SeaDream will launch new ship for global sailing

MIAMI-Miami-based luxury cruise line SeaDream has ordered a new ship to expand into the expedition market.

The new 220-passenger ship SeaDream Innovation will be the company's third ship and the first addition to its fleet since 2001. The ship's inaugural voyage in September 2021 will be a 70-day global tour, including two days in Miami.

SeaDream's existing ships, SeaDream I and SeaDream II, currently sail on seven-day trips in the Caribbean to small ports.

"Our existing ships are warm water ships. They are short distance," said Andreas Brynestad, executive vice president of sales for SeaDream. "What we want to do is bring our concept and take it global."

In the first year, SeaDream Innovation will sail to all seven continents including destinations such as the Northwest Passage, Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef.

Brynestad would not disclose how much SeaDream is spending on the new ship. "I can tell you it's very expensive," he said. SeaDream will expand its offices in Miami in anticipation of the new ship's launch.

The luxury expedition market is a crowded one. Seabourn (owned by Carnival Corp.), Silversea (majority-owned by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line), Ponant, Hurtigruten, Lindblad/National Geographic and Aurora Expeditions are among the companies launching new expeditions this year.

"In the past, expedition cruising was fairly bare-bones," said Chris Gray Faust, managing editor of Cruise Critic. "Cruise lines used older vessels and the experience felt more like roughing it. Now, expedition cruise veterans are making their ships more luxurious to compete with other luxury lines entering the expedition market."

Tickets for the new SeaDream ship's inaugural global voyage start at $40,000 per person and go on sale April 17.

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