Seabourn President On The Future Of Luxury Cruising After Covid-19

The global cruise ship industry has been hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis. Outbreaks on ships plagued headlines for much of spring 2020, while expeditions across the board were cancelled for the best part of a year. The industry was hoping to make a comeback in late 2020 but several post-pandemic test voyages – such as a SeaDream cruise in November – were cut short as Covid-19 cases were discovered. However, we move into a new year, one of cruising’s leading voices Josh Leibowitz, president of luxury cruise line Seabourn, predicts ships will sail again in 2021.

When Leibowitz succeeded Rick Meadows as president of Seabourn in June 2020, he inherited the tough job of guiding the company through the pandemic while finding a way to reassure and attract future passengers. While many of the cruise line’s ships remained in harbour throughout 2020, he’s confident they’ll be sailing in no time. In fact, he’s so confident that he’s proceeded with publicity of Seabourn’s new expedition cruise ships. Designed by Tihany Design, Seabourn Venture and her as-yet-named sister ship signal an adventurous new direction for the cruise line, known for its ultra-luxury journeys.

Ahead of the ships’ maiden voyages in December 2021 and 2022 respectively, Leibowitz tells us about the challenges of guiding a luxury cruise line during a global pandemic and shares his insights and predictions for the global cruising industry.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned as a result of the pandemic?

One of the most important lessons I believe we have all learned is the importance of putting health and safety first in everything we do. This year has posed some challenges none of us expected to face in so many ways. I’m grateful to be running an organization that prioritizes our responsibilities of compliance, environmental protection, and health and safety above all else. Our industry has voluntarily paused operations for nearly nine months to ensure the conditions are right before an eventual return to service.

Beyond testing, what adaptations have you made in light of the Covid-19 pandemic?

We have assembled an advisory team of the leading medical and public health experts to advise our company and sister brands on extraordinary steps we can take to ensure the health and safety of our guests, our crew, and the people in the places we visit. We have begun to implement changes onboard the ships months before guests will eventually return and believe they will help restore confidence and trust in travel.

Considering everything that happened in 2020, why is now the time the right time to publicize Seabourn’s new expedition cruises?

Expanding our incredible Seabourn experiences to include two purpose-built ultra-luxury ships is a decision our teams have been working on for over five years. Though 2020 has posed challenges for the travel industry, we remain optimistic in our view of the future growth of the expedition travel category. I’m confident these two ships will set a new bar in the ultra-luxury expedition category in a way that has not been seen before.

How confident are you that you’ll be able to sail again in 2021?

Signs are continuing to emerge that travel will be possible in some parts of the world in 2021. We’re grateful to all of the incredible work that’s been done by so many in the fields of medicine and research that contributes to our sense of optimism. For now, we do have 2021 itineraries open and available for booking in Alaska/British Columbia, Europe, the Mediterranean, and beyond. We continue to monitor the situation as we prepare for a return to service and we’ll adapt when and if it’s necessary. 

What are your predictions for the future of the luxury cruise industry?

Historically speaking, luxury travel has always helped lead broader market recovery when we experienced downturns. The situation with Covid-19 is unprecedented during our lifetimes but we’re confident that luxury travelers will be poised to help energize the industry as it reopens. We are doing our part by reimagining and redesigning every aspect of the experience to ensure health and safety. 

We know firsthand that there is quite a bit of pent-up demand and we’re already seeing strong interest in 2021 and 2022 across the board, with Europe, the Mediterranean, and Alaska all seeing significant interest next year. Our World Cruise 2022 launched recently and the voyage is filling quite nicely considering it’s more than a year away.