The Spirit & The Odyssey
Seabourn offers exquisite, exotic itineraries on two very extraordinary yachts.
When Seabourn launched Spirit two decades ago, travel by luxury yacht entered a golden era. Spirit and her two sister ships, Pride and Legend, were created with 104 suites for 208 guests, each commodious accommodation offering an expansive picture window to the open sea or intimate views of the world’s most exotic ports. The three sisters also provide guests with the advantage of sailing to the heart of cities or into secluded inlets, places restricted to larger passenger vessels.
“When Seabourn created its yachts, there were compelling business reasons to carry as many guests as possible,” says Pamela C. Conover, president and CEO of Seabourn. “There are very few ships of that size, and those would normally carry 600 to 700 guests. But to deliver the intensely personalized service that has become our hallmark, we limited it to 104 suites, and we provide a ratio of nearly one crew member per guest.”
Seabourn wanted to include all the comforts of an upscale vacation home, so they included features like a TV/DVD, Bose Wave CD stereo, refrigerator/bar (stocked with the guest’s favorite wine and spirits), marble-clad bathrooms as well as a desk with stationery personalized with the guest’s name. Everything is first-rate, from the crisp Egyptian cotton linens to the Schott-Zweisel glassware to bath amenities by Molton Brown.
But the suites, about a third of which include balconies (others can be joined to make super suites) are just part of Spirit’s elegant but soothing ambiance. The Restaurant can seat all the yacht’s guests for the gourmet-caliber meals, though there are other options like the indoor/outdoor Veranda Cafe, which serves a lavish buffet for breakfast and, on some evenings, serves small-plate tasting menus and regionally themed bistro cuisine other nights. There are also informal lunches and occasional dinners at the Sky Bar overlooking the sun deck, and the yacht often has evening barbecue dinners on deck. Celebrity chef Charlie Palmer’s menus make up the backbone of the culinary offerings, though the executive chefs also use their own recipes as well as suggestions from the guests.
“The kitchen on a Seabourn yacht is really like the kitchen in a fine dining restaurant on shore, not like a galley that turns out the banquet-style food on other ships,” says Chef Bjoern Wassmuth, executive chef on Spirit. “Our guests admire fine cooking, so things like fresh fish and local produce are a great satisfaction to me. Chef Charlie Palmer’s recipes are to my liking, with good quality ingredients and bold flavors. We also offer a selection of simple, classic food for variety.”
Excellent cuisine is only one part of enjoying the good life aboard Spirit. Socializing comes in many forms, whether it’s enjoying a cocktail and live piano or classical guitar on the observation lounge, pre- and post-dinner dancing in The Club, or taking in a lecture, movie or cabaret in the Magellan Lounge. A full spa and library offer a sense of respite for guests craving solitude.
Beyond the yacht’s sociable layout, there is a hidden spirit that permeates the Seabourn Spirit, a profusion of warmth and willingness by staff to exceed the most savvy guest’s expectations. Staff members are carefully hand-picked, then undergo rigorous training at The Seabourn Academy. “We look for staff who genuinely care about making our guests happy,” says Christopher Prelog, Director of Hotel Operations. “The rest we can teach.”
“It’s relaxing to put yourself in the hands of a professional who just wants you to enjoy yourself,” says Conover. “Our guests can choose any type of travel in the world. But over half of them come back to us again and again. What are they finding with us that they can’t find elsewhere? That level of service.”
Of course, the itineraries are exceptional as well. Seabourn guests have journeyed to hundreds of the world’s most glamorous ports-of-call, from Hong Kong to Sydney to Manhattan to Rio, with equally unforgettable experiences in secluded cultural gems called “Seabourn Secrets.”
Spirit, which has visited many of the Seabourn Secrets, recently unveiled even more to guests during its journeys around South America. On the “Treasures of the Incas” voyage, guests start in Ft. Lauderdale, but disembark in Santiago after an adventurous week of zip lining in the Costa Rican rainforest, whitewater rafting on the Reventazaen in Panama, or visiting ruins in Panama or Callao, Peru. There is also an optional mid-cruise visit to Machu Picchu, Lost City of the Incas, where Spirit guests explore the ruins in relative privacy, after the crowds depart.
The voyages continued with the “Patagonian Passage”, which started in Valparaiso, Chile and ended in cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, offered optional side trips in the Lake District of Chile, kayaking the Strait of Magellan, or visiting penguin colonies in Otway Sound, before allowing guests to visit the “end of the world” in Patagonia.
The Amazon & Caribbean Isles cruise is a study in contrasts, beginning in Manaus, Brazil, nicknamed “Paris of the Jungle,” which sits a thousand miles up the Amazon, and ending in Ft. Lauderdale. The cultural highlights range from a carnival-style celebration in the Amazonian village of Parintins to afternoon high tea at a Jacobean mansion on a former sugar plantation on Barbados.
“The inimitable flavors of Brazil and the Caribbean leave a very sweet aftertaste,” says Peter Cox, Seabourn’s director of itinerary planning. Cox is a seasoned traveler with an encyclopedic knowledge of the world’s hidden secrets. “Our goal is to take guests to places that they’ve never heard of, but will never forget,” he says.
One of the most recent additions to the Seabourn fleet, Odyssey, will also begin to make the South American trips in the new year. Odyssey, along with its sister ship Sojourn, have made maiden voyages in the last year to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. It is currently exploring the historical treasures of Greece and Turkey.
The new sisters (Quest will join the Seabourn fleet in 2012) are larger than the three original yachts, but no less intimate. Virtually all of the 225 ocean view suites, which range in size from 295 to 1,682 square feet, have their own verandas.
Of course, guest comfort are still the yacht’s main hallmark. “Even though they’re three times larger than our original trio, our new yachts carry only twice as many guests,” says Conover. “They provide the highest ratio of space per guest in the industry, and the extra size allowed us to add a lot of features that our guests appreciate.”
Those features include the largest spa on any luxury vessel, with two floors of Finnish saunas, aromatic steam rooms, thalassotherapy pools, full fitness center and certified therapists who custom-design spa and fitness packages for guests. The offerings range from Tai Chi to Pilates to Thai Massage, with dozens of other health modalities.
The Restaurant aboard Odyssey, capable of seating all guests, is just one of four alternative venues for dining on the yacht. The restaurant-style galley has been set up with two mirror-image kitchens, so that the chefs can prepare the food in a more timely manner during peak dining times. “That means the food is hot off the stove and we can still prepare everything al la minute,” says Conover. “It’s a design our director of food and beverage came up with, and is just another way of enhancing the pleasure of our guests.”
Odyssey also includes a Casino, with slot machines, blackjack tables and roulette table. Music from The Club, the yacht’s liveliest entertainment lounge, is piped in. The Club’s daily events range from Afternoon Tea to pre-dinner dancing to evening cocktails. The public spaces also include Sun Terrace, high atop Odyssey, with 36 double sunbeds, The Retreat, a multi-use sports area (including a nine-hole putting green), and Observation Bar, which allows a panoramic view of the sea with live piano music.
Seabourn Square, which includes a card room, three duty-free shops, library, open terrace and a coffee bar, becomes the social center during the day. Beyond meeting friends, Guest Service Specialists assist guests on every facet of life aboard and making arrangements for going ashore.
The Grand Salon, the largest of the lounges, has seating for all guests as well as a dance floor for balls and other special occasions. It also includes shows from the yacht’s four professional vocalists, a professional dance couple and an occasional performance brought on board from ashore. Odyssey also features world-renowned personalities as guest lecturers. “The entertainment program on Odyssey is not designed to draw all the guests to the salon every night,” says Conover. “We have had success with offering a variety of different styles in all lounges, so people can match their own tastes.”
Cognizant of growing too large, Seabourn was careful to maintain the human-scale design of the yachts’ public spaces. “Compared to a larger ship, they are unintimidating,” says Conover. “It’s easy to learn your way around the yacht, and the public rooms are human scale, tailored for sociable gatherings rather than spectacle.”
Of course, Odyssey’s interior accommodations were designed to be in synch with its guest’s tastes. The yacht offers large, luxurious abodes like the Wintergarden Suite, with 914 square feet of interior space, and 183-sq.ft. veranda. It can be combined with an adjoining suite to become the Grand Wintergarden, for a total of 1,400 square feet (including both verandas), making it one of the most expansive living spaces at sea.
There are also five Owners Suites that include a separate bedroom, full-granite bathroom and 200-sq.ft. veranda. The Owners Suites, along with the Wintergarden and Signature Suites, also include amenities like a personal espresso maker, floral and fruit arrangements, in-suite exercise system and Internet connectivity. Seabourn’s designers believed that living on the ocean does not have to equate to doing without.
But, in the midst of so much refined elegance, is still the sense of sincere friendliness among guests and crew. “I’ve found that there is an intimate, relaxing atmosphere aboard our yachts that allows guests to socialize more with each other,” says Capt. Mark Dexter, Master of the Odyssey. “They have more opportunity to meet and mingle with fellow cruisers. Of course, we get to know them, too, about their lives, families and so on. Many lifelong friendships develop on these cruises.”
That’s for good reason. Odyssey’s voyages last summer ranged from the “Aegean Odyssey,” which began in Istanbul, a fascinating crossroads of Europe and Asia, to the Greek island of Santorini, a volcanic island with towering cliffs and black-sand beaches in the Sea of Crete. In between, postcard perfect harbors of Bodrum, Mylos and Navplion all become the morning views for guests on their verandas. The stops manage to combine rugged beauty of the Aegean with a sense of old-world history, along with the friendly, hospitable nature of the Greeks and Turks.
The 28-day Grand Voyage from Istanbul to Athens includes other carefully selected stops in Turkey and Greece as well as cruising the Dardenelles, Bosporus, and Black Sea, where Odyssey calls in exotic destinations in the Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania. “One benefit of these unique itineraries is that guests can go home and regale their friends about all the wonderful places they visited,” says Dexter.
The Seabourn experience apparently extends beyond future bragging rights because while half of the guests eventually return on another cruise, about a third of those sign up for the next trip while still on board the yacht. “At the beginning of most voyages, guests typically dine with their own dining companions,” says Dexter. “But by the end, large tables are in high demand because guests want to dine with their new friends. That social aspect is one of the top reasons why guests sail on a Seabourn cruise.”
For more information, contact a travel agent, call Seabourn at 1-800-929-9391 or visit www.seabourn.com .