– Avalon Myanmar – Myanmar River Cruise – April 2017
Avalon Waterways – Myanmar – Part VI (Kya Hnyat to Kyauk Myaung)
Avalon Waterways – Myanmar – Part IX (The Ship: Avalon Myanmar)
Avalon Waterways – Myanmar (Burma) – Reflections: “Isn’t This Amazing!?”
*Azamara Club Cruises – Azamara Journey – Singapore to Dubai (April 8, 2018)
* Azamara Quest – Southeast Asia and Japan (February 2015)
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? – Part I
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? Part II
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? Part III
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? Part IV
– How Close to Luxury Can Celebrity’s Smallest Ship Get? – Some Final Observations and Thoughts
– The Prologue to the Travelogue
– The Adventure Begins…With a Bump or Two
– Settling In Made Easy
– Luxury Touches Here, There and OK, Not, Everywhere…But There Are Lots of Them!
– Asian Flair Onboard and On Shore
– Private Tours, Israel and Conflicts in Perceptions and Perspective
Celebrity Equinox 2009 – Egypt…Impressive and Depressing
– Dining With the Captain and the Reidel Wine Seminar
– The Last Dinner (Tuscan Grille) and Disembarkation
– What Happens When A Class Act Meets Highly Discounted Cruise Fare
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part I
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part II
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part III
– Lisbon to Monaco: Crystal As a “Move Up” & “Move Over” Luxury Option – Part IV (Food & Wine!)
– Princess Cruises Doesn’t Treat You Like Royalty; Celebrity Cruises Does! Which is a Better Value for the Upscale Cruise Guest? Part I
– Celebrity Silhouette vs. -Royal Princess – Which Is A Better Value For The Upscale Cruise Guest? Part II: The Standard Veranda Staterooms
– Celebrity Silhouette vs. Royal Princess – Which Is A Better Value For The Upscale Cruise Guest? Part III: Treating You Right From The Start
– Celebrity Silhouette vs. Royal Princess – Which Is A Better Value For The Upscale Cruise Guest? Part IV: The Wine Lists Speak Volumes (As Do The Beverage Packages)
Regent Seven Seas Voyager – August 2017
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part I
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part II (Getting There, The Stateroom and First Impressions)
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part III (“You Can’t Teach Five Star Service” and Bonafacio, Corsica)
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part IV (Calvi, Monaco, Portofino, Porto Azzurro…and Stale Bread)
– Italy and Corisca 2014 – Part V (My Last Day…and How The Chef’s Team Makes It Happen)
I have been working very hard to bring you the “news” from the Seabourn Odyssey. That means information…good and bad. Gene Sloan seems to be working a different angle, though he publishes his work for a “newspaper”. Yes, playing off people’s fears sells more than good news, but please: Give it a rest.
Oh, the Seabourn Odyssey has engine problems. No, it had an issue with a boiler that was identified and corrected. Oh, the Garden Villas are but a shell. No, they are pretty close to completed…and you aren’t going to put out the soft goods when the hardware isn’t complete. Oh, the signs aren’t up and lounges are stacked up. Folks I walked the ship from stem to stern and pretty much every sign was up (and who cares anyway) and, yes, there were “some” lounge chairs not out just yet, but as I will show you later, the lounge chairs are out and about in abundance.
So, not being done, Mr. Sloan asks, “Can a vessel that holds 450 passengers be called a yacht?” Trust me on this, I know a heck of a lot more about yachts and what type of service and amenities are provided than Mr. Sloan does. What the question shows me is two things: (1) It is a stupid question (sorry, but it is); and, (2) It is an irrelevant question.
Let’s get into it now. How is Mr. Sloan defining a yacht? Is he speaking of a 40 foot Sea Ray or a 120 foot Hatteras or how about a 192 foot superyacht or what about a gigayacht? (You don’t know what a gigayacht is?!) Is the yacht a private yacht or a charter yacht. Is it one where you charter the entire vessel (and don’t get me started on the types of charters) or one where you book a cabin?
Pam Conover, Seabourn’s President quite nicely responded to this absurdity. As Mr. Sloan quoted her, “The Odyssey ‘is in fact not even the largest yacht today,’ she said. ‘Not only is it a yacht in terms of size, it’s a yacht in terms of the experience that you get on board. We believe that (the yachting experience) is really a differentiating feature for us.'”
Mr. Sloan, if you were being honest and fair, you would have possibly defined what the expectation is…not ask “What is a yacht?”.
Would you like to comment on the service levels being far superior to those on Regent Seven Seas or Silversea…and on a ship which was at least a month late coming out of a shipyard with crew boarding only days ago?
Would you like to comment on the elegance in taste and presentation of the cuisine? Tell me on what yacht you have been on where the dinner service was as flawless…and it was the first meal ever coming out of that galley.
Would you tell me what amenities you received on the yacht that was superior to Seabourn’s exclusive Molton Brown products, Hermes and L’Occitane soaps.
Or what of the free flowing caviar and champagne?
BTW, did you take a picture of the superyacht docked about 200 yards from the Seabourn Odyssey’s first location or the other superyacht docked slightly closer to the second one?
Folks, when the Seabourn Odyssey was first announced I was in a fairly exclusive meeting where I said to Pam Conover, “We need to be sure Seabourn provides provide the service and cuisine. It would be disastrous for Seabourn to say it was providing a “This is My Yacht” experience and fail.”
Mr. Sloan, admit it. Seabourn has provided you – and everyone else on the Seabourn Odyssey – with an extraordinary level of service, cuisine and amenities…and it did it with virtually everything pointing to it being unable to do so due to the failures of T. Mariotti Shipyard.
Or would you like to crack open a cold one on a 40 footer?
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