Seabourn Cruise Line has announced that the company will not operate a planned five-month, 15-cruise series of voyages in the Indian Ocean aboard the 208-passenger Seabourn Legend in late 2010 and early 2011. The vessel will instead be positioned back to the Americas at the end of its Mediterranean season to cruise in the Caribbean for the winter.

Calling the decision “regrettable,” Seabourn’s president and CEO Pamela Conover said that while the intended shoreside destinations remain apparently safe for visitors, the high seas routes between them are currently vulnerable to incidents of piracy that have not been adequately controlled.

“It makes me sad to have to cancel these cruises,” Conover said. “I personally loved touring Kenya’s game parks, and the islands of the Seychelles, Madagascar and Zanzibar are lovely and exotic destinations where we sincerely had hoped to be able to take our guests. We look forward to a time when the sea routes are controlled enough for us to cruise there for a season.”

Seabourn passengers looking for exotic itineraries will still have a stunning selection from which to choose, according to the cruise line. The Seabourn Spirit will depart the Mediterranean in November of 2010, sailing through Egypt, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and Oman to Dubai. The Spirit will then continue via India, Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore, to begin a season of cruises exploring Bali, Borneo, Java and the myriad islands of the Java, Flores and Savu Seas. The ship will also venture southward to Australia’s Northern Territories and Great Barrier Reef.

Seabourn Pride, meanwhile, will be cruising in Asia for the full year, and in the autumn will be sailing in China, Thailand and Vietnam, with included or optional extensions to Beijing, Guilin, Cambodia & Laos and the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

Seabourn Odyssey will make a maiden circumnavigation of South America in early 2011.

The Seabourn Legend’s voyages will call at the yacht harbors and unspoiled islands of the Caribbean and are designed to take advantage of Legend’s size and features, such as the fold-out watersports marina that can be deployed in a secluded cove for “Champagne and Caviar in the Surf” beach barbecues. Activities ashore range from snorkeling, yacht-racing, kayaking, hiking, horseback riding and zip-line adventures to visiting artists’ studios, tony boutiques and strolling or relaxing on world-class beaches. On board, deck barbecues and al fresco dining options make the most of the bucolic climate, as do dancing and Movies Under the Stars. Week-long itineraries sail between Ft. Lauderdale and St. Thomas, or round trip from St. Thomas.