Extremely Disappointed w/ Seabourn's Behavior

[Navis]

So . . . here we are 5 days before we are scheduled to embark on the Odyssey for 2 weeks in the Caribbean. We booked this trip 20 months ago and, until about a month ago, had been looking forward to our first Seabourn experience having found, we believed, the right cruise line for our vacation dollars going forward.  When final payment date was upon us . . . the only thing we had to worry about was the seasonal flu and perhaps the fickle weather we have up here in Boston in March.  Fast forward to February and this corona virus starts to pop up.  Like many others on here . . . we waited to see how things played out confident that, no matter the outcome, Seabourn would do the right thing.  

 

Well, it turns out we were apparently very wrong.  It seems like for those of us with cruises this month, no accommodation will be made . . . cruise or lose your money.  Seabourn's "generous" book with confidence program draws arbitrary and incoherent lines in the sand and exposes those of us forced to cruise this month with a potential quarantine (at worst) and significant diminution in value having to deal with this hanging over our heads for 2 weeks (at best). Not only is the policy objectively unreasonable it is far inferior to what other lines are offering . . . Regent offering 100% FCC with 48 hours notice to ALL existing reservations for travel on or before 12/31/22 . . . or even Viking offering 100% FCC with 24 hours notice to ALL existing reservations. I simply do not understand why those of us who were LEAST able to evaluate and respond to this crisis are being put in the WORST position.

 

We've spent probably 10 hours on the phone with unhelpful associate after unhelpful associate reciting company scripts and refusing to forward our concerns to management (I do feel bad for them as Seabourn/Carnival's policy here is indefensible).  In fact, we've been told now FIVE times that a manager would call to discuss further . . . nothing at all from Seabourn. We have not a single returned call and we embark in 5 days . . . amazing.  Oh, and then there are the two emails that went without response. To clarify, all we are asking for here is the same relief granted to EVERYONE sailing 2 weeks after us an beyond . . . give us a FCC. The funny thing is . . . we've already decided what cruise we would take next year . .  and it would have resulted in more cruise dollars for Seabourn as we would have gone with a signature suite rather than the owner's suite we have now.   

 

I also do not feel like our request is unreasonable . . . quarantines are popping up everywhere . . . we are (understandably) about 2 weeks behind this virus at every turn . . . cruise ships are particularly vulnerable and have resulted in terrible quarantines  . . . the CDC says avoid cruise ships and now the State Dept says we're stupid to cruise and we're on our own if anything goes wrong. And I'm excluding the event on the Odyssey itself today!  I can appreciate that as a couple in our 40s and of good health we are not "at risk" but that is not even close to the point.  If we are forced to go . . . we will go and hope for the best, but no matter how great the crew are (and I am confident they are great based on everything I have read on here) it would be our first and last cruise with Seabourn.  I appreciate that they have the right to set their policies, but I have the right to choose where I spend my cruise dollars.   

 

I'm sorry for the rant, but I guess I'm also asking if anyone else scheduled to cruise this month is experiencing the same issues we are?  How are you dealing with Seabourn's stonewalling? Thank you!

[artlee]

We cruise a TA on April 20th. While I have not cancelled yet and hope not to, I am left with a similar impression of Seabourn as you are describing. It seems that less expensive cruise lines are bending over backwards for their customers and Seabourn is not. Based on the reviews of SB I expected the opposite. Others offering 48 hour cancelations and we have 30 days as if that is comparable and poor communication with customers is not ok. It's disappointing. I wish you good luck and safe travels.

art

 

[2SailingNomads]

Agree Seabourn's policy re: cancellation is poor.  And we are long-time Seabourn cruisers. 

[phil09]

We are in the same exact situation and same cruise - not too worried about the virus - more worried about the hysteria, ports closing and potential for a quarantine in a country in which we don't speak the language.  We had two calls to Seabourn today and one to our travel agent - company speak is all we got.  Just looked at all the major cruise lines - best I can tell only Seabourn is on the  30-day notice.  There may be others, but Seabourn competitors Silver Sea and Regent are both 48-hours.  Crystal just announced today a 7-day cancel policy which if followed by Seabourn would not help us.  Seabourn has two departures on March 14th - Odyssey Caribbean/Transatlantic and Ovation - Asia/Indian Ocean which is a bigger goat rope than our situation.

 

Looks like it will likely be our first and last Seabourn cruise.  The indecisiveness and lack of communication is really disappointing.  It is a tough time for everyone - but there's a saying the true measure of a company (or individual) is when things are tough.  Anyone can look good when things are going great.  The "leadership" on display from corporate is, to us, a signal.    And not a good one.

[2SailingNomads]

Have to agree with you.  Sad that Seabourn risks losing many first timers as the product is excellent.  Management needs to wake up re: cancellation.  Make it effective tomorrow, 24 hours full refund.  Show leadership.

[Navis]

Many thanks for the insight.  It is reassuring to know that others have the same take on it that we have.  Speaking with Seabourn reps they leave you with the impression that you're crazy or hypersensitive and unreasonable.  The same mypoic line over and over . . . "right now we are not experiencing any delays or issues in the Caribbean." First time I heard it a few weeks I said "fair enough."  Second time they said it a week later I said, "yeah, funny they said the same thing yesterday in Italy and they went to an epidemic overnight."  Now two weeks later and the entire country is shut down.

 

Tonight when I got that line for the third time, I said "of really, then what happened today on the Odyssey?"  Crickets on the other end.  And if I have to explain one more time that, yes, I feel very fortunate that I am young enough and healthy enough that if I contract it I will, most likely, be fine.  But that is not, and has never been, my issue.  The issue is that Seabourn cannot guarantee me safe passage from embarkation through disembarkation and for that they should at least be offering us March cruises the same reasonable accommodation they are granting cruisers 4 days after our cruise is scheduled to disembark.

 

I find their shortsightedness shocking, ill advised and, simply, bad business.  

[artlee]

This will be our first cruise with SB (April 20th) and I must say reading everyones posts regarding communication with the home office leaves me wondering if this will be our last?

[TV Dad]

14 minutes ago, artlee said:

This will be our first cruise with SB (April 20th) and I must say reading everyones posts regarding communication with the home office leaves me wondering if this will be our last?

I'm a six time Seabourn cruiser and am due to board a ship in Australia on March 22. I believe this will probably be our last Seabourn. I expect high end cruise lines to be better than this. Silversea and Radisson are much better.

[Host Dan]

1 hour ago, TV Dad said:

I'm a six time Seabourn cruiser and am due to board a ship in Australia on March 22. I believe this will probably be our last Seabourn. I expect high end cruise lines to be better than this. Silversea and Radisson are much better.

Radisson??  😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[jenidallas]

2 hours ago, artlee said:

This will be our first cruise with SB (April 20th) and I must say reading everyones posts regarding communication with the home office leaves me wondering if this will be our last?

I’ve found it next to impossible to communicate with the home office and find it much easier/effective to work with a TA that has a good relationship with Seabourn.

 

We are on your sailing and (assuming it goes) we expect a great experience.

[westmount]

Today was basically our 9th sea day in a row, and I guess the 300+ guest are really all true Seabourn lovers and admirers. As much as we all want to do 20000 steps in Broome, life is pretty good on the ship and no one has a clue what day of the week it is. 
   I believe the hope is that while the virus is spreading fast around the world, it’s effect is mild save for elderly with respiratory issues in general, or so it seems, at home, we have two residents with the virus and now three clinics opened to screen patients, I call that progress. 
  I still think a fast medical test prior to boarding needs to be  found, as cruise ship passengers are more vulnerable and need to feel comfortable that a virus carrier isn’t jumping onto a cruise because he paid and can’t get a refund nor wished to get tested as thought mild. 
   If one passenger from a prior cruise can make hell for everyone, that’s a risk not worth taking. 
   Btw, do you know why India and Sri Lanka move their clocks only 30 minutes and not one hour? 
  As I said, we have lots of time on our hands right now

 

.

[Covepointcruiser]

Certainly not aware of too many problems in the Caribbean or Eastern Mexico.   If a port doesn’t want the ship the loss is the port’s.   I certainly will not cancel my 4/20 sailing.   If you look at the other cruise line boards everyone is complaining.   People are not happy with any cruise lines policies.   It is certainly a disruption for many of us but pandemics tend to do that and depending on your planned itinerary it could have major or total changes.   I won’t panic and I will do my best at staying healthy so I can enjoy the cruise wherever we go.

[cruise_rima]

I am also aggravated/upset/annoyed with Seabourn.  They are part of Carnival and other lines within Carnival have better policies.  Why is there not an umbrella policy for their lines?  We are scheduled to embark on April 20 and have 10 days to make up our minds what we are going to do.  If we had until April 18 to decide we would feel a lot better and we'd have a lot more information with which to make an informed decision.  We have also called Seabourn and get the same corporate speak.  It is our first time on them as well.  We are loyal Princess cruisers and were upping our game with this trip.

[Navis]

Well, the poor customer service continued today . . . called this morning as I was told last night "Pam" would be available to discuss with me.  Sure enough "Pam" is in meetings but cares about our concerns . . . can she call you back directly at 6 pm EDT?  Sure, I say knowing full well, just like the 4 unreturned emails and the 6 unreturned phone calls the last 2 weeks, there was NO CHANCE she was actually going to return my call.  

 

Sure enough I wait until 6:30 and call them again .  . . wouldn't you know it . .  no one knows where "Pam" is!  Still on hold.  Amazing!

 

On a related note, sent an email to the general Regent address today asking them what they could do for us (given our status with NCL in general).  I received a response within 2 hours with various offers.  We really want to cruise with Seabourn but, my God, this is beyond crazy. 

[Navis]

UPDATE:  "Pam" is not talking client calls anymore and "no one in the office has the ability to evaluate your request.  Good night." I am speechless.

[FROM THE HIGH SEAS]

Seabourn Guest Service is not "Passenger/Guest" oriented, they feel and act pompous, versus truly understanding 1st Class Service. They are living on their long ago past reputation and have not kept with today's world and standards and competitors. Suggest you direct all communication to Richard Meadows President CEO to see if you get a response. We were on our 1st and last Seabourn cruise in December & January, couldn't wait to get off, since the overall experience, food, Management attitude was lacking, plus they just seemed not to care at all about guest needs, health or poor ship ongoing problems.

[sanne]

5 hours ago, FROM THE HIGH SEAS said:

Seabourn Guest Service is not "Passenger/Guest" oriented, they feel and act pompous, versus truly understanding 1st Class Service. They are living on their long ago past reputation and have not kept with today's world and standards and competitors. Suggest you direct all communication to Richard Meadows President CEO to see if you get a response. We were on our 1st and last Seabourn cruise in December & January, couldn't wait to get off, since the overall experience, food, Management attitude was lacking, plus they just seemed not to care at all about guest needs, health or poor ship ongoing problems.

I have a similar problem with no response from Seabourn. Do you have an email address for Richard Meadows? Thank you. 

[Mahogany]

I’m in the same boat (but don’t want to be 😄) with Quest leaving Monday from BA. I’m on for 36 days so a lot for me to lose if I cancel . Artlee, at least you are covered by the April 1 policy to cancel. Those of us scheduled to sail before April 1 are not. My health is basically good,  but I am elderly and had upper respiratory issues in the past. I would think Seabourn wouldn't want me to be onboard.

[Roger88]

It was very risky in the very beginning when you were booking 20 months + before the cruise. World can change drasticly in this time. Moreover, taking into account all the current news its a very risky deal booking beforehand. I would rather look for something with hot deal availble at the moment rather than booking in advance. You can lose money, time and left to stay wherever you are instead of going on a cruise or anything else. Be carefull guys

[marazul]

14 hours ago, cruise_rima said:

I am also aggravated/upset/annoyed with Seabourn.  They are part of Carnival and other lines within Carnival have better policies.  Why is there not an umbrella policy for their lines?  We are scheduled to embark on April 20 and have 10 days to make up our minds what we are going to do.  If we had until April 18 to decide we would feel a lot better and we'd have a lot more information with which to make an informed decision. 

Agree 100%.  We are booked for April 22 and we are willing to wait to make our decision closer to departure day. 

We have been loyal SB cruisers for about 12 years, but this has us considering alternatives.  

[SLSD]

Seaboard's current policies which are not as flexible as other Carnival lines, seem to me to be pointing to some fiscal instability. We are  downside people at our house due to my husband's long career in that arena.  Mr. SLSD keeps saying, "if they have asset based lenders, they could be in deep doo doo."

[saminina]

Contacting Meadows......he is a puppet with a title.   Has anyone checked Holland America's cancellation policy?   It seems like the Carnival divisions acting independently on the cancellation policy.   Remember.......it is Holland America operating Seabourn.

[Covepointcruiser]

If Seabourn cancels your cruise you will get 100% refund plus 25% off another cruise.  I would think they are currently working the March cruises then will look at April.   I hope all this media panic will calm down by then and we will be able to cruise if we are healthy.

[Mahogany]

1 hour ago, Covepointcruiser said:

If Seabourn cancels your cruise you will get 100% refund plus 25% off another cruise.  I would think they are currently working the March cruises then will look at April.   I hope all this media panic will calm down by then and we will be able to cruise if we are healthy.

 

[Mahogany]

You really think they are considering cancelling the several cruises leaving this weekend? I'm not asking for a refund for my 36-day cruise next Monday. I just want a FCC for 72 hour cancellation like the other Carnival brands, including HAL.