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Saturday 4th Feb 2012
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Relax And Be Pampered All The Way !
Relax and be pampered all the way ! |
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Reviewed By: Macro, Reading on 30th Apr 2009
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| Cruise Line: Seabourn |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Seabourn Legend |
Sailed:
April,
2009 |
| Destination:
Iberia
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Age: 56-65 |
| Cabin: Suite |
Occasion: Annual/regular holiday |
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Difficult to know where to start . If you want a touch of luxury, attentive and charming white gloved service, superb food in two imaginative restaurants, a relaxed ambiance with excellent musicians. Then Seabourn is for you. Would we go again? Yes please, tomorrow will not be soon enough !
My husband and I were worried that Seabourn would spoil us for other cruise lines. No it will not. Like different countries, all lines and indeed ships, are different and all will usually offer a different experience. To set the scene we have been cruising at least twice a year for the last 12 years. We have cruised on Princess the most frequently (Elite Captains Circle) but also on NCL, Ocean Village, P&O and Voyage of Discovery amongst others. This voyage around Iberia appealed particularly for the trip up the river to Seville where we spent 2 lovely days. we also visited Gibraltar, Malaga, Cartagena, Alicante, Valencia, Palma De Majorca and Barcelona. The ship is small with graceful lines and 6 passenger decks. 208 lucky passengers and a ratio of 1 to 1 with the crew. There were 140 from USA, 40 British and around 10 other countries represented from Belgium to New Zealand. Our stewardess Bianca was South African, the Chef French, Assistant Chef Spanish etc. All were charming, polite but warm and not afraid to have a conversation. It made for a very friendly atmosphere. Your cruise fare covers EVERYTHING except shore excursions and purchases from the on board shop. There are no tips, photographers, art auctions, chits to sign and there is a civilised smoking policy.
As it is a cruise only line we arranged our flights with BA out to Lisbon and back from Barcelona using Heathrow. We saved £200 each on the cruise lines offer on the same flights! All went very well and BA crew lived up to their great reputation. We bought an expensive limousine transfer from Lisbon airport to the port from Seabourn. Unfortunately that is where the one and only mar to our holiday occurred. Even though there was over 40 people arriving on the one plane from London that could meet the departure time of the ship, there was nothing there at the port to make us comfortable. There was a few benches to sit on, one souvenir shop, no drinks or food available. There was a port agent there who tried her best to get the Legend to respond to her requests for some amenities to be provided before the planned embarkation time of 2pm, but no joy. We arrived at 11:15 am and at 12:45 some waiters arrived and without a word being said to anyone, lit a Bain-Marie ! (still don't know why). Finally at 1:15pm we were lined up, went through security and were led on board to the King Olav lounge. For many of us the offer of a black coated, white gloved arm to assist us to board the ship was 2 hours too late. Lunch consisted of dried up sandwiches and soft drinks while we went through the checking in process. No formal welcome and definitely no champagne! In contrast when we left the Captain was in the port building to shake our hands and wish us goodbye.
Now the good points. Suite, not very big (no separate bedroom) but very comfortable. Champagne in bucket, fridge filled with our drinks preference, Fresh fruit, large window (very clean inside and out), Marble bathroom with bath and shower. Moulton Brown toiletries, good lighting, lots of towels, slippers, bathrobes, walk in wardrobe with shelves and safe, but no trouser press. There was a clothes brush, pre threaded sewing kit etc. A nice touch was all drawers/cupboards with 'extras' in them such as hairdryer and cocktail implements were open so you could see at a glance what there was, where. Every day the dinner menus were delivered along with a newspaper and the 'Seabourn herald' daily ships programme of events etc.
I enjoyed a shopping trip to a local market with the Chef, Alain Bijou, his assistant and the Maitre D. As well as being a fabulous chef (all his team were) he was friendly, fun and energetic. We were also able to view his kitchens and enjoy a cooking demonstration during the cruise. Both restaurants had their own individual ambiance. One traditional, "The Restaurant", with silver service the other (veranda cafe) transformed from an outdoor/inside buffet style eatery to become '2' at night. This restaurant had 'tasting' menus on some nights where 11 separate small dishes could be savoured. Other nights it offered themed menus from France, Spain and India for example. I cannot tell you how wonderful the food was. It will live long in our memory and is by far the best ever experienced even in top class London restaurants ! As it was small, you had to book '2' on the morning you wanted to dine there. Otherwise it was open seating at the time you chose in both restaurants and there was never a problem if you wanted to dine a deux or indeed if you wanted to dine, course by course, in your suite. 24 hour room service had a comprehensive menu and as there was no eatery open all day, you could order from this menu and have it delivered to wherever you were on the ship at any time. On 2 days there was a lunchtime BBQ out on deck, as well as the restaurants and on one night there was a huge BBQ with silver service on white tableclothed fully laid tables. This was followed by the only really enjoyable show "Rock and Roll" to which you could dance and many did. The Captain manouvered the Yacht especially so that the wind at sea did not affect our enjoyment of the evening. (Ocean Village also do this to enable their 'Planet' show to be performed on their high rigging, each week. It is very expensive to do this).
Excursions were very expensive but those that took them enjoyed themselves. The whole day trip to Granada for instance included a 5 course lunch with drinks in a very upmarket restaurant that was praised to the hilt by those who went. It cost $299pp (£201.82p). A 3 hour Flamenco evening in Seville with dinner cost $259 going to " El Arenal". One can book direct through their web site for 70 euros + taxi e20. ($92.86 or £62.68). We did our own thing having done the research before we went.
Being a very small ship (208 passengers) there was not much organised activities. There was a quiz and complimentary fitness classes such as yoga and pilates, Bridge (there were on board teachers) and "enrichment" lectures which were also shown on the TV. Port talks were also available and covered 4 ports at a time. The Spa was excellent and Afternoon Tea in the Midnight Sun Lounge was an event not to be missed. The teas were comprehensive, the sandwiches and bridge rolls dainty and the cakes to die for. The (warm) scones would please the most discerning and were served with either clotted or whipped cream etc. All this and classical guitar or piano music. Heaven !
The entertainment though was a disappointment. The Cruise director Eric De Gray and his assistant Heather both did shows but they were both very alike in that they covered Broadway Musicals. Heathers 'Divas' show, was not as anticipated. Her Divas' were not the likes of Barbara Streisand or Diana Ross, no, they were unknown (to most) ladies from Broadway shows such as Wicked and Jeckel and Hyde and equally unknown musical numbers. She had a powerful voice and all the songs were powerful and theatrical and the sound system was overwhelming with lots of reverb. In a small intimate space like the King Olav Lounge, I would have thought a more subtle variety of songs delivered cabaret style, with some light and shade, would be more suitable. On another evening, in a different show, she even reprised some of the numbers. Something I have never seen happen before. The third resident entertainer was Anthony Mitchell a classical guitarist. He played daily in the Midnight Sun Lounge from 21:45 till 23:00. Wonderful. There was a 5 piece band called 'Seabreeze' with their singer Joanna who arrived with us after a 28hr journey from the Philippines. They were straight to work and were terrific. Special mention to the saxophonist who occasionally accompanied the last of the residents "CC MAX". This duo consisted of husband and wife Chris and Claudette. Just arrived after a contract with the "Luxor" hotel in Las Vegas. This duo have to be seen to be believed they are so very good. Claudette has the 'creamy' voice of the best jazz divas ( though she can sing in any genre including Latin/Spanish)and also plays violin. Chris plays piano and keyboard accompaniment (without backing tracks or computerised effects) and sings like Michael Buble. Her passion for her singing and her joy in performance are infectious and she was loved by all. If there are any entertainment directors reading this then book them !! www.claudetteandchris.com. The resident team were supplemented by a welsh classical violinist and an English magician doing close up card 'magic'. Both excellent.
Finally those little things ! Twice my room service order was not forwarded by Reception (they answered the phone). We always had breakfast in our room so cannot comment on the buffet or restaurant though they were open till 10:30am ! The steward spent ages beautifully laying our dining table in the suite for breakfast. Bliss. The library, though small had 100s of DVDs for your dvd player and 100s of Cd's for the Bose sound system as well as hard back books/magazines/newspapers bought in every day. Stewards walked the open decks offering a selection of 4 different sun creams and cold flannels. There were "complimentary massage moments" on deck from the Spa team. Individual little hand towels in the public toilets. My strawberry daiquiri was made with fresh strawberries. Need I say more !
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Never eaten so well eg. Mousseline of Foie Gras, Quince Compote, Toasted Brioche for a starter. | | Entertainment |  |
| Most enjoyable: CC Max. Least 'Divas' | | Shore Excursions | n/a |
| Too expensive. | | Staff | |
| Chef Alain Bijou. All staff were really good, some witty but Lee from Reception let the side down by not placing a room service order. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| Not the place for children as there are no facilities allthough there was one little girl of 7 yrs but they were out all day and in bed early. | | Onboard Activities | |
| No need for any more activities than were alreaady on offer. | | Cabins |  |
| Given the size of the ship it was good but I would not describe it as a suite. More a large delux outside. | | Overall Rating | |
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