It’s official: a new Seabourn
vessel will be built and
delivered in three years.
Speaking to media at a lunch in Sydney last
Thursday, Seabourn’s director of sales, Tony
Archbold, hinted that big news was on the way.
“We’re waiting for an announcement – all
I can say is the company is profitable and it’s
growing, so watch this space.”
The next day, from Seattle, came word that
a Letter of Intent had been signed with Italian
shipyard Fincantieri for the construction of a
vessel to debut in the second half of 2016.
“We are pleased to be moving forward with
the plans we announced earlier this year
to build a fourth ship similar to the highly
regarded new design we introduced with
Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Sojourn and
Seabourn Quest,’ the line’s president Rick
Meadows said following the announcement.
The exact cost and size were not divulged
except to say the new ship would “replace the
capacity that is leaving the Seabourn brand”
with the recent sale of Seabourn Pride, Spirit
and Legend to Windstar Cruises.
The combined capacity of these three
departing vessels is 624 passengers.
The line’s newer Odyssey, Sojourn and Quest
each carry 450 passengers.
Meanwhile, Archbold said Seabourn was
appealing to “a wider range” of Australians,
who trailed only the British as the line’s biggest
international market.
“We’ll catch the UK next year – that’s my
prediction,” he said.
Seabourn Odyssey will spend two months in
local waters this summer, while Sojourn will
visit a record 18 ports in Australia and NZ.
The company’s first-ever season in Antarctica
starts in three weeks.
MEAN WHILE, Seabourn preceded the
announcement of its new vessel by launching
its 2014-15 Cruise Collection brochure, with
the guide featuring voyages ranging in duration
from 7-116 days.
Several new ports will be visited for the first
time during the season, including stops in the
Philippines archipelago and the African coast.
The latter ports feature as part of a new
cruise which sees guests visit Morocco, the
Canary Islands, Namibia, Madagascar & more.
Seabourn’s Extended Explorations also make
their debut in the new guide, offering time-rich
guests the ability to seamlessly link voyages
together to create a journey of up to 116 days.
A second season of sailings in Antarctica will
also be available, with six options on offer,
while Seabourn Odyssey will sail between
Australia and New Zealand from Dec next year
until Feb 2015 as part of a local deployment.
For more details, see www.seabourn.com.
