Remember a couple days ago, when in Seabourn Encore Maiden Season Detailed we revealed details of one amazing inaugural season for new Seabourn Encore?  It was exciting to report that the new ultra-luxury ship would do two pre-inaugural sailings, 16- and 18-day cruises stopping at amazing destinations like Tel Aviv, Dubai, Singapore and many more.  More exciting for Seabourn, just two days later the ship’s official 10-day inaugural voyage sold out and is now waitlist only.  There is good reason for that.

“We are thrilled with the overwhelming response we have received for the inaugural voyage of Seabourn Encore,” said John Delaney, Seabourn’s Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales.

Not surprisingly, Seabourn Encore  is proving to be in high demand in advance of her 2016 launch.  I say “not surprisingly” because this is a cruise line that absolutely deserves to do well, and probably not for the reasons one might think.

Yes, the amazing destinations are good reason to sail with Seabourn
There is no denying it, these ships visit interesting places on well-planned itineraries that cover all 7 continents, including Antarctica.

Yes, the fleet is young, and getting younger
Once Seabourn Encore comes out in 2016 and then sister-ship Seabourn Ovation arrives in 2018, Seabourn will have the youngest fleet of ultra luxury cruise ships on the planet.

Yes, I believe they can maintain that level of service on larger ships
Seabourn promises that new Seabourn Encore will “expand and build on the line’s award-winning and highly acclaimed Odyssey-class ships, introduced between 2009 and 2011.”  I absolutely believe that will happen.

“We’re looking forward to providing our guests the award-winning cruise experience that they have come to love and expect on what will be the most beautiful ultra-luxury ship ever built.” – John Delaney, Seabourn Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales

32,346-ton Odyssey class ships carry 450 Seabourn Guests
40,350-ton Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Ovation carry 604 Seabourn Guests, not all that many more.

To do that, Seabourn will add will add one additional deck while expanding public areas, maintain the line’s high ratio of space per guest. That’s significant for a number of reasons.  When we sailed Seabourn Quest in 2012 and then Seabourn Sojourn for the first Seabourn Food & Wine Cruise, neither ship ever seemed crowded, even on days at sea.  I think that is probably the true test of the whole notion of “space per guest”, when we know everyone sailing is on the ship.  Visiting amazing places around the world, one would expect the ship to be uncrowded in port as Seabourn Guests go ashore.

Yes, the crew is outstanding and make all the difference in the world
One would expect an ultra luxury cruise line to have efficient, professional crew members of a higher caliber that are enabled to deliver personal service on a world class level.  From sailing a number of luxury cruise lines, I have found that to be true.  A lot of that has to do with the crew to guest ratio and, frankly, passengers on ultra luxury lines are paying for and expect just that.

But there is a huge difference, gigantic in fact, between being a passenger on any other cruise line and a Seabourn Guest with a capital G. Regular readers of this space occasionally ask about the subtle capitalization of the word “Guest” when associated with Seabourn.  That is no typo: very few ocean cruise lines earn the distinction.

Seabourn is proud of and talks frequently about their ‘highly personalized service’ enabled by ‘close to one staff member for each guest on board’.  That translates to a ship full of crew who often know your name before they meet you and use it frequently throughout any given voyage.  On board we don’t have to look far to find Seabourn Guests who have been sailing with the line for decades and are remembered by crew from ship to ship.

Sail once and you are family with Seabourn.

The crew as a whole is a family of sorts and that makes sense. They work, eat and sleep together on a four months on, two months off schedule that demands a certain amount of cohesion just to operate. We see that too on other cruise lines; it’s the nature of the beast…although shorter contracts with ample time in-between to connect with their land families probably is a big factor here.

Where Seabourn excels, passes other cruise lines by and/or blows them away is that passengers too, from the moment they step foot on a Seabourn vessel are also considered part of the family…and that’s not “family” in quotes but family in their hearts.   This makes for a rousing finale to any sailing as crew members gather on the last night to say goodbye as we see in this short video:

See The Seabourn Family for more on this huge differentiating factor and stay tuned for more updates throughout the building and inaugural seasons of Seabourn Encore.

Learn More-

• Microsite- Keep up with the progress of Seabourn Encore by visiting Seabourn’s Ship Updates website
• Sister ship, Seabourn Ovation, will join the fleet in 2018, and with the addition of the two new ships, Seabourn will have the newest ultra-luxury fleet in the industry.
• Ship Design- Designed by hospitality design icon Adam D. Tihany, Seabourn Encore will feature modern design elements and innovations consistent with the line’s reputation for understated elegance.
•  Maiden Season- Seabourn Encore’s maiden season will launch from Athens in December 2016, offering two pre-inaugural cruises exploring the exotic coasts of Israel, Arabia, India and Southeast Asia, providing travelers with a preview of the vessel before its inaugural voyage.
• Inaugural Voyage- The sold-out 10-day inaugural voyage will begin with a gala naming ceremony in vibrant Singapore on January 7, 2017, marking the ship’s official debut. Guests fortunate enough to have landed a reservation will then embark with Seabourn Encore on a 10-day inaugural voyage to Bali, including stops in Surabaya, Java; Celukan Bawang, Bali; and Slawi Bay, Komodo, Indonesia.
• Space available: Seabourn Encore will spend the remainder of its maiden season operating a series of 16-day voyages cruising the Pacific Rim in Australia and New Zealand, calling at the metropolitan cities of Sydney and Melbourne and exploring both islands of New Zealand. The ship will also visit popular ports, such as Auckland and Wellington, while exploring other picturesque towns, including Oban, New Zealand’s southernmost city, on Stewart Island, and the charming port of Picton, the gateway to the stunning scenery of Marlborough Sound. While the 10-day inaugural sailing is sold out, opportunities still exist to book these other maiden season voyages.

 

Chris is not a paid spokesperson or brand ambassador.   Not compensated by cruise lines, what you read here are his observations, thoughts and interpretations, biased only by a positive outlook and appreciation for what cruise vacations have to offer travelers.