Seabourn has announced a major expansion of the benefits it offers to loyal guests returning to its award-winning ships.  Seabourn Club benefits, which already included a milestone award of a complimentary cruise after sailing 140 days, have always been among the most valuable in the cruise industry. Now we have added new benefits to the mix that start rewarding guests after their first cruise, and increase in value as guests sail more. In a nod to the personalization that is a hallmark of our service, Seabourn Club members are free to choose the rewards they prefer from a generous menu of onboard amenities and discounts. The new onboard benefits will be implemented on all Seabourn ships on voyages departing on or after June 1, 2012.

“Our loyal guests have always been an important part of Seabourn’s success,” said Richard Meadows, the company’s president.  “We wanted to start thanking returning guests sooner, and we wanted to offer them rewards in a different, uniquely Seabourn style,” he said. “With our new Seabourn Club, the difference is choice, and choice is luxury.”

Membership Levels, Seabourn Club Points

Club members can redeem benefits based on five different membership levels, achieved by accruing one Seabourn Club Point for each day sailed on a Seabourn ship. Additional Seabourn Club Points are awarded for days sailed in premium category suites, for onboard spending and for days traveled on Seabourn Journey overland excursions.

Menu of Benefits

Depending on the level they have achieved, Club members select the benefits they prefer from a menu that includes such amenities as laundry and pressing, internet and telephone service, daily newspaper delivery, a Signature Seabourn Club massage in the spa and savings on shore excursions, luggage shipping and premium wine and spirits purchases.  Certain levels also receive signature luggage tags and subscriptions to leading travel magazines. Club members can select the benefits they prefer and arrange for redemption through Seabourn’s website for their future cruises. Upper level members also enjoy the services of a dedicated Seabourn Club Concierge to assist with their onboard arrangements. This ability to choose which benefits they prefer mirrors the quality of personalization that is the hallmark of Seabourn’s ship-board experience, helping to create the Seabourn Moments that bring guests back to Seabourn again and again.

Complimentary Cruises

The popular award of a complimentary seven-day cruise after sailing 140 days,  or a 14-day cruise after 250 days, remains the richest element of the program, and far exceeds anything offered by any other line. These complimentary cruise awards are based strictly on days actually sailed on board. In addition to the awards, Seabourn Club members receive exclusive offers, additional savings for onboard booking, invitations to events on board, as well as Tiffany & Co. recognition gifts as they achieve loyalty milestones. Complete details of Seabourn Club membership benefits are available here.

Seabourn Quest’s maiden World Cruise started with a Black & White Gala in Ft. Lauderdale, and now it has ended. But here is one more elegant special event the onboard team created to wind things up—the Black & White Ball.

Walk this way: the entry to the Grand Salon for the Ball

Set for action: Seabourn Quest Hotel Manager Vitor Alves’ table ready for guests

Join the club: Staff is ready to greet guests at the entrance.

Caviar and crab: now that’s Black & White!

Seabourn’s original sisters still have the knack of slipping into snug harbors to delight their guests with exceptional experiences. Seabourn Legend’s CSO Ivan Britvic perfectly captured this advantage in a photo he sent along from a visit to the port of Bonifacio, on the French island of Corsica in the Mediterranean.  Thanks for sharing, Ivan!

Corsican sister: Seabourn Legend on a sunny day in Bonifacio.

One busy evening in Seattle, our manager of Culinary Operations, Bjoern Wassmuth, was stuck in a major traffic jam on his way home. He and his carpooling colleagues were not moving at all, so instead of sitting idly in the car, they went to a local pizza restaurant to wait for the traffic to ease. It was a charming mom-and-pop restaurant and according to Bjoern, it served some of the best pizza he’s ever had!

“It was real Italian pizza,” he said. What made it so delicious? The crust.

Always thinking about new dishes and recipes for the Seabourn ships, Bjoern asked the restaurant owner what kind of flour they used and turns out, it’s pizza flour all the way from Italy. So, he ordered a batch and did a pizza tasting at the test kitchen in Seabourn headquarters. Bjoern molded the dough, tossed it in the air and topped each pizza with a variety of tasty toppings – prosciutto, mushrooms, basil and more. The critical part of the process was knowing how much water to the flour.

“I played with the liquid content to get the crust just right,” Bjoern said. “Pizza flour from Europe is very different from American flour so it’s important to add the right amount of water to make the crust perfect.”

It certainly worked. Six pizzas later, the judges – which included several executives with a hearty appetite – were all smiles and gave two thumbs up to the delicious pizza.

It’s a good thing Bjoern was caught in the traffic jam that day. He discovered a new source for a key ingredient for one our most popular dishes onboard!

Up in the air!

Covered in tomato sauce

Voilà!! The finished product!

Seabourn Quest Hotel Manager Vitor Alves tried to take a picture of the ship this morning when it was in Pylos, Greece, but the fog got in the way!

Seabourn has announced an alliance with Colorado-based Black River Caviar that will provide our discerning guests with top quality ossetra sturgeon caviar produced by a sustainable “wild farming” method in South America.

The caviar, which is processed by the lower-salt Malossol method, comes from Siberian sturgeon stock raised in a natural environment carefully researched to provide ideal conditions. The end result is caviar that has been praised by experts including a number of renowned chefs and Ruth Reichl, the former editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine for its flavor and texture. It has also been verified as being ecologically sustainable by the authority of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and granted a top “Green” rating by the Marine Conservation Institute.

“Caviar is a luxury,” noted Richard Meadows, Seabourn’s president, “and as such, it is a part of the culinary repertoire on board our ships. Seabourn guests expect us to provide quality caviar,” he continued, “and they also share our concern for sustainability, so we are pleased to have discovered the Black River ossetra.”

“Black River Caviar is very pleased to be serving Seabourn,” said Graham Gaspard, president of Black River Caviar.  “Both companies share the same philosophy of providing our clients only the finest quality products and service in an environmentally responsible way. We are grateful for Seabourn’s support of sustainable farming which is critical to the preservation of several sturgeon species. We consider it a great honor to be working with a company not only known as the pre-eminent luxury cruise line but also the role model for environmental stewardship.”

Black River Caviar is produced by a family-owned facility on the Rio Negro in Uruguay, under the guidance of a Russian master sturgeon farmer. The firm was started in 1990 with fertilized Siberian sturgeon roe imported from Russia. After twelve years of cultivation, the company began harvesting caviar in 2001. The caviar is produced to order, and never stored. For more information about Black River Caviar, visit www.blackrivercaviar.com.

As Seabourn Quest’s maiden World Cruise was winding down, the staff onboard pulled out all the stops to keep the onboard activities at a marathon pace. On Sunday, April 15, they mounted an Arabian Nights fantasia that had guests festooned in djellabas and turbans, the Pool Patio and Colonnade draped in canopies and palm fronds, and staff and entertainers costumed and cavorting in all manner of oriental excess. According to Director of Hotel Operations Chris Prelog, they “have been doing an excellent job on all these special events on board.”

Gathering the tribe: Brent Kuenning, Jeffrey Socia, Franceska Berlin, David Habbin, Lisa Sherlock, Michelle Gordon, Natalia Ushakova and Alexandr Grigoruta.

Guests in Arab garb enjoy the oasis atmosphere on deck.

Cast of characters: Brent Kuenning, Heather Clacy and Vitor Alves in costume.

In the Oasis: Angharad Evans stands ready to serve

Captain Erik Lund Anderssen brought Seabourn Legend into the Turkish port of Cesme for the first time on April 7, and the town turned out a top‑notch greeting, from a fireboat salute to whirling Turkish dancers and a red carpet on the dock, plus a full complement of local dignitaries and luminaries to welcome the ship and her guests to their city.

Red carpet treatment: L-R Mrs. Sissel Anderssen, Cruise Director David E. Greene, Captain Anderssen and a local port official stroll toward the reception hall.

Salute off the fantail: A fireboat welcomes Seabourn Legend to Cesme.

Step Lively: Turkish folk dancers greet Seabourn Legend guests at the pier head.

Mr. David Muldoon booked a cruise for himself and his inamorata Ms. Cheryl Hudson to embark Seabourn Quest at Dubai and sail the final segment of its World Cruise to Venice. But as romantic as that gesture was, it was just the start for Mr. Muldoon. When he broached the subject of an intended surprise marriage proposal to the staff on board, they immediately launched an elaborate campaign of Seabourn-style subterfuge that eventually included a bogus invitation to a private party, candles, Champagne, caviar and decorations, a brace of witnesses, a surprise visit from Captain Thue-Nilsen and the retrieval of the engagement ring from the Chief Purser’s safe. In consummate Seabourn style, everything was timed to the second and went off without a hitch. (Well, there WILL be a hitch, but not yet.) Mr. Muldoon executed a perfect one-knee, look-into-my-eyes delivery and the happy couple is well on their way to a happily-ever-after conclusion. Well done Seabourn Quest staff, you romantic devils, you!

A Seabourn Moment to remember for a lifetime.

Mr. Muldoon and Ms. Hudson, surrounded by co-conspiraters Social Hostess Michelle Gordon, Captain Thue-Nilsen and Guest Services Supervisor Carmen Gertze.

Seabourn Legend guests enjoy a private, classical concert at the beautiful Celsus Library in Ephesus, Turkey. Gorgeous, isn’t it? Destinations Services Manager Francisco Parró sent us this stunning photo and described the evening as “amazing, truly unique, and simply extraordinary!”