24 April 2009

Three new ships open up the world for Seabourn

SYDNEY - Asia and Australia will be seeing more of the Seabourn brand as it builds its presence in the region and doubles its fleet of small luxury ships.

Speaking in Australia yesterday, Pamela Conover, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, said Seabourn was still a relatively small cruise line but that was changing with a US$900 million investment in three new ships.

The first of these, Seabourn Odyssey, will be launched in Venice in June and will appear in Australian waters next February. The Seabourn Sojourn will launch a year later. A third ship has yet to be named.

Ms Conover said the new ships at 32,000 tonnes each would be three times the size of ships in the current fleet. "We’re trebling the size of the ships but only doubling the number of passengers to 450. This will allow us to include many more facilities onboard," she said.

The new ships will feature Verandah Suites with 65 square foot balconies, Penthouse Suites with even larger balconies and spa villas for half-day use.

World voyages to be operated by Seabourn Odyssey in 2010 and Seabourn Sojourn in 2011 will include Australia and New Zealand ports.

"This will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase the ships," Conover said. "We feel there is a lot of opportunity for us in Australia, which currently accounts for five percent of our business."

Ms Conover said Seabourn Pride’s new year-round Asia itineraries would include destinations such as Vietnam, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

A new enterprise, Seabourn Journeys, will integrate land-based tours with cruise itineraries. Laos, Cambodia, Bhutan, China and Japan will be included in the land tours,

The Seabourn Spirit will visit Australia in 2011 as part of a cruise from Singapore that takes in Bali, Komodo, Darwin and Cairns.

Seabourn Legend, also in the current fleet, will be positioned out of Dubai and will cruise the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, including ports of call in the Maldives, Seychelles, Madagascar, Zanzibar and Kenya.

Ms Conover said Seabourn had a clear message and that was to show the value of its all-inclusive cruises to the travel trade.

She said that selling a Seabourn cruise "creates an annuity for the travel agent because 66 percent of our guests cruise with us again within 18 months".

by Ian Jarrett