Gorgeous cabins, inconsistent service

Item: Seabourn Ovation
Rating: 3.7
Author: teamflames

Seabourn Ovation Cruise Review

teamflames

Contributor Level: First Mate

13 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 27

Helpful Votes: 608

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

18 Night Pearls Of India & Arabia (Dubai To Singapore)

Sail date: December 04, 2018

Ship: Seabourn Ovation

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

First time in Seabourn and was very excited as had heard so many good things. Embarkation was a disaster. Loads of sick passengers resulted in contracting illness twice in 18 days and finishing in hospital in Singapore. Very impressive cabins with own wet bar and caviar on demand very luxurious. Surprisingly internet not included. Service was very hit and miss. Had meals forgotten to be delivered. Terrible cocktails. Could not get a beer list. CD was excellent. Activities were lots of fun, loved the art classes. Pool area too small and no service a lot of the time. Lack of space in general. Loved the Seabourn square. Would like to try one of their smaller ships

Embarkation

1 out of 5

No signage of where the terminal was. No one to help with baggage. Temporary tin shed with no air conditioning. Long slow queues. Incompetent staff and only one Seabourn crew member to help. Appalling. Then board the ship to welcome by CD but nothing else, no instructions- nothing

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food was inconsistent. Often spectacular but other times they often forgot our meals!? Cocktails and mixed drinks were appalling- I gave up.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Super fun trivia. Loads of silly games. Prizes were very impressive. Great events such as caviar at sea and the outdoor fair were very impressive.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

The CD Handre was very impressive. The theatre is inadequate but performances were mostly good. The house band (unusually 4 members) were great.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Very inconsistent. Guest relations were very good. Housekeeping was good but we continually found extra staff in our room “inspecting” which was strange and offputting. Neutral comments were often interpreted negatively by managers. Wait service in Colonnafe was very poor at times.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Spotlessly clean. New ship so public areas tended to be great but pool area is crammed, no promenade and walking decks, too many smoking areas.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Gorgeous cabin. Due to illness I had to spend a lot of time here which was ok as was so comfortable and huge