We chose this cruise because we heard/read that this was a top of the line cruise and we wanted to compare to other cruise lines we've sailed with including some European river cruises. From the time we booked the cruise until we actually embarked, communication and customer service was definitely sub par. All correspondence with customer service was by phone with the exception of booking a private shore excursion tour through Seabourn. That particular function consisted of emailing the shore excursion department and waiting for a response. We emailed at least 3 times requesting information on a private tour at one port. We even emailed to ask if they had received our previous emails since we hadn't heard from them. No response. We booked everything through the cruise line, airfare, pre and post cruise hotel, transfers and insurance. About a month before the cruise, we began getting emails from the airlines changing our return airline and schedule. We called Seabourn to question it and was told to "check back in a few days" to see if they had received any info on the flights. We called a week later because our airline was once again changed and was told again to check back in a few days. Another week went by and we couldn't find that we were listed on any return flight. Another call to customer service and was told we needed to call the flight department for Seabourn at a different number. I will say that the Airlines were definitely making changes and cancelling many flights, but it would have been nice if a cruise representative had said, "let me follow up on this and see what the problem is and I'll get back to you." Of course that didn't happen. Then a week or so before the cruise, we're checking our itinerary and see only one night listed post cruise. We called again and was told "someone with the cruise line" cancelled one night with no explanation. We were never notified about the cancellation or that our credit card was credited for that amount. Eventually with help, flight and hotel issues were resolved. Unfortunately the price of the hotel had gone up so we had to pay the new price even though we hadn't made or authorized the cancellation in the first place. This is supposed to be a 5 star cruise line? We had a few issues on the ship but nothing compared to pre cruise problems.

Meal times weren't convenient. Breakfast served in two restaurants beginning at 7:30 or 8:00. Since we arrived at most ports at that time or earlier, if you had an early morning tour scheduled and were required to meet at 8:00 or 8:15, you pretty much had to rely on room service for breakfast. Lunch was from 12 - 2:00. If you returned from a tour at 1:30 or so, you had to rush to the dining room because they started cleaning up about 1:45. So again, room service was a good option. Dinner was 7:00 - 9:00. Again, if you wanted to eat earlier you had to rely on room service. Overall, despite everything, (including extreme heat and humidity) we enjoyed our cruise but was very disappointed in the cruise line.