The Gold Standard Luxury Travel Forum

I was just reading the following thread on the CC Seabourn board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthre ... &t=1534521 about a supposed disasterous start to a cruise with the poster being in Suite 6, an Owner's Suite.

I knew something was up when the first complaints were they arrived early (rather than at 2PM or later...as I always suggest) so they sat in the main lounge, then complain about the view of the Owner's Suite (I guess their travel agent didn't tell them about the suite...or, better, they booked it without one) and then complain about the cost of the internet (which, funnily enough) is free for Owner's Suite guests...but only complaining they didn't get an onboard credit they were allegedly supposed to get.

Oh, how I love this stuff. Can somebody tell me if I am missing something?

oh dear....the perfect ship we just left a week ago.......the perfect crew......the perfect cruise.....
Do you know what really pisses me off? The Cruise reviews on CC get thousands of reviews.....from people who dont know how to write a real report.......dont do Seabourn justice......etc etc.....what are their motives?? complain...complain.....are those people looking for something for nothing?? This is something we never think about when I write my reports.....those that do, are looking for problems or want something for nothing.

I am quite proud to say that whatever I report, either positive or negative.....is exactly as we see it....I must also say, that we had a wonderful 88 days on The Pride......yes I did notice a few small cost cuts....in this day and age that is a normal expectation.....we loved every minute on the ship.....and all the crew were fantastic.....cant wait till our next cruise!!

Oh dear!

I'd better watch myself! Just had a post deleted from that particular thread. (probably deserved it).

What a sour, whining diatribe!

How brain dead do you have to be to not know that suite has obstructions?

A post deleted/ Shocking

Welcome to the club.

Now if that poster can figure out how to operate a faucet, close a door and use a patio door she might be relatively happy.

cands wrote:Oh dear!

I'd better watch myself! Just had a post deleted from that particular thread. (probably deserved it).

What a sour, whining diatribe!

How brain dead do you have to be to not know that suite has obstructions?

she should have seen that balcony a week ago...well just over a week ago.....covered with razor wire!! LOL....maybe she would have prefered that? All the sheep are now following that thread...."I am getting very unhappy/ scared with your reports of the Pride "...." We can cancel our trip before final payment until the end of May--I do not want to spend any $ on something I will regret--been there and done that before."......

how different two reviews can be eh?

so what did you say to get deleted Cands?

Hi Lorraine,
Just what I said above: "What a sour, whining diatribe". I added a bit saying I hoped the cruise improved for them.

I thought I was just being factual......

I am utterly speechless. You are all beyond words over the top. For one thing, I arrived at 2:15. Secondly, I really have indicated that I didn't mind the obstructed view because we need the suite in the middle of the ship. In case you can't read or didn't notice, I indicated that maintenance fixed the water which was crossed by someone in drydock. They know the patio door is broken, but have not fixed it...no big deal. Actually, you all should go back on..you are missing something--a major part of the inside of your head. I have posted all the things that have been fixed and left out a lot of other details as I knew there were some TROLLS out there in space who warp everything and post mean, horrible things. Shame on you all.

Seabourn ships are beautifully maintained. The older triplets are kept in tip-top condition. Everything is not super-modern, but an awful lot of people, including me, prefer the intimacy of these wonderful vessels.

You may be just having a bad week, but the tone and content of your posts is extremely distasteful to this Seabourn loyalist.
Cruise Critic is such a sterile, censored environment that you have been allowed to get away with your sometimes subtle, sometimes not, vitriol. Anyone who dares disagree, must do so in a very circumspect way. I did enjoy the post suggesting you take a private charter.

Perhaps in the fullness of time, you will re-read your posts and realise the effect they might have.

As for the inside of heads, a little self analysis wouldn't go astray.

I really do hope your cruise improves, and that you stop bad mouthing Seabourn on CC.

Let me give you another take on you, Caroldoll.

You believe you know everything, but you don't. You either told your travel agent "get me this" or you didn't use one...or you used one that didn't know the ship. If you had contacted me...and, in case you don't know, I am also a superyacht lawyer and lecture on the subject regularly (and am now arbitrating a charterer's claims regarding a charter gone bad) so I truly know your standard...I would have given you the information in advance. Now breathe: It is not Seabourn that got the suite wrong. That suite was cutting edge back when it was built, but it cannot compare with, say, the Wintergarden Suite on the larger Seabourn ships or the Crystal Penthouse on Crystal ships (which, by the way, I also book regularly). It is a small ship and those size suites simply could not exist on the Pride.

So your first rant - and it was a rant - was that you were misinformed and your expectations were wrong. Not Seabourn's expectations. Yours. Blame you for not doing the research or your travel agent, but not Seabourn. (Same for the free internet. If you had the research you would not have ranted about $400 for internet.)

Next, I NEVER, and I mean NEVER, recommend a cruise right after a drydock. Seabourn does not do the drydock; a shipyard does. There is only so much that can be controlled (like, possibly, a worker crossing piping). Was this something you considered? Were you cautioned about this? Should Seabourn have it perfect...or at least near perfect (as nothing is actually perfect)? Of course. But just like booking a Caribbean cruise in peak hurricane season, there is a high probabily something is going to be an issue. Again, expectations have to be realistic.

Next, you are complaining about the age of the ship. I point out the age to all of my clients, but you need to understand that flash and glitz is not what that ship is about. I have a t-shirt from the Pride's maiden year: 1988-89. If you were looking for a superyacht fit and finish or glitz or more modern, it was never going to happen. You want great food and great service that is another story (read Granny Lorr's travelogue), but again right after a drydock the crew is going crazy trying to get everything back to where it belongs and deal with new things (things you will never see or know about). Ironically, the Pride was just significantly modernized in that drydock...technically.

Next, you arrived at 2:15 PM so I know you weren't stuck in that lounge for very long. It is true that it is a weakness that should be changed, but to rant about your horrible 15 minutes? It kind of colors ever other word out of your mouth (fingers). Nobody that is so judgmental...and needs to post about it so quickly...carries much weight. You may want to read my article: http://goldringtravel.blogspot.com/2011 ... ments.html .

In summary, you may well have some legitimate complaints, but they were and are clearly colored by your rantings and badmouthing, causing unreasonable and unnecessary concerns for innocent new cruisers, because you were ill-informed, ill-prepared, ill-tempered and, to be sure, just nasty.

As you have posted - finally - Seabourn will do what it can to make it right. It is not perfect and knowing those imperfections are important to post: Responsibly. How do I know this: I deal with issues all the time and Seabourn does make it right...or as right as reasonably possible almost every time. (See I admit Seabourn is not perfect, but I keep it in persective.)

Thoughts?

I find all the complaints about The Pride being "old, tired, "not a beautiful ship" etc etc.....really strange. So The Pride is around 23 years old? If you want "modern, glitzy, young" etc etc, wouldnt you book on a ship only launched within the last couple of years? The work NEVER stops on The Pride. EVERY DAY you will see maintenance people painting, scraping and doing other stuff that I dont know about.....every Port day they paint "something" on the outside as well as scrub and polish.....for a 23 year old ship it looks beautiful.
Stains on the newly installed carpets? No idea why they would have installed new carpets in the guest area during dry dock.....the ones that were there were still in perfect condition and looked pretty new to me. We were told it was the crew quarters that were getting the new carpets, not the guest quarters.
The statement that the Stewardess is NOT like a Butler??? another strange comment. That is quite correct though....she IS a STEWARDESS....NOT a BUTLER!! The only ship we have ever sailed on that had a Butler was a European River cruise....the Butler was a complete waste.
Calling an Officer such as a Hotel Manager "Mr Dreamboat", I also find quite undignified. We sat on a table with Rico one night, and one of the other guests told him "you are here to serve me"...he said it twice during the meal....I find some of these guests who consider themselves a wee bit "upper crust" have no idea of basic manners.

caroldoll also commeneted that the drydock was very unsuccessful.....I saw a couple of hundred photos of the drydock, the amount of work that was going on was horrific! How they ever got the ship back together and cleaned in just a week must have been a miracle! I dont know if it was unsuccessful....but will ask a crew member that question......they all worked very hard during the drydock along with 200 contractors...in the Singapore heat and without airconditioning! I think I would cut them a little bit of slack if there are some small problems.

we had a bit of a problem with the water going hot and cold BEFORE the drydock....one call to "that number" that caroldoll seems to object to using, and the problem was fixed within an hour. Burnt out lights? other small maintenance isssues? just a quick polite call, and all was fixed the same day......the right attitude works very well.

and another statement. "As far as service, it is GOOD, but not real good. The crew doesn't remember you as has been said in the past, but that might be the crew." how different two reports can be....I stated that this was probably the best crew we have ever sailed with....I know some left the ship in Singapore....but more stayed on than left....so it is not all "new hires"......I am sure however that there are some people whos names they dont remember....or dont want to remember!!