Seabourn Takes Delivery Seabourn Encore, Their Newest Ultra-Luxury Ship
Seabourn, the world’s finest ultra-luxury cruise line, recently took delivery of its newest all-suite vessel, Seabourn Encore, during an official handover ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy.
“We have been looking forward to this day for over two years. Seabourn Encore has become a stunning ship that will set a new standard in ultra-luxury cruising,” said Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn. “I am very proud of our partnership with Fincantieri, and it has been a great pleasure to work together to transform raw materials into this incredible vessel that will make a great addition to the Seabourn fleet.”
“The jewel we deliver today is the first built for Seabourn, and dry dock works for the second vessel of this new and prestigious client will start in the next few days in our shipyard in Sestri Ponente. I say this with a certain pride and a lot of satisfaction, because Seabourn represents the top range offer of the Carnival Group and Fincantieri is now identified as an absolute reference point from the market, able to offer tailor-made products to an ever wider range of customers,” said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri. “This gratifying result became possible thanks to the strategy stubbornly followed in the last years that has allowed us to be in the best conditions to seize the opportunities offered by the market.”
Guests of Seabourn Encore will be treated to the line’s extraordinary levels of personalized service, with a high staff to guest ratio. The ship carries 600 guests, based on double occupancy, who reside in 300 elegantly appointed suites each with a private verandah.
Designed by hospitality design icon Adam D. Tihany who intended Seabourn Encore “to feel more like a luxury yacht,” the 40,350-GRT vessel features modern design elements and innovations in keeping with Seabourn’s reputation for understated elegance, as well as one additional deck and new expanded public areas. The ship expands and builds on the line’s award-winning and highly acclaimed Odyssey-class ships, which revolutionized ultra luxury cruising with enhanced accommodations and innovative amenities when they were introduced between 2009 and 2011. New features include The Retreat, a sanctuary designed for guests to relax in private cabanas, with a Spa Treatment Cabana for personalized spa services.
In addition, guests will enjoy superb cuisine, including The Grill by Thomas Keller, the new signature restaurant from three-star Michelin chef Thomas Keller that was introduced on Seabourn Quest earlier this year and will be expanded to the entire Seabourn fleet. A new restaurant for Seabourn, Sushi, makes its debut as a destination for foodies, with a unique look and feel and high-quality dishes served throughout the day.
A new production show, ‘An Evening with Tim Rice,’ created exclusively for Seabourn in association with Belinda King Creative Productions, opened onboard Seabourn Encore as she sailed from Singapore on her inaugural voyage. The new Spa and Wellness with Dr. Andrew Weil mindful living program also debuted on Seabourn Encore. Both Tim Rice and Dr. Weil sailed on the inaugural voyage.
Encore was officially christened at a ceremony in Singapore on January 7, 2017. International recording artist and world’s best-selling Soprano, Sarah Brightman, served as godmother of Seabourn Encore and officially name the ship during the celebration. The vessel then departed on its Inaugural Voyage, the 10-day Gems of the Java Sea cruise, bound for Indonesia.
Following her inaugural sailing, Seabourn Encore moved onto a 16-day Great Barrier Reef & Gold Coast and back-to-back 16-day Australia & New Zealand voyages. The ship will then reverse the earlier 10-day Gems of the Java Sea cruise to Singapore, proceed on 16-day Jewels of India & Arabia cruise to Dubai, and finish her first season with a 19-day Arabian Gems & Holy Land voyage before ending her winter season at Athens on May 5.
Seabourn Encore will spend summer 2017 along the Mediterranean, with numerous itineraries including a 7-14-or 21-day Mediterranean cruise departing from Piraeus (Athens), Greece on May 6, the 22-day Adriatic & Mediterranean Isles cruise departing June 24, and the 20-Day Mediterranean Encore cruise departing from Barcelona on Aug. 5. The ship will finish summer with the 20-Day UNESCO Gems of the Western Mediterranean cruise on Sept.13 for the start of its autumn season.
For more details about the award-winning Seabourn fleet, or to explore the worldwide selection of Seabourn cruising options, please visit our Seabourn page.
Seabourn is consistently ranked among the world’s top travel choices by professional critics and the discerning readers of prestigious travel publications such as Departures, Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler. Its stylish, distinctive cruising vacations are renowned for:
• Intimate ships with no more than 300 suites
• Unique itineraries visiting must-see cities and hidden gems where larger ships cannot follow
• Intuitive, gracious service provided by a staff passionate about pleasing our guests
• Spacious all-suite accommodations with sweeping ocean views – many with verandas
• Gourmet dining experiences as fine as the best restaurants anywhere
• Open bars throughout the ship and fine wines poured with lunch and dinner
Seabourn is a proud member of World’s Leading Cruise Lines. The exclusive alliance also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises, AIDA, P&O Cruises UK, P&O Cruises Australia and fathom. Seabourn is a brand of Carnival Corporation and plc. It has formed a partnership with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to help protect World Heritage.