Great to be back at sea on Seabourn
Seabourn Ovation Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 9
Helpful Votes: 435
21 Night Gems Of The Baltic & The National Trust (Copenhagen To Dover)
Sail date: September 03, 2023
Ship: Seabourn Ovation
Cabin number: 903
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
This was our first Seabourn cruise since March 2020 when due to Covid our Australian cruise was cut short. It was great to be back onboard again and experience the Seabourn hospitality. Both the embarkation and the muster drill processes have been simplified since our last cruise in 2020. The Molten Brown shower and hand wash products in the cabin are now supplied in large bottles which appear to be refilled. The shampoo, conditioner and body lotions are miniature size. Do you remember to ask the stewardess for your preference of alcoholic drinks for the room and do ask for caviar to the cabin. Overall an enjoyable cruise and looking forward to the next.Embarkation
Since Covid the embarkation process has been simplified and we were literally on the ship within 5 minutes. You are sent an embarkation time and although we arrived 30 minutes before this we were still alllowed to board the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The Sushi restaurant is always a highlight with Japanese staff who always deliver a 5* service. The other dining venues service can be abit hit or miss depending on the server.
The highlight in the main restaurant was the chefs tasting menu.
Breakfast buffet at the Collenade was often luke warm, probably best to order off the breakfast menu to ensure fresh and piping hot food.
The Seabourn square bar now offer takeaway drinks in ceramic mugs which can be extremely hot so beware.
Afternoon tea set up has changed and is now served on a 3 tier plate stand personally delivered to your table.It was delicious and a lovely way to relax in the Observation lounge whilst listening to the excellent pianist. Top ups were offered but the portion of savory and sweet was just right.
Smart jeans are now allowed to be worn in all dining venues.
It’s a shame dress code has been diluted but for those who still like to dress for dinner you won’t feel out of place.
Onboard Activities
The whirlpools,pool and shower areas were well maintained and a great place to relax.
Entertainment
Unfortunately the sound system in the club was too loud and quite often lots of passengers left the show early when the onboard singers and dancers were on stage.
There was a guitarist who sang by the pool during the caviar on the deck event and special lunch which was very relaxing to listen too.
Service and Staff
Most of the staff were welcoming and generally the service we received was as expected on a Seabourn cruise except being addressed by name which in the past was the norm.
Ship Quality
The ship was constantly being maintained ie hand rails being vanished. The staff ensured all dirty towels were immediately removed and replaced on the sun beds. Perhaps passengers should remove their own towels as a courtesy to their fellow passengers.
Overall the ship was spotless.
Cabin / Stateroom
This cabin shared an entrance lobby with the owners suite and an internal door inside the suite. Consequently the size of the cabin may have been smaller than other V2 cabins. There was no bathtub and no long unit at the foot of the bed although there were still plenty of storage space including the wonderful walk in wardrobe. The balcony was normal size . Being at the front of the ship the bow thrusters woke us early as we entered port. Overall the size of the cabin was satisfactory for a week.
Ship tip
Pre departure paperwork calls for a photo to be uploaded. I had presumed this would mean that at check in a photo would not be required but our photos were still taken before boarding the ship.
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Ports of call
Walk right around the coast of Kristiansand and then back wander through the quaint streets with wooden houses to the centre where there is a cathedral and excellent selection of stores and restaurants.
Public toilets cost 10 krona which can be paid by a card not cash.
Watch out for the bikes which appear to have right of way! The best way to travel around Amsterdam is by a day card which can be used on both buses and trams costing 9 Euro. Unfortunately tickets cannot be bought at the cruise terminal but at the GBV office next to the main railway central station. The walk from the cruise terminal to buy the tickets is 15 minutes but once the ticket is bought you can ride the tram back to the cruise terminal. On reflection download the GBV ap and buy the ticket online so that you have the ticket available immediately on your phone to travel from the tram stop at the cruise terminal. The site does say that tickets can be bought onboard the trams but often there is no conductors onboard to buy them from so be prepared.
The ship docked in Zeebrugge but did not provide a shuttle into Bruges only a shuttle to the railway station in the next town of Blankenburg. The cost of a transfer by Seabourn was $99
Disembarkation
Disembarkation times were given pre arrival to the cruise. Ours was allocated too late as we were catching an early train from Dover. I went to customer services and Eva changed our disembarkation time as requested. On arrival into Dover we elected to take our own suitcases off and in fact we’re able to disembark earlier than planned. There was a face to face passport inspection at Dover which could have caused delays but luckily we were one of the first passengers off the ship.
Traveler Photos
