Seabourn odyssey sold

[cruisr]

Too bad,  I really liked that ship. 
Mitsui OSK is the buyer and she will leave the fleet on August 22, 2024

Seabourn will work to put guests booked past 8/22/24 on other sailings

 

Wonder why they sold her?  Bean counters at work?

[SLSD]

3 minutes ago, cruisr said:

Too bad,  I really liked that ship. 
Mitsui OSK is the buyer and she will leave the fleet on August 22, 2024

Seabourn will work to put guests booked past 8/22/24 on other sailings

 

Wonder why they sold her?  Bean counters at work?

We know that Carnival (and Seabourn by extension) are under financial pressure.  I would not be surprised to hear that Sojourn and Quest will be sold as well at some point in the fairly near future.  Then, SB would have Ovation, Encore, Venture, and Pursuit when it is ready.  

Edited March 16, 2023 by SLSD

[frantic36]

18 hours ago, SLSD said:

I would not be surprised to hear that Sojourn and Quest will be sold as well at some point in the fairly near future.  Then, SB would have Ovation, Encore, Venture, and Pursuit when it is ready.  

 

I hope you are wrong about selling the Sojourn & Quest as I prefer them to Encore and Ovation. I am hoping it is simply they can have two ships in each class of ship for variety.

[SLSD]

9 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

 

I hope you are wrong about selling the Sojourn & Quest as I prefer them to Encore and Ovation. I am hoping it is simply they can have two ships in each class of ship for variety.

Of course I have no idea if they will sell Sojourn and Quest.  It just seems inevitable as they are older ships as well.  With Pursuit coming, and the difficulty filling ships coupled with the huge debt Carnival has incurred, I just see it as a possibility. 

 

I understand that many do not like Ovation and Encore and prefer the smaller ships.  We've sailed both and prefer the larger ships.  Of course we seldom/never lounge by the pool which may make a difference.  

[Mr Luxury]

38 minutes ago, SLSD said:

Of course I have no idea if they will sell Sojourn and Quest.  It just seems inevitable as they are older ships as well.  With Pursuit coming, and the difficulty filling ships coupled with the huge debt Carnival has incurred, I just see it as a possibility. 

 

I understand that many do not like Ovation and Encore and prefer the smaller ships.  We've sailed both and prefer the larger ships.  Of course we seldom/never lounge by the pool which may make a difference.  

I prefer the Encore.

I spend so much time in TK and TK bar it's a no brainer for me.

[SLSD]

28 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

I prefer the Encore.

I spend so much time in TK and TK bar it's a no brainer for me.

We like both Encore and Ovation.  The TK Bar is a favorite place.  We also think the decor in the Observation Bar (and all over the ship) is much better on the larger ships.  We like the outside area of the Colonnade better also.  We even like the Restaurant better on the larger ships (in spite of the plastic ceilings).  

 

We are not huge fans of the TK Grill.  I have yet to have a great steak there.  The best steak I've had onboard was a ribeye in the The Restaurant.  While the service is always quite good in the TK Grill, the menu has gotten old (and the specials are not always so special). The side dishes are like Dallas steak restaurant side dishes--and way too large.  We usually have a couple of bites each and the rest is wasted.  Hopefully, there will be some updates when we sail in June.  

Edited March 17, 2023 by SLSD

[frantic36]

26 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

I prefer the Encore.

I spend so much time in TK and TK bar it's a no brainer for me.

 

😊And this is why I think would be an idea to maintain variety. Encore because of the layout in the club and various other reasons is my least favourite ship. I would sail on her but only with an exceptional itinerary or a great price if I wanted a get away.

[SLSD]

5 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

 

😊And this is why I think would be an idea to maintain variety. Encore because of the layout in the club and various other reasons is my least favourite ship. I would sail on her but only with an exceptional itinerary or a great price if I wanted a get away.

I agree that the layout of the club is better in the smaller ships.  This doesn't affect us very much as we seldom go to The Club.  

[Isklaar]

For some time now I have expected SB to be sold entire, but the sale of just one ship (so far), has surprised me. As a big fan of the O class ships I'm disappointed.

 

The O class ships are the perfect size for me, Encore and Ovation are just too large, and in my opinion in some respects they suffer poor design. On Ovation we were turned away from the too small MDR as no tables available and struggled to find outdoor space. It's the largest ship we've sailed on and we did not enjoy it. We would sail Venture/Pursuit but only cold weather itineraries.

 

I hope that Sojourn and Quest are retained for a few more years but as we don't know when we will be able to cruise again, there's a strong possibility they will be gone by then. I do love Sojourn in particular and feel a bit sad that I may never sail her again. 

 

 

[Mr Luxury]

5 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

😊And this is why I think would be an idea to maintain variety. Encore because of the layout in the club and various other reasons is my least favourite ship. I would sail on her but only with an exceptional itinerary or a great price if I wanted a get away.

Or if I paid for you 😀

[Isklaar]

9 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Or if I paid for you 😀

 

Not joking, we have a Milestone Award to use, If SB is still honouring them by the time  we're next able to cruise if Encore/Ovation is the only option by that time I would rather lose it! 😀

[Mr Luxury]

2 minutes ago, Isklaar said:

 

Not joking, we have a Milestone Award to use, If SB is still honouring them by the time  we're next able to cruise if Encore/Ovation is the only option by that time I would rather lose it! 😀

That's not a wise decision is it 

[Kauaijim]

Too bad, great class of ships 

[frantic36]

1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

Or if I paid for you 😀

Well yes of course that goes without saying.😁

[Dusko]

I wonder what the dress code will be with Mitsui 😉

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, Dusko said:

I wonder what the dress code will be with Mitsui 😉

Kimono

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, Dusko said:

I wonder what the dress code will be with Mitsui 😉

The ship will be with a totally different cruiseline and culture.  Most likely, the experience would not resemble SB at all.  That is after August of 24.  Until then, it will be chartered by SB and be as a regular SB ship.  

[tjcox9]

1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

Kimono

Possibly true. We enjoyed 27 days on the Diamond Princess right after they "Japanized" it with noodle bar, Japanese baths, and Sake opening ceremony at the beginning of each of the three legs we did. It was a delight to see the "locals" in their formal night kimonos. 

[commodoredave]

I find it interesting that while Silversea is rapidly expanding with support from its parent (RCCL), Seabourn is shrinking under pressure from a somewhat financailly distressed parent (Carnival). I think it would make a fascinating story if someone in the know wrote about the divergent paths of these two ultra-luxury lines and why.

[cruiseej]

I think Royal Caribbean and Carnival are both financially distressed after the pandemic shutdown. How they respond/recover over the next several years will be interesting to watch. 

 

Seabourn isn't really shrinking. They have just added one new expedition ship, and will later this year add a second new expedition ship. The capacity of those ships is slightly higher than the Odyssey, which will leave the fleet in a year and a half. It appears they weren't desperately trying to sell a ship to shore up finances, but got an offer "to good to refuse" to sell their oldest ship. So Seabourn will end up with passenger capacity a slim 2% higher by the end of next year as when the pandemic shutdown took place.

 

Silversea is definitely growing, with the addition of the expedition ship they bought from the defunct Crystal as well as two newbuilds this year and next year. The plans for the new ships were underway before the pandemic. Yet to be seen is whether they can maintain their standards with two large new ships ion an era where hiring experienced staff has proven challenging for all the cruise lines. And whether they can fill all their ships at the higher prices they are charging for the new ships. Silversea also has four ships which are more than 20 years old, so it all be interesting to see if they keep them all or retire any of the older ships in favor of their more modern siblings.

 

After Seabourn launches the Pursuit later this year, and Silversea launches the Ray next year, what comes next will tell us a lot about the future of these cruise lines. Neither currently has any future ships on order, as the cruise companies pause their capital spending spree to try to recover from the pandemic losses. 

[saminina]

6 hours ago, commodoredave said:

 I think it would make a fascinating story if someone in the know wrote about the divergent paths of these two ultra-luxury lines and why.

Spend a few hours with Fernando and you will learn the history of what was ultra and where you might find something closer to it today.

[commodoredave]

2 hours ago, saminina said:

Spend a few hours with Fernando and you will learn the history of what was ultra and where you might find something closer to it today.

You may have misunderstood my comment. I’m not interested in the history of what and is now ultra, I’m interested in the business story of how one luxury line outmaneuvered the other to be more successful.

[commodoredave]

4 hours ago, cruiseej said:

I think Royal Caribbean and Carnival are both financially distressed after the pandemic shutdown. How they respond/recover over the next several years will be interesting to watch. 

 

Seabourn isn't really shrinking. They have just added one new expedition ship, and will later this year add a second new expedition ship. The capacity of those ships is slightly higher than the Odyssey, which will leave the fleet in a year and a half. It appears they weren't desperately trying to sell a ship to shore up finances, but got an offer "to good to refuse" to sell their oldest ship. So Seabourn will end up with passenger capacity a slim 2% higher by the end of next year as when the pandemic shutdown took place.

 

Silversea is definitely growing, with the addition of the expedition ship they bought from the defunct Crystal as well as two newbuilds this year and next year. The plans for the new ships were underway before the pandemic. Yet to be seen is whether they can maintain their standards with two large new ships ion an era where hiring experienced staff has proven challenging for all the cruise lines. And whether they can fill all their ships at the higher prices they are charging for the new ships. Silversea also has four ships which are more than 20 years old, so it all be interesting to see if they keep them all or retire any of the older ships in favor of their more modern siblings.

 

After Seabourn launches the Pursuit later this year, and Silversea launches the Ray next year, what comes next will tell us a lot about the future of these cruise lines. Neither currently has any future ships on order, as the cruise companies pause their capital spending spree to try to recover from the pandemic losses. 

 Very good analysis. But given that Seabourn has been around much longer than Silversea, it does seem strange that it has struggled more than Silversea to grow. Not diminishing either cruise line as I love both. Just wondering whether there is an interesting case study here for a business school.

[saminina]

And that's the man that can tell you.   Ancient history and current events, he has it covered.

 

It's not that one outmaneuvered the other.   One decided a few years ago to an engineered downgrading of identity.   I'm no great fan of Silversea, but their new ships are impressive.

 

[Kilroyshere]

20 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Seabourn isn't really shrinking. They have just added one new expedition ship, and will later this year add a second new expedition ship. The capacity of those ships is slightly higher than the Odyssey, which will leave the fleet in a year and a half. It appears they weren't desperately trying to sell a ship to shore up finances, but got an offer "to good to refuse" to sell their oldest ship. So Seabourn will end up with passenger capacity a slim 2% higher by the end of next year as when the pandemic shutdown took place...

 

After Seabourn launches the Pursuit later this year, and Silversea launches the Ray next year, what comes next will tell us a lot about the future of these cruise lines. Neither currently has any future ships on order, as the cruise companies pause their capital spending spree to try to recover from the pandemic losses. 

 

Odyssey was almost 5 years in planning, building and launched in 2010. Sold after just over a decade in service (including pandemic stand-down) is very peculiar to us. Her service life to SB would have had at least another decade of use. Begs the question why she really has been sold?

 

The first 3 O-Class, 450 capacity ships in our experience, kept up the standards of excellence SB was built on with their previous 3 little sister ships (200 capacity).

 

Then came Corporate's decision to build 2 more O ships with an additional deck and another 150 passengers (604 capacity) in basically the same O hull. Service declined, exclusivity and excellence in our eyes was diminished.

 

SB excellence of service has been steadily declining and becoming more mass market to us. And that decline in our eyes began before the pandemic. Our last 2 SB cruises were not what we came to love and became loyal to.

 

It takes 5 years or longer from Corporate commitment, planning, financing, design, contracting, laying keel and floating to put a new ship into service. SB has nothing known on the drawing board.

 

SB is capacity fixed over the next half decade with 2 in her fleet purpose built expedition ships (a separate market). SB is indeed a smaller player in the Luxury small ship cruise traditional destination line-up.

 

This does not in our eyes, portend well for SB as we came to enjoy cruising with.

 

Perhaps the Luxury small ship industry has seen it's best days.

 

Perhaps the Celebrity model with 4 classes on each ship is the future; Celebrity offers "Retreat" class with SB/Regent quality service, food and private dining room, lounges, spas, outdoor dedicated spaces. Then they offer "Aqua" class, "Concierge" class and 'steerage' class. One ship with different class experiences and levels of service. They seem to be running at near full capacity with Retreat prices comparable to SB/Regent fares. 

 

One ship with many classes is not new. Cunard and most 20th Century passenger ships offered multi-class service when ships were the primary trans-ocean mode of transportation.

 

Times change, economies change, audiences change.

 

Beyond expedition cruising, we hope SB's Corporate shows us a new model and plans that will keep SB in our repertoire of vacation plans.