Following her inaugural sailing in May of 2018 the Seabourn Ovation is spending time cruising the warm waters of the Mediterranean before repositioning to Northern Europe, where the vast majority of her maiden season is scheduled.
The staple of Seabourn Ovation’s summer season will be a series of week long voyages sailing between Copenhagen and Stockholm. These Baltic and Scandinavia cruises will include a three day stay in St. Petersburg, Russia; a staple of Seabourn’s Baltic region product.
Those looking for longer sailings will find an assortment of voyages that explore the fjords of Norway and the British Isles, all of which conveniently depart from Stockholm, Copenhagen or Dover, England.
Our own, Annie Scrivanich was onboard and shares with us what you can expect from this ultra-luxury ship.
Seabourn Moments
The staff (all positions) are constantly listening to guests with the hope to surprise & delight guests with what they call Seabourn Moments.
For example, we sailed by the Croatia island from which my Dad immigrated. The officer on the bridge, phoned to tell us the approximate time we’d be sailing by so that we could truly take it in and enjoy the moment.
Other little moments we enjoyed:
Bridge & Galley tours are available and definitely worth taking. If you take a bridge tour, notice the glass floor so the officer on duty can look down to see how close to the pier the ship actually is.
98% of the ship is private label with their onboard bath products produced by Molton Brown, towels, fragrances, bed (took 6 months to decide on the right bed for their guests!) and bedding.
It’s very easy to move around the Ovation. The public areas are well appointed and lots of smaller spaces to enjoy.
For outdoor worshipers that want a bit more of a private setting consider forward on the Sun Terrace or aft on Deck 11. You’ll love the double loungers!
Choosing A Room
The 40,350-gross-ton ship will features an all suite, all-balcony configuration along with one of the highest passenger-to-space ratios in the industry. While you truly can’t go wrong with any space on this beautiful ship, here are a few tips we discovered:
- The veranda suites are in essence the same throughout ship location dictating the category.
- These suites appear a bit more spacious than the other Seabourn ships. The sitting area has a full size sofa, glass table w/2 chairs for dining, roomy closets and spectacular bathrooms.
- If you are considering a suite, the Wintergarden Suite is spectacular with a private hot tub on the balcony.
And it’s not just the rooms that are more luxurious, it’s back to those Seabourn moments with the level of service.
Your Personal Suite Stewardess will:
- Welcome you with Champagne and canapés
- Offer you a selection of designer soaps
- Draw you a Pure PamperingSM bath
- Replenish your ice and bar set-up
- Manage your laundry service needs
- Assist you with any special requests
- Personalize your nightly turndown service
Bonus tip: If you’re sailing into a port and prefer an eye level view over your room, consider going outside on Deck 7 forward. Very few guests frequent this pool area and you’ll be able to move around freely.
Exceptional Dining
With over 80 chefs on the Ovation, it’s hard to imagine that the food would be anything less than extraordinary. Due to the variety of skills and number of chefs it takes over 48 days to repeat any menu onboard!
All dining venues and menus are influenced by Seabourn’s relationship with Chef Thomas Keller. He’s committed to the freshest of ingredients, working with small purveyors (both worldwide and a small group of local farms in the Napa Valley) and a collaboration between the onboard chefs and these purveyors. 
The entire dining staff (chefs, maitre’d, wine sommelier) spends two weeks with Chef Thomas Keller to develop and refine their menus. This forward thinking results in innovative entrees that are implemented across the fleet.
The entire dining experience is completed by adding table settings that reflect the venue and/or meal service. For example, the Earth & Ocean dining area is intimate with candle lit settings and the dishes are a blue/brown/green pottery handmade in NYC. If it’s cool in the evening, cozy throws are provided as well for this casual, fun, outdoor dining venue. We loved the quick fired BBQ and smoked entrees.
Of course the Seabourn moments extend to the food as well!
- Music is atmospheric for each given restaurant, many are remakes of music from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.
- Homemade gelato – the process and recipes were learned from the youngest Gelato Master in Italy
- Homemade breadsticks – 1,200/day with the one’s at Earth & Ocean being wrapped in bacon
- Family style dining is also done ad hoc at The Colonnade as a fun way to pay homage to Keller’s American childhood and meet other guests
Ready to Sail?
The Ovation is a match to her sister ship the Encore giving you more options to enjoy all the luxury that Seabourn provides. In fact, they’ve added over 100 new ports for 2019 and already have 5 ships sailing to over 470 ports!
Checkout our featured Seabourn sailings >>
