The Secret of Seabourn Customer Service Revealed
We have said before that Seabourn enjoys a very high rate of repeat guest bookings. People tell us that one of the reasons they return again and again is the personalized style of service they receive. That is sort of hard to describe in general terms, so we thought it might be easier for those who haven’t been on board a Seabourn yacht to post some great stories.
• On Seabourn Pride in South America, a couple who were traveling down the west coast had placed pictures of their grandchildren on the vanity in their suite. At each port of call, they purchased some small souvenirs and set them in front of the pictures. When the ship came to Guayaquil, they got off the ship to go on a three-night overland tour to Machu Picchu, meaning they would miss two ports of call. When they returned to the Pride, they found that their stewardess had gone ashore in those two missed ports, bought little souvenirs and placed them on their vanity in front of the pictures.
• At the Veranda Café breakfast buffet, a tray of glasses beside the juicer had a sign that said “freshly squeezed orange juice.” One guest picked up a glass, and, teasing the waiter, asked “Is this juice really freshly squeezed?” The waiter took the glass from him and said: “You’re quite right, Mr. Jones, this was squeezed five minutes ago. I’ll get you a fresh one right away!”
• Seabourn suites include really nice, plush terry robes. In one instance, a gentleman was not able to fit into a robe. The guest mentioned this to a stewardess, and within the hour, she presented him with a new robe – one the tailor had created from two robes made into one.
• A woman wrote to tell us that she broke her watch while on board, and her stewardess loaned the woman her own watch for the duration of the cruise.
• Another guest wrote us and told a tale of how he was engaged in conversation with fellow Seabourn dinner companions one evening and casually mentioned that he had really enjoyed a Sacher torte he had for dessert in Vienna. A waiter overheard the story. The following night, the guest was sitting at a totally different table with a different waiter. A dessert was delivered to his table. Guess what it was? The Sacher torte, of course.
These sorts of things happen all the time on Seabourn, and when Seabourn Odyssey debuts, the tradition of “Seabourn Stories” is bound to continue. If you have sailed on a Seabourn yacht and have an example of a personal Seabourn story, how about sharing it here?
Tags: Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Odyssey Journeys, Seabourn Odyssey Services, Seabourn Pride
December 25th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I recently cruised through the Panama Canal on Seabourn’s Legend. Unfortunately, I had underestimated the amount I had brought with me of my migraine medicine and a certain aspirin that I take, called Excedrin. I had completely run out and was in a bit of a panic, as migraines can level me for a day. Visiting the ship’s doctor, he was able to find me Relpax in Panama City, but nowhere in Central America is Excedrin sold.
Two days later, my cabin’s doorbell rang. There was the ship’s doctor with a bottle of Excedrin. He told me it had come from Miami! I later found out that several Seabourn executives had briefly visited the Legend, boarding in Honduras, and they had been alerted that someone on the Legend was desperately seeking Excedrin. They brought that bottle all the way just for me. A perfect example of the excellence of Seabourn service and I appreciated this gesture more than I could say.
January 2nd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Really the service is good, as Jane Rockley says. I boarded also once on this ships I saw that everything is on its place, which really amazed me, because on other ships I saw many crew members, which do not know their work. Here there is nothing similar. Everything is clear and accurate
October 26th, 2009 at 11:08 am
My husband loves to tell his “club soda” story when describing the personal service we have received on Seabourn. On a formal night as we were having cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before dinner, our waiter at the club approached us with a bottle of club soda on a tray. We were puzzled as to who had ordered it when he stated “Mr. Saunders, you seem to have a spot of cocktail sauce on your tuxedo shirt. I’m sure your wife would like to remove it before dinner!” The club soda was presented to us along with a clean, white napkin and the spot was removed “on the spot”.