Welcome aboard a world of very private and pampered dreams. Welcome, in reality, to the world of SeaDreams.
And this month at the ATM 2003 the SeaDream Yacht Club is all set to woo an exclusive clientele from the Middle East. From sunrise to sunset and beyond enjoy the comfort of palatial surrounds, the luxury of space with seclusion, a homely atmosphere, exquisite cuisine, a seemingly never-ending and ever-changing arena of supreme chic choice as well as an abundance of outside activities, select sightseeing and tours. For good measure add sunshine and then convince yourself it is not a dream, for this is the very real and select world of SeaDream Yacht Club voyages. Two megayachts - SeaDream I and II - provide guests with a continual and concentrated daily indulgence of choice in a casual and friendly environment. It's a unique experience of well-being, health and happiness similar to the Orient Express, but at sea. "SeaDream is all about yachting rather than cruising. There are no fixed schedules and our guests can pretty much do as they please when they please," says Beate Grodum, director of business development for SeaDream Yacht Club. While summer voyages focus on the Mediterranean with ports of call including St Tropez, Monte Carlo, Cannes, Barcelona, Malaga, Rome and Naples winters are spent in the azure Caribbean waters where Tobago, St Lucia, Barbados, Antigua and Miami feature among the many pristine pleasure zones. But while voyages identify with classic celebrity spots they also take in holiday hide-away islands with deserted golden beaches and crescent shaped bays. Anything is possible; everything is available. The SeaDream yachts can be chartered for groups or individuals, with all-inclusive prices of $2,200 to more than $8,000 a week per person and from $400,000 - $600,000 a week for up to 110 guests. A range of ages and nationalities feature in the select and guarded guest list that in part is a who's who of privileged travellers who have already clearly - and in some cases repeatedly - identified with the unique privacy and exclusivity of the SeaDream lifestyle, with both vessels available for private charter in tandem if required. With a multi-national and multi-lingual crew of 89 to meet each request and arrange everything from a sandwich to an outdoor massage, from a moonlit dinner for two to a trip ashore, life is rarely more sublime. Whether guests are aboard as individuals on holiday or part of a private charter group, everyone is left with the clear impression that it is their yacht, their voyage. Each waking minute is as casual as guests choose with freedom and privacy, excitement and fun, ensuring no delay to enjoying the pleasures of life. The ultra luxurious yachts, each with 55 staterooms of 195 or 390 square feet plus owners' suites of 450 square feet, were redesigned and refitted earlier this year to provide an individualised and private yachting experience. Size enables the yachts to moor at the chicest harbours backed by a no clocks and no crowds approach to sailing, a far cry from the humungous cruise liners at times carrying thousands of noisy or stuffy-imaged passengers who find fun collectively plying the world's waters with back-to-back itineraries. SeaDream staterooms offer homely space with separate living and sleeping quarters and en-suite marble bathroom, with the larger ones including dining areas. Each night when guests retire to the comfort of the finest bedding and linen, there is a sweet dreams gift on each large bed. This is another reminder of the perfection and reality of SeaDream voyages.