SeaDream Chefs Share Their Recipies in New Cookbook

Here's a fun holiday gift for SeaDream fans and those who like to tackle new recipes: the newly published Dream Cuisine: An Adventure for the Senses cookbook from the chefs aboard SeaDream I and SeaDream II.

Executive Chef d’ Cuisine, Robert van Rijsbergen, spearheaded the creation of the cookbook to include “a subtle combination of classic French culinary techniques, sophisticated international offerings, and a mingling of Asian influences.”

The book presents more than 90 recipes and covers hors d’oeuvres, appetizers, lunch and dinner entrees, desserts, and a unique spa menu. Vegetarian choices are also highlighted.

Some of the dishes you can now prepare at home in the SeaDream method include:

Gratinated Escargot—served with aubergine caviar and mushrooms
Thai-Style Chili Garlic Quail—served with Basmati rice and coriander
Sautéed “Gariguette” Strawberries—with candied black olives and olive oil ice cream
L’Oeuf Poule au Caviar “Surprise”—caviar served in an egg shell
Cream of Pumpkin Soup—garnished with pumpkin seeds, a bit of lobster and whipped cream
Champagne Sorbet—enhanced by a drop or two of Kirschwasser
Honey and Five Spice Roast Saddle of Veal—served with caramelized Belgian endive
Lemon Soufflé

If you're into fine wine, there's even a section devoted to the SeaDream wine cellar at sea, its bar menu featuring unusual beverages, and SeaDream’s noted and playful Champagne & Caviar Splash.

“We have received so many wonderful compliments from our guests about their dining experiences with us that it just made perfect sense to publish this Dream Cuisine cookbook," noted the company's President, CEO, and Co-Owner, Larry Pimentel. "It was a labor of love and I hope it not only reminds our guests of one of the great joys of sailing with us, but also sends them into their home kitchens to try some of these recipes.”

SeaDream Owner Atle Brynestad added, “As a family-owned and operated company, we strive to provide each guest with a memorable yachting holiday experience. We welcome all guests as if we were welcoming them into our own home, which in a way, we are.”

The Dream Cuisine cookbook is available for $30 per copy (plus shipping) through the Boutique section of SeaDream’s website and in the onboard Boutiques on SeaDream I and II.

Photo courtesy of SeaDream.

Unique Black Sea Voyage Aboard SeaDream

I don't usually discuss specific cruise itineraries unless I'm writing a review, but here's a new offering from SeaDream that's a bit out of the ordinary. While there are many, many Western Mediterranean offerings, SeaDream I's voyage #1835 sailing from Istanbul, Turkey on August 23, 2008 will focus on the Black Sea.

Ports of call include:

Nessebar, Bulgaria—A UNESCO World Heritage site, the well-preserved city is known for its medieval architecture including many churches.
Constanta, Romania—Here, in this prominent Black Sea port-of-call, the history of winemaking dates back to the 4th century.
Odessa, Ukraine—Founded in 1783 by Russia’s Catherine the Great, this prosperous, cosmopolitan city is home to Count Leo Tolstoy’s elaborate mansion.
Sevastopol, Ukraine—Where Count Tolstoy began his career, Sevastopol is a popular Medieval-style seaside resort referred to as the “Gem of the Crimean Riviera.”
Yalta, Ukraine—Summer residence of the Russian Czars, Yalta was the site of the 1945 historic World War II meeting of Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.

Priced from $5,399 per person, based on double occupancy of staterooms, the voyage (as do all SeaDream voyages) includes all meals, complimentary wines with luncheon and dinner, an open bar, and use of “water toys” from the yacht’s stern Marina and gratuities.

If you're interested in doing a back-to-back cruise, you can opt for either a pre or post seven-night Greek Isles sailing. Prices for the combined voyages are from $10,259 per person, double occupancy.

For more information, visit SeaDream's website.

Photo courtesy of SeaDream Yacht Club.

Seabourn Odyssey Website Launched

Have you reserved a cruise during Seabourn Odyssey's inaugural season in 2009? If not, you might want to surf over to http://www.seabournodyssey.com to learn a bit more about this forthcoming 32,000-ton luxury cruise ship.

The site showcases artists' renderings of the ship's exterior, various public rooms, the ship's open-seating restaurant, pool patio, suite accommodations, water sports marina, and more. You can also access documentary-style photos taken at the shipyard in Porto Nogaro, Italy, where the construction of the hull is underway.

If you do wish to sail during Seabourn Odyssey's maiden year, you can find full itineraries and fare information for each voyage at this site. There are 13 categories of ocean-view suites, from a 295-square foot Category A Seabourn Suite to the four, super extravagant Grand Suites incorporating up to 1,182 square feet of indoor space and as many as three private verandas adding another 301 square feet of private space. Depending on voyage and suite category, fares range from $3,387 to $49,247 per person, double occupancy.

In addition, Seabourn Odyssey's inaugural world cruise, set to embark in January of 2010, is outlined in a special section, which displays the complete 108-day itinerary and invites interested travelers to put their names on a waiting list for reservations, which will open on February 1, 2008.

Although considerably larger than her smaller 10,000-ton sister ships, the new vessel will carry just over twice as many guests (450), boasting among the highest space-per-guest ratios (71.1) in the cruise industry and nearly one staff member per guest.

For more information, visit this new website for Seabourn Odyssey.

Illustration courtesy of Seabourn.