Seabourn Cancels More Voyages, Delays Delivery of Newbuild

Luxury cruise line Seabourn has canceled more voyages for three cruise ships, with two tentatively set to return to service in January and one on May 11.

Seabourn also announced a new delivery date for its purpose-built expedition ship, Seabourn Venture, which is now scheduled for Dec. 1, 2021. The company said the delay is due to shipyard closures at T. Mariotti shipyard earlier this year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Seabourn Ovation and Seabourn Encore are scheduled to resume operations on Jan. 3 and Jan. 6, 2021, respectively, and the Seabourn Quest will remain on pause through May 10, 2021.

The Seabourn Quest will operate the line’s 2021-22 Antarctica program. Seabourn Venture will debut in December 2021 with a series of “Norwegian Winter” voyages in search of the Northern Lights.

The revised inaugural season for Seabourn Venture is being finalized and will be announced in October. The brand has opened a waitlist for voyages from December 2021 to April 2022.

Guests currently booked on the inaugural voyage for Seabourn Venture can switch to the new one on a priority basis before it opens for sale to the general public. Additional details on rebooking for other affected Seabourn Venture voyages will be available in mid-October.

Due to the redeployment of Seabourn Quest to Antarctica, the line is canceling Seabourn Quest’s Panama Canal voyages scheduled for Nov. 7-Dec. 19, 2021.

Seabourn is continuing to assess the timing to resume operations on Seabourn Odyssey in the Caribbean. For those booked on December sailings on Seabourn Odyssey, final payment will now be due 60 days before departure.

Seabourn had previously announced a pause in its global ship operations from March 14 through May 2021, depending on the ship, effectively canceling all voyages for those ships scheduled to operate during that timeframe.

“Our utmost priority is the health, safety and well-being of our guests, crew and the people in destinations. We recognize the long lead time for planning an ultra-luxury Seabourn experience and with that in mind, we proactively announce the cancellation of these additional voyages,” said Seabourn President Josh Leibowitz. “We are working very closely with science and medical advisors as well as our source and destination markets to develop protocols for the ultimate return to operations.”

Guests who are currently confirmed on one of the affected voyages on Seabourn Quest’s Antarctica, Amazon, Panama Canal, South America and transatlantic cruises scheduled between Nov. 7, 2020, and April 25, 2021, will automatically be re-accommodated in the same suite on the same voyage during Seabourn Quest’s 2021-22 season, at the rate paid, within 30 days, as well as receive a shipboard credit based upon voyage length. The shipboard credit is $300 per suite for voyages up to 20 days long and $500 per suite for voyages of 21 days or more.

Guests booked on impacted cruises on Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Ovation will automatically be canceled, and all guests will receive future cruise credits (FCC). They can also request a full refund. Specific details are as follows:

Paid in Full: Those guests paid in full will receive 125 percent FCC of the base cruise fare paid to Seabourn. Guests can also request a refund.

Deposited bookings: Those with deposited bookings will receive an FCC valued at 125 percent of the deposit amount paid, up to the base cruise fare paid to Seabourn, or a full refund.

The FCC is valid for 12 months from the date of issue and may be used to book sailings departing through Dec. 31, 2022. The amount of non-cruise fare purchases may be transferred to a new booking.

Guests and their travel advisors will be sent specific details to their bookings. Seabourn asks guests and travel advisors to use the online resources available on its website first rather than calling the reservation call center for information about the cancellations due to the possibility of high call volumes and the potential of long on-hold wait times.