Zoe is one of two work experience students who joined us at Cruise Line House this week. Having never been on a cruise holiday before – and knowing very little about cruising when she first walked in the door this morning – we set Zoe the challenge of writing a blog post for us on SeaDream Yacht Club. She spent the rest of the day reading SeaDream brochures, watching promotional videos and asking our Cruise Experts questions and even interviewing the UK Managing Director of SeaDream before writing up her contribution which you can read below. She did a fantastic job!
I want to live the SeaDream – by Zoe Stevens
SeaDream Yacht Club is one of the most highly thought of, most impressive and well respected yachting companies. To travel on one of their beautiful yachts would be a dream come true; I would adore travelling to Asia, around Europe or even around the UK. The first yacht was launched 30 years ago which proves that this company has an infinite amount of experience under their belt; you can voyage comfortably and contently. SeaDream II was voted ‘Best Boutique Boat’ by Berlitz Guide which proves how outstanding the yacht, service and experience must be! The fact that the slogan for the company is “It’s yachting, not cruising” proves that this is such a high end, service led company which strives for the best.
INTIMACY
This company prides itself on the intimacy of the voyages. With only 112 guests but 95 members of crew, I feel as though I would be suitably pampered! This ratio is almost one to one… there will never be a moment when you cannot find help! The staff are said to be friendly, accommodating and very respectful to each and every passenger. Just imagine how satisfied you will feel for the duration of your voyage, waited upon, hand and foot. Perfection. As much as I love to bake and cook, I would much rather be given the delicious food, freshly made by a top chef! The yachts are small enough to circumnavigate yourself in a short amount of time, but they are large enough to find a quiet corner to have a bit of ‘me time’.
WHERE CAN I GO?
SeaDream offer a huge array of different voyages for different types of people. Personally, I would take pleasure in travelling around Asia, visiting Thailand, Java and Vietnam. With a choice of 11 or 17 nights (I would personally go for 17, just for the full experience!), you can visit the attractive, traditional areas of Asia and enjoy fine dining, on and off of the ship. To submerge myself the oriental style would be amazing and to experience life out of Europe would be astonishing.
Imagine yourself on board a yacht, peacefully drifting though the crystal clear water, sipping a cocktail and sun bathing. One of the cheaper, yet just as fascinating cruises will take you from Croatia to Italy. Here, you can dock in smaller, more quiet areas of the land and enjoy the sun, the serenity and the speciality cuisine. 5 nights of pure heaven!
For those of us who cannot fly, or cannot pack lightly enough for a plane journey, there is a no fly voyage which attracts many people from the UK. For 14 nights, you can travel aboard the Dover Roundtrip. Starting and ending at Dover, this voyage will take you past some magnificent areas: St, Petersburg, Ruegen Island and Faaborg.
WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD
Dining on board any SeaDream yacht is an experience I would love to partake in! The food looks mouth wateringly delicious and the Al Fresco dining looks incredible. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, I know I would never be hungry! In fact, a previous customer of these voyages said that the “food and dining is second to none”.
WHAT CAN I DO ON BOARD?
There is such a wide array of activities to keep you interested during your voyage; I don’t know what I’d do first! Water skiing, kayaking and jet skiing are just a few of the once in a lifetime water sports that you can partake in, how incredible is that? The yachts also have a gym, a spa, swimming pools, libraries and many lounges to relax in and enjoy some peace. One of the top selling points of SeaDream voyages is that, if you wish, you can sleep under the stars in a beautifully made bed with soft Turkish cotton pyjamas on. To fall asleep gazing at the stunning stars would be just flawless. With the clear air and clear skies making you feel as though you are in another world, you would drift off to sleep like a queen. I feel as though a SeaDream voyage is faultless; I would absolutely love to experience one of these idyllic holidays in heaven.
HOW DO I KNOW IT’S GOING TO BE FABULOUS?
Roger White and Janet Hobart are two incredibly lucky people who have lived the dream; they have travelled on board a SeaDream voyage more than once and have visited many areas of the world. After their first SeaDream voyage, they said “We have found the best”. When talking about the intimacy of the voyage, the couple said that they “Look upon members of the crew as friends”. They also thoroughly enjoyed the cuisine and ambiance of the informal and relaxed yet unbelievably impressive restaurants.
WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT SEADREAM?
SeaDream offers something that most other companies cannot: dining topside. Being in the middle of the Mediterranean eating the scrumptious food and enjoying the heat is an offer I could not refuse, and thanks to the closeness and tranquillity of this experience, SeaDream can offer every single passenger this remarkable experience.
ANDREW MAGOWAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR UK
During an incredibly informative hugely helpful phone call with Andrew Magowan, Managing Director of SeaDream, he told me that SeaDream is “genuinely different and very close to being on your own private, luxurious yacht” which sounds absolutely perfect because, inevitably, that is the dream for most of us, am I right? Andrew also said that SeaDream do allow children, but do not have any crèches or anything similar. He told me that this is because they want to make you feel as though you are on your own yacht on a private family holiday. During our phone call, Andrew also reiterated the fact that the customers and crew have a very special relationship; it has also been known for passengers to ask the crew for the dates they are working the following year so that they can book. This shows an astonishing amount of exceptional service and trust from the passenger to the crew member. To have such a bond is something that Andrew Magowan is incredibly proud of. When I asked Andrew about his favourite voyage, he told me that he had most enjoyed yachting around the Caribbean. “The area is so relaxed, as is our yacht and therefore, it works really really well for us to pull into tiny ports and enjoy ourselves on the beaches”.
Needless to say, Andrew didn’t need to say much to persuade me, I think I’d enjoy the Caribbean experience! SeaDream is such a remarkable and outstanding company who are utterly impressive and personal. As much as I love England, I think I’d much prefer to be yachting around the Caribbean. Please.
Copyright Zoe Stevens 2013 – This blog represents the thoughts, feelings and learnings of its author and cannot be guaranteed for accuracy
