Sharing his thoughts on industry's future with trade and media partners at Seabourn’s annual business review in London on Friday (5 December), West said: “If we look at the expedition fleet on a global level, the industry has reached, not necessarily a saturation level, but a level where no one is building more ships at this point.
“I think the expedition business over the next five years is probably going to level out. We’ve already started seeing it. There are no new expedition ships being built.”
West’s views were echoed by Seabourn president Mark Tamis, who confirmed the business would not be expanding its fleet “in the short to mid-term.”
“Long-term, who knows? When I say long-term I mean five-plus years," he added.
Seabourn currently has a fleet of four ocean ships and two expedition vessel, with its most recent ship, Seabourn Pursuit, entering service in 2023.
West, Seabourn's vice-president of operations and planning, said demand for the line's luxury product remains strong, noting that next year's occupancy levels are around 90%.
Tamis believes this interest is due to the size of Seabourn’s ships, which he says align with new-to-cruise passengers’ perception of ultra-luxury cruising. The line operates small vessels (its largest ship carries just 650 people) and a nearly 1:1 ratio of staff-to-guests, which allows for a “more yacht-like” onboard experience.
He said: “We think it's great that our ships are more bespoke and more personalised. When new brands like Aman, Orient Express, Four Seasons enter the market and join Ritz-Carlton, I think that's fantastic for the ultra-luxury sector. I think it's fantastic because it brings more focus.”
It came shortly after Seabourn’s UK chief hinted at more partnerships following the success of its recent collaboration with Uniworld Boutique River Cruises. The 15-day Venice and Mediterranean Sea package, featuring sailings on Uniworld’s La Venezia ship and Seabourn’s Seabourn Quest vessel, has already completely sold out after only going on sale in August.
Speaking to TTG on Thursday (4 December), Lynn Narraway, Seabourn UK and EMEA vice-president, confirmed both brands were in discussions to launch more product for 2027.
“Our travel partners have really gotten behind it,” she said. “I know that Uniworld is now working with a lot of our agency partners as well. Quite a few of them have sold it, like Bolsover Cruise Club, because they have to buy the package through Uniworld. New partnerships have been created. We love those new partnerships.”
