Seabourn Ovation Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Chose this cruise because the itinerary was all new to us and it hit some spots on our bucket list, including Giverny, D-Day beaches, Bayeux Tapestries, and Lisbon.
Embarkation was quick and easy. Had an early private excursion in Lisbon and getting off the ship was very fast.
For the first 24 hours, service in the Restaurant and Colonnade was slow and we got the impression that the servers and others were trying to figure out territories and responsibilities. Things seemed to improve thereafter, although we still encountered slow service in The Restaurant on occasion.
Cabin Review
Veranda Suite
We were assigned by Seabourn rather than picking this one. Mid-ship location was good. Only drawback to Deck 5 is that there is a lot of crew traffic, but that wasn't much a problem. Really no problem with noise from adjacent cabins or the hallway.
Do ships that are less than a year old have fewer creaks in rough seas than older ships? We had three rough nights and there seemed to be just as many creaks.
Cabin was similar to others we have occupied, with large bathroom and plenty of storage in the closet and in many cabinets. Cabin stewardess was responsive to our requests, such as to ditch the duvet and replace it with a sheet and blanket.
Port Reviews
Dover
Stayed in Canterbury for two nights before the cruise. Had a driver pick us up in Canterbury, take us to Dover Castle, the White Cliffs, and a couple of other spots, and then deliver us to the dock.
Rotterdam
Went to the excellent Boijmans Museum and walked around a bit.
Antwerp
Access to Ruben's House was limited and some other places were closed by a strike. Interesting city to walk around and the Museum Plantin-Moretus is an interesting place to learn about hundreds of years of the printing and publishing business.
Cherbourg
Arranged private tour to D-Day Beaches and Bayeux Tapestries and enjoyed the whole day.
La Coruna
Ship excursion to Santiago de Compostela was enjoyable.