This was our first Seabourn Cruise, and what better way to begin than on Seabourns newest ship, Encore. We held high expectations, and we were not disappointed,
We arrived in Athens a few days beforehand, and stayed at the Grande Bretagne, as did a number of other Encore guests, who had booked through Seabourn
The embarkation was smooth, we were quickly welcomed on board, by Handre the Cruise Director and other crew. Guests were invited to lunch in the Colonade Restaurant, and soon enough our suites were ready.
Our suite 908 was far enough away from the elevators but close enough to the pool area, the suite was of a generous size and tastefully decorated, the bathroom was well appointed with twin basins and a large bathe which we never used, and for us the bath need not be there, the lighting was initially confusing and power point few, and of a brand new ship, lacked the technology we would of expected of a new ship ie: USB ports. The towels were thick and fluffy obviously brand new, as were the sheets and other items in the room. The balcony was roomy and comfortable. The closet lighting was inadequate and not enough hanging space and could not be used as a dressing room, and limited hanging space
We met our stewardess, and in conversation about the mini bar. We asked about clothes pressing. She told us as there was no laundry pressing was complimentary, try telling that to front desk, the charges finally were wiped on disembarkation. A laundry was going to be installed on deck 5, probably before the Singapore sail
Booked the hop on hop off 2 hrs did not get off , did the souk
We had 3 days in Athens and did our on tours
We booked separately