LUXURY CRUISING
Sipping a strong espresso in the delightful Observation Lounge, we watched as Captain Nilsen manoeuvred our vessel to a safe anchorage in a secluded bay off Patmos. From the is- land’s tiny capital of Skála, caïques headed out to sea, searching for fish, the tillers manned by bare-chested fishermen, each one as bronzed in the morning light as the golden hills behind them. We visited the imposing fortress that houses the Monastery
of St John the Theologian, founded in 1088, in the little town of Hóra, before climbing down to the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse, where St John the Divine wrote the ‘Book of Revelations.’ Another revelation appeared to Theodoros Kendratos in 1820.
This farmer on the island of Milos declared he saw a great hol- low open up in the field he was ploughing, revealing the statue of Venus de Milo. We approached this potent coastline by tender before catching a bus to Plaka, the capital situated atop a hill, crowned by a Venetian fortress in ruins, and a plethora of tiny, showy-white churches with deep-blue domes. That night, a dusty orange haze appeared at the bottom of the
sky; the stars were brightening and the scimitar moon was so low it appeared hooked into the sea. This was our view from Restau- rant 2 where we savoured a five-course tasting menu devised by American celebrity chef Charlie Palmer. This intimate, reservations-only restaurant was a pleasing epicurean diversion, but we found the Colonnade, with its nightly-themed menus such as Asian, Italian and Greek, to be as convivial as it was commendable.
between attentive and deferential. It is also a welcoming touch when crew members ad- dress you by name after a few hours of em- barking, a task made easier by photographic aide-mémoires issued to all crew. With a full ship, it was illuminating to see
A
how this was accomplished, and full marks must go to the Maitre D’s in all the restaurants. Cruise Director Bobby Broughton also addressed guests by name as he welcomed them to the Grand Salon show lounge and, later, in the Club. With such a young crown on board, this was where most midnight oil was burned. It’s just a pity the vocal talents of the Filipino band ‘Civil Eyes’ didn’t live up to their punned name.
With no fewer than 76 passengers hailing from Britain on my voyage, it was evident they were happy to be co-opted into this triumph of good manners and style over modernist brusqueness. Some appeared to view their seven
days on board as a brief encounter with pseudo-reality. For others, this ‘game- changer’ was the antithesis of those glitzy, ritzy leviathans that ply popular routes around the globe.
SEABOURN QUEST FACTFILE
Maiden Voyage: July 2011 Tonnage: 32,000 Length: 650ft Beam: 84ft Draft: 21ft
Speed: 19 knots Passengers: 450 Crew: 335
Passenger decks: 10 Registry: The Bahamas
ITINERARIES: autumn, winter, Mediterranean, transatlantic, Caribbean, World Cruise; spring, Mediterrean, Black Sea; summer, Mediterranean.
MORE INFO: in the UK, call 0845 070 0500; in the US, call 1866 755 5619; or visit
www.seabourn.com.
nother facet that sets Seabourn apart is the highly personalised service from the 335 crew, who tread a line
Autumn 2011 I WORLD OF CRUISING
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