Seabourn celebrated the keel laying for Seabourn Ovation during a ceremony held today at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri, Italy. Scheduled to debut in the spring of 2018, today's ceremony marks a significant milestone in the construction of the line's newest ultra-luxury ship.

Seabourn Ovation is the sister ship to Seabourn Encore, which was delivered just two days ago on Nov. 30, 2016. With the addition of these newest ships, Seabourn will have the youngest and most modern ultra-luxury fleet in the industry.

"Between the keel laying of Seabourn Ovation and the delivery of Seabourn Encore, this has been a historic week for our company," said Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn. "I am very proud to see our fleet evolving with even more important milestones during the construction of Seabourn Ovation in the next year and a half."

Designed by hospitality design icon Adam D. Tihany, the 40,350 gross ton ship will feature modern design elements and innovations in keeping with Seabourn's reputation for understated elegance. Seabourn Ovation will be configured with one additional deck and new expanded public areas, and will carry just 600 guests, based on double occupancy. In addition, every suite will feature a private veranda. The ship will expand and build on the line's award-winning and highly acclaimed Odyssey-class ships, which revolutionized ultra-luxury cruising with enhanced accommodations and innovative amenities when they were introduced between 2009 and 2011.