Seabourn Odyssey made her American debut on November 12 at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale Florida. An audience of travel agents and media experienced a one-night cruise to give them an ‘appetizer” of the newest evolution of Seabourn yachting life.  Check out the video.

Seabourn Odyssey at Port Everglades

Seabourn Odyssey has made it to the USA!  It was a beautiful morning in South Florida as the new luxury ship breezed into Port Everglades at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on the morning of November 10, carrying more than 400 guests who sailed in her maiden transatlantic cruise. The ship and guests received a warm welcome from the port with the display of colored spray arching from a port-sponsored fireboat, as well as from Broward County’s very own Nova High School Titan Band, which assembled on the dock in their green and black uniforms and greeted them with lively, energetic music.  It was the first coastline the pampered guests had seen since they left the Portuguese island of Madeira on November 2.

Seabourn Odyssey’s maiden call in the U.S. will begin with inspections by the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Public Health Service.  That will be followed by a two-day open house. The first, on November 11, is for the proud staff who work at Seabourn’s Miami headquarters, and the next day is for travel agents eager to see the vessel USA Today called “…quite simply a game-changer for the luxury segment.”

On November 13, Seabourn is sponsoring “Arts Odyssey,” a gala overnight cruise benefiting the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and three of its resident companies: The New World Symphony, Florida Grand Opera and the Miami City Ballet.  The gala will also feature a performance by Broadway star Bernadette Peters.

Friday, October 23, 2009. Seabourn Odyssey is alongside the wharf at the medieval city of Valletta on the island of  Malta.  The sky is a perfect Mediterranean blue. The brilliant sun pours down on honey-colored stones from the era when European Crusaders used this outpost for R&R in their campaigns for the Holy Land. Our correspondent Karen Sinclair knows a knockout picture when she sees one, and on that day, she does. Don’t you wish you were there?

Odyssey’s World Cruise departs January 5, 2010 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. During the next 108 days, it will visit 42 fascinating ports on six continents, and 25 countries. Many of those countries require visitors to have visas. In a number of them, Seabourn Odyssey is able to acquire the visas for guests on arrival, but there are a number that require visitors to have visas before they arrive. That means that World Cruise guests have to apply and get their visas before they embark for their voyages.  If any guest has not done so, it is important that they check on Seabourn’s website to see what is required for their nationality and their itinerary.

Here are some visa requirements  for most nationalities:

• United States: Non-US citizens or residents must follow the regulations to acquire a visa to enter the United States. Those vary by nationality.
• Australia requires a visa to be acquired in advance for entry.
• India requires an individual visa to be acquired in advance for entry.
• Guests who are taking an Overland Journey in China (from the port of Hong Kong) are required to acquire a visa in advance of arrival. Those just sailing to Hong Kong do not require a visa in advance.
• Visas are also required for entry into Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Oman and Egypt, but these can be purchased on board for your convenience.

Since we started this blog, it has been mainly focused on Seabourn Odyssey. There were, and still are, many great stories to tell about that amazing vessel. But we also have a myriad of topics about the three other Seabourn yachts as they branch out and explore ever more exotic destinations. Plus,  Seabourn Sojourn is under construction as we are writing this, and there are tales to tell about that as well. Plus, we can’t forget that a third new Seabourn yacht has already been started (her keel was laid at the same time as Sojourn’s).

In January, Odyssey will set off around the world,  providing a lot of interesting topics for us to discuss including special shoreside events along the way, guest celebrities and chefs and much more.  So we have decided to expand the focus of this blog to encompass all the Seabourn yachts– their staffs, their guests, their itineraries and the new yachts a-building.

This will be a process, rather than a “presto.” We have already begun…you’ll notice that the countdown clock in the upper right corner is now tallying days ‘til the Sojourn debut.

So we invite you to check back often, and watch as we expand our focus beyond Odyssey to the broader Seabourn world. As always, we welcome your comments, suggestions and questions, and we appreciate your interest.

The comedian Brother Dave Gardner once observed that “…the worst I ever had was wonderful,” and he might as well have been referring to the suites on Seabourn Odyssey. The minimum category accommodation on board is still a spacious ocean-view suite with 295 square feet (27.5 sq m) of space and a five-foot picture window. There are just eight in category A, all the way forward on Deck 4.  Because of the shape of Odyssey’s hull, the first few are slightly smaller, (271 to 283 square feet). There are 18 Category A1 suites, all with the picture window, but further amidships on Deck 4. Like all Odyssey’s suites, they feature walk-in closets, comfortable seating area, dining table for two, one queen-size or twin beds, a fully-stocked bar and refrigerator, writing desk with personalized stationery, a makeup vanity, interactive flat-screen TV with music and movies on demand and a granite bathroom with separate tub and shower.

The most plentiful type of suite on Seabourn Odyssey is the Veranda Suite, categories V1 through V6. These are located on Decks 5 to 9, and have an inside space measuring 300 square feet (27.7 sq m) plus a private veranda of 65 square feet (6.1 sq m). Among the thoughtful touches that they share with all Seabourn Odyssey suites are Molton Brown Therapies Range bathroom amenities, plush robes and slippers, a hair dryer, a personal safe, a world atlas, book of short stories and an umbrella.

Time Lapse  Construction Video of Seabourn Odyssey

Seabourn Odyssey’s two Wintergarden Suites are very unusual. Each one has a glassed-in private solarium with a bathtub and a sunbed. That’s in addition to the private veranda, which is actually bowed out to give a great view along the side.  Like the Signature Suites, these can be joined with a veranda-category suite at the back to make a Grand Wintergarden suite, the largest accommodation on Seabourn Odyssey at 1,189 sq ft/110 sq m. inside dimension. The two verandas will total another 214 sq ft/20 sq m of private space. In the picture, you can see the dining table, the sofas and the doors to the veranda and the solarium. Not shown are the bedroom, the pantry and bar, the two closets or the granite master bath with a whirlpool tub and separate shower, plus a guest bath. One of the best things about the Wintergardens is their location. They are just aft of midships, just steps from the Main Stairway, shops, and Seabourn Square. The  pictures show the suite, and the solarium.

We have had several requests for more shots of Seabourn Odyssey suites. And now we have received a few images from the photographer that we can share. So here goes:

Penthouse Suite category PH: There are 23 of these on Odyssey, located on Decks 6, 9 and 10. They  are half-again as large as the Veranda Suites, 436 square feet ( 40.6 square meters) inside space, and a veranda of 98 square feet (9.1 square meters) In addition to the complete Seabourn suite setup, these also have a dining table that can seat four, a separate bedroom and they have two flat-screen interactive TVs. (more…)

Some sort of sweetly sentimental speed record might have been set in Venice.
With her first group of guests on board and after less than two days of full operation, Seabourn Odyssey had already cornered a key role in one couple’s romantic story-line and secured a place of honor in one new family’s personal history.  On June 23rd, a love-struck travel advisor from Denmark, who was traveling on board during the pre-Maiden Voyage familiarization cruise, selected Odyssey’s stunning new Restaurant as the setting for his proposal of marriage to his sweetheart.  The bride-to-be was reportedly radiant and proud of her dazzling engagement ring, which temporarily eclipsed the Restaurant’s glittering chandeliers as the center of visual attention. Champagne was quickly arranged and all present toasted the couple, wishing them a long and happy life, and many more Seabourn voyages together.