Seabourn Ovation

AUGUST

Seabourn Ovation is a fabulous ship! Easy embarking and debarking process; stellar service; food overall good but often great; option to dine outdoors; specialty restaurant has limited availabity so must reserve early. Entertainment is limited but varied.

MAY

The staff was incredible and every single meal was so delicious. Beautiful ship, too . My friend had an injury and the medical staff onboard was so great and kind.

MARCH

Our cabin was spacious and always well maintained. The crew was friendly, and accommodating. The food was VERY good overall, with lots of variety in the menu and good options for people with special diets. The Seabourn Square is a great area to hang out and enjoy afternoons or evenings at sea. Their afternoon teas were well done and in keeping with a traditional high tea, unlike some other cruise lines who advertise such events but don't really deliver a good experience. The bartenders could have been better as service was inconsistent - good one day and not so great the next. The entertainment was good for the most part with a few exceptions. The itinerary worked well and the Seabourn Special event of champagne and caviar in surf was a huge success.

MARCH

This trip the wait staff at the resturant was outstanding. They were always working double time even if the service seemed relaxed. Not all the selections were excellent but many were. The whole teams seemed to focus on our pleasure. This was our 6th cruise on Seabourn and there will be more. We have traveled on Silver Sea an others but love Seabourn

OCTOBER

This was my first time on Seabourn, but will not be my last. From the ease of embarkation onto this amazing beautiful ship of only 600 passengers to disembarkation I truly had a wonderful, memorable experience. I actually broke out of my shell and enjoyed cocktails, dinners and events with many others as a single traveler.

OCTOBER

I had a great cruise on the Ovation. The service was great, and the food was very good, especially the seafood. I think it is hard to pull off a sushi restaurant on a cruise, and Sushi was fabulous. There were some changes in our itinerary due to weather, but the pivots were seamless, and we made the best of it. I think there was too much reliance on the Seabourn Source app, and it was a little clumsy to use. Shore excursion tickets were not printed rather they were in the app, and I think it would be better if they printed them. The app only works while on the ship, and it's not a perfect system.

MAY

The service and food was great.

JANUARY

While the ship may not have that wow factor, the understated elegance is evident throughout the ship. Our stateroom was spacious (walk in closet), full tub in bathroom and excellent shower water pressure. The bedding was some to the best we have experienced. From cabin stewarts to wait staff to guest services, service was EXCELLENT. The quality of the meals and food options were impressive and don't miss the Thomas Keller specialty restaurant - definitely a trip highlight. Impressed with the number of repeat guests on board which I believe is always a good indication that the supplier is meeting/exceeding expectations. Not alot of activities during the day, which we did not miss, but some might not enjoy relaxing the day away as we did! Overall an excellent cruise - we will definitely be back on another Seabourn cruise again soon!

SEPTEMBER

<div>The Seabourn Ovation is a lovely ship, with even the smallest cabins having verandahs and walk-in closets. This September 3 cruise started in Copenhagen and ended in Dover. Stopping in Aarhus, Gothenberg, Kristiansand, Amsterdam Zeebrugge and Dover - In general, would highly recommend. Seabourn&#39;s all-inclusive format - including no additional charges for specialty restaurants - makes it particularly relaxing. And quite possible if you are a do-it-yourselfer on shore excursions not to spend anything on board. (Tipping IS included too, though we gave some cash to a few expectional staffers. ) Food was quite good, especially with the sushi restaurant and Thomas Keller Grill. And the Seabourn favorite caviar and seafood buffet lunch on board. Only issue with the crew is that it felt a bit short staffed sometimes at meal times, breakfast especially. There were four dinner options where you didn&#39;t need reservations plus the Thomas Keller grill so it may have been hard to plan. But everyone was friendly, and the cruise director, entertainment and bar staff were particularly good. And less formal than you might expect. Housekeeping was exceptional.&nbsp; Free Wi-fi wasn&#39;t fast but it worked. And Seabourn allows one device at a time, not one device period which is a nice perk. It was easy to be using a laptop in the cabin, then switch to a phone, and if you forgot to log off in the cabin, there was an option to do it automatically when you got to your phone. A few notes especially for those who haven&#39;t been on Seabourn before. The Seabourn Square had port information including maps, but it wasn&#39;t made obvious. And everyone on board is entitled to one dinner at the Thomas Keller grill for no extra charge. But some people said they weren&#39;t made aware of it. (Maybe their travel agents didn&#39;t tell them.) And the famous Seabourn caviar on demand isn&#39;t talked about... they&#39;ll gladly do it... if you know. Ports were either central or had shuttles for the most part. Oddly enough Amsterdam was the port, while the center was reachable, where Seabourn gave the least information. Another suggestion, tell clients if they want to do laundry on board, a very nice perk, avoid sea days. Apparently it was a long line. The cruise line also offered a transfer to Heathrow Airport but not Central London. (The train was not difficult from Dover, but noticed some inexperienced or older travelers struggle a bit.) And Seabourn pushes hard with the &quot;everything&#39;s on the app&quot; idea. Which we noticed some older clients struggling with. I understand that they want to save paper but..&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; But these are small quibbles. Over all it was a great value and would highly recommend.</div>

APRIL

One of the newer Seabourn ships looks very fresh and well maintained. Food outstanding, accommodations excellent. Staff friendly. I had a handicapped accessible, and it was HUGE!

MARCH

<div><font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Even with Covid, Seabourn has their act together. Normal pre-cruise procedures with showing Covid vaccination card and Rapid antigen Negative test results obtained within 48 hours of sailing. Everything about this sailing was wonderful. We lucked out with Sunshine and smooth seas. At the beginning we were requested to wear masks in the theater and in gatherings of people like Trivia. As the cruise went on, these rules relaxed because there were no cases of Covid on board. The Seabourn singers and dancers were outstanding talents and the cruise director, Ross was hysterically funny.&nbsp; The lecturers were a little on the dry side The lectures were sparsely attended. I&#39;m not sure whether that was the subject matter or the delivery of the presenters.&nbsp; On the whole, it was absolutely terrific.</font></font></div>

FEBRUARY

I have sailed on almost 50 cruises but this was my first time on Seabourn. Our biggest surprise was that it had all the bells and whistles we enjoy on a much larger ship but with a more intimate and upscale feeling. And while it was sophisticated it was not stuffy at all. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the entertainment on a ship this size and Ross, the Cruise Director created an upbeat atmosphere whether he was DJaying while we Danced Under the Stars to his singing at the Caviar Sail A Way. Yes caviar...whenever you wanted it!! I will say we enjoyed a few sunsets on our balcony with a beautiful presentation of champagne and caviar. All of the cabins have balconies and marble bathrooms and I loved having a walk in closet too. And yes we tried all the dining options also and there were many. We enjoyed wonderful dinners in the beautiful main dining room called The Restaurant and the elegant Grill by Thomas Keller where some dishes were prepared table side. For more casual dining we had alfresco meals at the open kitchen Colonnade and Earth and Ocean at the Patio. There was also a sushi restaurant open for lunch and dinner. Other things we also got to enjoy was the spa, gym, casino, afternoon tea, unwinding at the 2 pools, listening to great music all around the ship, wonderful shows, dancing at night. I also want to add that the staff and service was wonderful throughout the ship. Even though we were on this ship for 2 weeks with 6 days at sea we felt there was so much to do and so little time!

JANUARY

We had an awesome cruise experience this past December. Dubai to Singapore. The Ovation was a significant part of our Around the World adventure. The balcony suites, almost identical to the Encore, are full of storage space, luxury features, and a dedicated Suite Stewardess who made us feel pampered. The breakfasts at the Colonnade were something I looked forward to for 20 days. The Restaurant’s desserts...a soufflé a day. As you might have figured out, I love desserts. We were a little disappointed with Trincomalee and Chennai as Port choices. I feel that Colombo, Sri Lanka might have been more interesting.

OCTOBER

<div>This sailing was perfection. I can find nothing to criticize or ask for improvement. The public areas are beautiful, light and airy and comfortable. Love the Seabourn Square where everyone seems to hang out to read, converse or have a light snack. The homemade gelato is fantastic! The staff is wonderful.&nbsp; They go out of their way to be helpful.</div> <div>The talent level of the singers and dancers is off the charts!&nbsp; Too bad they have to be rotated every 4-6 months.</div>

SEPTEMBER

Book shore excursions on your own. Everything else is perfect.

AUGUST

Easy on and off. Always interesting food. Small excursion groups.

AUGUST

<div>I would recommend Seabourn to anyone who&nbsp;wants to experience the height of luxury with the ambiance of casual elegance.</div>

JULY

<div>We had a V1 cabin. Loved our stateroom - from the double sinks, tub and separate shower, to the walk in closet. Everything about our stateroom was well designed and executed. Fabulous bed!&nbsp; We also enjoyed that there was enough room to properly have room service, and balcony was a nice size. Staff on board was very professional; from the cabin attendant, dining staff, entertainment, and customer care team. We really enjoyed our itinerary: Stockholm, Tallinn, 3 days in St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and Copenhagen. Fabulous Scandinavian cities, plus historical and beautiful St. Petersburg. On board lectures, entertainment, and Cruise Director were all top notch. We loved that tipping and bar/beverage is included. 600 guests is a great size!</div> <div>&nbsp;</div>