Worth Every Extra Penny Spent!
Worth every extra penny spent! |
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Reviewed By: Hibbard-Owen, Birmingham on 29th May 2009
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| Cruise Line: Seabourn |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: Seabourn Legend |
Sailed:
April,
2009 |
| Destination:
Transatlantic
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Age: 26-35 |
| Cabin: Outside |
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We have recently arrived home after a magical 12 days onboard the seabourn legend. We cruised the atlantic on the 'crossing' from Fort Lauderdale accross to Portugal, stopping at Madeira for a day.
My husband and I are keen cruisers and have sailed with a variety of different lines starting with Celebrity as part of our honeymoon in 2005 and since with Royal Caribbean, NCL and Costa.
We decided we would try one of the 'high end' luxury cruise lines as my very dear Nan, 'Nellie' had passed away and had left us some money. Although not a great deal of money we decided to put it towards a luxury cruise as this seemed like a fabulous idea to celebrate her life as she was remembered for her complete love of holidays!
Although we were probably the youngest onboard (34) approx 10 - 15 years younger than other 'younger' passengers we had a fantastic time and it was worth every extra penny spent. Some may have felt a little intimidated or 'left out' by this age difference but if you are confident and out going then you will thrive on the interesting converstion topics and love getting to know some of the fascinating well travelled guests onboard. It helped also being a bit of a 'novelty' due to our age!
Seabourn really did epitomise the meaning of luxury and complete decadence. Eeverything was thought of and every care taken with every detail of the service - we were truly spoilt! The size of the ship definately had an impact on the level of luxury supplied - there were approx 195 guests and approx 197 staff! It has most certainly altered our view of the size of ships we will travel on - we enjoy sailing with lines like royal caribbean with extended family and will be taking my nephew on one of their larger ships in the summer but for an intimate break as a couple the smaller the better!
Of course the biggest advantage was the 'all inclusive' aspect of the cruise. Although not everyone's tipple I actually did get bored with champagne after a week or so! (Oh how I wish I had realised how much I would miss it now!!) The food was out of this world and top class at every meal, whether it was a formal dinner in the main dining room or a buffet lunch at the sky grill - the choice was endless and every mouthful delicious. Again, although not everyone's preference we really enjoy the formality of dressing for dinner and the 'formal' evenings were indeed a spectacle with everyone onboard making an affort and looking fabulous! More informal evenings spent on the 'veranda' were also fantastic - watching the sunset whilst eating fabulous food. Wines are carefully chosen to go with the food and again all included. There is the choice to purchase other wines during the cruise but we were more than happy with the wines on offer. Room service is 24 hours and pre-ordering breakfast before going to bed is a must - it is delivered promptly at the time requested and laid out beautifully in your suite - and agian delicious!
The suite was a real treat, very spacious, beautifully decorated and well equipped. The mini bar was stocked with bottles of alcohol that we had pre-requested (included in the cost) and re-stocked daily with water and soft drinks to your preference. Fresh ftuit and flowers daily were another fabulous attention to detail that we became accustomed to during our cruise.
The staff were the jewel in the crown of our seabourn experience. They were absolutley fantastic - nothing ever was too much trouble and the fact that they all knew your name by the 2nd/3rd day was a marvel! They were friendly, professional, genuine and always around the corner with a smile! You really did get the impression that they really enjoyed their work - it showed!
Think I've spouted on for long enough now! We had the best time and will definatley be sailing with Seabourn in the future and are also planning to try some of the other luxury lines too - when you've been spoilt to that degree its hard to go back. If you like the more formal aspect of cruising and dressing up, enjoy excellent food, wine and service and also enjoy meeting other people and are confident to socialise when the opportunity presents then I'd give Seabourn a try!
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| Quality of Food |  |
| We ate in the formal dining room most evenings but also tried the veranda on 3 evenings for a more informal setting. Lunch and breakfast were usually buffet - sky grill or veranda.
Tea at 4pm was fabulous - we were ther most days! | | Entertainment | |
| We only went to one show - the cruise directors - Eric De Gray - he was fabulous - should have been on broadway! | | Shore Excursions | n/a |
| | Staff | |
| All staff were absolutely fantastic. Eric, the cruise director really looked after us. Massimo, a new bar staff member made us laugh a lot and was very genuine! Our room steward Gemma was great.... I could go on and on! | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | n/a |
| | Cabins | |
| The best we've had so far in our relatively short cruising career! Spacious, well equipped, fantastic 'large' window, large seating area. The only room onboard a ship that we've wanted to spend time in! | | Overall Rating | |
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