Pursuit & Venture Expedition Ship Passenger to Crew Ratio

[Piredmus]

When I am comparing cruise operator options amongst the various lines, my analysis shows that Seabourn has a higher (quite a bit actually) "passenger to crew" ratio than the others when analyzing either Pursuit or Venture. Based on the literature, assuming full cabin capacity, it shows a passenger count of 264 to a crew count of 120, for a ratio of 2.20.  Am I correct in this math?  This seems odd, as typically a smaller ship, especially an expedition ship would have a lower (better) ratio.  For example, Seabourn Encore at 600 passengers to 330 crew has a ratio of 1.82, and Quest is even better.

 

Does your crew count of 120 include the expedition team of 24, or are they to be added?  If the latter, that would bring the ratio down to 1.83, but still well above the competitors.

 

Most of the similar competitors are in the 1.30 range, with some very close to 1.10, but all are below 1.50.  Why does Seabourn appear to be an outlier here in the wrong direction?

 

Am I missing something?  Does this higher passenger to crew ratio diminish the experience on Seabourn for this type of cruise where abundant crew is vital to the enjoyment of the trip?

 

Any thoughts are welcome, especially from those that have taken Seabourn expedition cruises to Antarctica.

 

Thanks.

[15Day+]

We just got off a 40 day cruise from Ushuaia to Malaga on Venture with 170 passengers for the first 26 days and 230 for the remaining 14. The ship had approximately 230 crew including the Expedition Team. We were well taken care of…

[markandjie]

6 hours ago, Piredmus said:

Am I missing something? 

 

One thing we learned is that the expedition ships sail with far fewer technical staff (engine room, etc) because the ship is so modern and automated. I think that has a big impact on the ratios.

 

Having said that, on both of our expedition cruises it felt to me that the staff was stretched thin, and we've been told there may not be enough crew cabins due to issues with ship design.