LUXURY CRUISING
I would certainly concur that this
idiosyncratic vessel offers a warm cocoon of panache and style and took me to destinations I have never visited during my 20-year career as a cruise writer. The following afternoon the anchor was dropped in the shadow of Taormina, su- perbly sited on terraced hills. From the port of Giardini Naxos, I joined an excursion to Viagrande on the slopes of Mount Etna. We were welcomed into the home of
Eleonora Consoli, a renowned cook and gastronomic journalist, who showed us how to create famous Sicilian recipes using local vegetables and citrus fruits of varying aromas. The lunch that followed on the terrace was a pantheon of dishes both simple and sensational.
T
he culinary theme continued that afternoon when I visited Executive Chef Roy in the galley. With an im-
pressive background at some of the finest hotels in India, this unassuming chef has been at sea for more than seven years. “Fresh ingredients are the mainstay of our
menus,” he says. “At almost every port I visit markets for local produce and I’m happy to take guests with me. I’m not constrained by the protocols of larger cruise companies and have complete freedom to implement regional specialities within my menus.” Chef Roy is also inspired by the culi- nary creations of Jean-Pierre Vigato, Chef Propriétaire of the two-star Michelin-rated Apicius Restaurant in Paris who is a con- sultant to Paul Gauguin Cruises and finds time to sail aboard Tere Moana. Roy takes up the story. “I trained in his
restaurant for two months this year and I now have a good appreciation of Euro- pean flavours and the subtle application of spices. Each evening, several items on our menu in L’Etoile Restaurant showcase an array of tempting specialities, expertly
48 WORLD OF CRUISING I Autumn 2013
prepared by my team of eight chefs.” Islands allow us to establish an ide-
alised world separated just enough from reality to confer upon them a sense of the different. Nowhere is this more appropriate than on Lipari, the largest of the Aeolian Islands, a volcanic chain in the Tyrrhenian Sea. As I stepped off the local tender on to terra firma at the harbour, I was enveloped in delicate seduction. Along the wharf, fishermen mended
nets, scraped barnacles from pastel-hued boats and engaged in hand-flailing dis- course. A few steps away, other Italians, bronzed and bedecked, slouched over pavement café tables, punctuating conver- sations with identical sweeping gestures. Little else moved in the searing heat. Next morning, Capri hove into view.
For more than half a century, the beautiful and the rich have played out their glamor- ous lives on these four square rocky miles. Practically car-less, Capri could have been designed by an Italian couture house spe- cifically for long weekends. But, away from the rat-pack in La Piazzetta, the hypnotic air is heady with citrus, pine and jasmine. A few years ago I had dined on the
terrace at the Grand Hotel Quisisana surrounded by vainglorious fashionistas
TERE MOANA FACTFILE
Built: 1998 (as Le Levant); refurbished 2012 Tonnage: 3,504 Length: 330ft Beam: 46ft Draft: 11.5ft
Speed: 14 knots Passengers: 90 Crew: 54
Passenger decks: 5 Registry: Bahamas
ITINERARIES: autumn, Mediterranean, transatlantic; winter, Caribbean; spring, summer, transatlantic, Mediterranean.
MORE INFO: from the UK, call +1 425 440 6171; in the US, 1800 848 6172; or visit
www.pgcruises.com.
beneath an inky jewelled sky, but on this occasion dinner in L’Etoile Restaurant on board beckoned.
F
rom the extensive menu, I selected three Apicius Restaurant specialities: Green Asparagus Salad with Mascar- pone Quenelle perfumed with White Truf- fle; Tuna in Three Preparations, Cucumber and Candied Ginger; Steamed Loup de Mer with Provençal Vegetable-Stuffed Cannello- ni, Olive Oil and Rock Salt. I finished with selections from one of the most impressive cheese trolleys I’ve ever seen at sea. Before heading to Sorrento the follow- ing morning, I luxuriated in a Lomi Lomi ancient Polynesian massage designed to promote relaxation, as well as an Algo Éclat facial in the Deep Nature Spa. I was so relaxed I was impervious to the outer world. Not even the mêlée of Lambrettas in the Piazza Tasso disturbed me as I sipped an espresso watching Italian signore with palomino manes and Euroy- acht tans quaffing Campari surrounded by designer shopping bags. I had consigned any disappointment
Mark Twain might have cautioned against to the deep. Aboard Tere Moana, less is more.
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