I have spent much of my time over the past weeks discussing cuisine and what it means and can add or subtract from your cruise experience.
Today I was advised of a San Diego food critic's blog "Matters of Taste" wherein she noted her first cruise ever was this past year on the Seabourn Spirit and it garnered mention in her "Memorable Morsels....My Favorite Foods of 2009" post. Maureen Clancy wrote:
Three months after my first-ever CRUISE experience -- on the Seabourn Spirit -- I’m still in awe of chef Bjoern Wassmuth’s (left) performance. Crispy corn-crusted prawns with fennel slaw and romesco sauce; red carrot and curry potage with shrimp dumplings; warm ricotta and potato ravioli in truffle butter; chilled corn and lemon grass soup with lobster salad and spicy shrimp oil; swordfish Sicilian style with chili, capers, olives and basil...and much more. Each dish was picture-perfect and served by an attractive and amiable staff.
Many of you may recall that Chef Bjoern was "our" chef for the 2009 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise. He made a number of special treats for us including that wonderful grilled fresh Slovenian Sea Bass (served on deck) from the aquaculture farm we visited early in the day where we enjoyed sea bass both smoked and sashimi with fresh pressed oil oil and naturally harvested sea salt. Another Goldring Travel exclusive!
If you have been following the writings of those on the Seabourn Odyssey World Cruise on The Gold Standard Luxury Travel Forum you know that that cuisine offered by Seabourn is "memorable" across the fleet!
Interested in the 2010 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise? Email me at eric@goldringtravel.com or call me at (877) 2GO-LUXURY.
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Showing posts with label seabourn spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seabourn spirit. Show all posts
Monday, February 1, 2010
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Seabourn Spirit - First Photographs of Its Refurbishment
I just received photographs of some of the interiors of the Seabourn Spirit after her recent refurbishment. I think they are fantastic and have eliminated some of the older elements/design quirks while tying her decor in better with her big sisters, Seabourn Odyssey and Seabourn Sojourn.
Main Restaurant
Lobbies
Main Lounge
Main RestaurantHorizon Lounge
Monday, October 5, 2009
Seabourn Spirit 2009 Food & Wine Cruise - Some Final Thoughts
The Goldring Travel 2009 Food & Wine Cruise had a number of moments that made this cruise something truly special, even as compared to the normal, excellent experience, one has on Seabourn. Each suite was provided with a host of no-cost extras:
1. A travel book on the cruise area;
2. A culinary book focused on the cruise area;
3. An exceptional walking wine and food tour in Venice, Italy before the cruise;
4. A private galley tour with a special wine and caviar;
5. A private trip to the Fonda aquaculture farm in Slovenia;
6. A high quality wine tasting (5 wines and a grappa) at Santomas winery in Slovenia; and,
7. My being available to deal with whatever issues come up along the way whether it be how to cost-effectively get from the ship to the airport in Venice or making last minute arrangements for an extended stay in Venice when the city was effectively “sold out” to, say, finding a little place to enjoy an espresso or a couple of bottles of wine.
I am pleased that each of these provided my group with some real added value, both economically and experientially.
One thing that really stood out for me was that, unlike what I am reading more about on other cruise lines (such as Regent Seven Seas), there was absolutely no sense of a particular waiter or bartender being “the best”, but rather there was a desire to enjoy the styles and personalities of every waiter and bartender, purser and stewardess. Each person mentioned they loved Arnold or Hein, David or Heidi, Leigh or Jeremy, but there was never a concern that there would be a drop in service…It simply never happened. And from Captain to Hotel Manager to Chef, the Seabourn senior officers were omnipresent.
Another thing I appreciated was the cuisine was consistently excellent. There was almost nothing that was just OK. In reality, “excellent” was the norm and “very good” was the exception. I did notice a significant difference in variety between the Seabourn Spirit and the Seabourn Odyssey in the casual dining area. While I always found something to my liking, there is no question that from presentation to methods of cooking, the smaller yachts have their limitations…but Seabourn has a way of working with them so that the culinary product is merely different, not of lesser quality.
I started the cruise with a designed and concentrated effort to utilize Seabourn’s tours. The concept, for me, failed miserably. The first tour was a struggle (especially having to be compared with our Venetian Wine Walk the day before), the second tour was cancelled due to Shopping With The Chef, the third was cancelled due to a lack of interest, the fourth was a wonderful wine tasting overshadowed by a overwhelming guide and local music and, by then, I just couldn’t be bothered with the fifth, so I did my own thing…and found a little bit of heaven.
While I enjoy learning more about the history of a port and seeing more of its countryside than can usually be accomplished without a tour or guide, for me, personally, focusing on wandering the town and finding that special restaurant or shop or scene or person is just more of what I prefer my travel to be. Such an approach is unnerving and/or unfulfilling for some, but alas that is why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream. And I do enjoy both, but definitely have more vanilla than chocolate. In other words, I am not “anti-tour” I just think I need to be very selective in what they are.
All in all, the 2009 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise on the Seabourn Spirit was a great success. We enjoyed many different wines and while the foods were not nearly as varied as in the past, they were very much enjoyed…especially the fish. Most importantly, as we explored four countries in seven days, we had fun. We had lots of fun.
It was “The Best”!
1. A travel book on the cruise area;
2. A culinary book focused on the cruise area;
3. An exceptional walking wine and food tour in Venice, Italy before the cruise;
4. A private galley tour with a special wine and caviar;
5. A private trip to the Fonda aquaculture farm in Slovenia;
6. A high quality wine tasting (5 wines and a grappa) at Santomas winery in Slovenia; and,
7. My being available to deal with whatever issues come up along the way whether it be how to cost-effectively get from the ship to the airport in Venice or making last minute arrangements for an extended stay in Venice when the city was effectively “sold out” to, say, finding a little place to enjoy an espresso or a couple of bottles of wine.
I am pleased that each of these provided my group with some real added value, both economically and experientially.
One thing that really stood out for me was that, unlike what I am reading more about on other cruise lines (such as Regent Seven Seas), there was absolutely no sense of a particular waiter or bartender being “the best”, but rather there was a desire to enjoy the styles and personalities of every waiter and bartender, purser and stewardess. Each person mentioned they loved Arnold or Hein, David or Heidi, Leigh or Jeremy, but there was never a concern that there would be a drop in service…It simply never happened. And from Captain to Hotel Manager to Chef, the Seabourn senior officers were omnipresent.
Another thing I appreciated was the cuisine was consistently excellent. There was almost nothing that was just OK. In reality, “excellent” was the norm and “very good” was the exception. I did notice a significant difference in variety between the Seabourn Spirit and the Seabourn Odyssey in the casual dining area. While I always found something to my liking, there is no question that from presentation to methods of cooking, the smaller yachts have their limitations…but Seabourn has a way of working with them so that the culinary product is merely different, not of lesser quality.
I started the cruise with a designed and concentrated effort to utilize Seabourn’s tours. The concept, for me, failed miserably. The first tour was a struggle (especially having to be compared with our Venetian Wine Walk the day before), the second tour was cancelled due to Shopping With The Chef, the third was cancelled due to a lack of interest, the fourth was a wonderful wine tasting overshadowed by a overwhelming guide and local music and, by then, I just couldn’t be bothered with the fifth, so I did my own thing…and found a little bit of heaven.
While I enjoy learning more about the history of a port and seeing more of its countryside than can usually be accomplished without a tour or guide, for me, personally, focusing on wandering the town and finding that special restaurant or shop or scene or person is just more of what I prefer my travel to be. Such an approach is unnerving and/or unfulfilling for some, but alas that is why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream. And I do enjoy both, but definitely have more vanilla than chocolate. In other words, I am not “anti-tour” I just think I need to be very selective in what they are.
All in all, the 2009 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise on the Seabourn Spirit was a great success. We enjoyed many different wines and while the foods were not nearly as varied as in the past, they were very much enjoyed…especially the fish. Most importantly, as we explored four countries in seven days, we had fun. We had lots of fun.
It was “The Best”!
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