What is the right boat for world-famous director Steven Spielberg, who was raised in the Arizona desert and admits that he got seasick during the filming of Jaws? For this award-winning Hollywood A-lister the answer is Seven Seas, an 85 metre Oceanco super-mega-yacht with a state-of-the-art stabilisation system (which translates to “anti-seasickness system” for you, me, and Mr. Spielberg) aboard that allows it to cruise smoothly at 20 knots in a variety of seas.
“Don’t expect to see me this summer,” Spielberg recently told the staff at Amblin Entertainment, his production company. At 66, the man who never seems to stop working (he’s helmed over 50 major motion pictures in his 40-plus year career) is finally going to take time off and spend it where we all want to be — on the water.
His 30,000-mile dream cruise has been nicknamed “Verneing” by Spielberg’s staff, a take on Jules Verne’s Around the World In 80 Days. The yacht is scheduled to stop at some of the director’s most notable film locations: Shanghai (Empire of the Sun), Hawaii (Jurassic Park) and Sri Lanka (Indiana Jones), where he made his least favorite work, The Temple Of Doom.
“The best thing that came out of that film was my future wife,” Spielberg recently told Entertainment Weekly. “I met Kate, my leading lady. My leading lady is still my leading lady.”
Kate will join him on the cruise along with several of their seven children, as the Spielbergs completely redefine the popular mantra of “take a kid boating.”
“Family is my priority, it always has been,” he says. “I always like to be with my kids. And I always make the time to do that. So just interacting with my kids and being with them is going to be great. That’s how I relax these days.”
Though he will be spending his first real holiday in decades on the water, he has mixed emotions. ”Jaws was made totally on the ocean because I felt the added realism was important,” he explains. “I was in the water daily in a wetsuit. But I’m not really an ocean lover. I’ve always been a little afraid of the ocean.”
On board Seven Seas, he can be as close to or as far away from the waters below as he wishes. The private owner’s level boasts an over-sized master stateroom and study, as well as its own private deck and pool. There is also a full-sized gym aboard, a spa and massage room. The “kids” and any celebrities who want to join in the fun (past guests include Gwyneth Paltrow, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Blake Lively) are accommodated in a VIP stateroom on the main deck. There’s an additional VIP stateroom on the terrace dec, and four more plush guest suites.
As Spielberg never completely leaves work behind, the yacht’s infinity pool boasts a 4.5 metre glass wall that transforms into an outdoor movie screen. The main saloon has a professional projection system and over-sized viewing screen as well as raked seating to turn the area into a personal cinema.
The most famous line from the movie Jaws may have been “We’re going to need a bigger boat,” but that is definitely not the case here.
The director of epics like Jaws, Star Wars, and Jurassic Park certainly should have a megayacht that's just as epic: this 85 metre beauty.
