In late March and early April, to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary, we took an 11-day cruise from Singapore to Mumbai, India.
The cruise was a segment of the 116-day long 2014 World Cruise on the Seabourn Sojourn.
We loved this cruise.
Even though we spent six out of 11 days at sea, rather than in ports, we had a fabulous time.
One of the main reasons we had such a great time was because the outstanding 330-some staff members on the Seabourn Sojourn, who never stopped trying to make sure that each guest was having a great time.
These are 11 of our favorite staff members who made our days on board the Sojourn extra special.
This is Claudia who worked in the Patio Bar. She always served with a smile, and made creamy, delicious mudslides to cool you off on a hot day.
Matias from Portugal seemed to be everywhere. He was a wine server who never let your glass get empty in the Restaurant. During port days he always was waiting outside the ship to welcome you back onboard with a cool towel. Plus, he served in the pool area.
Some people work so hard you don’t have time to get their name. This man made the espresso drinks at the Seabourn Cafe in Seabourn Square, and he was always busy making cappuccinos and lattes while serving up slices of Grandma’s cake and other goodies.
One day I was intrigued to attend Sarah and Adele’s art class on making Thai paper beads. I’ve never been to an art class in my life. Californians, both Sarah and Adele instantly made me feel welcome and creative, and I got to take home a terrific bracelet from that one class. These two were also terrific dinner hosts, and worked where ever they were on the ship to bring fun people together.
While this photo is from the Caviar in the Surf event, it includes two of our favorite Seabourn staffers. One the left is Nicholas Botha, who in addition serving up caviar in the pool, ran a terrific restaurant. Nicholas is the Manager of the Restaurant, and always got guests seated quickly and graciously during the popular 7:30 pm dinner “rush”.
On the right is Melissa from South Africa. She was our server in Restaurant 2 during two nights of extensive tasting menus, during which she explained each of the six courses in detail. We also always saw her working hard during breakfast in the Colonnade.
Every night after dinner and/or after the show, we headed up to Deck 10 to the Observation Bar. Here we enjoyed Lisa Hasty on the piano playing melodies as we enjoyed cocktails and conversations.
We nicknamed this the “Ice Bar” because of its blue lighting and cool temperature, which we appreciated greatly in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Claudio was the bartender extraordinaire in the “Ice Bar” – always making your drink before you had even thought to order it. This was the best bar, although any bar with Claudio behind it is probably the ‘best’ bar.
The singer in this photo is Assistant Cruise Director Sophie Tehrani, who, in addition to being a talented singer, was always present around the ship interacting with guests. From leading Zumba in the morning to escorting tours on shore days to chatting with guests during cocktail hour, Sophie is a bundle of positive energy and fun.
Also in this photo above (lower right corner) is Nadine from Austria, who was our room stewardess. We rarely saw Nadine in person but we were very aware of all of her work continually keeping our suite in tip top condition and fully stocked with fresh lime slices and sparkling water.
These 11 superstars are just some of the many superb staffers on the Sojourn that make a cruise Seabourn something truly special.
Have you sailed on Seabourn? Who do you remember that made your cruise something special?
Check out these other posts about our adventures cruising on the Seabourn Sojourn:
- Setting Sail from Singapore on the Seabourn Sojourn
- A Day by Day Look at Cruising 11-Days on the Seabourn Sojourn
- Thai Gastronomy at the Blue Elephant Cooking School in Phuket, Part 1
- Thai Gastronomy at the Blue Elephant Cooking School in Phuket, Part 2
- Thai Gastronomy at the Blue Elephant Cooking School in Phuket, Part 3
- Experiencing the Life and Lore of Colombo, Sri Lanka
- 7 Favorite “Naughty” Pleasures on the Seabourn Sojourn
- Touring Goa, India by Taxi
- 11 Days of Menus from the Seabourn Sojourn World Cruise