Seabourn has launched a new website at its familiar internet address, www.seabourn.com, with a fresh look and many new features and functionalities – all of which were designed to make the online experience more intuitive, easier and more user-friendly.

One of the most significant features of the new website is the new “My Seabourn” account, where guests can easily access their bookings and manage their reservations online.  Guests can print out their customized itinerary, which integrates both the cruise schedule and any spa appointments or shore excursions they may have booked in advance.  They can also adjust their personal onboard preferences, choosing from a variety of options such as beverage preferences for their complimentary in-suite bar, bed configuration, choice of pillows, dining, suite amenities and many other customized features.  Another enhancement provides new options to book and confirm shore excursions and spa appointments online prior to departure.

One of the top tasks on hand for Richard Meadows, Seabourn’s new president, is to meet and get to know our senior officers throughout the fleet.  During the annual senior officers meeting in Genoa, Italy, he met with captains and hotel managers and other staff members, and shared his vision and goals for the line.  It was also the perfect opportunity for him to take a hard hat tour of Seabourn Quest and see how construction was progressing. With the ship scheduled to be delivered in just three months, there was no denying the great sense of excitement and anticipation in the air!

Here is a photo of Richard (sixth from left) with the entire group in Genoa.

Seabourn has just announced some very important news, and we wanted you to be among the first to know about it.  Seabourn’s US headquarters will soon move from Miami, Florida to Seattle, Washington, where the company will benefit from the support systems of our sister-brand, Holland America Line.   The transition will be made over the next few months, and Seabourn will have a separate, dedicated brand management team in the new Seattle location.

For our guests, the award-winning Seabourn onboard experience will not change in any way.  Guests will still experience the superlative service of our same onboard staff and the professional and personal attention of our dedicated officers.  Seabourn will continue to be the ultra-luxury line our guests have voted the World’s Best, delivering everything you expect and more.  Quite simply, no aspect of your experience will change –not our ships, not our officers or crew, not our world-renowned cruise vacations.  The headquarters move will enhance the shoreside support areas of our organization, enabling us to focus more attention on what matters most: our guests. 

We are confident this move is right for the company, and will enable us to continue to deliver the exceptional award-winning Seabourn experience and to implement future programs that we believe you will find appealing.

Check back often for more news about the headquarters move, plus updates and news from our ships and crews around the world.

From the entire Seabourn family — both at sea and ashore — we would like to wish all of our readers and guests a very happy holiday season.  We hope the new year will bring you joy and take you on new journeys and travels across the globe!

We love it when we win over the hearts of our guests.  Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder of Indagare and former travel editor of Town & Country, was a little hesitant about cruising and wasn’t sure if it was a good fit for her.  However, she changed her mind after spending a week on Seabourn Odyssey with her two children last summer.  In fact, she wished she could have sailed even longer.

There was something for everyone on the cruise – from the interesting destinations in the Greek Isles and watersports on “Marina Day” to the many dining options and friendly onboard service.  “The greatest treat, for me, though was how easy it was to keep everyone happy.”

Read more of her confessions about her Seabourn cruise experience here: http://www.indagare.com/passions/8/departments/172/10421

We recently shared with you Seabourn Legend Pastry Chef’s talent of creating beautiful, edible artwork.  Many of our staff members are filled with hidden talents and enjoy a number of hobbies during their time off.  This time, we’d like to introduce you to Gilbert Lagmay, a carpenter and long-time Seabourn employee. Not only is he a maestro at making the yacht shine and keeping it spic and span, he also has a remarkable artistic gift.  He has an ability to look at a picture and recreate the same picture with a pencil in black and white, creating many beautiful drawings.

Gilbert tells us he developed this skill by watching cartoonists and professional portrait artists back home in the Philippines. He is always purchasing pencils and brushes to practice his hobby and perfect his artistic skills.  Impressed and amazed by his talent, his fellow colleagues occasionally ask him to sketch a drawing for them.

Gilbert with a portrait of Captain Erik L. Anderssen’s granddaughter

Gilbert is a “Seabourn Legend,” and we will continue to admire him for his artistic talent and for being a professional and outstanding Seabourn carpenter!

Seabourn Odyssey continues to bring in positive and rave reviews from her guests.  The latest is from Linda Garrison of About.com, an experienced cruise writer who sailed on the yacht in October.  Linda raved that Odyssey was,

“marvelous” with “exceptional service, delicious cuisine, and casual onboard atmosphere that past Seabourn cruisers love and expect.”

Want to see why Odyssey is so marvelous? Read the Seabourn Odyssey review and be sure to check out her photo gallery.

A few words from Jack E. Mannix, CTC, president and CEO, Ensemble Travel Group…

Ensemble Travel Group is bullish on The Yachts of Seabourn because Seabourn shares the same priority as our network of nearly 900 expert premium- and luxury-focused travel agencies in the U.S. and Canada – and that’s you, the customer and guest.
We are both committed to exceeding customers’ expectations. Ensemble Travel Group accomplishes this through strong personal relationships and by offering clients a lineup of standout products and programs. (more…)

Gerry Ellis, Seabourn’s director of compliance, has announced that The Yachts of Seabourn has successfully achieved certification of its environmental management system under the ISO 14001 regime designed and maintained by the International Organization for Standardization. (more…)

Blog correspondent Chief Engineer Neil Carney sent some more photos taken during Odyssey’s time in the drydock. As he told us, at that time most of Seabourn Odyssey’s below-the-waterline equipment was installed while she was “high and dry.”  In the first photo below, you see a view of Seabourn Odyssey that you’re unlikely to ever see again, showing the beautiful new five-blade propellers, the rudders and the all-important propeller shafts. (more…)