On the longest day of the year, Seabourn Legend and Seabourn Quest met in passing at the island of Lipari in Italy. Seabourn Quest’s Cruise Sales Specialist Sara Ferreira sent us these pictures of Seabourn Legend. She commented: “Today Seabourn Legend and Seabourn Quest meet each other in Lipari – Italy. Unfortunately they were too far apart to get a picture of both, but we were able to get the attached photos when the Legend passed right by the Quest. Was great to see crew and guests waving to each other as true family.”

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.

They say a rising tide lifts all boats, and a tide of enthusiasm from cruise travelers has elevated our entire fleet to the top of Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s prestigious annual survey of its readers.

Seabourn was ranked above all other cruise ships, regardless of size, in the three all-important categories of Service, Food, and Accommodations in the 2011 edition of Condé Nast Traveler’s prestigious Gold List, published in the magazine’s January issue.  In the February issue, individual ship results show the 450-guest Seabourn Odyssey as the highest-rated cruise ship regardless of size. Odyssey’s smaller, 208-guest sisters Seabourn Spirit, Legend and Pride, are ranked number two, three and five respectively in the small-ship category. Odyssey’s twin sister, Seabourn Sojourn, debuted in June of 2010 and was not rated in the poll. Seabourn Legend, meanwhile, achieved the highest scores in several categories, including a perfect 100 for Crew/Service, 99.1 for Food/Dining and 97.4 for Schedule/Itineraries.

You can read more about the scores here: http://www.concierge.com/images/cnt/pdf/2011CruisePoll.pdf

“Scores like these would be an outstanding achievement under any circumstances,” noted Richard D. Meadows, Seabourn’s president. “But the fact that they were earned during a period of very rapid fleet expansion is a testament to the professionalism and passion of Seabourn’s onboard management and their staffs.”

Receiving such distinguished awards would not be possible without our stellar staff, who are 100% committed to providing lifelong travel memories for our guests.  We’re very honored for this recognition … THANK YOU!!!

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!

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.

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…)

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. (more…)

On a recent visit to Deshaies, Guadeloupe, the weather was so fantastic that the staff aboard Seabourn Legend decided to deploy the marina and offer guests a lovely afternoon of water sports off the marina.  Kayaks, banana boats, and waterskiing were available right from the back of Legend for our guests to enjoy on this beautiful day in Deshaies.

In these photos, you can see the preparations of getting the floating pool-cage into the water and the end result of guests enjoying a wonderful afternoon onboard Seabourn Legend.