The Yachts of Seabourn has announced its second new ship Seabourn Sojourn will be christened in London in 2010.
The ultra-luxury cruiseline is launching three new ships in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The first is Seabourn Odyssey, launching next June. The cruiseline has now revealed the second ship will be called Seabourn Sojourn, and will be christened in Greenwich in June 2010.
The ship’s 14-night maiden voyage out of Greenwich will include the Faroe Islands, Iceland and the Norwegian Fjords as ports of call and will be followed by a further ex-UK cruise to the Baltics. Specific itineraries will be revealed in Feburary next year.
It is the first time the Carnival-owned cruiseline has christened a ship in the UK and represents a move to work more closely with the UK trade, said president and chief executive Pamela Conover.
Announcing the news, she said: “The reason we are doing this is because we feel that the British ultra-luxury cruise market has tremendous potential for us. It is in response to our guests and agents telling us to bring a ship here and the two itineraries are for British customers who want to cruise but not go on a round-Britain cruise.
“The UK is a really important market and I am convinced that this a market that is going to grow and we are ideally placed to catch the wave of people looking for customised experiences.”
The new ships have capacity for around 450 passengers each, compared to its current three ships, which carry around 200 passengers each. They are three times the size of existing ships Seabourn Legend, Pride and Spirit, and will have more dining options, a larger spa and state-of-the-art gym. Andrew Magowan, director Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Our target market will be people that are not cruising now but go to boutique hotels. The ships are ultra-luxury but not formal.”