Seabourn to set new benchmark in cruising in Australia

Seabourn sails into Sydney; brings with it a new way of looking at luxury.

By 2017 the average transaction on a Seabourn booking will hit US$18,000 per person, up from US$11,000 per person in 2011, but with that comes greater responsibility to ensure guests’ expectations are met, according to the luxury cruiseline.

The comments come from Seabourn Senior Vice President Global Marketing and Sales John Delaney, in Sydney last week on board Seabourn Odyssey, one of the company’s three ships with a fourth, Seabourn Encore, to join the fleet later this year and officially launch on 7 January 2017 at an exclusive event in Singapore.

Seabourn Encore rendering

Delaney said while recognising a smaller pool of clients would be within the spend bracket of US$18,000 or more, forward bookings show an average transaction of US$17,000 in 2016 “so we don’t have far to go”.

“Today’s Seabourn guest has high expectations. When we started it was people hadn’t experienced luxury like this before, but the question is now how do we make this new client happy?” Delaney said.

With a 55% repeat rate, Delaney said they were focused on introducing innovative ways to keep booking momentum and guest satisfaction at a high. One such initiative is focused on the cruise line’s culinary offering, which since last year has been overseen by three-star Michelin chef, Thomas Keller, famed for restaurants Per Se and French Laundry.

New for 2016 is the introduction of the ex-Per Se mixologist, Brian Van Flanden, which Delaney said would “raise the bar”. Seabourn Encore will also feature a dedicated Thomas Keller restaurant on board. When compared with an average spend of US$400 per couple to dine at Per Se, Delaney said it showed the value offered on Seabourn as “that this is all free and included” for guests.

The cruise line’s Ventures by Seabourn undertaking use of zodiacs and kayaks to tour remote areas launched last year has been “extremely popular” with over 10,000 tours already sold and will be expanding worldwide, and introducing the optional excursion to Australian and New Zealand waterways in 2017.

In addition, Seabourn will return to Alaska in 2017 – a first after a 16 years absence.

“This won’t be the same itineraries other ships have done. The size of our ship will allow us to go to different places and offer exclusive experiences,” Delaney said.

Seabourn Encore will head to Australia for its first summer, making nine maiden calls from Darwin to Geelong between January 22 2017 and March 17 2017.

Delaney officially unveiled images of the ship to media last week, and revealed details of two Grand Wintergarden suites, some of the largest at sea. The 2-bedroom suites will provide a mixture of indoor and outdoor spaces, and will even feature a private glassed-in Solarium and soaking tub.

Seabourn Encore Wintergarden suite

Main image: Seabourn’s John Delaney and Seabourn Director of Sales Australia, Tony Archbold in Sydney.

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