Ovation-Update on the Restaurant

[markham]

SLSD,

 

I know dining in sit-down restaurants with full service for breakfast and dinner is important to you as you do not care for buffets. We have migrated to your camp, and we found the Colonnade buffets of Quest in our winter South America Grand Voyage 2023 crowded at breakfast and downright cheap, repetitive, stodgy and (yes) even more crowded at lunch. So we generally ate these meals in the MDR which was open much of the time with perhaps a dozen tables occupied daily. We had many many sea days and some bad weather, so unlike Med, Alaska and warmer places cruises, the MDR was thankfully open.

 

But back to you. If you expect 5 star service and sit down restaurant choices, well, maybe Seabourn is just plain not the best option for you. That is why I strongly recommend you sail on Muse, Moon or Dawn for a trial. The continental Atlantide restaurant is sort of their MDR and offers elegant breakfasts and lunches every day in addition to the buffet style service of La Terrazza. The menus and choices of both are deeper ie more choices and are far higher quality than the Colonnade. And for lunch who doesn’t like an outdoor sit down dedicated pizza and salad restaurant- such as Spaccanapoli? This Seabourn dilemma must be down to smaller food budgets, less capable suppliers, hidebound management and more limited kitchen prep and cooking space at Seabourn’s kitchens. I am sure that Natalya Leahy is fully aware of the challenges.

 

If you do take a cruise on one of these 3 Silversea ships you may well miss the more numerous, lively and professional events delivered by Seabourn’s entertainment. We do on occasion. But you will also get a much longer swimming pool and a top of ship delineated wrap around track which is sorely missing from Seabourn’s classic ships.

 

Our current thinking is we are primarily three ship Silversea people until Seabourn ramps up the sophistication of their dining. We can do plenty of exercise on shore when we are on a port intensive cruise with them to compensate for the pool and walking limitations. But why should we make any such trade offs? It is indeed time for the line to deliver on the luxury promises bumph with some new classic ships - if they want to be competitive in the luxury segment. A look at the Silversea Nova and Ray and the 3 new Regent ships on their respective websites will impress.

 

On another note, we were extremely pleased with our recent Venture cruise and have another one booked. We are keenly anticipating the release of 2025 itineraries on it and Pursuit. Seabourn has a hard to beat targeted product that meets all of our expedition ship interests.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[SLSD]

4 hours ago, cruiseej said:

 

@SLSD I don't doubt that that is what you were told, but it's more likely that you were misinformed because the person who told you was misinformed. It seems less likely that they changed the policy to open the Restaurant for breakfast and lunch and then reversed that decision almost immediately. There have been other cruisers who have reported here and on FB since your cruise that the Restaurant has not been open every day; I just don't think there was a fleet-wide change and then reversal. I'd guess they have criteria for when they open the Restaurant: passenger load may be a factor; ports may be a factor; staff levels may be a factor.

Interesting comment from you as my information came from the restaurant manager and he brought up the issue and we had a detailed conversation about it.  I asked questions as well.  This is why I think there was a new policy which was then reversed---similar to the policy of calling the cruise director entertainment directors and then almost immediately reversing back to cruise directors.  Whatever happened, it is disconcerting to some of us.  Others don't care as the buffet in the Colonnade seems to suit them just fine.  

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, markham said:

SLSD,

 

I know dining in sit-down restaurants with full service for breakfast and dinner is important to you as you do not care for buffets. We have migrated to your camp, and we found the Colonnade buffets of Quest in our winter South America Grand Voyage 2023 crowded at breakfast and downright cheap, repetitive, stodgy and (yes) even more crowded at lunch. So we generally ate these meals in the MDR which was open much of the time with perhaps a dozen tables occupied daily. We had many many sea days and some bad weather, so unlike Med, Alaska and warmer places cruises, the MDR was thankfully open.

 

But back to you. If you expect 5 star service and sit down restaurant choices, well, maybe Seabourn is just plain not the best option for you. That is why I strongly recommend you sail on Muse, Moon or Dawn for a trial. The continental Atlantide restaurant is sort of their MDR and offers elegant breakfasts and lunches every day in addition to the buffet style service of La Terrazza. The menus and choices of both are deeper ie more choices and are far higher quality than the Colonnade. And for lunch who doesn’t like an outdoor sit down dedicated pizza and salad restaurant- such as Spaccanapoli? This Seabourn dilemma must be down to smaller food budgets, less capable suppliers, hidebound management and more limited kitchen prep and cooking space at Seabourn’s kitchens. I am sure that Natalya Leahy is fully aware of the challenges.

 

If you do take a cruise on one of these 3 Silversea ships you may well miss the more numerous, lively and professional events delivered by Seabourn’s entertainment. We do on occasion. But you will also get a much longer swimming pool and a top of ship delineated wrap around track which is sorely missing from Seabourn’s classic ships.

 

Our current thinking is we are primarily three ship Silversea people until Seabourn ramps up the sophistication of their dining. We can do plenty of exercise on shore when we are on a port intensive cruise with them to compensate for the pool and walking limitations. But why should we make any such trade offs? It is indeed time for the line to deliver on the luxury promises bumph with some new classic ships - if they want to be competitive in the luxury segment. A look at the Silversea Nova and Ray and the 3 new Regent ships on their respective websites will impress.

 

On another note, we were extremely pleased with our recent Venture cruise and have another one booked. We are keenly anticipating the release of 2025 itineraries on it and Pursuit. Seabourn has a hard to beat targeted product that meets all of our expedition ship interests.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

I agree with you Markham.  Mr. SLSD and I need to give Silversea another try as we haven't sailed with them since 2005.  And yes, we would stick to the three ships you mention and perhaps the new Nova.  I would not even consider the other  SS ships.  Mr. SLSD will give me some pushback and I will miss more sophisticated entertainment and events onboard.  

 

We were so fortunate on our Ovation cruise in June that the The Restaurant WAS open every day for breakfast and for lunch.   I enjoyed every one of those meals as did so many other passengers.  

Edited July 27, 2023 by SLSD

[Joc123]

Texanaust, we could not agree with you more.

We disembarked Silver Dawn 1 day before boarding Ovation so can’t help making comparisons.

The only thing that is better on Ovation is the entertainment! The singers on Dawn were ordinary at best and there were no guest entertainers. On Ovation, they are some of the best we have seen.

 

The Colannade seems to be the area they have decided to save money. Breakfast is similar to a 4 star hotel, everything is bulk except the berries!! On Dawn the fruit was beautiful, fresh plentiful and ripe. Not the case here.

 

We are diamond members but I doubt we will be booking another cruise with them for awhile.

We have booked another Silversea cruise.

 

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, markham said:

SLSD,

 

I know dining in sit-down restaurants with full service for breakfast and dinner is important to you as you do not care for buffets. We have migrated to your camp, and we found the Colonnade buffets of Quest in our winter South America Grand Voyage 2023 crowded at breakfast and downright cheap, repetitive, stodgy and (yes) even more crowded at lunch. So we generally ate these meals in the MDR which was open much of the time with perhaps a dozen tables occupied daily. We had many many sea days and some bad weather, so unlike Med, Alaska and warmer places cruises, the MDR was thankfully open.

One other comment Markham.  I have been asked to participate in a virtual discussion with Seabourn about my expectations on a luxury cruise line.  That will be coming up in just a few days.  You can be sure that I will discuss this topic and my concerns.  

[Techno123]

We were on the 9th to 23rd July sailing on Ovation, join the Explorer in November and the Nova in 2025. 
 

Our first cruise was on Seabourn Odyssey 11 years ago and have sailed with them 4 times now. Perhaps I had Seabourn on a pedestal (first love and all that) but definitely nowhere near the quality of anything this time round. I intend to do a review but our thoughts (in summary) on food.

 

The Colonnade - We do like buffets as I like to try 'tastes' of things. In fairness, after the first couple of days for breakfast we were back to fruit and a piece of toast or croissant. The cold buffet at lunch was nowhere near as good or varied as I remember and the cured meats were cut far too thick. Hot options were generally very good. Went twice in the evening and very happy with the food both times.

The main dining room was definitely open for breakfast and lunch but agree, like a ghost town and as we didn't go to eat (only passed through or staff were setting up for next day during end of dinner service) so can't say which days. Dinner varied from excellent to awful (dry chicken and slow braised short ribs like shoe leather) and we didn't get tasty treats in the suite to say sorry. 😜

TK - hated it on Odyssey but went twice to the Grill and some of the best meals we had onboard

Earth and Ocean - too cold and wet and Mr Techno refused to eat dinner in his rain coat!

Sushi - never had 'proper' sushi before. Marie and June were amazing at guiding us through everything. Preferred the small plates but very much enjoyed the experience.

The Sommeliers lunch in the main dining room was fabulous and the galley lunch equally so although it seemed a huge amount of effort for the 'experience' of walking through the galley.

 

What did surprise me was the number of complaints we overheard with Chef Jes or the Restaurant managers being wheeled out to apologise (although we got the manager for poor food and the next night the table next to us got Chef Jes for slow service which didn't  quite make sense)

[cruiseej]

59 minutes ago, SLSD said:

Interesting comment from you as my information came from the restaurant manager and he brought up the issue and we had a detailed conversation about it.

 

@SLSD Again, I wasn't in any way questioning or doubting that this is what the restaurant manager told you. 😀 But since it seemed to never have happened consistently across all the ships in the weeks that followed, per passenger reports, I'm just guessing it was not a done-deal new policy which was instantly reversed. I think it's more likely that the restaurant manager you talked to hadn't gotten correct information. After all, the restaurant manager is under the F&B director who is under the hotel director, who reports up multiple levels of higher executives in the corporate office. It's possible they were considering a change, testing a change, or that the message just got twisted being passed down the ranks. Or… maybe the shipboard directors/managers had pushed for such a change and someone thought they had been given the go-ahead from corporate, when in fact it hadn't been finalized and approved. Or… maybe the change is coming, but is not yet implemented due to staffing shortages or other logistical reasons. We'll probably never know what went on behind the scenes, but we'll see over time whether the outcome is a change to open the Restaurant for three meals a day or not.

 

It will be interesting to see if the focus group or interview you'll be participating in will give you the opportunity to raise this and any other issues you want regarding services on the ships — or if they'll just be getting your reaction to some new changes they're considering/planning. (For instance, included excursions to compete with Silversea and Regent, or included air, which was rumored in the past). I hope you do have an opportunity to raise the issues you want, but sometimes these things aren't open-ended. (I wish I could get on their interview list, since there are a few issues I'd like to raise with them, too! 🤣) I imagine they'll ask you to agree to confidentiality if they're running any new concepts by you, but if you're able to post anything about the flavor of the conversation, even if not the specifics, it would be interesting to hear about.

[texanaust]

15 hours ago, robertmartha said:

Texanaust - let us know how ICELAND is....planning on doing the Dover to Iceland sailing next year.

How were the seas sailing to Iceland?

 

Thanks

Bob

 

The first sea day (the day after Gothenberg) was very rough.  Many people were seasick, but we were fine.  The seas were heavy, but the swell was not too bad.  The second sea day was much better and tended towards almost calm later in the day.  I'd rate the bad sea day as up there with some of the rougher seas that we have experienced, but without the swell it was tolerable.  

 

We are now at Djupivogur which is our first port in Iceland.  Low clouds and I think 9 degrees celsius.  This town is very small with under 500 inhabitants.  We went on a nice hike out of town, but in the center there were thousands of cruisers milling around.  Ovation, NCL Star and another ship were in port.  

[alc13]

We haven't been on Seabourn yet; our first try will be this December.  I was surprised at how inexpensive the fares were, compared to other higher end lines we've tried.  I mention this because it sounds like cost-cutting is taking place in the restaurant areas.  I know all the cruise lines have had a difficult time getting through and past the pandemic and some financial pressures are unavoidable.  But food and service are what count the most for most people on a cruise ship.  

[SLSD]

5 hours ago, Techno123 said:

We were on the 9th to 23rd July sailing on Ovation, join the Explorer in November and the Nova in 2025. 
 

Our first cruise was on Seabourn Odyssey 11 years ago and have sailed with them 4 times now. Perhaps I had Seabourn on a pedestal (first love and all that) but definitely nowhere near the quality of anything this time round. I intend to do a review but our thoughts (in summary) on food.

 

The Colonnade - We do like buffets as I like to try 'tastes' of things. In fairness, after the first couple of days for breakfast we were back to fruit and a piece of toast or croissant. The cold buffet at lunch was nowhere near as good or varied as I remember and the cured meats were cut far too thick. Hot options were generally very good. Went twice in the evening and very happy with the food both times.

The main dining room was definitely open for breakfast and lunch but agree, like a ghost town and as we didn't go to eat (only passed through or staff were setting up for next day during end of dinner service) so can't say which days. Dinner varied from excellent to awful (dry chicken and slow braised short ribs like shoe leather) and we didn't get tasty treats in the suite to say sorry. 😜

TK - hated it on Odyssey but went twice to the Grill and some of the best meals we had onboard

Earth and Ocean - too cold and wet and Mr Techno refused to eat dinner in his rain coat!

Sushi - never had 'proper' sushi before. Marie and June were amazing at guiding us through everything. Preferred the small plates but very much enjoyed the experience.

The Sommeliers lunch in the main dining room was fabulous and the galley lunch equally so although it seemed a huge amount of effort for the 'experience' of walking through the galley.

 

What did surprise me was the number of complaints we overheard with Chef Jes or the Restaurant managers being wheeled out to apologise (although we got the manager for poor food and the next night the table next to us got Chef Jes for slow service which didn't  quite make sense)

When you say ghost town--do you mean that only the tables along one side are used?  We sailed in June before you and most of the tables at one side would be filled at lunch.  

[travelwell]

I also dislike buffets. The idea of touching serving utensils after other people have touched them is a bit yucky. As a nurse I know the stats on hand washing. I would be happier with buffets if only gloved servers touch the food. 

[Utopia1]

There is always the option of ordering from the small menu in the Colonnade and /or having items that are served by the staff behind the buffet.  It is not a substitute for the Restaurant but an alternative for people who dislike buffets when the Restaurant isn't open.

[jondfk]

12 minutes ago, Utopia1 said:

There is always the option of ordering from the small menu in the Colonnade and /or having items that are served by the staff behind the buffet.  It is not a substitute for the Restaurant but an alternative for people who dislike buffets when the Restaurant isn't open.

I’m willing to concede that this could be a viable solution if either the menu were expanded beyond its what five(?) choices.   Add a couple daily specials or use two alternating cooked to order menus and you’d approach what I’d consider a reasonable compromise.

 

Of course this doesn’t solve the problem of the Colonnade being too small to accommodate the whole ship but does solve the dirty tongs problem.

 

[SLSD]

50 minutes ago, Utopia1 said:

There is always the option of ordering from the small menu in the Colonnade and /or having items that are served by the staff behind the buffet.  It is not a substitute for the Restaurant but an alternative for people who dislike buffets when the Restaurant isn't open.

The menu for the Colonnade is VERY short and I don't believe it really changes.  I do not like buffets even with gloved servers--it's just now I prefer to dine.  Others love it, I know.  

 

And I agree with Jon's comments above--why should Seabourn cruisers have to dine in a crowded environment?

Edited July 27, 2023 by SLSD

[Techno123]

2 hours ago, SLSD said:

When you say ghost town--do you mean that only the tables along one side are used?  We sailed in June before you and most of the tables at one side would be filled at lunch.  

I would say between 4 and 6 couples by the windows on the day of the sommeliers lunch and a bit more or less on other days BUT that is a passing through count  - people could well have come and gone.

 

[Techno123]

2 hours ago, travelwell said:

I also dislike buffets. The idea of touching serving utensils after other people have touched them is a bit yucky. As a nurse I know the stats on hand washing. I would be happier with buffets if only gloved servers touch the food. 

I do like buffets, however, I fully agree with you. After the kerfuffle over hand washing to enter the galley for the galley lunch, the number of passengers sanitising hands on the way into the colonnade was minuscule and not one member of staff was suggesting it might be a good idea. Then again, as adults, surely we shouldn't need someone to remind us to wash our hands before we eat, should we 😜

[Mahogany]

On my one Crystal experience, there was a crew member at the entrance of the restaurants, telling EVERYONE to use the hand sanitizer. Too pushy?

[SLSD]

53 minutes ago, Techno123 said:

I would say between 4 and 6 couples by the windows on the day of the sommeliers lunch and a bit more or less on other days BUT that is a passing through count  - people could well have come and gone.

 

I saw up to 17 tables filled at lunch.  That is when we came in around 12:45.  

[marazul]

10 hours ago, SLSD said:

One other comment Markham.  I have been asked to participate in a virtual discussion with Seabourn about my expectations on a luxury cruise line.  That will be coming up in just a few days.  You can be sure that I will discuss this topic and my concerns.  

I hope you discuss the "service" doggy issue.  

[Techno123]

49 minutes ago, Mahogany said:

On my one Crystal experience, there was a crew member at the entrance of the restaurants, telling EVERYONE to use the hand sanitizer. Too pushy?

Not at all. It doesn't have to be bossy 'welcome to the colonnade would you like some hand sanitiser or there are sinks just here if you prefer' 😁

[sfvoyage]

11 hours ago, Joc123 said:

On Dawn the fruit was beautiful, fresh plentiful and ripe. Not the case here.

 

I can't recall how the fresh fruit was on my one experience on Silversea.

 

In any case, I have been more disappointed than not regarding the degree of ripeness of the fruit on Seabourn, which can't seem to get this right.

 

At home, I enjoy eating fresh and perfectly ripened fruit daily, because I wait till the perfect degree of ripeness has been attained before I cut and serve them.  On Seabourn, often times fruit is served before they should be, including melons, mangoes, avocadoes, pineapples, peaches, etc.  I fully understand that provisioning fresh fruit and produce is a major challenge for cruise lines - especially at certain ports and on long journeys with many sea days - nonetheless, it is frustrating to see beautiful fruit compromised because they have been prematurely cut and served.

Edited July 27, 2023 by sfvoyage

[SLSD]

16 hours ago, markham said:

SLSD,

. That is why I strongly recommend you sail on Muse, Moon or Dawn for a trial. The continental Atlantide restaurant is sort of their MDR and offers elegant breakfasts and lunches every day in addition to the buffet style service of La Terrazza. The menus and choices of both are deeper ie more choices and are far higher quality than the Colonnade. And for lunch who doesn’t like an outdoor sit down dedicated pizza and salad restaurant- such as Spaccanapoli? This Seabourn dilemma must be down to smaller food budgets, less capable suppliers, hidebound management and more limited kitchen prep and cooking space at Seabourn’s kitchens. I am sure that Natalya Leahy is fully aware of the challenges.

 

Markham, As of this afternoon, our travel agent is looking into a couple of Dawn itineraries for us.  Unfortunately, we can't sail until next summer because of other travel plans, but it will get us out of the Texas heat next year.  I agree with you  and Mr. SLSD has come around to fhe idea of trying one of the newer SS ships.  

[kahuna21]

On 7/26/2023 at 11:24 AM, jondfk said:

Susan (SLSD) I’ll back you up on this. We were on the sailing with you and were told precisely the same thing.  On the other hand I’ve posted elsewhere that I’ve been monitoring Odyssey for our upcoming sailing and have noted that the restaurant is reliably closed for port days, of which there are many in Alaska.  We, like you, strongly prefer being served and simply won’t pay SB prices to carry our own plates, however nice the buffet.  What I dislike even more is the bad information.  As you know the restaurant was, in fact, open every meal on our June sailing, we enjoyed it often and frequently were joined by up to a hundred (my estimate) other sailors.

 

 

We just finished a 2 week Odyssey Alaska cruise. We chose it for the adventure aspect—several days, options for kayak and zodiac. Overall, an excellent and fun cruise. BTW, we find Seabourn more “fun” than the other two lines we use, Regent and Oceania. But I digress. Regarding The Restaurant on the Odyssey, it was closed, except for dinner, on port days. We went there for breakfast on a sea day. Maybe half a dozen tables used. No order they don’t open on port days; they might get nobody. 

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, kahuna21 said:

We just finished a 2 week Odyssey Alaska cruise. We chose it for the adventure aspect—several days, options for kayak and zodiac. Overall, an excellent and fun cruise. BTW, we find Seabourn more “fun” than the other two lines we use, Regent and Oceania. But I digress. Regarding The Restaurant on the Odyssey, it was closed, except for dinner, on port days. We went there for breakfast on a sea day. Maybe half a dozen tables used. No order they don’t open on port days; they might get nobody. 

Well--perhaps itfthey opened it regularly, people would go there.  But, not knowing IF it is going to be open until the night before does not make for the best planning. 

 

I just checked with a friend who was on the Ovation itinerary following ours in June.  He tells me that the Restaurant WAS open for breakfast and lunch each day.  But, he is one of those people who really likes all the choices in the buffet and always went there for lunch.  Unfortunately, he, and the rest of his traveling group of six came down with Covid at the very end of the cruise.  

[cruiseej]

13 minutes ago, SLSD said:

Well--perhaps itfthey opened it regularly, people would go there.  But, not knowing IF it is going to be open until the night before does not make for the best planning.

 

I agree and disagree. 😀 Yes, I think it it was open every day, every cruise, some people might go there for breakfast on occasion. But how much planning does one need for where to go for breakfast or lunch? You're either driven by the timing of your excursion/touring/walking about plans for the port of the day, or if you have time flexibility, I think most people can make this decision before going to sleep in the evening, or in the morning after getting up.

 

On our recent Sojourn cruise in the Mediterranean, we ate breakfast in the Colonnade daily, and had lunch there or at the pool grill depending on our timing and the weather. I believe that had the Restaurant been open for breakfast and lunch every day, it would have been something we would have considered on our one sea day. 

 

(Please don't take this as a vote against opening the Restaurant for breakfast and lunch! I think they should do so to the greatest extent possible, and for a prolonged time, to evaluate if the number of people who utilize this option justify the staff time and costs. Even if they've done so in the past, so much has changed in the Covid era, I think it deserves a fair trial now to see if more than a handful of passengers would utilize the Restaurant.)