Guest Bloggers Adam McCulloch and Emma Sloley are married travel writers based in New York. Originally from Australia, they moved to the U.S. in 2004. They have traveled to over 60 countries and written for a wide range of publications, including Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, New York magazine, Gotham, Gourmet Traveller, Coastal Living, Reader’s Digest and Outside.  Adam and Emma are sending us stories and pictures daily from their 14-day voyage aboard Seabourn Odyssey between Rome and Venice. Come by and read their blogs often.  

If you thought dancing the tango was hard, try doing it on board a ship, in four-inch heels. When we first boarded Seabourn Odyssey, we asked Rebecca Maughan, one of the Seabourn dancers, how she maintains her poise even when the ship is rolling. She responded by performing a little dance in which she pretended to stumble down a hallway in a rolling swell, saying that her way of coping was to insert little elegant half steps in her usual walk.

Whenever there have been waves, swells or pitching seas (as on the first couple of days), our method of walking down the corridors occasionally involved staggering and clutching walls. Yet all the staff and crew, not surprisingly, have mastered walking a dead straight line, no matter what the conditions. The key, we discovered, was not to trust our eyes (that vertical wall is not vertical) but rather try to feel the movement of the ship and adjust our balance like a dancer might.

We had an inkling we could have the dancers show us how it was done, but obviously we could never hope to match the effortless grace of Rebecca and her dance partner Andrei so we decided instead to photograph them in the empty restaurant, dancing their hearts out. If only our sea legs looked this good.

Guest Bloggers Adam McCulloch and Emma Sloley are married travel writers based in New York. Originally from Australia, they moved to the U.S. in 2004. They have traveled to over 60 countries and written for a wide range of publications, including Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, New York magazine, Gotham, Gourmet Traveller, Coastal Living, Reader’s Digest and Outside. Adam and Emma are sending us stories and pictures daily from their 14-day voyage aboard Seabourn Odyssey between Rome and Venice. Come by and read their blogs often.

If you ever needed proof that chefs are the new rock stars, witness the gusto with which we swept ashore with an excited gaggle of fellow gourmands to go shopping at the local markets with Seabourn Odyssey Executive Chef Rafael Peterkovic. Today’s travelers sign up for the kinds of activities we used to think of as chores: prepping for meals, shopping for groceries, eating in the kitchen. (We sincerely hope the next rock star job isn’t in recycling, or we’ll all be touring landfills.)

We got to Corfu’s “Popular Market” only to find that it wasn’t so popular…at least not today. It was yet another public holiday in Greece – with Easter just gone and next Easter’s preparations probably already underway – so only a smattering of despondent vendors were hawking their wares. Did that deter us from descending like locusts on the few stalls that were open? It did not.

Chef Rafael became a Pied Piper in chef whites, stopping to sniff punnets of wild strawberries, frown over fat zucchini flowers, tut-tut over shark fin, haggle over Swiss chard and poke fish. (Pro-tip: the flesh should bounce back straight away.) At one point, he vanished then reappeared at the end of an alley, beckoning us with a triumphant grin. It turned out his favorite fishmonger, Christos, had heard the ship was in port and had opened specially. Cigarette clamped permanently in the corner of his mouth, the fishmonger cocked his roller door halfway like he was about to conduct some shady deal. Here, Chef Rafael purchased red snapper, red mullet and 26 pounds of sea bass, which reappeared on the menus at lunch and dinner.

Three Important Food Groups: Anyone concerned that we’re not eating properly should be assured that we’re dutifully getting all three food groups. We consume 80 bottles of champagne a day, 40 pounds of caviar a week and 50 pounds of foie gras. (OK, the other guests probably help a bit.)

Secret Shame: You know those fresh-made grissini bread sticks at dinner? The ones you pretend to not notice? Well, someone has been eating them. In fact, the ship goes through 17,500 grissini per week. Stack them end-to-end and you have 3.5 miles worth.

Souvenir: One of us left our hat on a tour bus a few days back. While shopping for a replacement we came across this millinery abomination. It gives new meaning to hat-hair.

Guest Bloggers Adam McCulloch and Emma Sloley are married travel writers based in New York. Originally from Australia, they moved to the US in 2004. They have traveled to over 60 countries and written for a wide range of publications, including Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, New York magazine, Gotham, Gourmet Traveller, Coastal Living, Reader’s Digest and Outside.  Adam and Emma are sending us stories and pictures daily from their 14-day voyage aboard Seabourn Odyssey between Rome and Venice. Come by and read their blogs often. 

Day 1 – April 28, 2013: Arrivederci, Roma
Ahoy, sailors! (We’ve always wanted to say that.)  We are Adam McCulloch and Emma Sloley, married travel writers based in New York who will be guest blogging on this voyage. We’ve had a lot of experience traveling but not a lot with cruising, so we’re super excited to embark on this cruise around the boot — which is how we like to think of our coming circumnavigation of Italy.

Much like Odysseus, after whom this ship is conveniently named, we’re about to embark on an epic and adventure-filled journey across the seas. (Although we kind of hope it doesn’t take us ten years to return home.) We’re going to be passing through some amazing places before we disembark for the last time in Venice – places crammed with history, skullduggery, romance and obscenely good pizza – and we’ll be sharing our thoughts, impressions and loosely researched fact-finding on each of the ports, as well as our time on board.

Our blog is called “If It’s Tuesday, This Must be Seabourn,” a riff on the famous aphorism about whirlwind travel that also happens to be a campy 1960s movie. (Just in case it comes up on trivia night: the film featured cameo appearances from John Cassavetes, Joan Collins, Anita Ekberg and the lady who happened to be Miss Belgium at the time.) If we overhear anything scintillating or scandalous, we’ll share it. If we pick up any amazing souvenirs, we’ll photograph them. If we discover anyone — alive, dead or otherwise — we feel deserves a shout-out, we’ll shout out. If anything on board strikes us as particularly praiseworthy, we’ll draw your attention to it.

So after boarding Seabourn Odyssey in Rome, the famed seat of the Holy Roman Empire, we got to thinking about Baroque. As you do. How did that whole craziness come about anyway? Well, way back in Medieval times, Catholicism was starting to look dreary: the swill had lost its taste, the Black Death had cast a pall over even the most spirited of orgies, and the pizzazz had all but vanished from the public executions. Then in 1545, the church leaders banded together in the Council of Trent and decided that if Catholicism was to survive it had to get seriously fabulous. Churches would resemble a slice of heaven right here on earth, complete with stucco cherubs and gilded everything. The completely OTT architectural style caught on, and its expressive spirit was embraced by writers, musicians, and artists of all kinds, whose opulent works survive to this day in many of the cities we’ll be visiting. You could even say they were Going for Baroque, which is the headline of every second travel story ever published on Europe (FACT).

“How do you know all this?” we hear you ask. The short answer: we make it up, or at least seriously freestyle. Please feel free to disagree, rant, rave or just share your own impressions of the voyage via the comment section of this blog: we’d love to hear from you. If you feel passionately enough about the Baroque or any other topic we tackle, feel free to corner us somewhere on the ship (as long as you’re buying drinks). As for spelling and grammar, we’ll leave the last word to Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, who said, “I am the King of Rome, and above grammar.”

Welcome aboard.

Writer Emma Sloley

Please meet Adam McCulloch and Emma Sloley, married travel writers based in New York and who are about to embark on Seabourn Odyssey’s April 28, 2013 voyage. During the 14-day cruise, they will write about their experience as they sail between Rome and Venice on the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. They will send us stories and pictures daily from their cruise. Come by and read their stories often.

Originally from Australia, Adam and Emma moved to the U.S. in 2004. They have traveled to more than 60 countries and written about their experiences for a wide range of publications, including Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, New York magazine, Gotham, Gourmet Traveller, Coastal Living, Reader’s Digest and Outside. They have been chased by a grizzly bear and scared the living daylights out of a polar bear, swum with sharks in Tahiti and eaten rotten shark in Iceland, hiked across the world’s driest desert in Chile, and quenched their thirst with numerous umbrella drinks on numerous beaches around the world.

Adam and Emma are also currently at work on several other writing projects, including a novel, a globetrotting fantasy-adventure series and a guide to the world’s most romantic hotels.

You can also follow them on Twitter at: @adam_at_large and @sloleywandering.

Seabourn Odyssey in Venice

Do you want to know what it’s like to sail on Seabourn Quest? Then check out this great article by Ruthanne Terrero, editorial director of Luxury Travel Advisor magazine. She wrote about her experience when she was on board last December in the Caribbean. From dining and relaxing on the pool deck to the ship’s unique amenities, her story gives a great sense on what life is like on board when you sail on Seabourn Quest. Happy reading!

Luxury ship Seabourn Quest

Unanimous decision

Guests aboard Seabourn Odyssey were challenged by the entertainment team to create sea-worthy craft from materials on board. All guest-created ships were to be tested in the pool to ensure they would float, and preferably remain upright. The tank-testing was done on March 12 by Captain Bjarne Larsen and Staff Captain Todor Kantchev, and a clear winner emerged. Dubbed Seabourn Fashion, the elegant craft was laden to the gunwales with flair, and a bountiful cargo of je ne sais quoi that placed it at the head of the fleet. Mrs. Catherine Claus, who headed the winning team, had the following comment:
“It is my pleasure to send you herewith the picture of the winning ship Seabourn Fashion, built as an homage to all Seabourn elegant travelling ladies by a team of Belgian, French and Swiss engineers on their way to Bali!”

…and all through the galley, Seabourn Sojourn’s kitchen elves were fulfilling their tally
making gingerbread houses, and cookies and cakes
and just anything, really, that simmers or bakes.
But they took just a moment, to smile at the lens
and send Holiday greetings to all of their friends.

Happy Holidays from the Sojourn Galley Team!

 The spirit of giving is in full swing at Seabourn’s headquarters in Seattle. This holiday season, Seabourn teamed up with New Beginnings, a local organization that provides services to those whose lives have been affected by domestic violence, to provide gifts and necessary items to many families in need through the organization’s “Adopt-a-Family” program.

Seabourn’s Sales & Marketing team happily agreed to get involved and adopted a family of three – a mother and two daughters. After receiving the family’s wish list, the team went on a shopping spree to fulfill every item on the list, from dolls and toys to home and kitchen items.

The holidays are all about giving, and the team’s kindness and generosity will undoubtedly bring many smiles to this family!

Happy holidays everyone!

One of the best parts of sailing on Seabourn is the pleasure of meeting interesting people with interesting stories. Actress Stefanie Powers certainly qualifies in that regard. In an exceptionally durable career that started in 1960, she has portrayed countless characters in films and television series, portraying vixens, villains and victims in comedies, romances and mysteries. It is in that last category that she has excelled, most memorably as Jennifer Hart, the enchanting helpmate and foil to Robert Wagner’s suave Jonathan Hart in the long-lived TV series Hart to Hart. Ms. Powers will be sailing on board Seabourn Quest during the final segment of its 2013 world cruise departing Dubai on April 7, 2013. Will any mysteries be cleared up? Perhaps…

Actress Stefanie Powers will join guests on Seabourn Quest in April

Just as migratory birds fly south for the winter, Seabourn Pride and her crew departed the Northern European seas where they have spent the summer and entered the Mediterranean. They paused at Seville for a crew drill, and afterward snapped a quick farewell wave as they proceeded on their way through the Strait of Gibraltar toward Greece, Suez, the Red Sea and Singapore. Thanks to Hotel Director Nick Burger for sending us this photo.

Adios from sunny Sevilla!