Seabourn Encore: Sanitation Record & Health Report

Look, we don't hand out gold stars easily around here, but the Seabourn Encore has genuinely earned a slow clap. A 96 on its most recent CDC inspection — above the fleet average of 95, mind you — and a food safety score of 94 with a Clean Kitchen grade to match. For a luxury ultra-small-ship line that charges the kind of fares that make your accountant quietly cry, you'd hope the kitchen isn't a biohazard waiting to happen. And refreshingly, it isn't. Inspected in August 2025 and coming out looking like the overachiever in the back of the class, the Encore is doing the thing it's supposed to do: keeping your caviar and your intestinal flora in harmony.

Seabourn occupies that rarefied tier where the passenger count is low enough that the staff actually knows your name and the wine pours don't require you to make eye contact and silently beg. The Encore fits about 600 guests — a number that feels almost quaint in an era of ships that hold more people than a small city — and the inspection scores suggest they're channeling that intimacy into actual operational rigor rather than just vibes and butler service. A 94 on food safety isn't perfect, but it's solidly "we take this seriously" territory, and for a ship where the per-person spend could fund a modest home renovation, that tracks.

Who it's for: Anyone who wants a spotless inspection record alongside their post-sunset canapés. If you're willing to spend the premium for ultra-luxury and you want the reassurance that the galley isn't starring in its own episode of Kitchen Nightmares, the Encore delivers. Who should skip it: Budget travelers, obviously — this isn't the ship for anyone whose vacation math involves Spirit Airlines comparisons. And if you're the type who needs a thousand-person mega-ship energy to feel like you're on a "real" cruise, the Encore's intimate scale will feel less like luxury and more like a very expensive long weekend with strangers.