The plate-cutting ceremony was held today at the Marghera shipyard for the new Seabourn Encore, the first of two luxury cruise ships that Fincantieri will build for Seabourn.

The ship will be delivered in late 2016.

The all-suite ship will be approximately 40,350 gross tons, 210 metres long and 28 metres wide and will be able to reach a cruising speed of 18.6 knots. It will carry up just 600 guests, based on double occupancy. Every suite will feature a private veranda.

Fincantieri has built 59 ships for Carnival since 1990, with another 7 ships for this group currently in the Fincantieri orderbook.