The world’s most luxurious cruise ship is about to sail 23,000 miles in the wrong direction to avoid violence in the Middle East.
Luxury line Seabourn announced on Wednesday that one of its seven ships, the Seabourn Encore, will relocate from Asia to Europe in early 2025 on an unusual easterly route that will take it across the Pacific to the Panama Canal and then to Europe.
It’s a switch from the line’s original plan to reroute the ship from Asia to Europe on a more traditional western route that would have taken it across the Indian Ocean and through the Red Sea and Suez Canal to Europe.
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The change will result in the ship sailing about 20,000 nautical miles – about 23,000 standard miles – in the opposite direction of its long-scheduled original routing for repositioning.
“Changes were made to the originally planned itineraries to prioritize guest safety and avoid the Red Sea,” the line said in a statement sent to the media late Wednesday.
Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea over the past nine months have prompted cruise lines to cancel an increasing number of voyages through the waterway. But rerouting on the scale Seaborne announced Wednesday is rare.
The change forced the last-minute cancellation of a nearly three-month 2025 voyage on the ship, one of the world’s most upscale cruise ships. Fares for Seabourn Encore cruises typically start at around $1,000 per day.
There are cancellations for almost every trip taking place between March 2025 and May 2025.
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Instead of its original itinerary during that period, the ship will operate six new voyages from March 2, 2025 to May 25, 2025, ranging from seven to 25 days and can be combined into one longer 53-day voyage.
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The new voyage will bring calls to Southeast Asia, Japan, Hawaii, the Panama Canal and the Mediterranean. They will include 36 port stops in 18 countries, including many places the Seabourn Encore has never visited since it debuted in 2016.
The ship’s passage through the Panama Canal will be a first for the ship. The ship will also make its first stop at US ports as part of the new routing. US calls will be made to Hawaii, California and Florida.
Seaborne Encore will also visit two ports in Japan that no Seaborne ship has ever visited before: Tokushima, known for its tranquil landscapes, and Wakayama, celebrated for its temples and coastal scenery.
Other highlights of the new trips include an overnight call in Honolulu, Hawaii; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Kobe, Japan.
The new 2025 voyages, in order of departure date, are:
- March 2 to March 16: 14-Day Southeast Asia and Japan from Singapore to Kobe
- March 16 to April 9: 25-day Japan and Hawaiian Islands cruise from Kobe to Long Beach, California
- April 9 to April 28: 19-day Panama Canal cruise from Long Beach to Miami
- April 28 to May 10: 12-day Atlantic crossing from Miami to Lisbon
- May 10 to May 18: Eight-day Western Mediterranean cruise from Lisbon to Civitavecchia, Italy (port to Rome)
- May 18 to May 25: Seven-Day Amalfi Coast and Adriatic Cruise from Civitavecchia to Dubrovnik, Croatia
As part of the announcement, Seabourn said that passengers who book by November 19, 2024, will receive a 10% discount on new voyages.
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