Get Premium access to all the latest content online
Subscribe and view full print editions online... Subscribe
Discover the ultra-luxurious Seabourn Ovation cruise
From Rotterdam, she could have gone anywhere but, aboard the ultra-luxurious Seabourn Ovation, with restaurants that include Japanese and Mediterranean and a never-ending supply of local ingredients, Marina Spironetti sailed north towards the 'Norwegian Riviera'.
Rotterdam's futuristic skyline of high-rise buildings and architectural marvels glides before our eyes as we snake our way along the Nieuwe Maas river, heading back to the North Sea. Behind us, the harp-shaped Erasmus bridge soars over Europe’s largest port.
Setting sail to a new destination is always a momentous momentduring a
cruise – even more so on days like this, when the sun breaks through in
time to deliver a sunset show to take in from the Sky Bar on Deck 10,
champagne in hand. It’s also a great vantage point to watch the joyful
scene in the pool patio below, where guests enjoy sundowners of gin and
tonic and platters of canapés. It’s the most perfect ending to the third
day of our Scandinavia and Kiel Canal cruise on board Seabourn Ovation,
the newest addition to Seabourn’s ocean fleet, which first set sail in
2018. The 11-day cruise departed from Dover and takes in Antwerp,
Rotterdam, Oslo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen, together with smaller gems
of the Norwegian coastline, such as Kristiansand.
There is something decadent and addictive about cruising – in the case of Ovation, it’s not just the slower pace in a world that is so much faster, but also the smaller dimension of the vessel compared with similar ultra-luxury cruises. Accommodating up to 600 guests and 416 crew members, it comes close to a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio. In other words, you get seriously spoilt.
Next on our agenda is a window table at elegant The Restaurant on Deck 4. Almost at water level, it’s perfect to enjoy the seemingly endless Nordic daylight. ‘How were your eggs Benedict?’ assistant maître d’hôtel Savio Gonsalves asks with the sweetest of smiles before taking our orders. Momentarily, the question baffles us. It’s easy to be forgetful on board, when time and space become more relative concepts than ever, so it takes us a moment to remember we started our day with breakfast being served on our private veranda. And, yes, besides crisp waffles and buttery croissants we had eggs Benedict. Perfectly poached with a warm, creamy, unbroken hollandaise. ‘Were they the right temperature?’ asks Savio. We confirm they were flawless.
Remembering guests’ in-room breakfast orders and ensuring everything was to their satisfaction when you next see them over dinner is one example of the unmatched customer service on board – something you’d usually find only in Michelin-starred restaurants. Undeniably, it’s easy to feel incredibly pampered – and, unusual for luxury cruises, this comes at no additional cost, from osetra malossol caviar by the pool to an extensive selection of excellent, complimentary wines.
It was all clear the moment we set foot in our impeccably appointed veranda suite, where a bottle of champagne was waiting in the ice bucket, right next to an en-suite bar where complimentary wines and spirits are restocked daily according to your preferences.
Our spacious accommodation, featuring a walk-in wardrobe, large marble bathroom with double vanities, a full tub and Molton Brown toiletries exclusively designed for Seabourn, creates a five-star-hotel vibe that makes you almost forget you’re at sea. Stepping on to your veranda is all it takes to remind you there’ll be a new view each day, from Antwerp’s gothic cathedral to the visionary architectures of the Opera House in Oslo, looking like a fragment of iceberg drifted into the Oslofjord.
The following day at sea gives us the opportunity to visit all our most-beloved places on board: The Patio bar on Deck 9 with a wide selection of healthy smoothies for breakfast; the café on Seabourn Square, where barista Paul Smart serves speciality coffees, roasting their own coffee beans once a day; the intimate Sushi restaurant on deck 8, where bento boxes are served at lunchtime; and the elegant Observation Bar on deck 11. Its panoramic 270-degree views make it the perfect spot for anything from afternoon tea (yes, proper scones, jam and everything) to aperitivo.
There we meet head sommelier Izlem Yilmaz,from Türkiye. ‘Wine is a constant journey of discovery and so is being at sea. Doing my job on a cruise ship is quite special,’ she says while pouring us a generous glass of Coteaux Bourguignons. ‘We don’t have a standard wine menu on board as it changes accordingly to our location and itinerary, but we always have something like 30 complimentary wines – including champagne and port. And all of them are excellent labels,’ she says.
Come evening, it’s time for our most-awaited dinner at Solis, the newest restaurant on board. As with any upscale restaurant, the atmosphere is intimate. We start at the bar, where all the cocktails are named after actors in La Dolce Vita. Our love for the eponymous movie compels us to order a Marcello Mastroianni right away. Served in an exquisite etched coupe glass, this is a sparkling spin on a Bellini – think peach and mango purée with peach liqueur spiced up with peach bitters and topped off with Prosecco. Deliciously sweet, just like Marcello used to be.
The restaurant menu is an emotional journey across the flavours of the Mediterranean and features anything from Marseillaise bouillabaisse to bistecca alla Fiorentina. A commitment to simplicity and high-end ingredients defines every dish – a deliciously fresh tuna carpaccio, a light tzatziki dip accompanied by crisp, thinly sliced aubergines and perfectly cooked trofie al pesto. The sauce is as authentic as it gets – bright, herby, mild and delicate – coming straight from the kitchen of Genoa’s renowned Zeffirino restaurant.
Although the complimentary wine list is extensive, we decide to follow our sommelier’s advice and go for a classic pairing with a glass of 2021 Sigalas Assyrtiko-Athiri from Santorini. Its fruit-driven palate and saline backbone is a perfect match with the homemade lobster ravioli. ‘Solis is all about the warmth of Mediterranean countries. Nice ingredients, fresh fish, first-quality olive oil,’ explains executive chef Jes Peskins, who’s been on a 14-year voyage across the seven seas with Seabourn and is now at the helm of a small empire of six galleys and 65 chefs.
‘Using fresh local ingredients allows us to cook more à la minute, which also means less waste,’ he continues. ‘Specials change on a regular basis depending on the ingredients found during our visits to local markets on days at port.’
This is as true for the other restaurants, which we discover for ourselves the following morning, when we join a small group of fellow travellers for our Shopping with the Chef experience. The landscape we wake up to is a completely different one – an intricate geography of small inlets, where the intense red and yellow of the wooden houses stands out against the verdant backdrop of the Nordic countryside. ‘Welcome to the Norwegian Riviera,’ exclaims Jes, who is in a jolly good mood as always, as we disembark in the peaceful port of Kristiansand. The capital of Norway’s southern coastal region, it’s nicknamed The Summer City since the Gulf Stream keeps temperatures mild and snow to a minimum, making it Norway’s outdoor playground.
As we follow Jes along a small network of wooden piers and bridges, we learn more about his passion for cooking. He started at a very early age, gaining experience at several health farms in England, which led him to work for Mosimann’s in London, one of the most prestigious private dining clubs in the world. Life at sea was the next step, and a life-changing one that significantly broadened his horizons both in terms of geography and gastronomy.
He remembers his early days, when he was the only Brit in the kitchen. ‘The Austrians and the Germans taught me how to cook with fat, butter, sugar, heavy cream, alcohol. That hit my world. Who you work with and where they’re from makes such a difference. Here on Seabourn Ovation, on the other hand, I am learning a lot about Asian food from the Filipinos, as well as from Kei Ito, our amazing Japanese chef at Sushi. He is amazing. You start picking up their little things, combining them with your own experience, and the result is some great food,’ he says as we enter the red wooden building of Fiskebrygga, the local fish market.
The stalls are brimming with freshly caught fish and other local delicacies from deer sausages to a rather popular caviar-based spread. Fishmonger Jenny Framnes tempts us to taste smoked wild salmon. ‘There’s nothing more Norwegian than salmon,’ she says while handing out a tray of fish cakes, ‘but I’d also recommend the breiflabb, a bottom-dwelling fish living from the littoral zone down to 600m depth or more along the coast and fjords. It looks really ugly – a huge head and a body shaped like a narrowing tail – but it’s got a sweet flavour and succulent, firm flesh. It’s a real delicacy.’
Meanwhile, Jes is the one doing some serious shopping, calculator in hand, working out conversion rates and negotiating prices. ‘We get local produce from shoreside wherever we are sailing,’ he explains. ‘Being able to work with fresh ingredients from all over the world is one of the things I love the most about my job. You’re sailing around Norway, so you want to taste something Norwegian. You get to use funky, little-known things like cloudberries. How cool is that? Depending on where you go, your favourite ingredients change: the passion fruits tasting like strawberries and lemons in Spain; amazing teas at the market in Ho Chi Min City – you put them in the water and the flowers open up; and the Mediterranean’s sun-dried tomatoes, cheeses and flat mountain peaches,’ he says as all his orders are neatly packed ready to be loaded onboard. ‘Today’s catch includes fresh shrimps for the lunch buffet, brown goats’ cheese and cold cuts for our final Epicurean dinner, fresh ling cod for the Chef’s Special and mackerel for live cooking in The Colonnade restaurant or at the Patio.’
As we walk back to the ship, Jes reveals his passion for the big blue. ‘Living on a ship you get addicted to the sea, the fresh air, the ingredients you come across. I can’t ask for more, really. I am happy,’ he says simply. ‘Going back to the mainland is not an option,’ he concludes. ‘Tried once, didn’t last long.’ Back on board, amid all the luxuries of Seabourn Ovation, and with so much yet to discover as we’re not even halfway through our Norwegian adventure, we’re already starting to think like Jes.
Marina Spironetti travelled aboard Seabourn Ovation courtesy of Seabourn.
Sign up here to receive more information about Seabourn:
Subscribe now for your chance to win a Seabourn Molton Brown Gift Set (worth £150) and receive an extra issue.
The Molton Brown Limited Edition ‘Seabourn Collection’ is a luxurious creation of exotic fragrances, designed exclusively for Seabourn guests. To enter the draw to win one of the five exclusive sets, simply subscribe to Food and Travel now and enter the code 2739 (UK) at checkout. Offer expires 30 September 2024.
Sponsored by Seabourn
