Seabourn Cruise Line
Encyclopedia
Seabourn Cruise Line is a luxury cruise line
headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The line operates all around the world, from short seven-day Caribbean
cruises to exotic 100+ day cruises around the world. It is owned by Carnival Corporation, part of the "World's Leading Cruise Lines" marketing group, which also includes Holland America Line
, Princess Cruises
, Carnival Cruises, Cunard Line
, Costa Cruises
, P&O Cruises
, and AIDA Cruises
. Passengers typically range in ages from the 40s to the 60s, but children are still welcome. The company refers to itself as The Yachts of Seabourn.
Seabourn operates small ships that can fit in many ports around the world. The cabins are suites and are equipped with great amenities available at sea. All have designer soaps, flat-screen televisions, DVD
players, and Bose
Wave sound systems.
In 1998, in partnership with a consortium of Norwegian businessmen, Carnival purchased the remaining 50% stake in Seabourn, as well as acquiring the venerable Cunard Line from Kvaerner ASA. and merged the two brands into an entity called Cunard Line. In 1999, three Cunard ships, Sea Goddess I, Sea Goddess II, and Royal Viking Sun were transferred into the Seabourn fleet as Seabourn Goddess I, Seabourn Goddess II, and Seabourn Sun.
In 2001, Carnival bought out the Norwegian shareholders, and Seabourn's parent company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival. That summer, Seabourn Goddess I and Seabourn Goddess II were sold to Seabourn's original founder, Atle Brynestad, for his SeaDream Yacht Club. In 2002, Seabourn Sun was transferred to the Carnival-owned Holland America Line
, reducing the Seabourn fleet to its three original sister ships, and the company was demerged from Cunard Line and reorganized as a stand-alone operating brand of Carnival Corporation & plc.
On March 31, 2011 Seabourn ceased operations from Miami, Florida and the transferred operations to the Holland America Line quarters in Seattle, Washington.
The first set, the Seabourn Pride
, Seabourn Spirit, and Seabourn Legend
, were built during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They are nearly identical and each weighs in at 10,000 tons.
In October 2006, Seabourn ordered three new, 32,000-ton luxury cruise ships from Genoa
's T. Mariotti shipyard. The first, named Seabourn Odyssey entered service in 2009, followed by the Seabourn Sojourn
in 2010 and the Seabourn Quest in June 2011. The three ships share most features.
The Odyssey, Sojourn, and Quest have a maximum passenger capacity of 450 guests, quartered in 225 suite cabins, 90% of which have a balcony. The 650 feet (198.1 m) vessels cost approximately US$250 million each. The ships have 11 decks, an 11500 square feet (1,068.4 m²) indoor/outdoor spa, and four alternative dining venues.
Seabourn was voted "Best Small-Ship Cruise Line in the Conde NAst Traveler Readers' Choice Poll in 2008 and 2010.
The line was also voted the "World's Best Small-Ship Cruise Line" in the Travel + Leisure magazine readers' poll in 2007, 2009,2010 and 2011. In addition is has been named to Conde Nast Traveler's prestigious "Gold List" of top hospitality venues for 17 consecutive years.
Cruise line
A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...
headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The line operates all around the world, from short seven-day Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
cruises to exotic 100+ day cruises around the world. It is owned by Carnival Corporation, part of the "World's Leading Cruise Lines" marketing group, which also includes Holland America Line
Holland America Line
The Holland America Line is a cruise shipping company. It was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company , a shipping and passenger line. Headquartered in Rotterdam and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line...
, Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...
, Carnival Cruises, Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
, Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises is a British-American owned Italian cruise line, based in Genoa, Italy.Founded in 1924, the company originally operated cargo ships, until the introduction of passenger services in 1947, with regular services between Italy and South America...
, P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first...
, and AIDA Cruises
AIDA Cruises
AIDA Cruises is a British-American owned German cruise line based in Rostock, Germany.Originally founded as Deutsche Seereederei with a ship called Völkerfreundschaft , the company entered the cruise industry in the 1960s and was later acquired by P&O Princess Cruises PLC in 2000...
. Passengers typically range in ages from the 40s to the 60s, but children are still welcome. The company refers to itself as The Yachts of Seabourn.
Seabourn operates small ships that can fit in many ports around the world. The cabins are suites and are equipped with great amenities available at sea. All have designer soaps, flat-screen televisions, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
players, and Bose
Bose
Bose may refer to:* Amar Gopal Bose, the chairman and founder of Bose Corporation* Baise City, or Bose, a prefecture-level city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China* Bose Corporation, an audio company* Bose , a lunar crater...
Wave sound systems.
History
Seabourn was founded in 1986 by a consortium of Norwegian investors headed by industrialist Atle Brynestad under the name Signet Cruise Lines, but adopted the name Seabourn Cruise Line shortly afterward after objections from Signet Oil over trademark ownership. Its first ship, Seabourn Pride, entered service in 1988, followed by an identical sister, Seabourn Spirit, in 1989. A third vessel, originally planned for 1990, was delayed due to investors' financial constraints and was ultimately purchased by Royal Viking Line in 1992 as Royal Viking Queen. In 1994, Royal Viking Queen was transferred to a Kloster subsidiary, Royal Cruise Line, as Queen Odyssey In 1991, Carnival Corporation purchased a 25% stake in Seabourn. Carnival Corporation upped its stake to 50% in 1996, providing the company sufficient capital to purchase the Queen Odyssey, which was renamed Seabourn Legend.In 1998, in partnership with a consortium of Norwegian businessmen, Carnival purchased the remaining 50% stake in Seabourn, as well as acquiring the venerable Cunard Line from Kvaerner ASA. and merged the two brands into an entity called Cunard Line. In 1999, three Cunard ships, Sea Goddess I, Sea Goddess II, and Royal Viking Sun were transferred into the Seabourn fleet as Seabourn Goddess I, Seabourn Goddess II, and Seabourn Sun.
In 2001, Carnival bought out the Norwegian shareholders, and Seabourn's parent company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival. That summer, Seabourn Goddess I and Seabourn Goddess II were sold to Seabourn's original founder, Atle Brynestad, for his SeaDream Yacht Club. In 2002, Seabourn Sun was transferred to the Carnival-owned Holland America Line
Holland America Line
The Holland America Line is a cruise shipping company. It was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company , a shipping and passenger line. Headquartered in Rotterdam and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line...
, reducing the Seabourn fleet to its three original sister ships, and the company was demerged from Cunard Line and reorganized as a stand-alone operating brand of Carnival Corporation & plc.
On March 31, 2011 Seabourn ceased operations from Miami, Florida and the transferred operations to the Holland America Line quarters in Seattle, Washington.
Fleet
The company's fleet consists of six vessels, with 2 sets of 3 sister ships.The first set, the Seabourn Pride
Seabourn Pride
Seabourn Pride is one of three German-built 5-star cruise ships, owned and run by the Seabourn Cruise Line. The Seabourn Pride was the first of her class, and set out on her maiden voyage in November, 1988, after being christened by Shirley Temple Black....
, Seabourn Spirit, and Seabourn Legend
Seabourn Legend
Seabourn Legend is a Seabourn Cruise Line cruise ship, constructed by Schichau-Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven, Germany and put into service for Kloster Cruise in February 1992...
, were built during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They are nearly identical and each weighs in at 10,000 tons.
In October 2006, Seabourn ordered three new, 32,000-ton luxury cruise ships from Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
's T. Mariotti shipyard. The first, named Seabourn Odyssey entered service in 2009, followed by the Seabourn Sojourn
Seabourn Sojourn
Seabourn Sojourn is a luxury cruise ship operated by Seabourn Cruise Line. It is very similar to Seabourn Odyssey. The ship was ordered for building in the ship-yard of T. Mariotti S.p.A. She is the flagship of Seabourn.- Design :...
in 2010 and the Seabourn Quest in June 2011. The three ships share most features.
| Ship | Built | Builder | Entered service for Seabourn |
Gross Tonnage Gross tonnage Gross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage... |
Flag | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seabourn Pride Seabourn Pride Seabourn Pride is one of three German-built 5-star cruise ships, owned and run by the Seabourn Cruise Line. The Seabourn Pride was the first of her class, and set out on her maiden voyage in November, 1988, after being christened by Shirley Temple Black.... |
1988 | Schichau Seebeckwerft Schichau Seebeckwerft Schichau Seebeckwerft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft.-History:... |
1989Present | 10,000 tons |  The Bahamas |
Last refurbished in 2007 |
| Seabourn Spirit | 1988 | Schichau Seebeckwerft | 1989Present | 10,000 tons | The Bahamas |
Last refurbished in 2007 |
| Seabourn Legend Seabourn Legend Seabourn Legend is a Seabourn Cruise Line cruise ship, constructed by Schichau-Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven, Germany and put into service for Kloster Cruise in February 1992... |
1990 | Schichau Seebeckwerft | 1996Present | 10,000 tons | The Bahamas |
Previously Royal Viking Queen, Last refurbished in 2008 |
| Seabourn Odyssey Seabourn Odyssey The Seabourn Odyssey is the first new ship for Seabourn Cruise Line in over a decade. About 90% of the ship's suites have private verandas. Some of the Seabourn Odysseys features include one of the largest spas featured in a cruise ship, a built-in marina, and expanded guest services compared to... |
2009 | T. Mariotti | 2009Present | 32,000 tons | The Bahamas |
|
| Seabourn Sojourn Seabourn Sojourn Seabourn Sojourn is a luxury cruise ship operated by Seabourn Cruise Line. It is very similar to Seabourn Odyssey. The ship was ordered for building in the ship-yard of T. Mariotti S.p.A. She is the flagship of Seabourn.- Design :... |
2010 | T. Mariotti | 2010Present | 32,000 tons | The Bahamas |
|
| Seabourn Quest | 2011 | T. Mariotti | 2011Present | 32,000 tons | The Bahamas |
Accolades
The Sojourn, was awarded "Best Newcomer of the Year - Silver" from the European Cruiser Association in 2010 while the Quest won the gold award in the same category in 2011.Seabourn was voted "Best Small-Ship Cruise Line in the Conde NAst Traveler Readers' Choice Poll in 2008 and 2010.
The line was also voted the "World's Best Small-Ship Cruise Line" in the Travel + Leisure magazine readers' poll in 2007, 2009,2010 and 2011. In addition is has been named to Conde Nast Traveler's prestigious "Gold List" of top hospitality venues for 17 consecutive years.