A paradise on sea is what will come first to anyone’s mind who would have taken a tour on board this mega yacht that speaks of luxury and class. The ultra luxury SeaDream II yacht that made its debut visit on the Indian shores anchored in Kochi on Wednesday as part of their “Passage to the Far East” voyage. SeaDream Yacht Club considered ‘The World’s Best’ by acclaimed critics worldwide had brought its ultra luxury yachting experience to Indian waters for the first time, showing that the yachting culture is really catching up in India which has been a popular concept in America.
“For Indians yachting is a new concept but in America and all, yachts are like their home in the sea. Now the country is also picking up this new lifestlye,” says Sudesh Kishore, president, SeaDream Yacht Club, India Corporate Chef. Sudesh is the man responsible for introducing SeaDream yachting in India.
‘It’s yachting, not cruising’ the tagline holds true t every word. Unlike big cruise ships which takes on board hundreds of passengers, SeaDream Yacht Club pampers only a maximum of 112 guests and an award-winning crew of 95. “Each and every guest onboard will have a crew taking care of their specialised needs,” says Gitanjali Balani, director, In Rhythm & India representative for SeaDream.
The yacht which is famed globally for its award-winning cuisine is an adventure for the tastebuds. “As we have guests from around the globe, our cuisine is more of a ‘confluence cuisine’, which will have a combination of food items from around the globe prepared by our speciality chefs. Our menu can also be tailor made according to the guests and the region that the yacht is travelling. For instance as we are covering the Indian shores we make it a point to include Indian dishes in the menu for our guests,” adds Kishore.
SeaDream II with 112 passengers has also one Indian couple from Mumbai who is celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary onboard.
There are four categories of staterooms and all the 54 staterooms have ocean view. Other highlights are the fitness center featuring wide ocean views and state of the art equipment, a Thai spa to rejuvenate oneself, golf in the 30 course Golf Simulator or people looking for land adventure while on shore can go for mountain biking and other sight seeing.
SeaDream Yacht Club founded by Norwegian entrepreneur Atle Brynestad was established in 2001. Its itineraries are designed to visit the intimate ports, harbors and yachting playgrounds that larger ships cannot reach. It can be chartered even for corporate product launches, parties, weddings and private voyages. To hire the whole SeaDream yacht for a seven day voyage will cost around `3.5 crore. The yacht left the Kochi shore on Wednesday night to Colombo.