We’ve always been delighted in saying “thank you” for the genuine loyalty of our guests. Now, the enhanced Seabourn Club brings you more: more benefits you can enjoy sooner, the more you sail the greater your reward, and with five membership levels you will be provided with the luxury of customizing your Seabourn experience to suit you perfectly.

You can also visit our website for more details about the new loyalty benefits.

Here is a “bird’s eye view” of Seabourn Spirit when she was in beautiful Venice last week. Thank you to Captain David Bathgate for sending us this great photo!

Seabourn Sojourn Captain Hamish Elliott went home this morning … and he brought 450 guests with him! Seabourn Sojourn made her maiden call to Tyne port, near Newcastle in northeastern England. Tyne port is also near Sunderland where the captain calls home when he is not at sea. The ship held a plaque exchange ceremony with port officials to commemorate the ship’s visit to the port. Below are several photos of the visit provided to us by The Port of Tyne.

Port of Tyne Corporate Affairs Director Susan Wear presents a plaque to Captain Hamish Elliott. Photo by Port of Tyne.

Seabourn Sojourn pictured here at The Port of Tyne’s Northumbrian Quay. Photo by Port of Tyne.

Seabourn Sojourn. Photo by Port of Tyne.

Seabourn Sojourn Captain Hamish Elliott at the helm of the ship. Photo by Port of Tyne.

Seabourn Manager of Culinary Operations Bjoern Wassmuth and Corporate Traveling Chef Raj Adhikary recently held a tasting in the test kitchen at Seabourn’s Seattle headquarters of Hot Chocolate Sticks. Sourced from the world-famous chocolate mecca of Belgium, the treats look like speared chocolate truffles, but are meant to be stirred into a cup of hot milk to create delicious hot chocolate on the spot.  We tried them and they work, stirring up a rich, yummy cup!  They come in various flavors, but those tested were milk, dark and caramel chocolate.  This was just implemented on Seabourn Sojourn and will be featured aboard the rest of the ships soon. Stay tuned for more photos!

Three Squares: A lineup of the new Hot Chocolate Sticks.

Got hot milk? Raj Adhikary, Jafar Al-Shibibi, deputy director of purchasing, Bjoern Wassmuth and Christopher Prelog, director of hotel operations, sample the Belgian treats.

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!