***Live from the Legend Athens-Mumbai***

[Seabourntraveller]

Main Restaurant Dinner Menu

 

First Course:

 

Smoked Game Hen & Asparagus Terrine, tarragon coulis

Citrus Marinated Smoked Halibut, ruby red grapefruit and ginger crackling

Oven Baked Duck Spring Roll, chili spiced cucumber salad, oriental dipping sauce

Sweet Onion Consomme, caramelized onions, sauteed foie gras

White Bean Potage, smoked bacon, escarole, garlic croutons

Mesclun Lettuce & Overnight Tomatoes, white beans, artichoke, green beans and pancetta

Boston Bib & Roasted Beet Salad, crisp salsify, red wine vinaigrette

 

Main Course:

 

Seared Sea BAss with Thyme Braised Leeks, cauliflower cream, polonaise sauce

Grilled Nigerian Shrimp, chorizo saffron risotto, tomato marmalade

Carved Oven Roasted Double Cut Pork Chop, proscuitto-gruyere filling, spinach spaetzle, sauce charcuterie

Grilled Fillet Mignon, parmesan potato gratin, roasted shallot marmalade

Vegetarian-Three Cheese Tortellini, corn puree, herb oil

 

 

Restaurant 2 theme "Tasting"

 

Chef's Cocktail: Caviar in the Cloud, Foggy Potatoes

 

Cowboy Roll-Seared Flank Steak, Potobello, Seasame Sauce

Barbequed Salmon-Jalapeno, Cucumber, Melted Mozzarella, Wasabi Mayo

Duck Confit Pop-Roasted Pepper Relish, Creamy Chili Dip

 

Tea Smoked Game Presse, Chestnut Spaetzle

Porcini & Chestnut Cappuccino, Honey Spiced Squab & Fig Empanada

 

Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Forest Mushrooms, Truffled Emulsion

Floating Lobster, Pesto Cream, Red Pepper Fondue, Lime Froth

 

Apricot Beignets, Citrus Compote, Calvados Ice Cream

 

***The Sky Grill is also open this evening offering it's usual "Surf and Turf" menu.***

[Seabourntraveller]

Tonight's Entertainment Onboard

 

9:30pm After Dinner with "Claudia & Oliver" in The Club

9:45pm Guitarist Adam Green in the Midnight Sun Lounge

9:45pm Showtime: "Michael Bacala: String and Bow with Fireworks"

[Host Dan]

Hello Martita B. Thanks for the link and heads up about tracking us....maybe we might need your services for later on when we go thru "Pirate Alley"..LOL

 

Probably going to have a cheeseburger and those yummy onion rings you suggested the other day in an hours time.;)

The Seabourn "ground filet" cheesburgers are the best at sea! I hope you enjoy the burger as much as I've enjoyed your blog!

 

Host Dan

[Seabourntraveller]

The Seabourn "ground filet" cheesburgers are the best at sea! I hope you enjoy the burger as much as I've enjoyed your blog!

 

Host Dan

 

Dan I have to agree with you....the best at sea in deed...and the french fries and onion rings make for great sides!...having a cheeseburger every other day as a "mid afternoon snack"...I'll take a Seabourn Cheeseburger anyday over the caviar plate for four..LOL:D

 

FYI, Seabourn does read stuff posted on CC as I was approached by Management today out on the Verandah Cafe and said "that I seem to be enjoying my cruise a lot".

[redheadednancy]

We also are really enjoying your posts as this is a trip we want to take. Seabourn Traveller, what part of the world are you from and are you a veteran Seabourn cruiser? Thanks.

[cands]

Hi,

I'm really enjoying travelling along with you.

This photo is from our 2008 crossing of the Gulf of Aden aboard Spirit. We had 12 French marines aboard:

 

[Seabourntraveller]

We also are really enjoying your posts as this is a trip we want to take. Seabourn Traveller, what part of the world are you from and are you a veteran Seabourn cruiser? Thanks.

 

I personally enjoy doing this trip. We have done several times on other cruiselines but never a 6 star cruiseline. We are from Canada and first timers on Seabourn but won't be our last!;):D

[Seabourntraveller]

Hi,

I'm really enjoying travelling along with you.

This photo is from our 2008 crossing of the Gulf of Aden aboard Spirit. We had 12 French marines aboard:

 

 

 

Cands thanks for the photo we have some of those as well onboard but only (4) Special Forces People onboard with a lot of fire power that we witnessed them loading onto the ship yesterday late morning off of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Special Forces people were patrolling the open decks all night last night with all the ships lights on everywhere!;)

[Seabourntraveller]

Day 13: At Sea Enroute to Salalah, Oman

 

Good Morning from the Legend enroute ever so slowly towards "pirate Alley". We are still in the Red Sea making our way towards to Horn and tip of Somalia and the Gulf of Aiden. We have our Special Forces people patrolling the upper decks and with goggles and their firearms in display.

This morning at breakfast in the Vernadah Cafe outside, I didn't see any other ships nearby...we seem to be the only ones around.

Today's weather is quite humid and already 27C at 10:00am or 80F with partly sunny skies.

Sea conditions are good with moderate swells and light winds from the southwest.

 

The Verandah Cafe will be serving a French Bistro lunch today from 12 noon until 2:00pm or you can choose to eat at the Sky Grill from 1:30pm until 3:00pm. I suspect after sundown, they will be closing the outter decks to all of us due to nightfall and as we approach the "pirate zone" overnight.

 

There doesn't seem to be a lot of activity around the ship this morning. At 11:00am they are offering an Enrichment Lecture: "Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain" in the King Olav and Trivia Challenge at 12 noon in the Midnight Sun Lounge. At 3:00pm there is a ring toss with adam by the Sky Bar and at 4:30pm a Galley Tour with the Executive Chef Martin.

 

More to come from the Legend making her way thru the Red Sea enroute to Salalah, Oman.

[Seabourntraveller]

Captain just came over the PA to give us an update us all on our journey down the Red Sea and we will be leaving the Red Sea by 2:00am and entering into the Gulf of Aden. As a precaution, they are asking us to close all of curtains after sunset to provide better visibility and lighting outside. Also they will closing the uppper decks to all of us from 10:00pm tonight until mid morning tomorrow. The Verandah Cafe will be closed tomorrow for breakfast and the Restaurant will be the only venue open for breakfast tomorrow.

The winds have picked up considerably now and we are heading directly into the wind. We have Saudi Arabia on one side currently and Eritrea on the other side before it get's more narrow and we pass by Djibouti later tonight and Yemen on the other side.

 

More to come later today from the Legend kaing her way ever so closer towards "Pirate Alley"!:D

[oxypete]

We were on the Legend in October and enjoyed every minute. Our hotel manager was a fellow by the name of Karl Eckl. He was a real pleasure to deal with.

[Seabourntraveller]

Further Update as we are making our way towards the Gulf of Aden, they have closed all the exterior lights on the ship and we are in complete darkness outside. No exteriro lights either over our windows/balconies etc. The Special Forces people onboard are walking up and down on the outter upper decks. Restaurant 2 will remain open for tonight but as I said earlier will be closed tomorrow morning for breakfast.

 

Tonight is Formal Night onboard and at 6:00pm they had in the Purser's Lobby and Epicurian Event, with Chef Martin and Maitre'd Michael Simon had a complete spread of delicacies before the evening performance in the King Olav Lounge.

 

We received an invitation to dine with the Hotel Manager at his table tonight but I have a terrible migraine and I had to decline. I will be dining in my Suite tonight.:(

 

Entertainment OnBoard Tonight:

 

6:30pm Cocktails in the Club with pre-dinner music of Claudia & Oliver.

6:45pm Early Evening Showtime: "Singing on the Strings" with Adam Green

7:45pm Dinner Dance. Join Seabreeze in the Restaurant for a romantic dance between courses.

9:30pm After Dinner, "Claudia & Oliver: in the Club.

9:45pm GameShow: Liar's Club! in the King Olav.

[Seabourntraveller]

We were on the Legend in October and enjoyed every minute. Our hotel manager was a fellow by the name of Karl Eckl. He was a real pleasure to deal with.

 

Our Hotel Manager is Guillaume Colas and he is genuinely engaged with all guests in assuring that the best service is provided while onboard the Legend.

[Prunella]

Our Hotel Manager is Guillaume Colas and he is genuinely engaged with all guests in assuring that the best service is provided while onboard the Legend.

 

We used to sail with Guillaume when he was Maitre D' and liked him a lot.

 

I am also enjoying your blog very much as we are doing the reverse, Dubai to Athens next April on the Pride, so find it very interesting re all the precautions taken cruising through pirate ally etc. Thank you so much for taking the trouble to post every day and I do hope that your migrane gets better very soon.

[At sea days]

We are also sailing March 28th Singapore to Athens on the Pride, your adventure in reverse. Glad to hear you are new to SB, we are as well. Thank you for taking your time to write a most enjoyable travel log. We check each day for your posting....wishing you fair winds and following seas.

At Sea Days

[Seabourntraveller]

Day 14: At Sea Enroute to Salalah, Oman

 

Good Morning from the Legend on this cloudy day in the Gulf of Aden. We are currently 25 miles off the Coast of Yemen and 40 miles off the Somali Coastline...can't see either on this very hazy morning. The Midnight Sun Lounge was open this morning for Early Monring Risers Coffee from 6:15am but all the outter decks remain closed to all of us. Our Special Forces people are all out on deck with their guns and firepower in full display.

We had a bit of movement last night due to our high speed and ocena swells. We currently have the same swells and are travelling at 14knots.

The Restaurant is open for breakfast only and they have turned it into a "mini Verandah Cafe" set up just for this morning only. We decided to order room service for breakfast instead.

 

I realized that I forgot to post last night's Dinner Menus for the Restaurant and Restaurant 2. I will post those shortly for those that are interested.

We have an Enrichment Lecture at 11:00am "The Power and Peril of Oil" with Dr. Firooz Zadeh in the King Olav Lounge.

 

The Verandah cafe will re-open for lunch at 12 noon and the Sky Grill as well at 1:30pm. I hope they keep to their word and the open decks will open as of 10:00am this morning.

 

More to come from our "Floating Castle" having made it thru pirate alley last night/early morning later today.

[Seabourntraveller]

Last Night's Dinner Menu for the Restaurant and Restaurant 2

 

Chef's Gala Dinner: "Tasting Menu"

 

Seared Beef Carpaccio, poatto shaloot cake, mallosol caviar

Lobster Bisque, spiced orange foam

Pecorino Ravioli, herb emulsion

 

Strawberry Sorbet, champagne

 

Baked Cod " Viennoise Style", melted leek, red wine butter sauce

or

Tournedo Rossini, sauteed foie gras, rissole potatoes, truffled madeira sauce

 

Halzenut-Coffee Mousse, white coffee-ice cream

 

Ice Pralines

 

Vegetarian Alternative-Hand Rolled Gnocchi Primavera, white truffle oil, parmesan shavings

 

 

Restaurant 2, theme "Vietnamese"

 

Starters

Vietnamese Rice Paper Spring Rolls Filled with Poached Shrimp, NewCuon Dipping Sauce

Tumeric Marinated Stir Fried Beef, Crisp Onions

 

Soup/Salad

Hanoi Chicken Noodle Pot With Spinach

Seafood & Spring Onion Salad, Citrus Coriander Sauce

 

Mains

Sweet Onion Duck Breast, Fried Rice, SPiced Orange Jus

Pan Seared Seabass Over Toasted Garlic Spinach, Ginger Glaze

 

Desserts

Lemon Grass & Lime Parfait, Banana Foam, Gingered Mango Salsa

Marinated Vietnamese Fruits, Coconut Ice Cream

[kiltie]

Hello again and thank you so much for your interesting and informative daily blog. I hope you are now feeling better. Could you tell me how many formal nights you have had and do you expect to have another one before you reach Dubai? We are doing this trip in reverse in March and we have been told two formal nights but I see from posts elsewhere that Seabourn often change the number at the last minute! Hope you have a safe and enjoyable day.

[Seabourntraveller]

Further Update, Gulf of Aden Transit

 

Captain came on the Pa for his daily 12 noon announcement, telling us that we are currently 80 miles to the West of Somalia and 60 miles to the East of Yemen. Weather today is currently 28C or 78F and sunny and hazy and quite humid. We are about to enter the RTC Zone which is a corridor that we will be travelling in until we reach Dubai on Dec 20th. This corridor is patrolled by Navy Ships, Helicopters and Sea Planes monitoring our progress with the Dubai Centre. We will be entering the RTC Zone at approx. 2:00pm or in an hours time. These deisgnated shipping lanes are constantly monitored by a coalition of forces.

 

The sea swells have increased a little due to the high winds we have currently. We saw a pod of dolphins off the port side of the ship during our lunch in the Verandah Cafe....an amazing sight to see and they were cresting the waters.

 

The Canary Yellow water has finally disappeared as of last night and we now have two blue jaccuzzi's and not one blue and one green....although we are still encountering the FOX Channel brainwashing program as now day 11 and counting and no other channels have appeared such as CNN, MSNBC or BBC...only FOX 24/7!:(

 

More to come later today from the Legend making our way towards Salalah, Oman.

[Seabourntraveller]

Hello again and thank you so much for your interesting and informative daily blog. I hope you are now feeling better. Could you tell me how many formal nights you have had and do you expect to have another one before you reach Dubai? We are doing this trip in reverse in March and we have been told two formal nights but I see from posts elsewhere that Seabourn often change the number at the last minute! Hope you have a safe and enjoyable day.

 

I am feeling much better today thank you for asking. We have had 2 Formal Nights thus far and I believe there is a 3rd and final one planned before Dubai on the 20th of December. I'll let you know what our final count is on this cruise for Formal Nights.

[Martita B.]

Again, a million thanks for your ever-so-interesting sailing log......

We appreciate your time and efforts sharing all of your Legend adventures! I surely wish everyday I was there with you!

We also appreciate our Seabourn Gurka's! I know several ~('lit Sister ships) Sweet fellows....but 'don't mess with'em!" Yikes!

Their war cry is: "Jai Mahakali Ayo Gorkhali..." translated: Glory be to the Goddess Kali.....Here come the Gorkhas!! :eek:

Have a continued safe ocean voyage ~~! Finger's & "toer's" (as Capt. GA says) crossed as to the Legend's successful RTC Zone sailing.

Martita B

[Seabourntraveller]

The Launderette: First Time Usage

 

We'll since we are at sea and it has been 13 days since we left Athens, Greece the time has come to do laundry. I went down to Deck 4 and found the "Launderette" a small little closet of sorts with two Miele Washers and Dryers. Very convenient set up and there was one using it so my washing and drying went quickly!

 

While down on Deck 4 I did notice way more movement from the swells we are having in the Gulf of Aden. I don't know if I would want to book a Suite down on Deck 4 only for the tossing and turning movement.

[Flamin_June]

Interesting observation about movement on lower deck. Everyone says that there is less movement lower down....

Could it be because the laundry is right at the bow of the ship?

 

Fascinating detail of the security measures. I did not realise the guards would be Gurkhas !! That IS reassuring. Glad you are feeling better.

Looking forward to climbing on board in Dubai.

That leg and subsequent to Singapore appear to be sold out. Make the most of all the space!

[Martita B.]

June

I don't know if the 'guards on the Legend are Gurka's....but Seabourn ships have had these fellows aboard the smaller ships for years. I'm not sure how many per vessel ~several, I think.

And yes, it is reassuring for all aboard!

They were the hero's of the Spirit when the pirate's attacked the ship several years ago ~one of the Gurka's was injured.

Happy Holidays to you and yours,

MB

[Seabourntraveller]

Restaurant Dinner Menu

 

First Course:

 

Eggplant Relish & Humus, roasted peppers, crostini, tomato oil

Caramlized Figs, crispy pastry, prosciutto and roquefort

Seafood tempura, roasted mango and seasame dipping sauce

Double Chicken Consomme, melted leeks, truffle and chicken salad

Cauliflower Soup, smoked sturgeon, caviar topping

Raw Apple & Celeriac Salad, toasted walnut compote, poppy seed-lemon dressing

Butter Lettuce with red Beet Relish, goat cheese mousse, apple crisp

 

Main Course:

 

Pan Fried Dover Sole, on or off the bone, lemon caper butter, young spinach, new potatoes

Seared Scallops & Shrimp, homemade tagliatelle, green vegetables, pommery mustard cream

Braised Veal Osso Bucco, shallot confit, pommes puree, lemon herb gremolata

Grilled New Year Steak, gorgonzola croquettes, asparagus and wilted greens

 

Vegetarian-Crisp Polenta & Mushroom Cake, creamy leek stew and tomato fondue

 

 

Restaurant 2, theme "Tasting"

 

Chef's Cocktail: Shrimp Tempura, Green Papaya & Celery Margarita, Orange Aioli

 

Seared Beef Tataki, Pickled Vegetables, Ponzu Jelly, Tahini Puree

Crispy Curried Vidalia Onion Rings, Bitter Greens

Navy Bean Fritter, Yogurt Raita

 

Clear Tomato Presse, Goat Cheese Panna Cotta, Tear Drop Confit

White Tomato Cappuccino, Chicken & Pesto Strudel, Basil Foam

 

Grilled Dorade, Preserved Lemon Sauce, Ricotta Gnocchi, Parmesan Gremolata

Slow Roasted Lamb Shank & Potato Moussaka, Red Wine Jus

 

Coconut & Passion Fruit Gelano, Almond Foam, Blackberry Sorbet, Red Beet Tuile