We are long time Seabourn cruisers recently off a 16 day cruise on Quest. Last year on an 18 day trip on Ovation we noticed many changes, not for the good. This trip, it’s clear the product has sunk far below what it once was.

1. Dinner Service in the Restaurant/Colonnade. Three dinners where we casually appeared between 7:30 and 8:30. Result: At least a half hour between courses. Water and wine filled once and never again. This situation was a topic of discussion around the ship and some had figured out that if you go right when they open, you will have decent service. So for all the next dinners we raced to get in line before 7 so that we could have a decent dinner. Many times the line at 6:50 snaked to the back of the ship.

2. Service in the Observation Bar. This was a cold trip so the Sky Bar and Patio Bar were useless. The Observation Bar was the only bar open before 6:30 P.M. and since we had to be in line before 7 P.M. to get a decent dinner, you had to be in the Observation Bar for a pre-dinner drink. It was packed. People would get there at 5:30 and put clothing on seats. At 6:15 there would be massive groups circling for a seat. And getting a refill or second drink - forget it. We, and many others, asked for the Club to open early. It never did. So now if you wanted to be at the Observation Bar you had to rush to get up there by 5:30/5:45 or you weren’t getting in. Now we are rushing to get a drink and rushing to get dinner Read more