Tag Archives: Seabourn

Carnival Corporation Sells Seabourn Odyssey to MOL Group

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Seabourn Odyssey photo credit for Spacejunkie2 (Flickr)

Carnival Corporation and its luxury Seabourn brand have announced the sale of the 450-guest, 2009-built Seabourn Odyssey to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), which currently operates a one-ship Japanese cruise line with the Nippon Maru.

Following the sale, Seabourn will continue to operate all published voyages through August 22, 2024, under a charter arrangement.

The Seabourn Odyssey will then be delivered to MOL after the charter agreement.

Of note, it’s the 26th ship to exit the Carnival Corp. fleet since 2020.

“We are proud that Seabourn Odyssey carried our guests across the world for the last 14 years and are happy to see her join a great company, MOL,” said Seabourn President Natalya Leahy. “As we prepare to say farewell to Odyssey in September 2024, I am excited to further optimize our fleet as we grow our expedition business. With the addition of Seabourn Pursuit this summer, Seabourn will have one of the most modern fleets in the ultra-luxury segment with an average age of just seven years.”

The company said that Seabourn’s fleet expansion into the ultra-luxury expedition market allows for a more diverse offering of deployment opportunities, which will lead to new and exciting itineraries across all seven continents with a higher guest capacity compared to 2019 even after Seabourn Odyssey’s departure.

“With this elite, modern fleet, Seabourn continues as the leader in ultra-luxury travel, providing highly curated and immersive experiences and unique ‘Seabourn Moments’ for our guests,” Leahy said.

Carnival Corporation to Trim Down Cruise Newbuilding Pace

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Carnival Corporation will decelerate its new building pace in an effort to not only moderate supply growth, but keep spending down, according to Josh Weinstein, president and CEO, speaking on the company’s year-end and fourth-quarter earnings call.

Weinstein said that the company didn’t expect to take delivery of any new ships in 2026, and beyond that, would only build two ships a year going forward.

“Going forward, we are committed to using our expected cash flow strength to repair the balance sheet over time, and we’ll be disciplined and rigorous in making newbuild decisions accordingly,” he said.

“We have just four ships on order through 2025, plus our second incredible Seabourn luxury expedition ship to be delivered in 2023.

“This is our lowest order book in decades,” Weinstein continued. “We don’t expect any new ships in 2026 and anticipate just one or two new builds each year for several years thereafter.”

Left on the Carnival orderbook through 2025 are the Carnival Jubilee, Cunard’s Queen Anne, the Sun Princess, another Princess newbuild that has yet to be named and the Seabourn Pursuit.

No new builds are on order for the company’s other brands including Holland America Line, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia. Carnival’s joint venture with China State Shipbuilding Corporation was not mentioned.

With more old ships exiting combined with recent deliveries and the upcoming new build schedule, the company expects about 25 per cent of its capacity to be what it considers new ships in 2023.

That means an eight-percentage point increase in balcony cabins across the fleet, and differentiated onboard experiences resulting in greater onboard revenue.

Seabourn Encore Resumes Service in Europe

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After a 23-month operational pause, the Seabourn Encore is welcoming the passengers back today.

As the third Seabourn vessel to resume revenue service, the luxury ship is launching a series of ten- and 11-night cruises to the Canaries and the Mediterranean.

Sailing roundtrip from Lisbon, Portugal, the first cruise features visits to five ports in the Spanish archipelago of the Canaries, such as La Palma, Tenerife and Arrecife.

The itinerary also includes a call at Funchal, Portugal’s Madeira Island.

Continuing its first post-pandemic season, the Encore is poised to offer additional sailings to the Atlantic Islands until early April. The vessel then repositions to the Mediterranean in time for a summer program in the region.

Designed to offer an ultra-luxury product, the 40,350-ton cruise ship originally entered service in 2016.

As an enlarged version of Seabourn’s previous series of newbuilds, the Seabourn Encore carries 604 guests and features expanded public areas.

According to the Seabourn, the vessel was projected drawing inspiration from the brand’s rich history and yachting heritage and offers modern design elements and innovations consistent with its reputation for understated elegance.

The all-suite ship has multiple dining venues, in addition to a showroom, a spa, several lounges and bars, a casino, and the popular Seabourn Square, the social hub onboard with a club-like ambience.

Seabourn first resumed guest operations in Europe with the Seabourn Ovation. In July 2021, the 2018-built vessel kicked off a series of cruises to the Greek Islands and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Seabourn Odyssey followed later that same month, sailing Eastern Caribbean cruises from Barbados.

Upon the completion of its summer program in Europe, the Ovation joined the Odyssey in the Caribbean, offering its first-ever departures from a U.S. port.

The remainder of the company’s fleet is set to resume service before the second half of 2022.