Carnival-Owned Cruise Ship Begins Final Alaska Season

Seabourn Odyssey is concluding her 15-year career at sea with one final summer in Alaska. While other ships from Seabourn Cruise Line’s fleet of seven will return to the northern region in future years, the 450-guest ship will be retiring at the end of September 2024. 

“While Seabourn will continue sailing to Alaska in the future, this upcoming season marks the final journeys of Seabourn Odyssey to ‘the Great Land,’ and we invite our guests to embark on one final voyage with her before she departs our fleet,” said Natalya Leahy, president of Seabourn. 

During her last season, Seabourn Odyssey will be sailing on 12 different 7-night, one-way voyages to Alaska, which can be combined into 14-night round-trip sailings, as well as two 10-night cruises and one 11-night experience. The first voyage, which begins in Vancouver, Canada, on May 10, 2024, is one of the 7-night itineraries.

Throughout the week, the ultra-luxury ship will call on Ketchikan, Sitka, Glacier Bay, Icy Strait Point, and Haines, before concluding in Juneau, Alaska, on May 17. The cruise ship will then turn around to begin the voyage back to Vancouver on the same day. 

During the May 17 sailing, the 32,346-gross ton vessel will call on Glacier Bay and Wrangell, Alaska, as well as Prince Rupert and Alert Bay in British Columbia. 

The 10-night sailings won’t begin until later in summer, with the first of two embarking from Vancouver on June 7, 2024. The round-trip itinerary, which is focused on Alaska’s fjords, will visit Ketchikan, Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Tracy Arm/Endicott, and Klawock, Alaska. 

The 11-night sailing will follow immediately after the 10-night cruise, and will also sail round-trip from Vancouver. The majority of the port calls are the same as the previous, but the longer cruise adds stops at Hubbard Glacier and Wrangell, Alaska. 

No matter which itinerary cruisers select, the Carnival-owned cruise line is aiming to make each voyage as immersive and enjoyable as possible with its Ventures By Seabourn program. 

“As our very experienced Alaska Captain Tim Roberts shared with me once, ‘you have not seen Alaska until you have sailed with Seabourn’. This is because our meticulously crafted itineraries will take our extraordinary guests on the ultimate retreat into nature with a blend of up-close adventures and ultra-luxury amenities to immerse themselves in the beauty of Alaska,” added Leahy. 

Just to name a few of the shore excursions offered by the cruise line’s expedition team, there will be opportunities for kayaking, zodiac tours, glacier visits and hikes, and even a chance to get up close and personal to bears with bear viewing and photography tours. 

Seabourn Odyssey’s Farewell Voyage Planned

At the conclusion of her final Alaska season, Seabourn Odyssey will embark on a celebratory, 22-night cruise that will honor her 15-year tenure at sea, during which the seasoned vessel called on over 420 ports and sailed more than 859,554 nautical miles. 

In recent years, Seabourn Cruise Line has set its sights on becoming a leader in the expedition cruise market, and has already launched two smaller, purpose-built expedition ships for this purpose: Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit.

Unfortunately, the 650-feet long Seabourn Odyssey doesn’t fit with the cruise line’s current vision. Seabourn ultimately decided to sell the ship to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., a Tokyo-based transport and shipping company, in early 2023 to make room for new pursuits.

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The Farewell Voyage, which will embark from Seattle, Washington, on September 2, 2024, will sail through Alaska before crossing the Pacific and concluding in Japan. 

Throughout the sailing, Seabourn Odyssey will call on Ketchikan, Alaska; Wrangell, Alaska; Sitka, Alaska; Hubbard Glacier, Alaska; Homer, Alaska; Kodiak, Alaska; Dutch Harbor, Alaska; Kushiro, Japan; Hakodate, Japan; Miyako, Japan; and Hitachinaka, Japan, before disembarking for the last time in Yokohama, Japan. 

Special activities and entertainment are already in the works for the final cruise, including special guest speakers and classes, musical performances, the return of some of Seabourn Odyssey’s very first crew members, and plenty of champagne and caviar. 

The ship will be handed over to her new owners at the conclusion of The Farewell Voyage. She is currently operating her final season through a charter agreement that allowed her to complete all voyages that were previously announced at the time of the sale.