PHOTO: Seabourn President Rick Meadows, center, attended a ceremony as the first steel plates were cut for the first of two new cruise ships. (Courtesy of Fincantieri)
Construction has started on Seabourn's new luxury cruise ship, the 40,350-ton, 600-guest Seabourn Encore, at Fincantieri's shipyard in Marghera, Italy.
A plate-cutting ceremony was attended by Seabourn President Richard Meadows, among others. The Seabourn Encore is the first of two ships that Carnival Corp. ordered for Seabourn from Fincantieri. It is scheduled for delivery in late 2016 while sister ship Seabourn Ovation will join the fleet in 2018.
The Seabourn Encore's christening voyage is set to depart Jan. 7, 2017, and it sold out in two days.
The all-suite, all-balcony ship will have several dining venues, open bars throughout the ship, and complimentary fine wines poured at lunch and dinner.
The names of the two new ships are a nod to the line's three Odyssey-class ships, which entered service from 2009 to 2011. The Seabourn Encore is slightly larger than the 32,000-ton, 450-passenger Odyssey-class vessels, with an additional deck and expanded public areas.
Adam D. Tihany, a renowned hospitality interior designer, is overseeing the indoor and outdoor guest areas, including The Spa at Seabourn, showrooms, casino, lounges, deck areas, and the Seabourn Square, the social hub of the ship with a club-like ambience.
Fincantieri said fuel consumption will be "significantly reduced" by optimizing the ship's hydrodynamics.
Fincantieri has built 59 ships for Carnival Corp. cruise lines since 1990, with another seven ships on the order book.
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