My experience onboard the Seabourn Quest

I have just returned off the Seabourn Quest and what a fantastic time I had!!

The cabin
A nice spacious cabin that had a large bathroom, with 2 washbasins, a separate shower cubicle and bath with Molton Brown toiletries. Waiting for us was a nice bottle of champagne, of course this was quickly opened! We also had a walk-in wardrobe, plenty of draw spaces and hanging space. A mini-bar that had cans of soft drinks and spirit or wines that you can request when you check – in all complimentary. There was also a 2 seater sofa, a table, 2 chairs and then French doors leading out to the balcony. The queen size bed was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in with the most fantastic pillows and duvet.

Throughout our 5 night cruise we ordered room service twice. Once was for breakfast and the other was lunch. The waiter comes in with your order and sets your table up and then comes back about an hour later to clear away. I did enjoy dining in my suite but I did prefer to go out to dine.

The Ship
I absolutely loved the ship, I loved the experience of six star cruising, the food and fine wine were out of this world, but what really made it for me was how relaxing the cruise was. I totally switched off for 5 nights, there was no rushing around, the public areas, restaurants or bars were never too busy or noisy, but managed to have that perfect atmosphere. Out on the pool deck was a small pool with 2 jacuzzis that we used on a number of occasions. The waiter will come over and bring you whatever you want to drink. When we were in Palma the weather was awful so after a couple of hours off the ship we decided to go back and spend an hour in the Jacuzzi, which turned out to be 3 hours and a few glasses of champagne, it was a great afternoon. I also loved the Seabourn Square where they served all different coffee, tea, sandwiches and cakes. This is where the library is so it was a nice quiet area. It is where you find people meet throughout the day, chat and make new friends.
The observation bar up on deck 10 was a lovely bar with panoramic views. We used to go to this bar for pre-dinner drinks.
The spa area with all the different treatment rooms looked very appealing . You can use the spa area for the day at a cost of $30 per person per day. I think this is a very reasonable fee.

The Restaurants
On our first evening we had dinner in the Restaurant where it was the Chefs Dinner. It is a set menu put together by the Executive Chef, it happens once a cruise. I would highly recommend it. It is open dining in the Restaurant so you can go along anytime between 7pm and 9pm. We also made a reservation in Restaurant 2. This is a tasting menu so the waiter will bring along each course and explain what you will be sampling and in what order you should eat it! We had the following:

Chefs Cocktail – Seared Tuna Mojito, Shaved Watermelon, Minted Lime Dash, Pop Corn
Cured Salmon, Crunch Root Vegetables, Olive Tapenade Drizzles
Lobster & Chorizo Croquetta, Eggplant & Olive Relish
Marinated Red Beets, Creamy Goat Cheese, Shallot Vinaigrette, Pine Nuts
Lime Kissed Duck Presse, Soba Pasta, Shitake & Bok Choy, Grilled Chili Balls

Clam Cappuccino, Cilantro Foam, Coriander & Mascarpone Crisp
Spiced Halibut, Crisp Foie Gras, Roasted Pineapple Chutney

Tamarind Glazed Hanger Steak, Corn Cake, Poached Tomatoes
White Chocolate Mascarpone Cheese Cake, Cherry Jelly & Sorbet
I have to admit the food was out of this world, it may seem a lot but they are only small portions so I did just about manage to eat it all!

The restaurant we used the most was the Colonnade, we found we liked the atmosphere here. Breakfast is buffet style from a full cooked breakfast to a large choice of cold meats, fruit, cereal, breads etc. You can also order from a small menu choice which was omelette, eggs and pancakes. We then enjoyed our evening meals here, which had different themed nights from French, Indian Bistro, Spanish and Italian.

The ports of call were: Valetta, Trapani, Palma and Malaga – I will do a seperate blog for each port of call.

Overview
As you can guess from reading my blog I throughly enjoyed the trip.  I thought the ship was excellent and I really can not find fault with anything onboard.  The staff were extremely friendly and always seem to know when you need a refill or assistance.  When I was sitting at the poolside grill eating lunch one day the waiter must have noticed that I looked cold, so he came over with a blanket, these are the nice touches that make Seabourn stand out!  The average age group I would say was 50 plus, there were a lot of Americans, Canadians and Britsh passengers.  I can’t wait for my next trip!!