Shown below, left to right: Chef van Leeuwen, Maitre d’Hotel Antony Bernardi, Chef Wynants, Mrs. Wynants, Captain Mark Dexter and Guest Services Manager Jo Poelmans.

Seabourn Academy Graduates

Seabourn Corporate Training Manager Guillaume Colas sent us fantastic news that a group of Seabourn Academy cadets just completed and graduated from an extensive five-week training program on Seabourn Odyssey.  The cadets trained for a variety of positions, from restaurant and bar waitstaff to housekeeping.  Captain Mark Dexter and Hotel Manager Vitor Alves (left in the photo) joined the group during a celebratory reception to congratulate them on a job well done.  Best of luck to the cadets as they begin their career with Seabourn!

Barbara Poelmans

Since Seabourn Odyssey entered service last summer, the team of guest service specialists working at Seabourn Square has consistently received high ratings from guests for outstanding service.  This is due, in no small part, to Barbara Poelmans, Seabourn’s hotel operations coordinator and Seabourn Square manager. She is responsible for training all new guest service specialists hired to work in Seabourn Square on the new yachts, teaching them all of the policies and procedures needed to succeed in this role.

For those of you who haven’t sailed on Odyssey, the guest service specialists fulfill a role similar to a hotel concierge.  They are responsible for managing and handling most guest inquiries – from answering questions about destinations and reserving shore excursions to settling onboard accounts and making open reservations for future Seabourn cruises.  Guest service specialists need to be knowledgeable about nearly every facet of the yacht and the line, from the history and itineraries to the deck plan and company policies.  The role is vital, and it is essential that the team is well-versed in ship operations and able to respond to guests in an effective and efficient manner.

When the concepts of Seabourn Square and guest service specialists were developed in 2008, Seabourn management knew they needed someone with an extensive background to define the role and create a training process.  Barbara had gained a tremendous amount of shipboard experience during her 11-year career at Seabourn.  She started out as a receptionist on Seabourn Spirit and over the years moved up the ranks, from crew purser to chief purser to tour manager.  She was extremely knowledgeable of both shipboard and tour operations, and was the ideal candidate to create a training program for the new guest service specialists.

Barbara designed the training program to be interactive and fun, with a mix of written exams, hypothetical role-playing scenarios, and teambuilding sessions.  Occasionally a situation arises during the training where the trainees can apply what they have learned.  For example, earlier this month Barbara took the team to visit Seabourn Legend docked in Fort Lauderdale.  That day, the pursers needed some last-minute assistance with embarkation, and without a moment’s hesitation, the team jumped right in and helped check in guests, gaining valuable hands-on experience of the embarkation process along the way.  “It was completely unplanned but a terrific way for them to learn the ropes,” Barbara said.

Most importantly, she wants the trainees to succeed and feel comfortable in their positions.  She instills confidence in the trainees and encourages them to “own” any situation that comes their way and feel empowered to find solutions on their own.

There is no doubt the training program is a valuable tool, particularly since Odyssey’s Seabourn Square staff has been receiving high guest ratings.  Barbara also knows her program is successful when she boards Odyssey and observes the staff doing their job well.  “It makes me extremely proud when the guest service specialists deliver the service they learned from the training program, and to see a guest walk away satisfied, with a smile.”

The excursion provides a real up close look at the limestone rocks, caves, and grottoes and includes a scenic cruise aboard a junk through the spectacular scenery.  Some of the rock formations will play a trick on the eyes, and guests will see islands that resemble either a man’s head or a turtle or a dragon.  The junk will stop at some of the impressive caves, including the “Surprising Cave.” The massive and incredible grotto will amaze guests as they venture through the cave, and they will learn why it is so remarkable.  Also included is a delicious, traditional Vietnamese “hot pot” lunch served aboard the junk.  But the highlight of the tour is kayaking in the waters of Halong Bay.  Aboard a two-person kayak, guests will paddle through the bay, through caves and next to fishing villages and other boaters. Just be sure to steer clear of the many junks on the bay!

Seabourn Public Relations Manager Irene Lui is currently sailing on Seabourn Pride and went on the “Kayak Adventure” excursion earlier this week.  She shares several photos from her experience on the bay.

Although China has this incredible and ancient civilization that flourished when the Greeks and Romans enjoyed theirs, and there certainly remain many sites that represent this rich heritage all over China, a coastal cruise – with the exception of the pre/post Beijing stay – will hardly bring guests near those sites that filled the Beijing Olympics media travelogues. Yet, it is China’s coast that gave birth to and nourished this awakening giant, which came out of the post-Mao dark ages only a few decades ago.

While, centuries ago, the centers of civilization flourished inland, it’s the fertile flood plains of the Yangtze River delta that fed those civilizations, thanks to the Grand Canal, this amazing lifeline, over 1100 miles long and dug at the time civilization was just dawning in Europe. It is on the coast that foreign concessions flourished after the Emperor was forced to open up to foreign trade following the Opium Wars. And, in recent times, it’s again China’s coast that has absorbed the millions of workers migrating from the interior countryside to feed the needs of an exploding industrial revolution that has stunned the world. While we will enjoy Beijing for its cultural and historical significance, we especially will explore the coast, with its glossy Western veneer, in search of a better understanding of China — a nation that will somehow affect each of us personally in the decades ahead.

Peter Cox

Peter A.M. Cox is Seabourn’s Director of Itinerary Planning and Development.  He is one of the most experienced, knowledgeable and insightful destination experts in the world. Originally from The Netherlands, Peter started his travel career as an enthusiastic amateur, hitchhiking across North Africa and traveling in Asia during the off-season from his summer jobs as a tour director in Europe. His itineraries included South America and the United States as well (he once spent three and a half months driving around the U.S. in an old Ford Falcon.)

His seagoing experience began in 1974 as a tour manager on world cruises aboard Norwegian American Line’s Sagafjord, and diverse summer itineraries on Vistafjord. Peter “came ashore” in1980 to begin researching and planning itineraries and land programs for Pearl Cruises, a pioneer of year-round Asia cruises with Pearl of Scandinavia, based in Hong Kong and San Francisco. Six years later Peter moved to cutting-edge expedition cruise operator Society Expeditions in Seattle, planning itineraries for World Discoverer and Society Explorer, the leading expedition-style vessels of the time, carrying intrepid travelers on all-inclusive adventures from the Arctic to Antarctica, the Amazon to the South Pacific and beyond. Peter joined Seabourn in its San Francisco headquarters in 1993, and has been planning the cruise itineraries and land programs since then.

Peter has agreed to provide for us some expert insights into Seabourn Pride’s cruises in Asia: why you should want to visit Asia, and what to expect when you do. We will post them in two parts, Wednesday and Friday.

The latest update from Neil Carney at the Odyssey shipyard….

As we all know Seabourn Odyssey will be named in Venice. But it is a proud moment to actually see her name spelled out on the bow. As you can see from the photo, the starboard bow now has the steel letters of her name spot welded in place.

Progress is going well with the engine makers’ commissioning engineers on site, her main engines have been started and we are undertaking the commissioning testing protocol for these. There is a change in feel on board now, the smell and the vibrations of the engine room – the on and off rumble the engines give each time they are started. There is a definite feel of life in her– the heart beats– and now with her soon-to-be name etched in steel. The pregnancy may be a bit more than nine months, but now the delivery is less than 3 months away.

Bye from a sunny (yes, no rain) Genoa.

Brgds:

Neil

Seabourn Guest Services Trainees

The trainees for the Guest Services Specialists who will care for Odyssey guests at Seabourn Square have arrived in Seabourn’s Miami headquarters for a six-week course designed by Barbara Poelmans. They come from all three Seabourn sisters and from other places as well, but they are all gathered to meld into a team and learn everything there is to know about Seabourn Odyssey in particular and Seabourn in general.   Seen smiling in the lobby of Seabourn’s offices are (L-R) Barbara Poelmans (trainer,) Pierre van Breda (South Africa,) Ben Luckx (Belgium,) Miranda Doran (Netherlands,) Ralf Hoehn (Germany,)  Kathrin Stubenhausen (Austria,)  Anamika Mard (Sweden,)  Doris Resch (Austria,) Kyle Rankin (South Africa,)  Eric Manez (Philippines,) Chris Bevins (South Africa.)

New dishes are being added to our existing menus, recipes are being documented, china purchased, and sophisticated equipment is being sourced from vendors all over the world. Tony has been a frequent visitor to the shipyard, just to make sure all the kitchens are constructed according to his plans.

The main kitchen, which is over 6,400 square feet, is constructed on two mirror plans, so that during the dinner service the staff can be divided into two lines to ensure speedy service. The Colonnade and Restaurant 2 will operate out of a combined galley on Deck 8; the Officer and Crew Mess has its fully equipped galley on Deck 3 and the Patio Grill has another galley of its own.

Too many chefs in the kitchen or too many kitchens for the chefs? Let’s have a look at the manning:

The Executive Chef de Cuisine supervises all the outlets. He’s responsible for proper manning, flawless and timely execution of all dishes, ordering of provisions, quality of food, maintaining Public Health standards and more.  In order to accomplish all of this he’s assisted by a workforce of 57:

1 Chef de Cuisine – Colonnade
3 Executive Sous Chef
1 Executive Pastry Chef
1 Patio Chef
13 Chef de Partie
2 Chef de Partie – Crew
1 Baker
1 Asst. Baker
1 Butcher
1 Asst. Butcher
11 Demi Chef de Partie
3 Demi Chef de Partie – Pastry
1 Utility #1
14 Utility Staff
1 Garbage Manager
2 Utility Garbage Staff

So where does Seabourn find people who can do all that?

The answer is that they aren’t born, they are made. Seabourn is gathering skilled, cheerful and naturally helpful people and creating a training program to prepare them for the uniquely challenging duty of having all the answers and knowing what to do about anything. So they take a person who has been doing a great job at the reception desk, for instance, and now they teach them about how to book tours, and about future cruise procedures, where the church or the nearest ATM is in a particular port of call…everything else.

Ten such individuals are starting this demanding course in the next few days. We’ll meet some of them and hear more about their course work during the next six weeks.
And then they will debut, along with Seabourn Odyssey, in Venice –as a new sort of person that doesn’t exist in nature– A “know-it-all” that everybody likes!