SeaDream Yacht Club, a small-ship line founded in 2001, has announced its first new ship, the SeaDream III, scheduled to set sail in July 2029 from Hong Kong. The ship will have room for 230 guests, doubling the capacity of the 112-passenger SeaDream I and II.
Owner and co-founder Atle Brynestad stated that introducing a newbuild has been a goal for more than 10 years, but plans were delayed due to the Covid pandemic and a failed expedition ship project in 2019. Brynestad said the time is now right to expand the fleet.
The SeaDream III will take guests to new destinations, including Asia, where the line has only sailed once in its 25-year history. Depending on the sailing, 70% to 90% of SeaDream guests are return customers, and they have expressed interest in cruising more of the world with the line.
Brynestad stated that the new ship will allow SeaDream to visit more destinations without replacing its popular Caribbean and Europe cruises. The existing ships, SeaDream I and II, will remain in operation, offering a unique, intimate experience that cannot be replicated.
“The existing ships are beautiful ships,” Brynestad said. “They are small, intimate, and they can never be made like that again. So they are unique, and they will always be unique.”
The SeaDream III will be built by China Merchants Cruise Shipbuilding. Larry Pimentel, SeaDream’s former CEO, suggested that the decision to look beyond Europe for a shipyard may be due to capacity constraints in European shipyards, which are booked until the 2030s.
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SeaDream has defined its onboard experience as more like a yacht than a cruise ship, a concept that is gaining popularity with the launch of new luxury yacht brands like Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Four Seasons Yachts, and Aman at Sea. This growing demand is beneficial for SeaDream, as it increases awareness about small-ship cruising.
Brynestad stated that business is booming, and that is definitely not hurting the company at all. The addition of a third SeaDream ship will also grow brand awareness and offer travel advisors something new to sell.
Pimentel said SeaDream should continue to focus on what it does best: selling a specific experience that a devoted repeat guest base genuinely loves. The new ship is a bid for another generation of relevance and will allow the brand to visit new destinations.
In a letter to guests, Brynestad said the SeaDream III will have the same DNA as the current ships, with a relaxed atmosphere and high-quality personalized service. He wants to move away from calling SeaDream “luxury.” Brynestad said, “The word really has no meaning anymore for us. For SeaDream, it is much more about being a lifestyle company. We do not need to have the world’s largest suites or the largest grand staircase. We do not need to be the biggest in anything. What we want for our guests is to be the best at something far more important: creating fantastic days and unforgettable experiences.”
SeaDream Yacht Club is moving forward with its expansion plans, and the new ship is expected to set sail in July 2029.
