“How does champagne in a submarine sound?” asked Gerald Mosslinger, Seabourn Cruise Line’s vice president of hotel operations.

Marrying a high-expectation food-and-beverage product with high-impact expedition cruising is no easy task. It has put Seabourn’s culinary minds to work in preparation for the line’s first purpose-built expedition ship, the Seabourn Venture, expected in mid 2021.

“We are still creating and innovating different ideas for the expedition ships, so we haven’t implemented anything just yet,” Mosslinger said. “We will offer many of our current culinary options on the new ships, so our guests will feel some familiarity. However, we’re working to incorporate some expedition elements while maintaining a sense of familiarity for those who have traveled with us in the past.”

Designer Adam Tihany is onboard to create dining venues with an eye to match and complement the ambiance of an expedition experience, Mosslinger said. The idea is to equally inspire guests while aboard and ashore.

“For instance, at The Restaurant, Tihany has kept natural elements at the forefront of his work for the expedition ships. The Restaurant will feature design inspired by the abstract, geometric nature of snowflakes, merging bold lines and shapes with a softness reminiscent of falling snow,” he said. “Leather wall paneling with visible stitching brings a unique three-dimensional diamond arrangement to the space, while blue and green carpeting with geometric patterns surrounds a central porcelain floor that recalls the natural sediment of a geode.”               Overhead lighting in the open seating venue will feature abstract diamond fixtures of ribbed glass and metal, inspired by the symmetry and complexity of snowflakes, and bronze mirror details. The space is supposed to sparkle, he said.

While the food and beverage teams are still creating menus of specific food and drink items for the expedition ships, Mosslinger said, this means there could also be the usual locally-sourced produce and seafood Seabourn passenger have come to expect. “Also, we may offer certain dishes in certain regions of the world, such as a particular type of stew in a cold-weather destination.”

“The design of the dining venues on the expedition ships will be some of the most noticeable changes,” he said. “But the service and level of cuisine will remain the same.”

Six dining venues are planned, as well as 24-hour room service:

The Colonnade is a casual restaurant for either buffet or table service. It will be open for breakfast, lunch, and themed dinners, including family-style menus by Michelin-starred Chef Thomas Keller. More casual dining will be at The Patio, where alfresco lunch can be had, weather permitting.

Sushi in the Amazon or Arctic? Why not. The Club will feature similar menu to sister restaurants on the Ovation and the Encore.

Coffee, pastries, sandwiches, and homemade gelati will be had at Seabourn Square throughout the day and into the evening. The ship will roast its own coffee in the space.

A new concept exclusive to the expedition ships, the Pantry in the Bow Lounge offers freshly-prepared light fare and refreshments overlooking the sea.

The Constellation Lounge is supposed to be a nod to Seabourn heritage. It’s a space for early-risers’ pastries and beverages, elegant afternoon tea, and cocktail-time tapas.

“This is very similar to what we offer in the Observation Lounge on the current fleet,” Mosslinger said.

Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Winter 2019-2020