for passengers to gather, and other factors that might make the experience more appealing. For instance, not having a deck where passengers can walk around the ship, the shortage of rooms to hold activities, the layout of guest services all impacted my evaluation. 1st – Crystal; 2nd – Viking; 3rd – Seabourn.

 

Cabins – First, let me clarify that we are talking about standard cabins (with or without a veranda). This one was easy. Seabourn’s cabins are wonderfully laid out. Perhaps our only comment is that we would like to see drawers in the bathroom. Otherwise, the size of the room, the walk-in closet, and the curtain separating the “living room” area are absolutely wonderful. We have sailed on lots of ships. We would rate Seabourn number 1. As a side note, our very favorite cabin was the junior suite we had on Windstar. They merely took out the adjoining wall and we had two full cabins with two walk-in closets, two full bathrooms, etc. Ellie was a very happy camper. 1st – Seabourn; 2nd - Viking; 3rd - Crystal.

 

Food – Because of the importance of food to most cruisers, I broke this down to various subcategories.

 

Variety– Perhaps this is merely a factor of the size of the ship, but the choices of food and restaurants is quite limited compared to other ships. 1st –Crystal & Viking (tied) 3rd – Seabourn.

 

Breakfast – This is perhaps Seabourn’s weakest area. The size of the buffet on the Colonnade is much too small. Way too many items have to be ordered through the waiter. There needs to be an omelet station and it would also be nice if the pancakes and waffles would be included on the buffet. Because so many items need to be ordered we found the wait time to be unacceptable. Many times items would also be served lukewarm or cold. We gave up on trying to get crisp bacon. 1st – Crystal; 2nd – Viking; 3rd - Seabourn.

 

Lunch – Most of the time I simply loved the lunch in the Colonnade. I would never eat that heavy at home, but how do you resist such sumptuous offerings. On the other hand, the grill by the pool doesn’t come close to the variety and quality of other ships we have sailed on. I can’t compare the main restaurant because it was closed most of the time for lunch and we never tried it. 1st – Crystal; 2nd– Viking; 3rd - Seabourn.

 

Dinner – It seems to us that dinners at all the luxury lines and even some of the mid class and lower deliver dinners of the highest caliber. We have had isolated issues with individual items, but why quibble when you can send it back and get something else. We rate all three lines equally.

 

Specialty restaurants – Once again,I believe the size of the ship has some impact on this comparison, but even so, most ships specialty restaurants exceed Restaurant 2. 1st – Crystal;2nd – Viking; 3rd – Seabourn.

 

Service – The food service on most ships is truly exceptional with isolated screw-ups. This was no different. However, we were especially impressed by the service we received on Viking Ocean and would rate it first. 1st – Viking; 2nd – Crystal and Seabourn (tied).

 

Entertainment –This a category that has a very different level of importance with passengers.We often meet other cruise passengers who never go to the shows. We, on the other hand, we hardly ever miss one. Because of the size of the ship our expectations were not especially high. Were we wrong! Seabourn’s entertainment holds up against anyone and Crystal has Broadway caliber talent. 1st –Seabourn and Crystal (tied); 3rd – Viking.

 

Guest Services – Ellie wanted me to give a special acknowledgement to Seabourn for all the help they gave her and the quick responses they offer to any question. 1st –Seabourn; 2nd – Viking; 3rd - Crystal

 

Housekeeping – It would be difficult to criticize any ship, big or small, luxury or mass market, as the housekeeping staffs work incredible hours and do a wonderful job. However, Viking’s staff was just a wee bit better. 1st – Viking; 2nd– Seabourn and Crystal (tied)

 

Ship activities – For people who want to be busy every minute of every day, that is possible on Crystal. Of course, you don’t have to do everything; most people do not. But for an itinerary with lots of sea days, Crystal is our cruise line of choice.Seabourn seems to cater more to those who want to relax. A port intensive itinerary might also give Seabourn an advantage. 1st – Crystal; 2nd– Seabourn and Viking (tied).

 

Ship Excursions –This is one category where Viking has a clear advantage as they have included in their price an overview excursion at every port. Of course, there are also paid excursions you can purchase. For most locations, we do not purchase ship run excursions. Often, they are very expensive and the quality is just as iffy as if you booked them yourselves. Here in Alaska late in the season there were not many outside alternatives available. Most of the excursions were excellent; one not so much. 1st – Viking; 2nd – Seabourn; 3rd– Crystal

 

Wifi/Internet - For most ships and cruise lines everyone would tie for last place. Perhaps because the ships are new and they spent years studying the shortcomings of other cruise ships, Viking’s internet is truly a step above. 1st – Viking; 3rd – Crystal & Seabourn (tied).

 

Shops – I had to ask Ellie about this category as I really don’t do much shopping…but she does. Ellie could not rave enough about the variety and the service she received from Seabourn – a clear winner. 1st – Seabourn; 2nd – Crystal; 3rd Viking.

 

Dancing – This is a category I need to explain. The reason is that Crystal has devotees who cruise with them strictly because of the dancing. Crystal has paid “ambassadors” onboard to dance with the women. They are trained dancers . Because of that and their low single supplement, they draw a large number of mature single women who look forward to dancing with a partner who can make them look fabulous on the dance floor. It is for precisely that reason that I rate Crystal last in this category. What man wants to compete with a half dozen professional dancers? Not only that, but there is no such thing as free form dancing on Crystal. If you are not doing the eastern or western swing, you are out of step. I didn't go ona cruise expecting to prepare for "Damcing with the Stars" On the positive side, I want to mention Seabourn’s band and singer, Eliza. They are outstanding. 1st– Seabourn; 2nd – Viking; 3rd – Crystal.

 

Relaxation – This is where Seabourn shines. So many places to read; even the rooms are set up for someone to read while the other person in the room sleeps. There are lounge chairs everywhere and you don’t have to reserve one like on many of the big ships. 1st – Seabourn; 2nd– Viking; 3rd – Crystal.

 

Spa – Once again this is an Ellie category. She loves all of them, but gave a slight edge to Viking because of their special Nordic spa. 1st – Viking, 2nd– Seabourn and Crystal (tied)

[Isklaar]

artbcpa, and ellie, thank you for your review/summary of your cruise. I'm interested in trying Viking Ocean, so I very much appreciate reading the thoughts and experiences of cruisers who have tried both Viking and Seabourn, your comments were very helpful to me.

Seabourn appears to have not been up to the usual very high standard on your cruise, and sadly I'm reading and hearing comments along similar lines from various sources, including friends who have been sailing with Seabourn for several years. Very disappointing.

Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.