Agents call refined Seabourn "Simply the Best". Top producers praise company's product upgrades, focus on Pride, Spirit, Legend   Richard Meadows, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for ultra-luxury cruise pioneer Seabourn Cruise Line, said on Sept. 5 that the line's top producing agents are "...virtually unanimous in their support of the company's decision to re-focus on a reduced fleet of ships that are capable of delivering the levels of service and comfort that comprise a true Seabourn Experience." According to Meadows, agents are also applauding the series of enhancements being implemented on the Seabourn yachts. Following the departure of the former Sea Goddess ships and the planned transfer of the 758-guest Seabourn Sun to sister-company Holland America Line in April, Seabourn will have returned to the uniform fleet of three all-suite, yacht- like ships that consistently kept the line at the top of ratings. Carrying just 104 couples each, Seabourn Pride, Spirit and Legend were originally designed to create a cruise product that improved on the Sea Goddess model by adding more spacious accommodations, more gracious public areas and improved deck space. They remain unique in the cruise industry in terms of their intimate capacity and luxurious features and amenities. Following $25 million in refurbishments, the three Seabourn "sisters" now offer totally redecorated interiors and balconies on 40 percent of their suites, along with such contemporary features as internet access and an enhanced spa and gymnasium. "We have invested a lot into these ships in the last year, and now we are ramping up the shipboard product with major long-term commitments in added features and amenities," said Meadows. "But the real key is the level of personalized service and attention our guests enjoy. Nobody else in the ultra luxury segment has ships this size, and that means they can't do what we do. We can unabashedly state that for 2002 the Yachts of Seabourn offer the finest ultra luxury cruise experience available, full stop." Agents specializing in the carriage trade agree. Dorothy Reminick of Reid Travel in Boca Raton, Florida sailed on Seabourn Pride in July and says it was "...fabulous! Everything about it was first rate. They couldn't do enough for you. What could be better? I have sailed on all the smaller luxury ships and the Seabourn yachts are simply the best. I had planned to take a group on a barge cruise next summer, but when I got back I told them we were going on Seabourn instead, and they all said 'Fine!' and gave me their deposits. So we'll all be sailing on the Legend next June." Tom Baker of CruiseCenter.com in Houston, Texas sailed on Seabourn Legend in August. Asked about his experience, he said: "I have been cruising since I was five years old, and I've sailed on over a hundred different ships, including the most highly rated ships in the world, and this was without doubt the finest service I have ever experienced. And that includes any hotel or restaurant anywhere. The food was superb and the service was just magnificent. There are some other ships out there that claim to be six star, but Seabourn clearly surpasses them all." Gay Gillen Stone at Gay Gillen Travel in Austin, Texas booked clients on a Seabourn cruise in May, shortly after they returned from an Alaska cruise on a luxury competitor's larger ship. She said they told her the Seabourn ship's size and number of guests "gave them a feeling of exclusivity and pampering that larger ships cannot provide." The clients told Stone that "Seabourn provides the finest personal service. From the first day of the cruise the staff knew them by name." Stone's clients also noted that the "dining room staff is unhurried and dedicated to accommodating individual requests." Surveys completed by guests while they are on board also reflect growing delight with the cruise experience on the Seabourn sisters. Always strong, the General Impression scores have progressed from averages of 9.10 on a scale of 10 last year to 9.51, 9.57 and 9.62 in the month of August, 2001. Scores for service categories are even higher, with stewardesses and restaurant service staff achieving scores ranging from 9.60 to an incredible 9.75 out of 10.