Timbuktu123

I envy you kej1, I would love to have been onboard Pursuit in Microsnesia. Too bad Seabourn is skipping these areas in the next year or so.

Not that I'm aware of, other than the stabilizers were fixed.

What follows is a rather lengthy review of Seabourn Venture. If you have ever wondered what it was like to be on the ship for a long time and under both cold and hot weather conditions, have a read. Having spent three months on board this past winter and spring, I'm happy to answer any questions and help enlighten prospective passengers without marketing abiguities... Intro We recently completed an epic voyage of three months on Seabourn Venture, their first expedition ship. Over three months we took the last Antarctic voyage of 2024 season and then crossed the Atlantic from South to North touching on West Africa, Western Europe and around the British Isles and Ireland. I’m writing this almost to my pre-cruise self who, at the time, was full of questions being a newbie to Seabourn and “true” expedition cruising. My intent is not to poke jabs at Seabourn or anyone/anything else but to give you a good evaluation of what its like and how to manage one’s expectations. We met quite a few passengers who seemed ill-informed about what to expect, so this is my way of trying to prepare future passengers and end up having a truly amazing experience. Expedition vs. Classic First off, there is a tremendous amount of confusion about the differences between an expedition cruise, a classic ocean cruise (traditional), and most importantly about an expedition SHIP which is doing a non-expedition/classic cruise. While a classic ocean cruise can visit a lot of the same places, it is much more difficult to actually achieve this due to the weather and sea conditions, increased number of passengers and the captain’s mandate to avoid risks over everything else, and keeping to a schedule as much as possible. An expedition cruise is driven by a higher priority in getting to the places planned, or at least a good substitute even if the weather isn’t great and because the ship can use zodiacs as well as tenders with fewer, and perhaps more agile passengers with proper water-resistant gear (i.e. we’re not here to go shopping…). Itinerary We started off in Ushuaia, Argentina like many voyages to Antarctica and visited the Antarctic peninsula. We were first time visitors and were total newbies to how the process works. Basically, the visit is done “on the fly” by your expedition leader so no trip to Antarctica will be the same. All ships, regardless of the company, work together and request a particular location based on what the expedition leader’s experience is and the weather conditions (ideally a spot where zodiacs can land you on shore, calm enough to kayak and launch the submersibles). Obviously, one can’t count on the weather, and it can change fast down there. So, flexibility, as an expedition leader repeated, is the key word. We met a number of previous Antarctic visitors and wondered why they were doing this again. They loved it and, as we finally realized, one sees different things every time. This is not like going to see the Mona Lisa over and over wondering if she’s smiling differently. In short, having visited Antarctica felt a little like visiting another planet. You have strict protocols; you have to put on a fair amount of protective clothing and do exactly what you’re told. If you want to wing it, and just play like in an amusement park, don’t go. This is about experiencing something truly unique, doing some things like kayaking, seeing what’s in polar waters, and being some of the few to put your footprints on these alien shores. After returning to Ushuaia and swapping out some passengers and crew, we were off to cross the Atlantic. For me, South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena and Ascension were the must-see places, not that the other places weren’t interesting, such as Morocco but they were less difficult to see, even on a classic cruise. The Atlantic Isles are real challenges which, in a way, like Antarctica, make them special as life achievements. Once we arrived in Cabo Verde, this part of our journey switched to more of a classic cruise on an expedition ship. This meant the expedition team (and there was no trimming down of the team) turned into our hosts and resident experts. In many ways it was like going on a college field trip with professors to interact with. While the onboard team were relegated to being minders similar to classic cruise land tours, and the local guides took the lead, having a geologist, photographer, or historian to chat to on a tour or a bus ride was wonderful. On Seabourn expedition cruises having twenty or so real experts to deploy on classic land tours makes a big difference compared to a classic ocean cruise staff who are mainly entertainers, boutique people etc. They’re just there as hand-holders. I think this does warrant the premium we paid to visit these places on an expedition ship, however if I were shopping around for a cruise to classic ports, I don’t know if I’d pay the premium for an expedition ship when I could visit the same places on a classic ship with all its benefits and facilities (i.e. choices). Once we reached the UK, we recovered our expedition status and our team was able to bring out the zodiacs and some of us, including me, had exceptional experiences on hikes. I wouldn’t say the hikes were that challenging, although being able to leap rivulets and balance on rocks in Scottish bogs should be a requirement for passengers participating. It was absolutely amazing to combine experiencing raw nature in very remote places and pausing just to wonder at where I was on this planet to more traditional visits to castles and gardens making for a wonderful mix. Towards the latter part of the trip when visiting Ireland, the authorities put restrictions on our behavior so it wasn’t quite as “ expeditiony “ due to that, but we were still able to do some zodiac rides to get to shore. More on that in the caveats section. Ship The Seabourn Venture is the line’s first expedition ship, and yes, the stabilizers work. It is probably a third smaller than a small cruise ship with around 200 and some passengers. From a passenger point of view, unless you are very sensitive to seasickness, any cabin is great. The standard ones are very comfortable, even for a long voyage. The public spaces are nice. Most everything happens in the Club (aft), the Constellation lounge (forward), the Discovery center, the Discovery lounge, and sometimes the pool deck. Décor is ski lodge cozy. With fake fireplaces to add to the coziness. The décor tries to give a Norwegian Wood feel which, at first, seems to be a bit much, since its fake wood anyway, but it grew on us. Our favorite lounge was the Constellation lounge on deck 9 all the way forward. It has wrap-around windows that are great for looking out at the sea and a sunset. The furniture is the comfiest. The club was our least favorite mainly due to furniture which we watched at least four people topple over in. It also has a sushi bar which we did not try. Its where Trivia, Name that tune, and later evening shows are done. The Discovery center is the ship’s lecture hall. I say that because it is good at that purpose. It also is where movies and nighttime shows are done, but since the seating is not tiered, its hard to get an unobstructed view of the talent. The massive LED panels, which are the stars, are fantastic. I only wish that the A/V crew and presenters could design their material around the ultrawide aspect ratio. I suppose they want to keep things narrower since lectures are broadcast to the in-suite TV’s. Unfortunately, the sound, when used for singers, was blaring. It was a mystery to me why the volume had to be so loud as to distort the voices. I’m sure any singer could have been heard at natural volume in a room of that size. Anyway, that should be easily fixed by a sound tech sitting in the middle of the room rather than buried in a booth. One last negative, which carries over to other sofas on board, is the Discovery center’s cushioning is so hard, its difficult to sit on for very long. I think the bean counters opted for super hard foam to last a few extra years LOL. Technically the ship is fantastic. HVAC worked well all through polar nights to equatorial evenings. The ship used its geostationary ( no anchor needed) capabilities in Antarctica but once we got back to civilization, traditional anchors were used. The stabilizers worked well to counteract roll, but just like on other ships, they do nothing for pitching motion. Some people wonder if this ship is OK to do ocean crossings and the answer from a safety and comfort perspective, absolutely. I will say we generally cruised at 10-14 knots which is a bit slower than larger classic ships. The ship’s water features include a small pool at the stern, which is fine unless you need to do laps. Sampling it, it was nice and warm and with the infinity style which has a transparent end looking off the end of the ship, we felt a little like lobsters at a seafood restaurant. Fortunately, no one picked us! There are technically five hot tubs. Two on each side of the pool, two outside of the Club slightly suspended over the aft corners and next to the Sky bar and one for the crew, which isn’t available for guests. The hot tubs operate almost all the time and are probably more useful when at sea or at anchor. One advantage of the ship being at anchor rather than at port is avoiding the awkwardness of going in a hot tub with longshoremen etc. peering at you from shoreside. Cabin We stayed in two different cabins during our voyage. We started out in a Panorama suite which has a cylindrical floor to ceiling window jutting out a bit mid-ship forward. We then changed to a standard cabin in the bow for the remainder of the journey. We also visited the other cabin types including the duplex Wintergarden suite. The Panorama suite was worth the extra money for the first parts of the journey to Antarctica and the Atlantic crossing. Even though every cabin has an outdoor balcony, due to the cold conditions, the only thing we used it for was to test the air temperature and take a quick photo or as a cool waiting area once dressed in our polar outfits awaiting our call to go onto zodiacs. Having the Panorama’s big windows allowed us to peer forward from the rest of the ship while being in total comfort with the heated floors and other accoutrements. Also being able to watch huge icebergs and other scenery float by from the bed was extra special. The suite also has a nice bathroom including a whirlpool tub, which is great after a hike, with a window to view the sky with. There’s also a larger shower and a separate water closet. The only other gripes I had were that the TV doesn’t angle out on an arm far enough to make it comfortable to watch from bed or from the rock-hard couch, and the “walk-in closet” is the narrowest I’ve ever experienced. Congratulations to the designers for having achieved the designation “walk-in”. Once we switched to the standard cabin, the walk-in closet seemed a little wider (maybe it was just an illusion, it wasn’t that wide, but I wasn’t hitting the clothes as much). The shower was much smaller but everything else seemed to work. I don’t think I’d opt for a bigger cabin on a port intensive cruise. The TV was in a better position on the wall opposite the bed and we did use our balcony mainly because the weather was better. The couch was still made of stone though. Oddly enough the bedside light switches are classic metal toggle switches like in a workshop, probably to give that ancient mariner feel. In the Panorama suite we had normal switches. We did miss the extra drawers that we had in the Panorama suite but made do with the cupboards. Of all the things I missed was the Starlink streaming package we had included in the Panorama suite. I will say that’s just being spoiled. Afterall, I’m not on this cruise to watch TV! The standard Starlink package was fine for everyday use. My wife made some Zoom calls without any trouble, but I don’t know if that was due to the streaming version or not. In any case, Starlink works great with download speeds up to 70mbps, but upload is around 8mbps. I was able to stream all my content I have at home (US based, but VPN works for others) and more importantly, backup all my stuff to the cloud. I even worked on my taxes, oh boy! We viewed the Wintergarden suite which is very impressive initially. I say that because imagine what it would be like to have a two-story window on the world which also allows the world to watch you. I think it would be extraordinary to see Antarctica with that view, aside from going out on deck that’s the broadest single view on board, even the bridge doesn’t have the vertical span. However, I would not recommend it on a classic voyage simply because you might be in an industrial port with an expansive view of containers and feeling like you’re living in a two-height store window. Anyway, if I got it as a free upgrade, I might see it differently… We also saw the owner’s suite which is at the bow. I think they’re configured nicely but in the wrong location. Being on the bow, you’re peering down at passengers and team members enjoying the same view on the bow deck and its very windy when the ship is in motion. The signature suites have a better location in the stern and look promising with more room and a full bar/kitchenette. I’ve heard your private hot tub isn’t useable when the ship is moving. There are penthouse suites which are real multiroom suites especially the handicapped version which forgoes the bathtub and walk-in closet to gain more room. It is the most spacious of all. I’d recommend the Panorama suite as the “sweet-suite” spot. It doesn’t break the bank and has just enough extra perks over the standard suite. The Signature would be next if you just want more room. Onboard Entertainment Prior to sailing on Seabourn Venture we sailed on another expedition ship and learned the hard way what its like when they are not doing an “expedition” but a classic cruise. That ship sent almost all of its expedition team home and we only had a couple to do some lectures and a cruise director and assistant to fill in the rest. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a great experience mainly due to the line misjudging what was needed on this type of cruise. Anyway, after that, our expectations were tempered upon boarding our first Seabourn expedition cruise. After the deflating experience we’d had, once onboard the Venture, we were stunned by how much and how varied shipboard entertainment was. I think it helped that we were viewing this from our recent experience on the other expedition ship, and not coming straight from a classic ship. As I said, we have a fair amount of experience on classic voyages with lecturers, entertainers, a shipboard theater etc. but we were expecting a lone keyboardist serenading us in a bar before dinner and not classic cruise stuff. Anyway, we experienced two excellent cruise directors (back-to-back) who were very adept at being one man bands and having a roster of different guest talent to supplant the offerings. We could see immediately that Seabourn, having had years of experience in classic cruising, knew how to entertain us. I’m not going to say that the shows were at the level one has on the 6000 passenger ships, but it was very close to what one would get on a 300-passenger ship without the band and dancers. Guest entertainers rotated through with most being singers, but I was really happy to see several magicians which I like due to the increased interactivity. I also like comedians, but they were absent, at least on this journey. Many of the shipboard games were there, like Trivia, Name That Tune, Liar’s club and Baggo. There were also some great resident singers and musicians to play your favorite song. I think the way to imagine this, is classic cruise entertainment, but a lite version, due to the space and facilities. Kudos to Seabourn entertainment for pulling this off successfully on an expedition! Even if you’re bored with the act, just take a moment and think about where you are on the planet listening to a Billy Joel tune or having your mind read! Pretty amazing. Dining First off, I am not a foody so most of the wining and dining gets lost on me. However, I was amazed at the variety of food coming out of a rather small galley. Over three months I think we might have gone through four rotations of menus. Even though the Colonnade is the main lunch venue, there were so many different lunch themes, it never got stale. If anything, we tired of formal dining every night for that long and it was a treat to just stay in our cabin and order simple food once and a while. The quality of the food preparation was great, but the quality of the food became dependent on where we were supplied from. For example, at the beginning we had excellent meat, maybe because we’d been in Argentina. After that when we got to Europe, I found the meat tougher. Perhaps I was just spoiled since my wife thought it was OK. Conversely, we had some of the best berries in my life in western Europe. When I order room service, I use the opportunity to challenge the kitchen to see if they can craft something I want. I find that on cruise lines owned by huge corporations, that the staff varies from “let me see what we can do”, to the opposite where you HAVE to order from the menu. I certainly understand about some fancy food, but I’m talking about simple food a kid could make. Seabourn, being owned by Carnival, showed some of this rigidness. It wasn’t a big deal, but it gives a lasting impression. The food was great for me, and no one went hungry. Enrichment Being an expedition cruise, just the destination should be sufficient for enrichment. Having the twenty or so members of the expedition team really added “meat” to the whole experience. Almost every team member doubled as a lecturer. Some spoke about geology, some history, some weather, others sea life, and many of them were birders. If you are interested in the natural world then it was total satisfaction. It was a little like only having PBS on TV. You learn a lot, but sometimes you’d like to learn about something else. There is an unwritten benefit onboard, that is to get to know on a personal one on one level, the team members and the entertainers because, like most of us, they may also be experts in a different subject and having them to talk to just adds more enrichment. During our ocean crossing with, I think fourteen sea days, we even had bridge crew talk about some of the ship’s capabilities and encourage us to visit the bridge where an officer could explain the equipment and ship’s operations. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, you never know what “secret” information is divulged. Crew Having never been on Seabourn, the whole “vibe” was new to us, and we got a feel that on Seabourn Venture the impression was it was like going to a fancy ski lodge in Aspen with the dress code being informal in most cases but it could get to a jacket and slacks level in the Restaurant. Of all the lines we’ve been on (Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, Silversea, and Scenic Eclipse), the feeling is about a lot of camaraderie. We’ve never interacted with the crew, entertainers, and expedition staff more than here. Of course, being on for so long allowed us to rotate through Seabourn crew and in some cases through their vacation off the ship and coming back (that brought some surprised smiles from them since that’s not very typical of passengers). I can only assume that Seabourn asks all their crew to make an effort to interact with passengers and while I did wonder if they really enjoyed it, as passengers we were thrilled, and I’d say that’s a big differentiator with Seabourn’s competition. I think its also nice for solo passengers since they are automatically invited to hosted tables by officers. Achieving trip goals Personally, I wanted to see the Atlantic islands and circumnavigate the British Isles and see the west of Ireland. All those goals were met with flying colors. Never have I been able to achieve all the goals I had on prior classic cruises. If there is one really satisfying thing about the experience onboard Seabourn Venture it is that the whole crew is focused on the same thing: doing everything possible to achieve the expected destinations. In our case the captain and expedition leader found a solution to landing on Tristan da Cunha, instead of sticking with the original arrival date, the captain increased speed so that we could arrive a day earlier avoiding a washout the next day which might have happened if he stuck to the original plan. In cruise line logic, that means burning more fuel, something I’m sure classic cruise captains avoid unless there’s a life at risk or safety. Classic cruises want to keep a schedule, save fuel and keep passengers safe and entertained. Seabourn expeditions will bend the rules to achieve the destinations and experiences. As a passenger who likes to go to remote places in the world in comfort, this is worth every penny and I will be eternally grateful to Seabourn, its captain and expedition leader, for allowing this to happen. In short, for me, if we’d missed landing on Tristan da Cunha and Ascension it would have been like circling the moon and coming home without landing. I call it Michael Collins syndrome (he was part of the Apollo 11 crew for the first moon landing who had to stay onboard the command module while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon). Value Expedition cruising is expensive whether you go high end like the Seabourn Venture or on an icebreaker, that’s a fact. So it’s a very personal decision to do this. During our voyage we “inherited” a number of passengers who chose this as compensation for having their original cruise transiting the red sea cancelled. That was a little strange because they hadn’t been prepared for an expedition and often commented on how things were not like other Seabourn ships. I can forgive those reactions since they probably just picked the cruise in haste, curious to go on a new ship etc. Anyway, those reactions made me want to write this review, so that those who do their homework can get a real taste of what its like. As I said before, if you dream of visiting some unusual and remote place, this is the most comfortable way I can think of to do it. On the other hand, if you just like cruising and the destination is only one factor or you’ve been to the places before then I would say a classic cruise is better, only because the ship will probably be more entertainment driven and have more varied things to do. Not having been on regular Seabourn, I don’t know what they have. Compared to Crystal, which still has the best entertainment and enrichment, with keyboard classes and computer@sea, that’s what makes ship life shine by itself, so who cares where the ship goes? Crystal isn’t an expedition line, and its latest itineraries are boring to me. Seabourn seems to have a better grasp on interesting itineraries but they’re not alone. All I know is that each cruise we take is more expensive than the last so I guess its what’s important to you. Caveats I added this as my attempt to counter some misunderstandings about what can and can’t be done on an expedition cruise. The marketing department needs some retraining to make sure they don’t oversell or fan people’s fantasies when it comes to submersibles, kayaking, and what the expedition team can do. First off, the simple rule is don’t count on expedition activities in places where humans live and work. This has nothing to do with ability and more to do with labor laws and national restrictions. So think about that when reviewing an expedition cruise’s itinerary. Second if you don’t like to get splashed, bounce around on an inflatable boat in order to get to shore, or are not well balanced and limber enough to climb in and out of a zodiac and walk on slippery rocks in rubber boots, think more of choosing a classic cruise instead of an expedition cruise. Even if you’re on a classic voyage going to human ports but on an expedition ship, don’t assume the ship will be docked or that you can use tenders opposed to zodiacs. The ship may anchor offshore and then its either two tenders or the zodiacs to get you on shore. We used tenders in a couple of places which allowed us to wear street clothes but slowed the process down since there are only two and they have to fill each up with around fifty people before leaving. The zodiacs get you on shore faster, but you may get wet so its sort of like deciding to wear rainwear on an iffy day. Do you wear it and trapes around in your rain gear (in our case, yellow Seabourn coat and waterproof pants and boots) or do you wear more normal clothes like jeans which are going to stay wet for a while if you get splashed. All part of the adventure… If you want to see whales, seabirds and other marine life you might have to rush from your dining table or interrupt your tea to go to the bow to look at them. Do not expect these things to be brought to you on a platter although the expedition team does come close with the telescopic camera on top of the ship. In the polar regions, environmental and bio rules are the only restrictions since there are no humans living there to take jobs from. So, if you’re thinking about a cruise to polar regions that these ships were designed for, and where they spend most of their time, then the weather is your only challenge. If you’re exploring the mid-sections of the planet, like a repositioning cruise, your experience will change once you get to shore. Local guides will run the tours, the submersibles may not be used due to bad conditions like too much traffic or local regulations preventing their use. In Japan and Alaska, the submersibles, which are made in the Netherlands, are prevented operation due to the Jones act (the same act that makes a non-US flagged vessel have to leave the US/Japan and reenter). Basically, an antiquated protection for U.S. labor. In Alaska, local zodiacs have to be used instead of the ship’s because local operators insist. Even in uninhabited areas, submersibles and kayaks need very calm days. If there’s some chop or swells neither will happen. Some passengers imagine doing all sorts of fantastical things in submersibles and kayaks. Forget it, in polar regions, you’ll probably see life like starfish and some aquatic plants from a sub, but the experience is unique, and one should try it at least once in your life. Submersibles do not get close to sea life so the idea of seeking whale sharks as if on an underwater safari isn’t going to happen. I suppose if sea life comes close enough to the submersible, you might get lucky. Kayaking is just about experiencing the environment close to the water. In Antarctica we had a bright sunny day to paddle in a bay looking at towering bluffs. Yes, it was worth it, but I don’t know if I’d do it again for the price they charge. I have seen videos of Seabourn Pursuit, the sister ship, which recently crossed the South Pacific. When they visited Truk lagoon the submersibles were able to go near some of the wrecks, which, in my mind, was worth it. Finally, I wanted to mention a hidden resource Seabourn marketing doesn’t know how to position and promote, their voyage tracker which chronicles each voyage and really gives a prospective passenger a great idea of what is like day to day: Voyage Tracker It’s a mystery why it isn’t front and center on the first page of Seabourn expedition’s web page. I for one had to spend a long time trolling the internet and stumbling on an interview with, I think Robin West, the head of expeditions at Seabourn, who mentioned it. Except for my experience pre-cruise and booking problems, Seabourn Expeditions was top notch and would be my first choice, IF they go somewhere I want to go like (hint, hint) Micronesia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia (Raja Ampat). That’s where the zodiacs will shine!!!

koalabear6314, I've just uploaded my Seabourn Venture walkabout video at: Seabourn Venture walkabout 2024 Look for the chapter stop named "Accessible Penthouse" to skip to the relevant part.

I've just completed my latest walkabout video of Seabourn Venture. It covers all public areas of the ship including all suite types, sub bays, medical center and the bridge. For those who are considering sailing or just would like a souvenir of the ship in 2024, have a look. There are chapter stops if you don't want to sit through the whole video. Seabourn Venture walkabout 2024

I am currently on Venture until May and am shooting some footage for my walkabout video on YouTube. I don't think I'll have time to work on the finished version until I get back home but I have visited both versions of the Penthouse, and the others. The accessible version is massive since they left lots of room to manoever. In fact, if you can do without the walk-in closet and tub it would be a nice cabin for someone who loves space. Like the regular Penthouse there's a very long balcony. Instead of walk-in closet, there are hinged door closets like armoires.

I'm on Venture now and there three points: 1. Currently we're sailing in Western Europe where the sub wouldn't be used anyway, but what should be clarified to future passengers is that the sub is really only used where allowed by local ports and countries. Normally in Polar journies all you have to worry about is weather and sea conditions and not protectionist or other human-laws. 2. One sub onboard has a non-catasrophic oil leak and they only operate both subs to have a backup sub in case of a problem. Therefore one sub will knock out both subs if there's a problem. 3. Subs are not allowed to operate where the Jones act is in effect such as the U.S. and Japan since the subs are Dutch made.

Having just completed a “discovery cruise” on board Scenic Eclipse and booked on a transatlantic expedition cruise on Venture next year I’m wondering if anyone has any insight as to what Seabourn does to entertain passengers on sea days crossing the Atlantic? I realize expedition cruises don’t have dancers and shows but will there be any enrichment programs and will they bring in special guest lecturers? Has anyone done a repositioning cruise like this yet?