The all-suite Seabourn Encore launched in December 2016 as the first in the luxury line’s new Encore class, which will be followed up in 2018 with Seabourn Ovation. The biggest departure from the line’s older vessels: the size. At 600 passengers compared to 450, the larger ship also has an additional deck.
But for longtime fans of the Seabourn brand, the good news is that the new ship will seem comfortingly familiar. In fact, it doesn’t feel like much of a departure from the Ovation class at all. That additional deck means the line has been able to expand one specialty restaurant space dramatically and add an entirely new one as well.
Adam Tihany, the ship’s designer, has made subtle changes throughout the vessel, removing the large boxy reception desk from the Seabourn Square area to open up this lounge-like space, where guests gather for coffee, puzzles, and to settle into a comfy leather recliner with a good book. He also removed the square central bar in the Observation Lounge, the space used for afternoon tea and piano-filled pre-dinner cocktail hours. The dining room, which on Odyssey class has artistic arches and lots of white columns, has been infused with pops of bright blue color in everything from striking water glasses to gorgeous chandeliers decked out in blue crystal balls reminiscent of Christmas tree ornaments.