SeaDream Yacht Club, Damen Terminate Contract for New Ship

SeaDream Yacht Club will not be getting a new ship in the fall of 2021, at least for now.

The Oslo, Norway-based private cruise line and the Damen Shipyards Group have agreed to terminate the contract for SeaDream’s latest ship, SeaDream Innovation, which was scheduled to be delivered in September 2021.

The deal was reached in “good faith and with mutual understanding.” Both SeaDream Yacht Club and Damen remain open to working together in the future, the two parties announced Monday.

All booked guests will be issued refunds in the coming days.

“The response from our past guests and the market in general has been overwhelming, despite the ship not being scheduled for delivery for almost two years,” said Andreas Brynestad, Executive Vice President, in a statement. “Since the ship will not be delivered, all booked guests will be contacted and issued full refunds in the coming days.”

Monday’s announcement doesn’t necessarily mean SeaDream won’t be expanding in the near future. SeaDream Owner and Chairman Atle Brynestad said “the company has been debt free for several years and has the equity needed to expand the fleet.”

“We hope to announce a new ship in 2020,” he said in a statement.

The cruise line’s existing fleet, SeaDream I and II, continue to perform well, SeaDream said, with the company reporting record revenue years. SeaDream plans to move forward with suite refurbishments aboard both of its existing ships starting as early as next year.