The Yachts of Seabourn

Seabourn's cuisine is very, very good and remains one of the line's strong points, as it does with peers Silversea, Crystal, and Regent.

Traditional -- Fleetwide, dining is offered in a single open seating in the main dining rooms, The Restaurant, allowing guests to dine whenever they choose and with whomever they want, between about 7 and 10pm. Dinner service is high-style, with waiters dramatically lifting silver lids off dishes in unison and almost running at a trot through the elaborate, six-course European service. Typically service is attentive and unobtrusive, and the waitstaff is programmed to please.

Celebrity restaurateur Charlie Palmer, of New York's Aureole fame, is behind the ships' menus, with the ships' chefs training in Palmer's shore-side restaurants. Five entrees change nightly, including one vegetarian.

One night may feature dishes such as a Mediterranean-style pan seared halibut with anchovies and served with a warm, niçoise-style salad, capers and black olives, or a duo of grilled hanger steak and Guinness braised short rib served with grain mustard mashed potatoes and tomato compote. A cheese course is also typically offered, along with appropriate accompaniments (fruit, honey, breads, cured meats, and so on) There's also a vegetarian selection such as potato leek crepes with Gruyère, young vegetables, and garlic confit or a polenta and mushroom cake with creamy leek stew and tomato sauce. A lighter choice is also available, including entrees such as crab lasagna with tomato basil coulis, and so is a standing a la carte menu with such staples as Caesar salad, angel-hair pasta, baked salmon, chicken breast, New York strip steak, grilled beef filet, and broiled lamb chops. If nothing on the menu appeals to you, just ask for something you'd prefer: Decadent desserts includes the likes of a milk chocolate and peanut butter bombe with bittersweet chocolate sorbet and roasted peanut anglaise. If the chef has the ingredients aboard, he'll prepare whatever you'd like. Want to dine alone as a couple? Not a problem. The maitre d' will be aware of preferences, and will also be aware of solo travelers who may like company.

Formal nights (two per weeklong cruise) are very formal, in spite of the casual world we live in, with virtually every male present in a tuxedo and ladies in sequins and gowns. On other nights, things have relaxed somewhat as Seabourn stays focused on attracting a younger crowd (younger, as in 40- and 50-somethings), and ties are not required. Regardless, passengers always look very pulled together. On formal nights in the Restaurant, the Veranda Café is jackets-only (no tie) for men.

Complimentary wines (about 18 on any given cruise) and champagne are served at lunch and dinner, as well as at any time and place on the ships (ditto for spirits and soft drinks); an extensive list of other vintages is also available. For those with exceedingly refined palates, Seabourn introduced a special collection of wines called Vintage Seabourn. For $150, guests can choose three bottles from a list of six premium white and six premium red wines (or choose six bottles for $300). White varieties have include a Domaine Laroche "Les Blanchots" and a Laetittia Pinto Noir.

Casual -- As a casual alternative for breakfast and lunch, the Veranda Café, with indoor and outdoor seating, offers a combination buffet and table-service menu. At breakfast, omelets are made to your specifications and an impressive fresh-fruit selection includes papaya, mango, raspberries, and blackberries; at lunch, you'll find salads, sandwich makings, fresh pasta, and maybe jumbo shrimp, smoked salmon, and smoked oysters, plus hot sliced roast beef, duck, and ham on the carving board. Every evening per cruise, including on formal nights, the Veranda Café is transformed in to a new venue called "2" that features multicourse tasting menus for as many as 50 guests a night (reservations are suggested). A pair of chefs prepares an array of small plates typically served two to a course during the five- to six-course meals. Expect such dishes as spring rolls with soy, Thai and chile dipping sauces; soba noodle and seaweed salad with sesame vinaigrette; lobster bisque with black truffle cappuccino; grilled Striped Bass with a roasted vegetables; and braised beef short ribs with celery-potato mash and beef jus. You meal might end with something like vanilla beignets sauced with caramel apple, fudge and chocolate along with white and milk chocolate ice pralines. The outdoor seating offers a rare opportunity to dine with the sea breezes and night sky surrounding you -- it's a beautiful thing. The ambience is more casual here than The Restaurant, and the dress codes follow suit; on formal "black tie" nights in the Restaurant, jackets but no ties for men are suggested in 2.

One night on each warm-weather itinerary includes a festive buffet dinner served out on deck by the pool (jumbo shrimp and caviar can also be ordered poolside, or anywhere else, at no charge -- aren't you salivating just reading this?), and silver-service beach barbecues -- complete with china and linen, and, of course, champagne and caviar in the surf -- are also a big hit in remote ports such as Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, tiny Mayreau in the Grenadines, and Hunting Caye in Belize.

Snacks & Extras -- Daily afternoon tea service includes a slew of exotic teas, freshly loose-brewed to order, from Bleu Peacock, a mildly caffeinated, premium blend of Chinese and fancy Formosa Oolong tea that fuses a strong fruity flavor with a hint of chocolate, to brews like Green Tea Passion, a blend of guava, pineapple and strawberry and other tropical fruits. Room service is available 24 hours a day on all ships. During normal lunch or dinner hours, your private multicourse meal can mirror the dining room service, right down to the silver, crystal, and porcelain. Don't expect the same level of service dining this way (courses may arrive together) as you would in the ships' restaurants, but do expect a very cushy, lazy way of "ordering in" one night. Outside of mealtimes, the room-service menu is more limited, though you can order treats such as jumbo shrimp and caviar along with the more humdrum burgers, salads, sandwiches, pizza, pastas, ice-cream, and cookies. In-cabin breakfasts are popular, and you can have your eggs prepared any way you like them.