Ultra-luxury cruise line Seabourn today announced the cancellations of upcoming voyages that were scheduled to sail aboard three of its vessels as part of an overall pause in its global cruising operations.
The ships, specifically, are the Seabourn Encore, Seabourn Ovation and Seabourn Sojourn, each of which has been assigned a different cancellation “effective through” date.
—Seabourn Encore: operational pause effective through November 25, 2020.
—Seabourn Ovation: operational pause effective through December 20, 2020.
—Seabourn Sojourn: operational pause effective through May 24, 2021 (and through its previously scheduled World Cruise 2021).
The brand had already announced the suspension of its global ship operations, first initiated on March 14 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, through November 20, 2020. Depending upon the ship, that decision effectively cancels all cruises scheduled to sail within that timeframe.
Seabourn’s latest move to cancel additional voyages beyond that window represents a proactive effort on its part to adjust to the ever-evolving circumstances surrounding COVID-19.
“We’ve been saying for some time that our resumption of service will come gradually, and this action reflects that discussion. The health, safety and well-being of our guests, crew and the people in destinations we visit remain a top priority,” said Josh Leibowitz, president of Seabourn.
“Like many who watch the travel industry, we are encouraged by the signs emerging around the world that point to travel’s progress toward return. When our expert science and medical advisors and our destinations support the ability to resume travel on Seabourn, we’ll be ready,” he asserted.
Seabourn is contacting all affected guests and their travel advisors to apprise them of the changes to Seabourn’s scheduled operations. Within the next 30 days, all guests who were confirmed to sail aboard the Seabourn Sojourn’s 2021 World Cruise will automatically be re-accommodated in their selected suites aboard Seabourn Sojourn’s 2022 World Cruise, at the rate paid.
For those booked for other impacted cruises, Seabourn will automatically be canceling their reservations and issuing them Bonus Future Cruise Credits, or guests may request a full refund of monies paid, instead. Here are the details of Future Cruise Credit incentives being offered:
—Paid in Full: Guests who paid for their cruise in full will receive 125-percent Future Cruise Credit, calculated upon the base cruise fare that was paid to Seabourn. Alternatively, guests may request a full refund of their monies paid.
—Under Deposit: Guests whose bookings were held under deposit will receive a Future Cruise Credit valued at 125-percent of the deposit amount paid. Guests can also choose, instead, to request a full refund of the monies paid to Seabourn.
Future Cruise Credits will be valid for 12 months from the date of issue and are good on sailings departing through December 31, 2022, and the value of non-cruise fare purchases can also be transferred to a new booking. Alternatively, guests may request a full refund of their monies paid to Seabourn, which will be reimbursed to the original form of payment.
Seabourn is reaching out to affected guests and their travel advisors directly with details, but the cruise line is asking those seeking more information to use its website and online resources first, as opposed to calling the Reservations Center, due to anticipated high call volumes and long wait times.
For more information, visit seabourn.com.
