Category — Yachts of Seabourn

Courtesy of Seabourn.

As the sun set over the waterfront of this Spanish Mediterranean city, Seabourn introduced the new 450-guest Seabourn Quest to the world on June 20th during a glittering naming ceremony presided over by Blythe Danner. The award-winning actress served as godmother to the new luxury vessel, Seabourn’s third new ship and the sixth to join its fleet, completing a three-year expansion for the line. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Seabourn.

Seabourn took delivery of the new 450-guest Seabourn Quest today at the T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa, Italy. The intimate, all-suite ship is the third vessel constructed by Mariotti for Seabourn’s fleet, completing a three-year expansion that increased the ultra-luxury line’s capacity by more than 200 percent. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Yachts of Seabourn.

The Yachts of Seabourn has announced that multiple award-winning broadcast journalist Ted Koppel will join the exciting line-up of prominent guest speakers for its Dress Circle enrichment program on the 111-day maiden world cruise aboard the new Seabourn Sojourn. He will speak to guests on board the ultra-luxury yacht April 10 – 21, 2011, during two World Cruise segment voyages, sharing his insights about past and current world affairs and his experiences during a remarkable broadcast career.

The addition of Koppel to Seabourn’s Dress Circle embodies the line’s commitment to providing well-respected, entertaining and informative guest speakers at sea. The intimate size of Seabourn’s yachts provides its guests with exceptional opportunities to meet and learn from these distinguished luminaries while sharing the voyage with them.

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Courtesy of Yachts of Seabourn.

The Yachts of Seabourn is delivering a special gift for guests sailing on Seabourn Sojourn’s 2010 holiday cruise. Multiple Emmy award-winning television and film director Terry Hughes will appear as a special guest during the “Christmas & New Year’s Sojourn” voyage departing Dec. 20, 2010, from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Los Angeles.

During the 16-day cruise, Hughes will share hilarious highlights from his experiences on some of television’s longest-running and most popular comedy shows.

After an award-studded career producing and directing British television and stage comedies in the U.K., Hughes moved to Los Angeles in 1980. He soon became one of the premier producers and directors of many hit television comedy programs, including The Golden Girls, where he garnered six Emmy nominations and two wins, as well as 3rd Rock from the Sun, and episodes of 8 Simple Rules, Friends, Blossom and That 70s Show. [Read more →]

Courtesy of The Yachts of Seabourn.

The Yachts of Seabourn’s highly anticipated new yacht Seabourn Sojourn navigated the River Thames and arrived at London with the early morning sun on Friday, June 4, 2010. Built by the T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa, Italy, Sojourn is the second of three new luxury cruising vessels joining Seabourn’s fleet in three years, representing a 216 percent increase in capacity for the company.

“We are very pleased to introduce Seabourn Sojourn to London and to the world,” said Pamela C. Conover, Seabourn’s President and CEO. “She is a beauty inside and out, offering luxurious accommodations, the finest cuisine and gracious, personalized service along with a sleek and stylish design. Sojourn will provide the exclusive and intimate experience that Seabourn is known for and our guests have come to love and enjoy,” she continued. [Read more →]

Courtesy of The Yachts of Seabourn.

The Yachts of Seabourn has announced that Seabourn Quest will be the name given to its newest vessel. Poised to become the third of three new ultra-luxury yachts launched by the award-winning, small-ship cruise line in as many years, Seabourn Quest will debut in June 2011.

Seabourn Quest will be the third iteration of the sleek and widely admired design that first appeared on Seabourn Odyssey in June 2009. Indeed, Odyssey has been hailed as a “game-changer for the luxury segment.” The second sister ship, Seabourn Sojourn, will debut next June in Greenwich, England, and is already selling strongly for its maiden year. Together, the three new vessels represent a capacity increase of over 200 percent for the line in a three-year period – underlining the company’s confidence in a burgeoning demand for top-shelf cruising options in the leisure travel market. At 32,000 GRT and carrying just 450 guests each, the three new Seabourn yachts are the smallest cruising vessels being built by any major cruise company, in keeping with the line’s strategy of offering travelers highly personalized service in a relaxed, sociable and luxurious atmosphere.

[Read more →]

Courtesy of The Yachts of Seabourn.

The Yachts of Seabourn has again been honored by readers of Porthole Cruise Magazine, winning three categories in the magazine’s 11th Annual Porthole Readers’ Choice Awards. The ultra luxury cruise line was recognized as the ”Best Luxury Line,” and for having the “Best Small Ship (Seabourn Legend),” and “Best Accommodations.” Porthole’s readers also honored Seabourn last year for Best Accommodations.

The Readers’ Choice Awards were based on a survey about cruise lines and their onboard amenities, services and itineraries. Several thousand readers responded to the survey by completing mail-in ballots or visiting Porthole’s website. The list of winners is currently available online and also appears in the magazine’s November/December 2009 issue. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Seabourn

The over 6,000 luxury travel advisors who make up the prestigious Virtuoso Travel Network selected The Yachts of Seabourn as the Best Small-Ship Cruise Line for the second consecutive year. The 2009 repeat award was presented on August 20 at an awards dinner during the consortium’s annual Travel Mart in Las Vegas.

“This honor from the Virtuoso advisors really does have a special significance for us,” said Pamela C. Conover, Seabourn’s president and CEO, “because it represents the unique relationship we share with our professional partners. In a way, nobody knows our company better than do professionals like the Virtuoso advisors, who recommend us to their clients and put their own reputations on the line along with ours,” she continued. “When they tell us we’re the best, it truly means a lot.”

“We always appreciate and highly respect our advisors’ picks for Virtuoso’s annual Peer-to-Peer awards,” said Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch, CTC. “The Yachts of Seabourn was awarded this top honor for a reason: They deliver innovation and top quality products as evidenced by the new Seabourn Odyssey. The Network shares this high level of excitement as shown by sailings with each more than 100 guests during the inaugural year and maiden world cruise. On behalf of Virtuoso, I congratulate the entire Seabourn team for their achievement.”

Since Seabourn won last year’s Virtuoso award, the company’s fleet of intimate, all-suite vessels have gone on to garner the top spot in the small-ship category in the 2008 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Poll and to be voted the World’s Best Small Ship Cruise Line in Travel + Leisure’s annual World’s Best Awards. During that same interval, Seabourn launched the 225-suite Seabourn Odyssey, the first new ultra luxury vessel to debut in over six years, which has been hailed as “a game-changer” for the luxury cruising segment. A second new vessel, Seabourn Sojourn, will debut in 2010 and another yet-to-be-named sister in 2011.

Courtesy of The Yachts of Seabourn

The Yachts of Seabourn has been honored as the “2009 World’s Best Small-Ship Cruise Line” by readers of Travel + Leisure, in the magazine’s 14th annual readers’ survey. The ultra-luxury cruise line – which launched its fourth yacht, Seabourn Odyssey, in June – has been frequently hailed as tops on the seas from refined and discerning travelers around the world.

The annual World’s Best Awards, whose 14th iteration appears in the August 2009 edition of Travel + Leisure, is held in high regard throughout the travel industry. Cruise lines are ranked based on ratings in the following categories: cabins, food, service, itineraries/destinations, activities, and value.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to have been named the World’s Best Small-Ship Cruise Line by readers of Travel + Leisure, whose discernment is reflected in their choice of reading material – as well as in their eye for excellence in the luxury cruise industry,” said Pamela Conover, President and CEO of The Yachts of Seabourn. “With this award and the recent launch of Seabourn Odyssey, 2009 is shaping up as quite a year. Being named ‘World’s Best’ is an honor for all of us, particularly the hard-working crew who consistently assure that Seabourn delivers the finest cruise experience in the world.”

The 2009 World’s Best Awards recognition is merely the latest from readers of Travel + Leisure, who also bestowed the title of “Best Small-Ship Cruise Line” on Seabourn in 2005 and 2006. Late last year, Seabourn was named “Best Small Ship Cruise Line” at the Virtuoso Performance Awards, chosen by the industry’s leading luxury travel specialists. Seabourn was also honored as one of the “2007 World’s Best Values” by the readers of Travel + Leisure.

Courtesy of Seabourn Cruise Line

The Yachts of Seabourn embarks upon an expansive future as Seabourn Odyssey launches from Venice as the first ultra-luxury vessel to debut in six years.

The 32,000-ton vessel built by T. Mariotti of Genoa, Italy, accommodates 450 guests in 225 luxury suites, ninety percent with verandas, offering one of the highest space-per-guest ratios in the industry with highly personalized service. Odyssey features the largest spa on any luxury yacht, four restaurants and a host of luxury amenities. Guests of the maiden voyage will also share the unprecedented honor of acting as godparents.

Odyssey is the first of three new vessels Seabourn is building, a 216% increase in capacity for the line, with Seabourn Sojourn launching in June 2010 and a third new-build in 2011.

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome Seabourn Odyssey to our distinguished fleet of yachts,” said Pamela Conover, President and CEO of The Yachts of Seabourn. “The launch of Odyssey allows us to serve more travelers but still offer the intimate and exclusive experience which has made us a leader in the luxury cruising market.”

Enticements are everywhere aboard Odyssey. The Spa at Seabourn is the largest spa on any luxury vessel at 11,400 square feet and is the only cruise vessel to offer SkinCeuticals, the award-winning skincare line, products and treatments at sea. Passengers can enjoy a hydropool, Kinesis wall, two herbal steam rooms as well as two Spa Villas complete with a whirlpool big enough for two, a private balcony for sunbathing, a double daybed and a full living room.

Passengers on Odyssey will savor five-star, all-inclusive dining in four restaurants from the fine-dining Restaurant with menus crafted by Charlie Palmer to the casual, open-air Patio Grill or choose course-by-course dining from the comfort of their suite.

With an intimate yacht-like atmosphere, passengers can choose from other highlights including 11 decks harboring two outdoor swimming pools, six outdoor whirlpools, water sports from the unique marina, and a private diamond showroom. The Retreat features a contoured nine-hole mini golf course, a giant chess board, shuffleboard and stargazing in the evening. Additional amenities include Seabourn-branded netbooks and iPods for loan as well as complimentary pool-side massages and signature ‘Caviar in the Surf’ service.

The Grand Wintergarden Suite, the largest of any Seabourn suite, offers 1,182 square feet of indoor space plus two verandas. The two bedroom, two bathroom suite features a glass-enclosed solarium with tub and daybed, as well as a whirlpool, dining for six, two bars and three flat-screen televisions.

All guests on Odyssey receive exceptional personalized service with nearly one staff member per guest and top-of-the-line amenities including the new Molton Brown Therapies skincare line, available for the first time at sea.

A new feature of Odyssey, Seabourn Square, is an innovative “concierge lounge” with a library, upscale shops, outdoor terrace and coffee bar, as well as concierges in a relaxed, club-like atmosphere.

Odyssey will spend her maiden year exploring the Mediterranean throughout the summer and early fall, then sailing the Caribbean before embarking on Seabourn’s first world cruise, a 108-day voyage departing January 5, 2010, visiting 42 ports in 26 countries on six continents from Ft. Lauderdale to Athens.