Seabourn has scrapped additional voyages for three cruise ships in its fleet as a part of its pause in global ship operations. An operational pause for Seabourn Ovation, Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Quest has been extended through to 3 January, 6 January and 10 May 2021, respectively.
Seabourn has also confirmed a revised delivery date for its new ultra-luxury expedition ship, Seabourn Venture, which had been expected to debut next June. As LATTE revealed, Seabourn Venture was missing from a new e-brochure highlighting a collection of Extraordinary Destinations released last week.
The brand-new expedition ship is now scheduled for handover on 1 December 2021. Venture‘s delay is a result of shipyard closures at T. Mariotti earlier this year in responses to COVID-19, which resulted in disruptions to the overall construction and finishing process for the ship.
Seabourn Quest will operate the line’s 2021-2022 Antarctica experience. Seabourn Venture will debut in December next year with a series of first-ever Norwegian Winter voyages where they may be able to see the Northern Lights.
Details about the revised inaugural season for Seabourn Venture are being finalised and will be announced in October. The brand has opened a waitlist for guests interested in the voyages from December 2021 to April 2022.
Guests currently booked on the inaugural voyage for Seabourn Venture will be offered the opportunity to sail on the new inaugural itinerary on a priority basis before it is open for sale to the general public. Additional details on rebooking for other affected Seabourn Venture voyages will be shared with booked guests and travel advisors in mid-October.
Due to the redeployment of Seabourn Quest to Antarctica, the line is cancelling Panama Canal voyages that were scheduled for the ship between 7 November and 19 December 2021.
Seabourn is continuing to assess the timing to resume operations on Seabourn Odyssey in the Caribbean. As a courtesy to guests booked on December sailings aboard Seabourn Odyssey, final payment will now be due 60 days prior to departure.
The company had previously announced a pause in its global ship operations from 14 March through May 2021, depending on the ship.
“Our utmost priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of our guests, crew and the people in destinations. We recognise the long lead time for planning an ultra-luxury Seabourn experience and with that in mind, we proactively announce the cancellation of these additional voyages,” said Josh Leibowitz, President of Seabourn. “We are working very closely with science and medical advisors as well as our source and destination markets to develop protocols for the ultimate return to operations.”
Seabourn will be communicating changes for voyages scheduled to depart in the extension timeframe with all booked guests and their travel advisors. For additional information, click here.
Lead render: Seabourn Venture, exterior
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