Raoul Jack has forwarded some new pictures of Seabourn Sojourn in the Mariotti shipyard at Genoa, Italy.

The first picture is a shot from directly astern with Sojourn in the drydock. You may recall from Odyssey’s construction that this is where they complete the work that is below the waterline when the vessel is afloat. Including bottom paint and mechanical things like the bow thrusters, seen in the second picture. Then there’s a picture of Deck 6 forward, showing the signature Seabourn single whirlpool that’s a favorite with so many guests. It looks like they’re having great fall weather in Genoa, too!

More pictures later this week.

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 Sojourn

Seabourn Sojourn

Great News! Seabourn Sojourn has departed San Giorgio di Nogaro and arrived at the T. Mariotti shipyards in Genoa to begin her fitting out. As you can see from this picture, taken on her departure from S. Giorgio, the luxury yacht is already taller than Odyssey was when she left the Adriatic yard. That’s because they not only installed her engines while the hull was being assembled ( recall that Odyssey’s were installed at Genoa), but they also added the blocks of superstructure up to Deck 9 (Odyssey floated up to Genoa just finished to Deck 6.)  The second picture shows the ship being snugged up to the fitting out dock at the Genoa shipyard. About a thousand workers will be occupied getting her ready for her June, 2010 debut at Greenwich, England.

Seabourn Sojourn at Nogaro

Seabourn’s second new yacht, Seabourn Sojourn, has been growing at San Giorgio di Nogaro in a process pretty similar to the one we tracked for Seabourn Odyssey. The two halves of her hull were formed and then floated down to Rijeka in Croatia where they were joined together into one sleek piece. That is an amazing feat! (more…)

Seabourn Sojourn

As Seabourn Odyssey is being prepared for her maiden Voyage in just a few short weeks, the second sister is also “coming of age” over at San Giorgio di Nogaro. If you recall, the hull segments are built in two halves and then set on barges and taken to a place called Rijeka in Croatia where they can be joined into one sleek hull. This week, the front half of Seabourn Sojourn’s hull was finished and carefully loaded onto a semi-submersible barge for the trip to Rijeka. (more…)

We just noticed that the Seabourn Odyssey blog has been around for about six months at this point. And we have just over three months left until Seabourn Odyssey makes her (actual) debut at Venice. It’s been amazing to see how many of you have stopped by on a regular basis to check out the progress of Odyssey, read about the construction process from Neil Carney, see pictures, learn about nautical terms and so forth (How many of you?  How about 21,000?)  At this point, it looks like Odyssey’s sister Seabourn Sojourn will be arriving in the Mariotti shipyard in Genoa even before Odyssey leaves. She’s making great progress herself, and will follow Odyssey’s path across the Adriatic and up the coast of Italy. Hope we can get a picture of the two of them together!  We truly appreciate your interest and we thank you for your attention. We promise to keep bringing you more and more news as the big day approaches. We are so excited!

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…)

Spin the globe and stop it with your finger – chances are The Yachts of Seabourn go where it lands in 2010-2011.  It’s the most extensive and diverse year yet. Cruises now can be viewed at www.seabourn.com. A cruise catalogue will be published in April.

With the addition of Seabourn Odyssey in June 2009 and Seabourn Sojourn in June 2010, Seabourn can explore more far-flung ports of call, such as Palopo on Sulawesi; Zanzibar; and Madagascar. (more…)

Our shipyard correspondent Chief Engineer Neil Carney has filed an update on the engines pictured in an earlier report. Those, as you may recall, were destined for the second Seabourn sister: Seabourn Sojourn.

“I write this as an update to both my blog of 3rd Nov’08 – Seabourn Sojourn’s (MAR063) Wartsila Engine FAT’s and what’s just happening in Port Nogaro with those engines. I also hope it answers the interest raised in the comment written by Wayne E Porter to that blog report.” (more…)