Our onboard staff always strives to wow our guests and we would love to share another story of our happy guests.  Ms. Agran Ostffor recently sailed on Seabourn Legend to celebrate her birthday, and one evening after a delicious dinner, she returned to her suite to find a beautifully created birthday cake on the table made of towels.  She so thrilled and cheerfully shared her story the next day with Captain Anderssen and other fellow cruisers. Our long-time and loyal stewardess, Ms. Paula Sanda, put together the “cake” and did a great job to wow Ms. Ostffor!

From the entire Seabourn family — both at sea and ashore — we would like to wish all of our readers and guests a very happy holiday season.  We hope the new year will bring you joy and take you on new journeys and travels across the globe!

We recently shared with you Seabourn Legend Pastry Chef’s talent of creating beautiful, edible artwork.  Many of our staff members are filled with hidden talents and enjoy a number of hobbies during their time off.  This time, we’d like to introduce you to Gilbert Lagmay, a carpenter and long-time Seabourn employee. Not only is he a maestro at making the yacht shine and keeping it spic and span, he also has a remarkable artistic gift.  He has an ability to look at a picture and recreate the same picture with a pencil in black and white, creating many beautiful drawings.

Gilbert tells us he developed this skill by watching cartoonists and professional portrait artists back home in the Philippines. He is always purchasing pencils and brushes to practice his hobby and perfect his artistic skills.  Impressed and amazed by his talent, his fellow colleagues occasionally ask him to sketch a drawing for them.

Gilbert with a portrait of Captain Erik L. Anderssen’s granddaughter

Gilbert is a “Seabourn Legend,” and we will continue to admire him for his artistic talent and for being a professional and outstanding Seabourn carpenter!

David Simpson, a writer for the Daily Mail in the U.K., experienced Seabourn-style cruising earlier this year when he set sail on a Caribbean cruise aboard Seabourn Legend. It wasn’t long before he realized why Seabourn is the best.

“ Seabourn Legend makes you feel as though you are on your own private yacht”

Read about his Seabourn Caribbean cruise here.

If you’ve ever been to our famous Galley Market lunches, you’ve probably seen some of the magnificent sugary sculptures and beautiful dessert displays created by our pastry teams.  Those same teams also create the many delicious desserts you enjoy at the end of each meal.  (You’re still thinking about that decadent caramelized banana butterscotch cake with milk chocolate pudding, aren’t you?)

We would like to introduce you to one of our esteemed colleagues, Executive Pastry Chef Tony Fernandes, who is responsible for creating these sweet temptations aboard Seabourn Legend. In fact, we’ll have Seabourn Legend Captain Erik Anderssen tell you about him:

Aboard the Seabourn Legend, we are privileged and honored to have a talented and artistic colleague and long-time Seabourn employee — Executive Pastry Chef Tony Fernandes. His creativity seems to have no limits and borders. Every sweet creation is made with love and patience. As he says, “I love my work, and feel honored and privileged to have the opportunity to share my passion for my handcrafted sugar sculptures, with our guests and fellow crew members.”

Every time his sweet desserts are displayed, our guests seem to be amazed and impressed by their beauty and creativity.  Every so often, we hear our guests ask, “Wow, is it possible?”  We’re pleased to tell them, “Yes, it is because of Tony and his team.”

Tony possesses a culinary degree and has worked in many five-star hotels in India, as well as in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Aviation of Flight catering and other cruise ships.

But we feel very fortunate to have Tony as our executive pastry chef. Wow, aren’t we lucky?

Here are photos of Tony and some of his amazing creations.  Aren’t they outstanding?

“My regular life is merely a hiatus from my vacations aboard your yachts.” – Len Marino

Earlier this year, writer Len Marino and his wife sailed across the Atlantic Ocean aboard Seabourn Legend, followed by a cruise along the Spanish and French Rivieras.  They delighted in the gourmet dining experience and were impressed by the staff’s gracious personalized service.

“The experience aboard the Legend was superb,” he said.

Now that’s music to our ears! You can experience his Seabourn cruise through his eyes here.

While docked in the historic port in Mahon, Menorca, guests aboard Seabourn Legend enjoyed an Evening Under the Stars, one of the most popular Seabourn’s Signature Delights.  Under the beautiful evening sky, guests reveled in a sumptuous barbecue dinner, featuring a lavish selection of steaks, seafood and many other delicious dishes.  Once everyone was done, Chef Thorsten Sengutta and Maitre D’Hotel Ross Seward presented the food and beverage team, all of whom worked so hard to put together this festive feast.  Following dinner, the band rocked the yacht with live music and guests kicked up their heels and danced well into the night!

Seabourn Legend BBQ

(L to R): Bar waitresses Desislava Kostova and Melinda Hegyi, Bar Manager Maciej Oss, Assistant Sommelier William Kelly, and Bar waiter Sam McCarthy take a moment to pose for a photo after dinner.  The galley and restaurant teams are seen in the background.

Simplicio Paragas, the Dining Out columnist and feature editor for the Honolulu Advertiser, recently sailed on Seabourn Pride and delighted in the many delicious and mouth-watering dishes during his cruise.  One of his top highlights was the Galley Market Lunch on the last day of the voyage, when the chef and his team opened up the galley and prepared one final feast for the guests.

“It was a food lover’s dream and a perfect climax to what had already been a perfect cruise.”

Check out his article to get a taste of Simplicio’s savory dining experience on Pride:

Seabourn Legend Hotel Manager Ralph de Klijn sent the following update and photo about a group of cadets who recently finished their Seabourn Academy training on Legend:

Here is a wonderful picture of all the cadets who successfully completed the Seabourn Academy over the last three and a half months on Seabourn Legend. Our training manager, Paul Charsley, has debarked Legend, leaving his pupils behind after a successful couple of months onboard. In total, we had three waves of cadets training on the yacht, and they will now be assigned to begin their careers throughout the fleet, including the new Seabourn Sojourn. It was great having new talent added to the Seabourn family and we wanted to share this as guests, particularly some who sailed during the Legend’s crossing, have asked for an update on their training. From myself and the Legend management, we wish all new Seabourn family members the best of luck in the next years aboard our yachts.

Cheeseburgers are undoubtedly one of the most popular items on the Sky Grill menu.  One day during the transatlantic crossing on Seabourn Legend, the food and beverage staff decided to cook up a special cheeseburger for lunch.  And this certainly wasn’t your regular burger.  It was a mega, extra large cheeseburger that used nearly 9 pounds of beef tenderloin, 45 slices of cheddar cheese, more than 2 pounds of tomatoes, and a pound of lettuce – all on a whopping sesame bun!! (more…)