Seabourn Cruise Line is a luxury
cruise line headquartered in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
.
It is owned by
Carnival Corporation & plc.
History
Seabourn Cruise Line was founded in 1986 under the name "Signet Cruise Lines" by the Norwegian private investor
Atle Brynestad and Warren S. Titus. The name "Seabourn Cruise Line" was adopted shortly afterward following objections over trademark ownership by Signet Oil.
Its first ship, ''
Seabourn Pride'', entered service in 1988, followed by an identical sister, ''
Seabourn Spirit'', in 1989. A third vessel, originally planned for 1990, was delayed due to investors' financial constraints and was ultimately purchased by
Royal Viking Line in 1992 as ''
Royal Viking Queen''. In 1995, ''Royal Viking Queen'' was transferred to a Kloster subsidiary,
Royal Cruise Line
Royal Cruise Line was a Greek cruise line that operated from 1974 to 1996 and founded by Pericles Panagopoulos, Pericles Panagopulos. The line catered mainly to American passengers looking for an upscale cruise experience and sailed mainly worldwi ...
, as ''Queen Odyssey''.
In 1991,
Carnival Corporation
Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.
Carnival typi ...
purchased a 25% stake in Seabourn. Carnival Corporation increased its stake to 50% in 1996, providing the company sufficient capital to purchase the ''Queen Odyssey'', which was then renamed ''Seabourn Legend''.
In 1998, in partnership with a consortium of a Norwegian businessmen, Carnival purchased the remaining 50% stake in Seabourn, as well as acquiring the Cunard Line from Kvaerner ASA, and merged the two brands into an entity called Cunard Line. In 1999, three Cunard ships, ''Sea Goddess I'', ''Sea Goddess II'', and ''Royal Viking Sun'' were transferred into the Seabourn fleet as ''Seabourn Goddess I'', ''Seabourn Goddess II'', and ''Seabourn Sun''.
[About Seabourn Cruise Line](_blank)
Cruise Critic, retrieved March 14, 2008.
In 2001, Carnival bought out the Norwegian shareholders, and Seabourn's parent company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival. That summer, ''Seabourn Goddess I'' and ''Seabourn Goddess II'' were sold to Seabourn's original founder, Atle Brynestad, in order to establish his own cruise line
SeaDream Yacht Club. In 2002, ''Seabourn Sun'' was transferred to the Carnival-owned
Holland America Line, reducing the Seabourn fleet to its three original sister ships, and the company was demerged from Cunard Line and reorganized as a stand-alone operating brand of Carnival Corporation & plc.
In October 2006, Seabourn ordered three new, 32,000-ton cruise ships from
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
's T. Mariotti shipyard. The first, named ''
Seabourn Odyssey'' entered service in 2009, followed by the ''
Seabourn Sojourn'' in 2010 and the ''
Seabourn Quest'' in June 2011. The three ships share most features. The ''Odyssey'', ''Sojourn'', and ''Quest'' have a maximum passenger capacity of 450 guests, quartered in 225 suite cabins, 90% of which have a balcony. The vessels cost approximately US$250 million each. The ships have 11 decks, an indoor/outdoor spa, and four alternative dining venues.
On March 31, 2011, Seabourn moved operations from Miami, Florida, to the Holland America Line quarters in Seattle, Washington.

It was announced on February 19, 2013, that Seabourn reached an agreement with
Windstar Cruises for the sale of the three smaller Seabourn ships. ''Seabourn Pride'' departed the fleet in April 2014, sisters ''Seabourn Legend'' & ''Seabourn Spirit'' departed in April and May 2015, respectively. No cruises were cancelled as the ships sailed with Seabourn until their initial dry dock periods.
On October 18, 2013, Seabourn announced it had signed a Letter of Intent for the construction of a new cruise ship with Italian shipbuilder
Fincantieri
Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...
. The new ship was modeled after the line's three newest vessels, ''Seabourn Odyssey'', ''Seabourn Sojourn'' and ''Seabourn Quest''. Delivery was completed in 2016. The vessel replaced the capacity that left the Seabourn brand with the sale of ''Seabourn Pride'', ''Seabourn Spirit'' and ''Seabourn Legend''. In July 2018, the cruise line announced it would add two expedition ships to its fleet. ''Seabourn Venture'' was delivered on June 29, 2022 and inaugural voyage on July 27, 2022. ''Seabourn Pursuit'' is scheduled for delivery in February 2023.
On March 16, 2023 Seabourn announced that ''Seabourn Odyssey'' would be sold to
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL). The ship will remain with the brand under a charter agreement through the end of August 2024.
On March 4, 2025 Seabourn announced that ''Seabourn Sojourn'' would also be sold to
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. The ship will remain with Seabourn through all its current sailings through May 2026. With those sales, the capacity will shrink by 15 percent between 2021 and 2026 despite the newbuilts.
[https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2025/03/seabourn-capacity-shrinks-in-five-year-timeframe/]
Fleet
The company's fleet currently consists of five vessels, with two sets of sister ships.
Current fleet
Former fleet
See also
*
Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises is a cruise line based in Miami, Florida, that operates seven cruise ships on worldwide itineraries. It typically offers cruises that last between 10 and 14 days, but it is also known for its long cruises lasting up to 195 day ...
*
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC), formerly known as Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, is a luxury cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States.
Since September 2014, Regent Seven Seas Cruises has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Norwegi ...
*
Silversea Cruises
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1986 establishments in Norway
Carnival Corporation & plc
Companies based in Seattle
Cruise lines
Transport companies established in 1986