Review of 28 days on the Pride Oct 08

[clarky]

Have just returned home from our Pride cruise and thought I would write a review while every thing is fresh in my mind.

 

Boarded in Dover and as usual boarded without a problem and was in the cabin within 10 minutes of stepping on board.

 

Cabin: Had suite 122 and decided this is my favourite suite so far. Have been on deck 5 but I prefer deck 4 as you are close to the laundry room and often this deck is used to disembark when in port. Also we had some motion in the ocean (as the Captain liked to say) and being mid ship and lower down helps. The cabin was in good working order and must say I do like the new flat screen TV and the new sound system. We had two stewardess during our 4 weeks, both were South African and both did a good job. One thing I did notice was that we had fewer towel animals on this cruise than we have experienced in the past. Having said that I do not cruise Seabourn for the towel animals it is just an observation. Asked for a bubble bath one night and came back to the cabin after a tour and found the bathroom scattered with rose petals and rose leaves and a compliment of bubble baths. Very nice touch.

 

Food: The chef was Mr Cockburn from Scotland and I must say his food was the best I have had on Seabourn. The fresh Scallops he sourced while we were in port were wonderful. He also had fresh fish brought on board while we were in Spain, and this was cooked to perfection. We bumped into him whilst in Cadiz searching for squid and some of our friends did a tour with the chef when we were in Morocco and really enjoyed that. We did a tour of the galley with the chef who will taking over from Chef Cockburn once he moves to the new ship. The new chef was English but made a point of saying he had training in France and he was always keen to hear feed back from all the guests. In fact I mentioned that I found the hamburgers on board to be a bit dry and also a bit thick. The next time I had a hamburger I found the burger much more moist and mentioned this to Warren who was cooking the burgers that day and he told me they had altered the recipe. Talk about action to feedback. We love the 2 restaurant and enjoy the tastings as well as the theme nights. I will say that on the tastings nights they were never full and the staff were always asking if we were dinning with them on the tastings nights. I think because they were never full on these nights. Now I love the tasting menu but must admit that I did come away from those nights feeling very full and during the last two weeks of our cruise avoided eating the tastings menu because there was just too much food. I have a feeling this maybe fixed as a number of people mentioned this to the chef. I had one of the best meals on board at 2 for the Asian night. Food was outstanding.

 

Wine: I found the wine on this cruise to be better than our previous cruises and so it should be we were cruising in the wine region of France. I'm not a wine buff but I know what I like to drink and what I don't. They had a wonderful Sav Blanc from New Zealand on board and I drank a bit of this, well maybe more than a bit as they ran out after two weeks of my being on board! When I spoke to the staff about the wine they told me that on the previous cruise they had the person who grew the grapes for that particular wine on board. They had some wonderful french red wine that my husband loved Chateux Nerf De Pap (please excuse the spelling but those who know their wine will know this label). They had Italian wine, wine from Chille, Austria and Spain and all of it was good. Of course the Champagne was flowing and I do love Champagne.

 

Staff: Now here is where it gets tricky. Most of the staff were excellent and there was nothing that was too much especially on the first two weeks of the cruise. In Lisbon a number of staff finished their contract and these staff members were replaced with new staff a lot of them were new to Seaborn and we were told that they needed to train X amount of staff before the new ship was in service. When you have new staff unfamiliar with seabourn you expect a few blips but as they were a larger number of new staff you perhaps noticed the blips more. We also heard a few comments from staff about management problems and this we had never experienced before. I think they may have taken more new staff on board for the crossing at least this is what I was told. I don't think this is happening on the pride only and they do need to train staff. We were also told that staff who would be moving to the new ship would spend a month in training in the States even if they had worked on Seabourn before. I will give you an example of a few incidents not as a complaint but to let you know why things were not always smooth. At the restaurant I ordered soup and then salad an them my main meal. The soup came cold, not luke warm but cold so I called a waiter over and told him the soup was cold and could I have another. Yes madam. Now the cold soup sat in front of me for 10 minutes and I did try and catch a waiters eye to ask him if my new soup was coming but they were very busy. After 10 minutes my soup was taken away and the salad put in front of me. I explained that I had not had my new soup and the salad was whipped away. Another waiter came and explained that there had been a mistake and he had asked for a new soup but there was a breakdown in the communication. The soup came about 5 minutes later, I ate this while others waited for me as they had eaten their first course. Next the salad came and no sooner had I finished this than the main course arrived. I know this is no big deal and mistakes do happen but to have cold soup sitting in front of you for 10 minutes is not good. A small glitch I know but not one you usually have on Seabourn. Also one of the bar staff who we had sailed with before really did appear grumpy and not enjoying her job. So would I give the service a 10/10 no on most occasions I would give it a 12/10 and on a few occasions I would give it a 9/10.

 

Entertainment: Jan and David E Green were our cruise and assistant cruise directors and they were both outstanding. We saw David's tribute to Nat King Cole and all I can say is David is one talents man. We loved the Liars Club and name that tune. The guest entertainers were Lenny ? a comedian who wrote for Benny Hill, we did not see him so can't comment directly but he was great at the Liars club. We had a pianist who we did not see but many people loved, a math magician which we thought was excellent and a flutist who was also excellent. All in all the entertainment was excellent.

 

Guests: We met and made friends with some wonderful people and for me the guests on board Seabourn are so friendly and so interesting. I finally met Miss Martha and she is a marvel. The social hub of the ship and a born entertainer herself. She wanted everyone on cruise critic to know that she has been unwell with a bad cold and sinus infection but that she is feeling much much better. Not that I noticed that she had slowed down, she must be pure dynamite when she is fully fit! The mix on board was about 10% Australian 5% British 5% other and 80% American.

 

Ports: I will give a quick rundown on my favourite and not so favourite and if anyone wants more deatails on ports they can ask.

 

Loved Bordeaux and we spent two nights and three days here. The ship pulls right into the centre of the city and as not many ships come right into Bordeaux anymore we were the main attraction. Lots of locals came out to greet us and see us off. We did a dinner at Chateaux Kirwan and we loved tasting some of their best wines and the meal was wonderful. The owner came and welcomed us to his home and we all enjoyed ourselves. We also did Bordeaux by night and we loved that tour. The city has so many building lite up at night and we had a wonderful guide. The market along the pier next to the ship was fantastic and added to the atmosphere of being in France. The beach of Normandy was a wonderful tour and so moving. Bordeaux was one of the highlights of the cruise.

 

Loved Seville: so much to see and do and the ship is again right in town. We did our own tours here as we were in port for two nights. Great city and so much to see would love to return.

 

Lanzorote in the Canary Islands. I think this was the secret gem of the cruise and I really enjoyed our time here.

 

Lisbon: We ended the cruise here and spent 5 days in an apartment we rented. We Loved Lisbon and had a fantastic time.

 

Cassablanca: I had thought about spending more time in Morocco so this was a sampler for me to test out Morocco. I have lived in 3rd world countries so the dirt and rubbish did not get to me but Morocco just did not do it for me. Well at least not Rabat and Cassablanca, the guests who went to Marrakesh loved it but the thought of 4 hours there and then 4 hours back was just too much for me.

 

I'm afraid jet lag has caught up with me and the 42 hours journey to get home to Perth in Western Australia has just about done me in so I will finish off here but if I remember anything else I want to add will do so tomorrow.

 

Would I recommend this itinerary, yes, absolutely, no question. For those wine lovers it was wonderful taking trips to wineries in the Medoc region of France and for those who love history, Normandy and Seville, Rouen and Bordeaux were the hightlights.

[Tony & Trevor]

Clarky,

 

Thank you. A very informative interesting narrative, really enjoyed it.

 

Did you see much of Capt Dexter ?

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

[dmb707]

Thank you for posting a great report on your recent trip, I enjoyed reading it.

 

I hope that the jet lag is not too bad:( although I fear the worse;)

 

deb

[clarky]

Tony and Trevor,

 

Captain Dexter was arriving as we left the ship. I can tell you Miss Martha has a few surprises for him and was much looking forward to him coming on board.

 

Deb,

 

I feel like I have cheated the jet lag gods as I slept like a baby last night and woke at 6.00a.m. this morning. Tonight is another night though.

 

Karen.

[Martita B.]

Missy K and Robert,

I finally arrived home yesterday ~~my good friends the "J.G.s" fetched me at the Ft Laud pier and we had a great brunch together before my AA departure. LONG flights ~~~

Am feeling somewhat better but viral pneumonia takes a toll and I will take it easy for awhile......yippppeeee, flannel pajama time!

The TA Crossing was lots of fun with my dee-lightful friends from Dallas aboard....plus Miss Nanacy and her husband, "Mr. Seabourn!"

Met wonderful new Seabourn Sailors.......we had 181 Guests. Only 133 Club Members. Seas were rough and very ugly to us.......but "the fun, exciting games/events" continued~ Capt. Dexter held his Sea Pirate teasure hunt......the Pirate Man was found by a lady from Florida ~~it was her birthday and she went up to the Bridge and played the tune, "Happy Birthday" on the Pride horn! We all clapped ~~Trivia players sang to her when she returned to the Constellation. We were all SO disappointed.....as no frog or horse races were held. Guess, next March!

Much to tell of the always magical, grrrrreat Pride Castle TA Crossing but I'll rest and recover first ~~~~

Oh......everybody is booking our March 18th Pride TA ~~~Theme has been selected and named. Anyone lookin' for some fun and frolics on the Atlantic Ocean next March?

Big Texas hug's sent ~~~

Martita B.

Seabourn Scalawag

[CruisinMatt]

Welcome back Martita!!! We missed you! :D

[clarky]

Miss Martha,

 

Glad you are back home safe and sound. Sorry to hear you had rough seas and could not have the horse racing as that would have been so much fun. Take care of yourself and get well for the March crossing as I'm sure you have big things planned.

 

Karen.

[Martita B.]

Karen

Would have loved having both of you on the TA Crossing. Capt. Dexter's "Welcome Reception" (Oct. 31st) was cancelled due to the rough Atlantic but he announced "Halloween costumes welcomed for this evening." Our two Chef's Halloween hats were "over-the-top" and J.R. (from Birmingham) and I presented these to them before dinner. 'Lo and behold, after dining in the restaurant, here came Chef's Graeme and Walter from the Galley all decked out in their millinery finery ~~~grinning from ear to ear! A few costumes were worn a'round the Pride. Miss N. and I simply donned our elegant black feathered masks on sticks ~~~and Halloween sweaters.

A novel could be written ~ "The Seabourn Pride Cross's the Atlantic Ocean, Oct. 2008!" Lots of "happenings"~~~mostly unusual! But we all had lots of fun and were all good sports as to the weather and ocean movement. Yes, to the end.......Paloma treated us the last evening, to a 'lit Atlantic rodeo! We all agreed 11 straight days on the ocean is quite an experience! Carumba!

Let's make a plan for 2009!

Hug's sent,

Martita B.

[PeaSea8ch]

Karen: I agree with the previous posters that you write a great detailed review and I enjoyed reading it as well.

 

Miss Pinkie: I was looking all over the Legend on embarkation day in Malaga for Miss N and Mr. Seabourn As we needed them for our Trivia team. Glad everyone enjoyed themselves on the Pride crossing. I also hope you are feeling better in the coming days. Right now Lady Legend is steaming towards FLL with King Neptune all smiles so far...

 

 

[Martita B.]

Peachy

I've enjoyed your travel logs soooo much! Thank you!

Miss N and Mr. Seabourn were aboard the Pride Crossing ~~we had a grand time! Also the "Boy's" (B & J, also P. & D) from Dallas. As with the Legend TA's, the Pride Crossing's are the most fun!

Have continued safe/smooth seas and azure skies above!

Please tell Captain Tom T. I send big "Howdy's" from Texas to him.

Hug's sent to the Legend

Pinkie

[Tony & Trevor]

Martha,

 

Do hope you had a good holiday. So sorry that you had pneumonia.

Any news from the good Capt ? Still have not heard from him.

Was the crossing smooth?

Kind regards

 

Tony.

[Martita B.]

Tony and Trevor,

We had a marvelous time with Capt. Dexter ~~ even though King Neptune was not very kind to us ~~ most of us are Blue Water Sailor's so all was o.k. Some guests did suffer sea sickness, but Dr. Herra and Nursey Elisabeth had them up and about ~~all Sailor's did just fine.

I know Capt. D. would certainly enjoy mail from you! The Pride is in the Caribbean now.

Hope all is well with you across the big pond!

Martita B.

[Tony & Trevor]

Martha,

 

Thank you. Will mail the Capt.

We do hope you have a good weekend.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony