Living the Yachting Dream
By James Shillinglaw, CTC

Like many others, I've dreamed of owning my own yacht, but the closest I ever came to doing so was helping the owner of my former magazine get a much larger boat for himself . Last week, however, I took a seven-day Caribbean cruise on SeaDream II, one of SeaDream Yacht Club's two identical 100-plus passenger vessels. And for seven days, at least, I could live the dream of having my own yacht, as I explored some of the Caribbean's smallest and most exclusive destinations on a roundtrip sailing out of St. Maarten. We made stops in Anguilla, Virgin Gorda, Anegada (which I had never even heard of), Jost Van Dyke, St. Croix and St. Barths.

SeaDream Yacht Club was formed five years ago when Atle Brynestad, a Norwegian industrialist and entrepreneur, purchased the two Sea Goddess ships from Carnival Corp. (they had been part of the Cunard fleet). Brynestad proceeded to completely renovate the vessels under the guidance of Larry Pimentel, president and CEO, the former CEO of Cunard and Seabourn. Pimentel, a recognized expert in luxury travel, has helped build a company that is now rated among the top luxury cruise lines, according the readers' polls of such magazines as Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure.

So what's different about SeaDream? The first answer comes down to service (and probably the next two answers as well). Like its sister ship, SeaDream II is an older vessel (nearly 20 years). It has no balcony cabins (which seem to be all the rage in cruising these days), and it has somewhat limited facilities, compared to larger luxury vessels. The renovation, however, produced several unique areas –including the outdoor Top of the Ship bar, a number of sun beds on both the port and starboard sides of the ship, a larger spa and fitness area and a plush library. For such a small ship, the cabins are quite large and well-designed, including a bathroom with one of the largest showers I've ever seen.

The real stars, however, are the crew, who quickly learn and use the names of each passenger on board. SeaDream II's captain, Erik Anderssen, is extraordinarily friendly and accommodating. You can even stroll up to the bridge to watch him take the ship out of most ports. He even quotes a bit of poetry during his several public appearances in front of the passengers.

And as for the experiences available on SeaDream II, try a few of these: You can sleep on the top deck under the stars in one of the double sun beds that your cabin steward has made up for you. During the day you can use (for free) the ship's jet skis, banana boats, kayaks or sailboats, or go windsurfing or waterskiing from the watersports platform that is lowered in every port.

You can have dinner any time between 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. either in the lavish but intimate restaurant on Deck 2, or eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner on some evenings in the ship's outdoor restaurant, located on several different levels in the ship's top decks. You can dine on caviar and champagne served from a surfboard floating next to a beach during a lunchtime barbecue. And believe me, the food is on par with the best around at sea (my extra pounds can tell you that).

You can also meet, in a much more intimate setting, many of your fellow passengers, who come from all walks of life, and all manner of professions. There's much more time to interact and talk, and experience the ports together. And those passengers seem to like those shared experiences very much: On our voyage, 39 percent of the 104 guests were repeat cruisers.

So if you're looking for a very special yacht-like experience for your clients, SeaDream Yacht Club might just be the right fit.