LUXURY CRUISING
Another facet that many repeat passengers are all too happy to cite as their pretext for returning time and again is the unparalleled cuisine. On my cruise, Hotel Manager Peter Rima and Executive Chef Tomasz Kozlowski ensured each dinner was a feast for the senses – none more so than the Menu Dégustation. The eight courses comprised: L’Oeuf
Poule au Caviar Surprise; Steamed Lobster on Marinated King Crab Tartar; Cappuccino of Pumpkin Soup; Lychee Crush; Pan fried Sea Bass Filet or Chateaubriand of Beef; Whipped Brie de Meaux; and Cointreau Soufflé, all rounded off with Chocolate Truffles.
Another notable dining trend is the introduction of Dream Raw Cuisine, an epic form of vegetarianism known as the ‘Living Foods Movement.’ This, the first ‘living foods’ concept at sea, offers a blueprint for a healthier lifestyle where all ingredients are raw, organic and vegan and where nothing is heated above 118 degrees. I was recently asked what differentiates the SeaDream experience. Searching for an answer, I recalled a retort from the late Giles Shepherd when the charismatic managing director of The Savoy was asked about possible expansion: “If we became too big, we’d be run by a manual of mediocrity rather than examples of excellence and personal attention to detail.”
36 WORLD OF CRUISING I Winter 2012-13
Both SeaDream vessels follow the sun, spending the summer in the Mediterranean and Aegean before heading to sequestered anchorages in the Caribbean. From February to April, SeaDream II ventures to Amazonia, heading as far west as Iquitos in the Peru. A new series of cruises in Costa Rica are a highlight of the schedule in late 2013.
L
ess cruise ship, more private motor yacht, with 111 friends along for the voyage, life on SeaDream yachts is
by design, laissez faire. Fellow guests ex- ude a patina that speaks of sophistication, yet seek casual perfection. One such shipmate on my recent
Mediterranean cruise was Paul, whose youthful looks might have betrayed his age but not his reserve. I encountered him
SEADREAM II FACTFILE
Built: 1985 Tonnage: 4,260 Length: 344ft Beam: 47ft Draft: 14ft
Speed: 15 knots Passengers: 112 Crew: 95
Passenger decks: 5 Registry: Bahamas
ITINERARIES: winter 2012/13, Caribbean, South America; spring, summer, autumn, Mediterranean; winter 2013/14, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Indian Ocean, Far East.
MORE INFO: in the UK, call 0800 783 1373; in the US, 1800 707 4911; or visit
www.seadream.com.
towards the end of my week-long sojourn holding forth to a group of cohorts at cocktail-hour in the main salon. “Hey, I come from Manhattan and dine in the city’s finest restaurants at least twice a week and never do I eat as well as on SeaDream. Hell, this is my seventh cruise on here.”
In full flow he continued: “I just spent a week in a swanky place on the Côte d’Azur – it cost a bundle and the service was attitude, attitude, and more attitude! On here the crew are so good, they even know what you want before you know it yourself.” Everyone in the group raised their glasses in accord – including the two revellers from the first night. Obviously the prepossessing crew’s intrinsic finesse had won them round.
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