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Premier Cruises

SS Seabreeze

Your Rating:
Reviewed by:Mark Miller
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: JUne 9, 2000
Itinerary: Nowhere

This was a two-day cruise to nowhere out of the port of Boston. Being Boston people and getting a terrific price for the cruise, we decided to give the Seabreeze a chance. We had read many negative reviews of the ship, but, for the price we were offered, we decided to go ahead anyway. For a two-day cruise, the Seabreeze's shortcomings did not outweigh the advantages of the price and enjoyment that we experienced.

The public areas are dated and small. The Royal Fireworks Lounge is a small lounge with a nice backdrop of the Seabreeze. If the room were freshened, it could be the nicest public room on board. The Carmen Lounge is a typical large lounge which needs newer fabrics and carpeting. The pool was tiny, but it was too cold anyway to consider a dip. The casino was small and crowded, but had an attentive staff and nickel slots. The Seabreeze does have a very good outdoor promenade deck which we enjoyed walking in the sunshine.

There is only one dining room, but fortunately the entrees were well prepared, fresh, and tasty. The buffets were held in the dining room and were likewise well prepared and varied. The desserts were not particularly good and the dining room lunch entree was not good. However, the Pastorale Cafe (outdoor dining - serve yourself and carving stations) was always providing fresh hot breakfast and lunch food that exceeded our expectations. The service on board was always very good.

As for the Cabin, we got a good price on a "Deluxe" Inside Stateroom. Let me tell you, if there are lower level cabins (which there are - 3 more categories lower do exist), I would have to see them to believe them. We had the smallest cabin I had ever seen at sea. The double bed was tucked against the wall so the inside sleeper would have to climb over the outside sleeper to go to the bathroom. The room had no television - which would have been a good idea on inside staterooms so that you can see what the weather is like outside, but did have a radio that played some pretty good "mood" music. The carpeting was a bit frayed at places and the bathroom plumbing sounded like it might burst at any time, but it held up fine. Also, the room didn't have a Ving card to open it..you had to lock it like with a key...it really seemed as if the room hadn't been refurbished since 1958.

The other entertainment was o.k. The comedian was one of the writers from the Benny Hill Show. He did a fine job and has a nice feature of doing a discussion on the morning of disembarking...it was a nice way to kill that time before you clear customs. The musical entertainment was an Elvis and Tina Tuner impersonator from the Legends Show at Las Vegas. In January 1999, we found ourselves on an Elvis Presley theme cruise on the SS Norway (of which we had no knowledge when we booked it and it turned out to be a truly great time) - well Seabreeze's Elvis was up-to-par with the 2nd level impersonators that were on the Norway. He worked the audience and did a nice job. Tina had lots of energy, a good voice, but was not much of an "impersonator."

The art auction was a personal disappointment. They did hold one auction but we had heard of only a few artists on their list (unlike the Norway, we didn't get a color catalog listing the artists, retail prices and showing examples of their works). We initially purchased an item that was marketed to us by the auctioneer as a limited edition signed lithograph by a world famous artist (who we had heard on and have one of his works) only to find out after we returned home and did some research that it was an unlimited edition signed poster worth less than what we had bid (despite her telling us an alleged retail price of 3 to 4 times what we had spent). We promptly called the Art Agency and have been told that our order will be cancelled. And even if not so, we will not pay for it or take delivery of it. Either Premier needs to get better and more informed auctioneers or perhaps get a new art agency. The SS Norway art auctions at sea (different company than Premier's) were always open, honest and up front about their merchandise - no surprises and very good values of which I am glad that I had participated in. Also, the Norway's auctioneers (a plug for John Beery) know their stuff...we weren't particularly impressed as to whether our auctioneer was all that knowledgeable. I would be reluctant to trust Premier again unless they marketed a new agency and a new approach to art sales.

My wife and I aren't big bingo fans but we participate now and then. On the Norway, the Bingo balls are chosen from one of those professional "air machines" and the numbers are posted on a big electronic board. On the Seabreeze (and this is no lie), the balls are chosen from a child's set that my sister-in-law purchased for my 6 year old nephew - the exact same set. And there is no board posting the numbers, so if you snooze, you lose. Finally based on the crowd size, the jackpots were tiny for a cruise ship.

The passenger age varied from young to old with a good, general mix. Our dining companions were a nice couple from a neighboring community and we enjoyed their company. There was somewhat of a larger, tackier crowd than we have experienced in past cruises.