We took this cruise principally because of the itinerary,and for the curiosity of trying a line other than Silversea. In my past reviews of Silversea cruises I approached my views as a hotel owner ( Relais& Chateau)which resulted in pointed comments over food and wine, but never of their service and the experience of cruising with them. As for Seabourn, they failed on many fronts,and more importantly, they left no lasting impression.

Seabourn believes that it is a very efficiently run operation. They strive to board, communicate and feed people with military precision. The problem is that nothing they do stands out, and as a result they offer a very generic product.Some examples follow:

1) Seabourn is staffed primarily with recent graduates from hospitality schools in South Africa and Eastern Europe. Although these young men and women ( kids) are eager to please, Seabourn is not a career for them.It is a ticket to see the world. Contrast this with a professional service staff whose livelihood depends on renewing contract after contract with the same employer, and the difference in attention to detail becomes palpable. Two days into the cruise while having lunch on the pool deck, a waiter inadvertently spilled a lot of salad dressing ( ie oily and slippery) onto the deck. When alerted to the spill, he dismissively said not to worry because the decks were swabbed at the end of the day. This was code for it's not my problem because I happen to very busy, and some underlings will take care of it. A professional, regardless of "rank", would have cleaned it up immediately. Read more