Live from Quest, Barcelona to Montreal, July 22 to August 29

[kjbacon]

10 hours ago, SLSD said:

I am not doubting in any way your report, but I just want to say that I don't recall lobster tails being offered frequently on our past SB cruises.  They WERE offered several times each itinerary, but not daily.  I don't recall crab cakes, but then again, we have them all the time so I might not have noticed.  I have never seen porterhouse steaks on a SB menu--perhaps others have.  I guess I have never focussed on the variety/choices on SB menus.  There has always been a lot to choose from at the MDR, Earth and Ocean, and the Colonnade.   Since we don't cruise centered on food, perhaps I have not been observant enough to be a good reporter of pre-pandemic cruising.  Perhaps others will chime in on the subject of food variety and choices available.  I would be interested to hear if Seabourn has always been behind other luxury lines (Regent, Silversea, Crystal) on this particular issue.  

For us, this is an area of serious weakness on SB and food has a different level of importance to each person. I’m retired from the food business so it’s an area of keen interest to us. It’s ok to have different opinions and different areas of interest.

 

The “always available” menu in the MDR on Regent has better choices and more interesting dishes than the entirety of SB combo of menus. And that is in addition to the daily specials in the MDR, the Asian fusion restaurant, the French restaurant, the steakhouse, and the Italian restaurant. 
 

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Crab cakes and Lobster are on the TK menu each evening.

Rib eye or NY Strip are the steaks.

Last night RR bone in rib for two was a daily special.

It was delicious 😋 

TK Grill is only available on a very limited basis and it’s been difficult to get in on this full sailing. As for crab cakes, perhaps before or on another ship you are right, but not here or now. There’s not been a crab cake in any venue on this ship since we boarded on July 22. There have been fish cakes offered a couple times. The lobster tail in TK Grill is swimming in a thermidor sauce that is not for everyone (which is a nice way of saying it was not a good sauce).

 

Earth and Ocean seems to be a cut above the other venues so we braved the cold Greenland weather to go there last night. The meal was good but we were just too cold. Bread service is really good here and I tried to get some good pictures of the smoked chicken spread. Look how nicely it’s served.

 

 

We both had the pasta with Tuscan sausage and Parmesan for an appetizer.

 

Dining with icebergs is awesome but we were just too cold. Very few others joined us at E&O.

 

Main courses were short ribs in potato purée and Madras veggie curry with naan and condiments. Both dishes were very good.

 

 

 

We were just too cold to stay for dessert so  our server offered to send the grilled Camembert to our room. We gratefully accepted and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Yesterday, we explored the charming little village of qaqortoq with it’s rock art path. We were told that they have the only fountain in Greenland.

 

 

 

We are en route to Paamiut where we are scheduled for a kayak tour with the absolutely fantastic expedition team. The weather report is not great so we will see how the day unfolds. It’s beautiful and calm now but not expected to stay this way.

 

[nancygp]

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Crab cakes and Lobster are on the TK menu each evening.

Rib eye or NY Strip are the steaks.

Last night RR bone in rib for two was a daily special.

It was delicious 😋 

👍👍

 

we are first time seabourn cruisers, currently on the ovation…we are very, very happy with the overall experience!  I won’t post much on here about our cruise as I don’t care to post much personal info on public forums.

 

while we miss and loved all of the crystal cruises taken over many years, we are so happy and comfortable on this ovation cruise. So happy we have another seabourn cruise in a few months to look forward to.

no line or product is perfection!
 

happy sails,

 

Nancy

Edited August 19, 2022 by nancygp

[SLSD]

kjbacon,  It sounds like you have enjoyed portions of your Seabourn cruise (excursions with the expedition teams) but not the food.  And you are so right, everyone is different in what they are looking for in a cruise.  While we have never had any difficulty getting into the TK Grill, and have dined there many times, it is not really our favorite venue.  On a cruise of three weeks, we might order steak once or twice during the entire time and I seldom have ordered lobster that was worth writing home about.  I don't think I've ever seen fish cakes on the menu.  Being from the food industry, I'm sure you are way more focussed on this aspect of your trip.  I think I remember you saying that you find Regent fits your expectations more closely than Seabourn.  Are all the Regent ships larger than the SB ships?  I think that most of them are.  Am. I correct about that?  Does the size of the ship (number of passengers) factor into what you are looking for?  We are trying to figure out if we should try other lines once we resume cruising.  So far, we have only sailed with Seabourn and Silversea.    For some reason, we had never been tempted to try Regent.  

[lincslady]

Maybe worth noting that Mr.Luxury is not actually on Quest at present,  but on Encore, so what is available could be different.

[topkatz]

We too braved the cold for Earth and Ocean last evening. Brrr.

We got up to enjoy the Aurora last night. We only lasted an hour before they started to fade. The moon photo-bombed the event.  😉

 

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, lincslady said:

Maybe worth noting that Mr.Luxury is not actually on Quest at present,  but on Encore, so what is available could be different.

This can happen but the lobster is on all ships in the TK Restaurant.

My wife had a lovely lobster salad starter last night in TK.

Just tell them that you do not want the thermidor but have it cold and sliced in a salad.

We also have roasted cherry tomatoes with our meals in TK.

They are very accommodating 

[Mr Luxury]

2 hours ago, lincslady said:

Maybe worth noting that Mr.Luxury is not actually on Quest at present,  but on Encore, so what is available could be different.

Sarah Brightman gave a lovely concert and she is staying on until Sunday with us

[Champagne Socialist]

On 7/26/2022 at 2:25 PM, kjbacon said:

We are doing our best to make the best out of this. Thank you all for the well wishes. We are sick but not very sick and thankful

for that. We have lots of good movies to watch and plenty of room service. 
 

My best ports for this trip are Iceland and Greenland but my husband is all about Bordeaux. Best case scenario is that we will miss day one of Bordeaux and I’m not sure what the odds are that we will both test negative on day two of Bordeaux, our first scheduled retest. I’m so upset for him but at least I know that we did the right thing by calling the infirmary this morning.

 

Quarantine leaves you in your cabin and they put a small table in front of your door for room service trays. They are out of small tables so the Covid numbers can’t be good.

 

Frankly, I am furious at the SB Covid policy that does not insist upon the spouse to be isolated with her husband, negative test or not. It’s hard to believe and it’s no wonder they are out of those small tables.

 

As for the buffet or not to buffet, there’s little choice if you’d like to eat breakfast or lunch. The restaurant has yet to be open before dinner hour. Oceania serves you in their buffet and regent won’t let you in or out without sanitizing your hands. No one says a word to passengers here on SB as they pass right by the hand sanitizers.

 

The crew is shaking hands with each other and with passengers. I could keep going with examples but suffice it to say, this is why I gave a shoutout early on about the handling of Covid.

Has any reason been given for the Restaurant not opening before dinner, or when it might open for breakfast and lunch?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

6 hours ago, kjbacon said:

The “always available” menu in the MDR on Regent has better choices and more interesting dishes than the entirety of SB combo of menus.

After admittedly a single cruise on Quest, I must agree that Regent wins by far in the matter of cuisine.  Although the food on SB was very good, it was, in the main, predictable and uninspired.  I think the size of the ship just mitigates against the dining choices of Regent (and perhaps this is reflected in the size of the galleys.)  We did prefer the Colonnade to La Veranda, in terms of the presentation and choice of buffet items.  We never did get into TK, although we did do one of the "family style" meals in the Colonnade.  All of this hardly makes up for not having caviar every day.

[fdnycruiser]

I thought you’d be seeing the Aurora Borealis, and hopefully you’ll see bigger show tonight. They’re predicting that it may be visible in the Northeast tonight as far south as 100 miles north of NYC.  I’m dying to see those lights ! 

[rkacruiser]

11 hours ago, kjbacon said:

The lobster tail in TK Grill is swimming in a thermidor sauce that is not for everyone (which is a nice way of saying it was not a good sauce).

 

I don't recall of ever being served Lobster Thermidor with a sauce.  If anything was provided, it was Drawn Butter.  

[Mr Luxury]

8 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I don't recall of ever being served Lobster Thermidor with a sauce.  If anything was provided, it was Drawn Butter.  

Butter in the MDR

Thermidor in TK although you can have the lobster served hot or cold with or without sauce or butter.

All you have to do is ask.

No menu is set in stone.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Mr Luxury

[kjbacon]

18 hours ago, Champagne Socialist said:

Has any reason been given for the Restaurant not opening before dinner, or when it might open for breakfast and lunch?

Not that I have heard. My guess would be staffing because the breakfast service has been consistently understaffed and/or undertrained. The restaurant has been open for lunch two or three times on this leg and today it’s going to be open for the first time for breakfast. I looked and the menu is identical to the never changing Collonade breakfast offerings. Would love to see something creative or different.

 

Paamiut is a small but friendly village. Many locals engaged with us and the cutest kids you ever saw waved us welcome.

 

There is a beautiful church in the middle of town.

 

 

We were able to enjoy the good weather for the first half of the day.

 

 

 

As we sailed away, we saw a couple whales and what was probably our last iceberg. I wasn’t able to get a picture of the whales but it was still thrilling.

 

Dinner in the Collonade was the Indian Market. It was just ok. We love Indian cuisine so it was disappointing.

 

 

Today is the first of two sea days en route to Canada. 

[travel4b]

Lest readers think you are exaggerating about the cuisine onboard, tonight’s chef’s special in the Restaurant is three bean vegetable chili. 

[kjbacon]

19 minutes ago, travel4b said:

Lest readers think you are exaggerating about the cuisine onboard, tonight’s chef’s special in the Restaurant is three bean vegetable chili. 

And yesterday, it was liver and onions if it can be believed, the day before was shell pasta with chicken, the day before that chicken parm and spaghetti (so different from that shell pasta with chicken)!

[Mr Luxury]

7 minutes ago, kjbacon said:

And yesterday, it was liver and onions if it can be believed, the day before was shell pasta with chicken, the day before that chicken parm and spaghetti (so different from that shell pasta with chicken)!

Are you sure you're not in the crew mess 😁

[Fletcher]

14 minutes ago, kjbacon said:

And yesterday, it was liver and onions if it can be believed, the day before was shell pasta with chicken, the day before that chicken parm and spaghetti (so different from that shell pasta with chicken)!

Fegato alia Veneziana is one of the great luxury dishes - in fact, that is what we are having for dinner tonight, and I usually add a few slices of crispy pancetta as well, served in a sauce made from marsala, butter and sage, with the creamiest mashed potatoes.  Nothing 'messy' about that.

[travel4b]

Just now, kjbacon said:

And yesterday, it was liver and onions if it can be believed, the day before was shell pasta with chicken, the day before that chicken parm and spaghetti (so different from that shell pasta with chicken)!

Can confirm!!  The vibe at the chef’s cooking demo this morning should be interesting. 

[worcestergal]

Wow!  It really sounds like they are running out of provisions (or there was some less than stellar planning).
I remember one cruise when they actually  semi-rationed bacon in the morning. It went from serve yourself in the Colonnade buffet line to having a server dispense one rasher at a time. It didn’t bother me, since I don’t eat bacon, but my husband said that he felt like a glutton asking for a second piece. 🥴

I do wonder about the logistics and whether there have been issues with resupply. 

[texanaust]

3 hours ago, kjbacon said:

And yesterday, it was liver and onions if it can be believed, the day before was shell pasta with chicken, the day before that chicken parm and spaghetti (so different from that shell pasta with chicken)!

Quite unbelievable, but our chef on Encore has similarly chosen lower quality items as the Chef's specials. 

 

All I can suggest is to special order whatever you want.  Maine lobster with drawn butter is only 24 hours notice away.

[PaulaJK]

These chefs’ specials are unworthy. Yes, they sound low end offerings 
and apparently reach across the line, rather than reflect running short of a product. Very disappointing to hear.

 

we had sailed SB several years ago but abandoned ship because of

disappointing cuisine coupled w closing the MDR for lunch. Since my husband and I were working and never had lunch out or together, we used to enjoy this experience. We are giving it a retry and hope to be offering very positive reports.

 

i do agree that Regent has an extensive always available menu as well as a list of daily specials. Combined w a steak/ chop/ crab leg venue and French plus Asian restaurants, Regent is an attractive venue for indoor dining. 

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, worcestergal said:

Wow!  It really sounds like they are running out of provisions (or there was some less than stellar planning).
I remember one cruise when they actually  semi-rationed bacon in the morning. It went from serve yourself in the Colonnade buffet line to having a server dispense one rasher at a time. It didn’t bother me, since I don’t eat bacon, but my husband said that he felt like a glutton asking for a second piece. 🥴

I do wonder about the logistics and whether there have been issues with resupply. 

This sounds a bit like what I do.  I look in my pantry to see what is there and decide what I can make from it to use it up!  Perhaps there has been instruction from above for the chefs to do the same.  It's called use what you have.  I'm not saying that this is a good thing on a cruise, but would certainly go toward husbanding their resources.  

[hoosier74]

Just FYI.   The Restaurant has been open for lunch on Sea days.  The Restaurant, like the Colonnade and the Patio, also has a daily menu in addition to the standard lunch offerings.   

[Covepointcruiser]

So I take it there is no more steak, lamb or salmon on the ship??    I would think passengers living aboard for 20 or more days might welcome less rich and fancy foods.    Vegetarian chili sounds wonderful in a cool climate and chicken parm. is one of our favorites.   Was that calf liver that was offered?

[travel4b]

Just now, Covepointcruiser said:

So I take it there is no more steak, lamb or salmon on the ship??    I would think passengers living aboard for 20 or more days might welcome less rich and fancy foods.    Vegetarian chili sounds wonderful in a cool climate and chicken parm. is one of our favorites.   Was that calf liver that was offered?

Maybe it’s just me but vegetarian chili sounds wonderful - at the Colonnade for lunch, not as the chef’s special for dinner in the formal Restaurant. What’s next, Taco Tuesdays?!