Seabourn Makes Two Appointments for New Ship

Seabourn has announced two new appointments for its upcoming cruise ship. Stig Betten has been named captain of the Seabourn Ovation, and Helmut Huber as hotel director.

Betten will oversee all operations of new luxury cruise ship, which is scheduled to launch in May 2018 in Italy. He was born in a small town in Norway and has followed in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, and great grandfather by choosing to work at sea.

Helmut Huber, Seabourn
Helmut Huber, Seabourn

He began in 1997 at a Norwegian seismic exploration company. In 2001, he joined Seabourn and worked his way up the ranks from second officer to now captain. He has been assigned on past Seabourn ships Pride, Spirit, and Legend, as well as Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Sojourn and Seabourn Quest, including being a part of the start-up team as staff captain during the construction of Seabourn Sojourn and Seabourn Quest.

Huber will be overseeing the hotel department, which includes suites, housekeeping, and food & beverage services. He was born in Austria and began his career in the hotel industry in 1992. He began as a busboy/assistant waiter but worked his way though the ranks to the management level. After almost 10 years on ships, he decided to go back to university and earned several degrees and certificates. 

He returned to the hospitality industry in food & beverage and hotel management positions at luxury properties before returning to the cruise industry in 2007. In 2015 he Huber joined Seabourn as hotel director.

Seabourn Ovation is a continuation of the line’s Odyssey-class ships that were introduced between 2009 and 2011. The all-suite ship will carry 600 passengers.

This article originally appeared on travelagentcentral.com.

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