Seabourn Encore leaves the dock for the very first time.
I came across some photos today that were taken when the ship left her dock in the Venice shipyard for the very first time still in her undercoat paint before we left on preliminary sea trials. We then headed to Trieste where she got her new paint before returning. I had no idea that these existed. This photo shows the ship leaving her berth and is quite a milestone her life.
I am just visible in a white boiler suit standing on the starboard bridge wing.
The ship was escorted astern out of the shipyard by two tugs while various systems were tested live for the first time. Standing on the bridge watching the yard teams go about their tasks was quite special.
Now I face a bit of a dilemma. Carpets are going down, wood and veneers are being laid, decorative panels are being installed. The conundrum I face is what to show you. I dont want you to see everything. Where would the intrigue be if I showed you everything that was going on? By the same token I want to whet your appetites so I need to tread a fine line here between revealing little gems and issuing spoiler alerts.
So here is a photo showing the carpets going down in the main dining room. I have tried to avoid showing whats going on behind me for thats a little gem for later. The Tihany designs continue to unfold and for those, well you will just have to come and see for yourselves.
Main Dining Room. Panelling is up, carpets are going down. The wood veneers, well you will have to wait and see.
The teak decks are down on the decks at the stern of the ships and it looks amazing. The big main swimming pool is completely covered in a big tent to stop any rain getting to the open deck. Here the teak decking is being laid like another big jigsaw. It is just waiting for some sun and bare feet in it. Maybe a few pictures of that will be the next posting.
More of the ships staff are arriving. In particular members of the store keeping department are now here to start receiving into our warehouse all the goodies that are needed to equip a Seabourn ship. Knives, forks, spoons, plates, pots, pans and a million other items all have to be bought, tracked and accounted for. It is like buying everything for a new apartment except on a grand scale.
Thanks for the emails I am getting. I may have made a rod for my own back as I am getting more than I can ever respond too but hope I can answer the questions in these posts. So for those of you that wanted some more photos of the ship at sea I hope the ones above will do. I admit she is not strictly ‘at sea’ but you get the gist.