SEATTLE — Seabourn has taken delivery of its newest all-suite vessel, Seabourn Encore, at a 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 Seabourn President, Richard Meadows.
The ship will carry 600 guests, based on double occupancy, in 300 suites each with a private verandah. Designed ‘to feel more like a luxury yacht’, the 40,350-GRT vessel expands and builds on the line’s Odyssey-class ships. New features include The Retreat, a sanctuary designed for guests to relax in private cabanas, with a Spa Treatment Cabana for personalized spa services.
Dining options include 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.
A new production show, ‘An Evening with Tim Rice’, created exclusively for Seabourn in association with Belinda King Creative Productions, will open onboard Seabourn Encore in January 2017, when she sails from Singapore on her inaugural voyage. The new Spa and Wellness with Dr. Andrew Weil mindful living program also debuts on Seabourn Encore in January. Both Tim Rice and Dr. Weil will sail on the inaugural voyage.
Encore will be officially christened at a ceremony in Singapore on Jan. 7, 2017. The vessel will then depart on its Inaugural Voyage, the 10-day Gems of the Java Sea cruise, bound for Indonesia. Following her inaugural sailing, Seabourn Encore will move 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. See seabourn.com.
