We have fantastic news to share – today we signed and took delivery of our newest ship, Seabourn Sojourn! It was a wonderful day in Genoa and we are so proud to welcome her to our fleet. Shipyard staff members, who proudly worked on her for the past year, stood at the dock and waved goodbye to Sojourn as she pulled away this afternoon and headed out to sea. For the next few days, onboard crew will be preparing the yacht for two days of exciting festivities in London, where we will officially “name” the yacht and introduce her to the world. It will be spectacular, so stay tuned for more news from the inaugural celebration!

Twiggy

We are very pleased to announce that British supermodel Twiggy will be the Godmother of Seabourn Sojourn.  She will name the yacht during a christening ceremony hosted on board on the River Thames on Friday, June 4.  In addition, we have donated Sojourn on Saturday, June 5, to the non-profit Breast Cancer Haven as the venue for an exclusive fundraising gala event to celebrate the charity’s 10th anniversary.

Twiggy exploded onto the international modelling scene as a London teenager in 1966. She went on to define the term ‘supermodel’ and to become the icon of 1960s style worldwide. In the early 1970s, she became an actress and singer, winning two coveted Golden Globe Awards for her first film “The Boyfriend.” In the 1980s, she took Broadway by storm in the Tony Award-winning Gershwin musical ‘My One & Only.” More recently, she has been a judge on America’s Next Top Model and fronted the phenomenally successful campaign for the British retail giant Marks & Spencer. Along with this, she designs her own clothing and bed linen lines in the U.K. and has just launched her “Twiggy London” collection in the U.S. on the Home Shopping Channel.

She is an ardent campaigner for animal welfare and breast cancer support. Twiggy’s renowned elegance and style perfectly complement the values of Seabourn, reflected in the gracious lines and sophistication of Seabourn Sojourn.

We have no doubt it’s going to be spectacular ceremony in London.  We’re very much looking forward to welcoming Twiggy on board Seabourn Sojourn!

It was an exacting task to align the two pieces perfectly and then weld the seams to form one smooth and sleek hull. That task was finished last week and the entire hull was then towed back to San Giorgio di Nogaro, where they will begin adding the blocks of her superstructure.  Once that phase is complete, Quest will be towed again all the way around the “boot” and up the coast of Italy to the Mariotti shipyard in Genoa, and the yard will begin to outfit the yacht for her arrival in June of 2011.  Before you know it, she’ll be ready for the world to see!

Here is a great picture of Seabourn Quest arriving in San Giorgio.  You can see her name proudly affixed on the bow. Even though she is in the early stages now, you can tell she is going to be a stunner!

We’re only one month away from the launch of Sojourn and there is a great buzz in the air here at Seabourn!  We are in the midst of finalizing plans for the inaugural festivities in London while workers at the shipyard are putting the finishing touches on the yacht.  We know many of you are just as excited as we are to see her. The debut is right around the corner, but in the meantime, here are some new construction photos of Sojourn. (more…)

Pamela Conover, Seabourn’s president and CEO, just returned from a hardhat tour in Genoa, Italy, to survey the progress of Seabourn Sojourn in the shipyard.  She was joined by several senior officers and senior executives from headquarters.  Here is her update: (more…)