Seabourn Ovation Tests Its Mettle in the Med

Seabourn Ovation, the fifth ultra-luxury ship in the Seabourn fleet, has completed its final round of sea trials in the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy.

The ship departed the Fincantieri shipyard on March 14 for four days at sea, where a team of officers and engineers tested the ship’s technical and mechanical systems. Now that the vessel has completed the trials, it will undergo final touches at the yard before being delivered on April 27, 2018.

“We’re now weeks away from delivery, and I’m very pleased with the progress and preparedness of the ship now that sea trials are complete,” said Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn.

Seabourn Ovation will begin her maiden season with an 11-day inaugural voyage departing May 5, 2018, from Venice, Italy, to Barcelona, Spain. The ship’s naming ceremony will take place on Friday, May 11, in Valletta, Malta.

It will spend the majority of its maiden season cruising the waters of Northern Europe, offering a series of seven-day Baltic and Scandinavian sailings between Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Seabourn Ovation builds on the line’s Odyssey-class ships and is a sister ship to Seabourn Encore, delivered by Fincantieri at the end of 2016.

The ship features 40,350 gross tons, a length of 210 metres and a width of 28 metres. It has the capacity to reach a cruising speed of 18.6 knots and carry up to just 600 guests, based on double occupancy.