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.

Today, Seabourn announced that it will not operate a planned five-month, 15-cruise series of voyages in the Indian Ocean aboard Seabourn Legend in late 2010 and early 2011. The vessel will instead be positioned back to the Americas at the end of its Mediterranean season to cruise in the Caribbean for the winter.
Seabourn’s President and CEO Pamela Conover said that the intended shoreside destinations remain apparently safe for visitors, but the high seas routes between them are currently vulnerable to incidents of piracy that have not been adequately controlled.
“It makes me sad to have to cancel these cruises,” she said. “I personally loved touring Kenya’s game parks, and the islands of the Seychelles, Madagascar and Zanzibar are lovely and exotic destinations where we sincerely had hoped to be able to take our guests. We look forward to a time when the sea routes are controlled enough for us to cruise there for a season.”
But if you are looking for an exotic Seabourn voyage in 2010 and 2011, you’re still in luck.  Seabourn Spirit will sail through Egypt, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and Oman to Dubai. Spirit will then continue via India, Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore, to begin a season of cruises exploring Bali, Borneo, Java and the islands of the Java, Flores and Savu Seas.  Spirit will even venture southward to Australia’s Northern Territories and Great Barrier Reef.

Seabourn Pride, meanwhile, will be in Asia for the full year, and in the autumn will be sailing in China, Thailand and Vietnam, with land extensions to Beijing, Guilin, Cambodia & Laos and the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

Seabourn Odyssey will make a maiden circumnavigation of South America in early 2011, encompassing the Peruvian and Chilean coasts, the Chilean fjords and Patagonia, Cape Horn, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and the Amazon.

Seabourn Legend’s voyages in the Caribbean are designed to take advantage of her intimate size, and features such as the fold-out watersports marina that can be deployed for a “Champagne and Caviar in the Surf” beach barbecue. Activities ashore range from snorkeling, yacht-racing, kayaking, hiking, horseback riding and zip-line adventures to visiting artists’ studios, tony boutiques or relaxing on world-class beaches. On board, deck barbecues and al fresco dining options make the most of the bucolic climate, as do Dancing and Movies Under the Stars.

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.

Seabourn Odyssey Suite

Seabourn Odyssey Veranda Suite

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 Wintergarden Suite Solarium

Seabourn Odyssey Wintergarden Suite

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.

Seabourn Odyssey and Seabourn Spirit

Seabourn Odyssey and Seabourn Spirit were together at Dubrovnik, Croatia on Wednesday, July 29, and we got this picture sent by the Hotel Managers. There is a bit of perspective at work, since Odyssey is really only about a third longer than Spirit. She looks bigger than that, because she is closer. But the family resemblance is striking. They will be together again at Venice several more times this year, when both will be disembarking and embarking guests.  Looks like their guests had a beautiful day in picturesque Dubrovnik. You can see the town walls and the red-tile roofs of the UNESCO World Heritage Site just beyond Spirit on the right.

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:

Seabourn Odyssey Penthouse Suite

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…)

We were thrilled to be selected by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler as the Best Small-Ship Cruise Line in their annual Readers’ Choice Awards last fall.  And now, Travel + Leisure magazine has released the results of their 14th annual World’s Best survey and their readers have again voted The Yachts of Seabourn the World’s Best Small-Ship Cruise Line. Are we ever proud now! The best news, in a way, is that these votes of confidence from our guests are the results of cruise experiences before Seabourn Odyssey even joined the fleet. With Odyssey already pleasing guests and Sojourn getting set to do the same, we have high hopes for the future. Thanks to everyone who voted for us, and special thanks to the crew of our Seabourn yachts, who send everybody home happy and  ready to cast their ballots for us.

The Restaurant on Seabourn Odyssey

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.