2018 will mark the 30th anniversary of Seabourn.
While recently aboard the luxury line's latest Seabourn Encore, we had a chance to get a glimpse into the company's outlook beyond 2018, thanks to the line's President, Richard D. Meadows, and Sr VP, Global Marketing & Sales, Chris Austin.
To frame the company's past, present and future, a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald was first displayed:
"Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They are soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They are different."
And as to where Seaborn is now, a quotation from Emmanuel Saez, Professor of Economics, UC-Berkeley was presented: "The evidence suggests that top income earners today are...'working rich,' highly paid employees or new entrepreneurs who have not yet accumulated fortunes comparable to those accumulated during the Gilded Age."
For Seabourn, its approach is actually quite simple yet profound: "To be the undisputed leader in the ultra-luxury cruise market."
Its mission statement similarly reads, "Through genuine and intuitive service, we consistently deliver exceptional Seabourn Moments that delight our guests and create the world's finest travel experiences."
That service element is especially important to the line's future as the words of Sergey Petrossov, Founder & CEO, JetSmarter, were also presented by Seabourn: "The travel industry is inundated with both high-end and luxury brands, & the distinction is relatively minor. Luxury brands essentially need to heighten their levels of service to distinguish themselves from their high-end counterparts."
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So, what is the next step?
Austin explained, "Telling inspiring stories invoking dreams is really critical to the affluent today. I think for our travel professional partners, those that know me well, know that I love to talk about storytelling. And actually for us to have a focus on providing our partners with those very, very differentiating stories-stories that will help you sell, stories that will absolutely make those dreams really come true in peoples' minds.
"So they desire what we all have to offer."
The Seabourn fleet already consists of the Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Sojourn, Seabourn Quest and Seabourn Encore going to some marvelous places throughout the world, but things are about to get even better when the new Seabourn Ovation joins in spring 2018.
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When asked how the Ovation is expected to differ, if at all, from sister-ship Encore, Meadows stated, "When you look across Odyssey, Sojourn and Quest, they're very, very similar when you get into the fabrics and style of the spaces, which for us has proven to be really popular-in particular with our guests because they feel no matter what ship they're going on, they're going home. It has that comfortable kind of welcoming atmosphere.
"So, this ship with regards to the wall coverings, carpets, lighting will be essentially the same as the Encore, just like we've done with the other three ships. There will be some changes. So, the artwork is a completely different art program, so it will be bespoke for the ship ... anytime you build a prototype, you learn a little bit, so you do a little bit with some walls and slightly different spaces. They're not dramatic changes. They're just very very subtle things that quite frankly you'd probably wouldn't know but [from] an operational point of view, we would know."
Once the Ovation launches, it will head for Northern Europe and Southeast Asia while Seabourn Encore will sail towards the Western Mediterranean as well as Australia and the South Pacific in 2018 and beyond.
Seabourn Odyssey is slated for the Mediterranean and Caribbean; Seabourn Sojourn for Alaska and extended explorations; and Seabourn Quest for Northern Europe, Iceland and Greenland, South America and Antarctica.
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