SeaDream Yacht Club was founded in September of 2001 by Norwegian entrepreneur Atle Brynestad who founded Seabourn Cruise Line and Larry Pimentel, who was President of Seabourn under Brynestad and later President and CEO of the merged companies Cunard-Seabourn. Pimentel is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SeaDream and a co-owner. The two friends, Brynestad and Pimentel, brought into SeaDream a small group of management colleagues with vast travel industry experience as well as shipboard officers and staff of unequaled ability.

Why is SeaDream Called a Yacht Club?
As the Chairman says "We are not a cruise line. We are a yacht company and we provide a yachting experience." Yachting features an open and unstructured ambience that provides guests the ability to fulfill their own dreams - call them "seadreams" if you will - at their own pace and in their own style. We like to express this as "No clocks, no crowds, no lines, no stress." The key word for the SeaDream yachting experience is "unstructured. It's all about personal choice. Think of it as a free form holiday in which guests fall into a "seadream" and believe that they are aboard their own yacht. That's why we say SeaDream is a yacht company; not a cruise line.

What are some of the highlights of the SeaDream yachting experience?
Flexible Schedules and Itineraries - Basically, SeaDream I and II sail on scheduled, seven-day schedules and itineraries. Nevertheless, although SeaDream yachts depart their first port of call and arrive at their last port of call as scheduled, arrivals and departures at intermediate ports are not necessarily cast in stone. Captains have the authority to adjust for local opportunities. So the yachts frequently make unscheduled calls at small ports to visit a local fish market, for example, or to remain longer than scheduled in a secluded bay so guests can enjoy a few more hours of water sports.

Overnighting in Key Ports - Let's go back to cruise ships for a moment.
Cruise ships usually arrive at ports of call in the early morning and depart in the evening of the same day.

But SeaDream yachts overnight at many ports of call; for example: One port in the Caribbean where there is an overnight is Gustavia on the French island, St. Barts. When you sail in the Mediterranean there is an overnight at the French Riviera port of St. Tropez.

The point is the action doesn't even get started in ports such as these until late in the evening and we have found that guests are active people who don't want to miss anything.

Officers and Staff Lead Guests on Personal Off-Ship Experiences - Officers and staff know the ports of call like the backs of their hands. They are experts and they are also active, interesting people just like the guests they serve. So, on each sailing Officers and Staff frequently lead guests to their favorite sites for their favorite experiences. So, guests might have the chance to go snorkeling with the Captain in an area he knows well and enjoys. Or, the Activities Director might lead guests on a shoreside hike that he has uncovered on a previous visit. Guest may also want to join the Chef for a visit to his favorite patisserie or to a fine fish market where he plans to select some delicacies to put on the menu that evening. There is no cost for these shoreside opportunities.

Ships