Papeete to Guam on Seabourn Pursuit and pre stay at Brando Resort

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

Sounds like SCUBA is not a real thing on these boats. Not even snorkeling. DIsappointing.

[BillK400]

My impression is that the ship and expedition crew are set up and focused on antarctic and possibly arctic cruises and warm weather expeditions are an afterthought filling time between cold weather seasons. Hope I am wrong as I am on the May 15th Pursuit cruise. 

[LocoLoco1]

11 hours ago, Fletcher said:

I'm really enjoying this thread as the South Pacific is my favourite part of the world and the perfect expedition cruise location if the ship is small enough.  I'm reading this aboard a Silversea expedition ship, the Wind, currently in the Bijagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau.  

Nice.. 

[kej1]

4 hours ago, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

Sounds like SCUBA is not a real thing on these boats. Not even snorkeling. DIsappointing.

@FlaviaOfTheMonthsnorkeling and I think scuba were offered in Cook Islands through third parties.  In Tonga in the afternoon we snorkeled and I believe there was scuba as well.  In Fiji there was snorkeling and scuba on the first day in the afternoon.  Not on the second day.  Neither was offered in Vanuatu or on the first 3 stops of the cruise.

im hoping on this second half we will have more opportunities.  Again there is no schedule published and as much as we ask what’s happening we are told we will know the night prior.  Since Dom, the current leader will leave tomorrow to go home I’m assuming ( hoping) there will be a replacement.  
 

all, we are on til May 15th so I’ll keep updating.  Strange those getting on May 15th have some excursions to choose and we have none….maybe you can share what they are as I assume they will be similar?

[LocoLoco1]

12 hours ago, Fletcher said:

I'm really enjoying this thread as the South Pacific is my favourite part of the world and the perfect expedition cruise location if the ship is small enough.  I'm reading this aboard a Silversea expedition ship, the Wind, currently in the Bijagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau.  

Fletcher, Following your time aboard ‘The Wind’ with morbid curiosity…

[cruising kirby]

2 hours ago, kej1 said:

@FlaviaOfTheMonthsnorkeling and I think scuba were offered in Cook Islands through third parties.  In Tonga in the afternoon we snorkeled and I believe there was scuba as well.  In Fiji there was snorkeling and scuba on the first day in the afternoon.  Not on the second day.  Neither was offered in Vanuatu or on the first 3 stops of the cruise.

im hoping on this second half we will have more opportunities.  Again there is no schedule published and as much as we ask what’s happening we are told we will know the night prior.  Since Dom, the current leader will leave tomorrow to go home I’m assuming ( hoping) there will be a replacement.  
 

all, we are on til May 15th so I’ll keep updating.  Strange those getting on May 15th have some excursions to choose and we have none….maybe you can share what they are as I assume they will be similar?

I’m on the 15 May cruise from Guam. There are three excursions being offered in Rabaul. The paid option is Balanataman Hiking at USD145pp. The included options are Kopoko War and Colonial Experience and a nighttime tour Baining Firedance and Village Experience. 
 

Nothing else showing up for any other ports at this stage

[kej1]

@Fletcher. I am now starting to read your interesting stories about Manaus, Amazon, and now west Africa!  Went down the Amazon years ago in my early 20’s out of Iquitos, Peru.  We took what looked like a worn out version of the African Queen to a lodge called Explora.  Bucket showers,hair never dried and mossie bites everywhere but it was beautiful and pretty untouched at that point.  And I was young and didn’t care but now….couldn't do it that way again!

 

I see why you like this part of the world. We had on,y been to Fiji and French Polynesia previously by airplane and land.  This is a wonderful way to explore the area.  Thinking of Kimberly and Indonesia next summer on the Pursuit again.

 

 

[kej1]

6 hours ago, cruising kirby said:

I’m on the 15 May cruise from Guam. There are three excursions being offered in Rabaul. The paid option is Balanataman Hiking at USD145pp. The included options are Kopoko War and Colonial Experience and a nighttime tour Baining Firedance and Village Experience. 
 

Nothing else showing up for any other ports at this stage

@cruising kirby thank try for the info on Rabaul!  Although it has t been communicated yet to anyone on the ship I asked thanks to your info about it and was told “ we should” have the same options and we’d know “ the evening before”!  We are going ahead with our private in Guadalcanal tomorrow but I think we will hold off a day or so on Rabaul private as it seems we should have a Seabourn option there….

Thank you and if you are told any other port excursions let us know as those of us on the pursuit are still in the dark so to speak!

[Fletcher]

@kej1 I'm pleased you have found my current Amazon/Africa blog.  I must say I was rather shocked and disappointed to read your comments about third party and other excursions you need to pay extra for.  That's totally unacceptable for an expedition cruise.  Outside the polar regions, I don't think Seabourn fully understands or embraces the expedition ethic.  Silversea and the ship we are on certainly have their faults but the expeditionary side of things is all-inclusive and often immersive.  

[frantic36]

3 hours ago, kej1 said:

 Thinking of Kimberly and Indonesia next summer on the Pursuit again.

 

I'm doing the 25 day Sydney/Honaria to Broome in 4 weeks so I will try again to do live posting. I could only keep up my live blog on the Quest Grand Voyage for about half the voyage but it was 79 days 🙃. 

 

I'm sure the Kimberley will involve some third party as well if Seabourn decide to include some flights but that wouldn't surprise me. I have already pre booked a flight from Darwin to go to Kakadu National Park as we have an overnight in Darwin. As it is peak season in that region I wanted to book early as one flight was already booked out.

 

[kej1]

Update!  Thank goodness we booked a few months ago a private tour to the ww2 sites in Honaria ( Guadalcanal) on May 1.   I almost canceled as Seabourn sent us a flyer the other night they would do a ( third party) tour May 2 ( we have an overnight as some guests disembarking and some arriving). Well, tonight we received a flyer stating the May 2 ww2 third party tour on May 2=is canceled as the prime minister election is that day and most things are shutting down.  
So, we are very happy we have our 8:30 am private tmw even though  it will be messy with lots of guests disembarking.  Seabourn to be fair has rescheduled the third party tour for tmw ( May 1) at 3:00 pm.  But glad we are going in the morning and can go where we want as my husband doesn’t like shopping which is a part of what they have scheduled.  

@fletcher they have told us many of these ports will not allow ship expedition tours so therefore have to be third party - some charged and some complimentary.  I think they have left all the planning to the expedition staff ( many who are Antarctica people) and they are learning…. I do note that Silversea has their  expedition things published in advance. - I actually used their past cruises to this region and High plains drifter’s cruise critic blog from last year to try to plan what we could do and what to expect.  We have been very happy with the service and staff on board but everyone we’ve talked to is frustrated with the lack of communications and organization of the excursions piece.  Hopefully things will change since this is new to them.  

 

[kej1]

55 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

 

I'm doing the 25 day Sydney/Honaria to Broome in 4 weeks so I will try again to do live posting. I could only keep up my live blog on the Quest Grand Voyage for about half the voyage but it was 79 days 🙃. 

 

I'm sure the Kimberley will involve some third party as well if Seabourn decide to include some flights but that wouldn't surprise me. I have already pre booked a flight from Darwin to go to Kakadu National Park as we have an overnight in Darwin. As it is peak season in that region I wanted to book early as one flight was already booked out.

 

@frantic36 I will look forward to your comments on your cruise.  Despite the growing pains we’ve experienced on the expedition part of our trip we are looking at booking Kimberly and Indonesia in August of 2025.  We’ve made a lot of friends from Australia on this trip and they have raved about Kimberly!  And all the Indonesia travel we’ve done has been by airplane and land in the typical spots so this would be really interesting. The more we know about what to book in advance the better!  

[frantic36]

10 minutes ago, kej1 said:

 We’ve made a lot of friends from Australia on this trip and they have raved about Kimberly!

I'm glad you are enjoying various aspects of your cruise despite the disappointment with regards excursions.

 

Being West Australian I have been to Broome and Darwin a few times and did a 7 day Kimberley for the first time last year on True North a 36 pax boat with a helicopter. It was amazing and the Pursuit cruise will go to some places we didn't. We will also did True North on a Neap tide which is a moderate tide so not much movement whereas our Pursuit cruise has a much higher tide which might give more dramatic effect at places like Horizontal Falls and Montgomery Reef.

 

For those interested in experiencing Horizontal Falls you should be aware of this upcoming ban in 2026 for boats.

 

https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/state-swings-axe-on-iconic-kimberley-horizontal-falls-experience-20240315-p5fcsu.html

 

In case it is behind a paywall the relevant part is this:

 

"The West Australian government will ban boats from traversing the iconic Horizontal Falls on the Kimberley coast.

The ban will come into effect for all tour operators from 2026, except for Seaplane Adventures which will be allowed to continue the tour until 2028 when its licence expires."

 

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

3 hours ago, kej1 said:

I actually used their past cruises to this region and High plains drifter’s cruise critic blog from last year

 

Thanks for the shot out.  I'm now using your excellent blog to help plan our return to the area in September. 😃

 

We had some small problems on SS Explorer in regards to communication and excursion planning.  Nothing like you have experienced. Except for Heli rides all third party excursions were included, even a flight over the Bungle Bungles.  Shame on Seabourn! They are already having trouble filling the ships.  We are branching out and exploring other luxury expedition lines.

 

Indonesia - we're looking at 2026, 2025 is already booked for us. 😁  I like the Seabourn Itinary that does north PNG and Raja Ampat.   FYI, Ponant has some pretty nice itineraries. And then there is Paspaley by Ponant. Waiting for everyone to drop 2026 plans.

 

Back to your regularly scheduled excellent programming.

 

Good luck in Honaria.

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

kej1, I appreciate your detailed summary of the SCUBA opportunities on this ship. It seems like Seabourn is trying to have the cachet of being "expedition" without the actual adventure components that go along with it. It seems to me -- based on just a casual look -- that they have dialed down the SCUBA references on their website and the ship and tour descriptions. I could swear that SCUBA was more of a feature when I first looked at these new ships some time ago, but currently there is almost no mention of it and I could not find any reference to the on-board dive center. Hard to say exactly what happened there.

[kej1]

May 1st:  Honaria, Guadalcanal, Soloman Islands.  
The ship arrived early this morning.  Over half the passengers were disembarking.  And I’m told about the same number or more embarked.

 

We set out early in the morning for a private WW2 Eastern Battlefields tour I had set up several months ago.  We had a great guide, Bernard, and our driver did an excellent job of navigating the crazy traffic we encountered going from point A to point B and so on.  Husband is a big WW2 buff so this was an important stop for him and I’m glad we did our own excursion.  As mentioned there was a ship tour put together at the very last minute but we decided to stick with our plan and I’m glad we did.  We visited the US War Memorial which was quite impressive.  We visited the various battlefields, alligator creek, rivers, Red Beach, Bloody Ridge, the cemetery ( near the airport where a big battle took place), and the Japanese Memorial which was also quite impressive.  Other than the two memorials, and the cemetery things are pretty run down, overgrown, but still it’s a very interesting experience to see where all these famous battles took place.  Our guide was excellent but I have to say my husband is so knowledgeable and well read on the subject he kind of dominated the talk.  
 

We learned as is the case in so many of these countries, the Chinese are here big time.  They have been “partnering” with the prime minister on lots of infrastructure projects.  They just built a whole new sporting complex where the Soloman Islands hosted the Pacific games.  They are also building roads and fixing those that need fixing ( most of them!). The Chinese like the strategic location and evidently the wood.   This particular prime minister just stepped down and the new election is tomorrow.  We learned from our guide there was quite a bit of violence after the previous election so likely why the ship changed the last minute scheduled tour from tomorrow to this afternoon.  The country has had a ban on selling alcohol for the last few weeks and there are police officers everywhere.  Hopefully since the ship still doesn’t plan to leave until tomorrow afternoon we won’t experience any of the drama of past!  
 

It was a good day and we are looking forward to tonight’s briefing in hopes given the feedback they have received the expedition team will give a bit more information than in the past on the upcoming activities as it’s all still a mystery.😎

[texanaust]

We just joined the Pursuit after flying in to Honiara on the Charter flight.  The Qantas flight was terrible and a disappointing start to the cruise.  The food was inedible and believe it or not, no alcohol!  They did have a business class but I'm not sure how those people managed to secure that section.  Those guests did receive a proper meal with champagne, etc so certainly a different experience for them...unfortunately not for us and most other passengers. 

 

Seabourn also promised a half full aircraft, but instead filled every extra seat with joining staff and expedition members.  Certainly not a luxury experience which was then followed by a very long, slow drive from the airport to the ship. 

 

Fortunately, the Pursuit looks great and we are looking forward to an improved experience from here!

[cruising kirby]

2 hours ago, texanaust said:

We just joined the Pursuit after flying in to Honiara on the Charter flight.  The Qantas flight was terrible and a disappointing start to the cruise.  The food was inedible and believe it or not, no alcohol!  They did have a business class but I'm not sure how those people managed to secure that section.  Those guests did receive a proper meal with champagne, etc so certainly a different experience for them...unfortunately not for us and most other passengers. 

 

Seabourn also promised a half full aircraft, but instead filled every extra seat with joining staff and expedition members.  Certainly not a luxury experience which was then followed by a very long, slow drive from the airport to the ship. 

 

Fortunately, the Pursuit looks great and we are looking forward to an improved experience from here!

Oh no!  We have that charter flight at the end of our cruise. It’s a long flight. I can’t believe they don’t provide decent food and alcohol!

Can you tell me if Qantas enforce weight restrictions on the checked luggage?  Seabourn have told me it’s 23kg per person but I can’t find any reference to that on my documents. 

 

 

[frantic36]

1 hour ago, cruising kirby said:

Seabourn have told me it’s 23kg per person but I can’t find any reference to that on my documents. 

 

I am sure I received something saying 23kg checked and 7kg carry-on so usual Economy Class restrictions. I have been looking for that document but I will also check with my TA if she has anything. Maybe I just read it on CC and it is stuck in my head.

 

@texanaust I'm sorry to hear about your charter flight and hope the Pursuit pampering starts quickly for you. We have that flight at the end of this month.

[kej1]

Latest update from Honaria:

Boy are we happy we did a private tour yesterday morning of the WW2 sites.  The late afternoon ship tour according to some I talked to was poor.  They only made a few stops, the last being the American war memorial which we’d found quite impressive but it was in the dark.  Evidently the guides were not great and they were hurried from site to site missing key pieces of information as they had to return to the ship before curfew due to the election today.

 

Now for the good news, since some craziness is expected in town today the ship is going to move to Roderick bay this afternoon, an island nit far from here.  We don’t know exact plans yet but it seems we will have a village visit, some snorkeling, kayaking and diving opportunities.  We shall hear final details this morning.  The only disappointment is likely for those who arrived later last night and won’t have the chance to experience the WW 2 sites in Guadalcanal which will be a big miss for those interested.  I’m also sorry to hear the comments about the flight.  Not something one would expect for a luxury cruise.

 

Based on the feedback on the group third party Guadalcanal tour we will go ahead with another private in Rabaul as it’s an important ww2 site as well.

[texanaust]

The luggage limit is 23kg but no one weighs the bags as they go directly from the hotel (left outside your room the night before) to the aircraft.  If your bag was over, I don’t think anyone would care.

 

Personally, if we do another Seabourn in this area, we will plan to embark at a port that has good air services not requiring a charter.  Many of our fellow economy class guests agreed it was not a great start to the cruise.

 

Today our altered itinerary has us snorkelling on the wreck of the World Discoverer.  For us, this is an excellent alternative to touring Honiara so we’re happy.

[Fletcher]

6 hours ago, texanaust said:

Today our altered itinerary has us snorkelling on the wreck of the World Discoverer.  For us, this is an excellent alternative to touring Honiara so we’re happy.

I've snorkelled around the World Discoverer - every expedition ship owes its existence to that ship.  It was the first of the breed.  A small pedantic note @kej1 - it's Solomon Islands, not Soloman.  

[kej1]

Oops my spell check is a bit overactive.  I need to be a bit more careful!  Thank you @Fletcher.  

I give the expedition team a lot of credit for making the move this morning from Honaria to Roderick Bay.  It was a great decision and a very nice stop.  Snorkeling around the  World Discoverer and seeing the villagers that seemed happy  for a visit.   It was a great call even though I know there were a few that missed seeing the WW2 sites - everything was going to be pretty locked down so staying would not have mattered!   Fun day.

Had seafood Paella on the patio tonight.  It’s one of the patio’s better dishes. 
Tomorrow it seems we may get a chance to do the submarine.  Fingers crossed!🤞 

[kej1]

Today was a fabulous day.  We went to Njari Island near Ghizo which is privately owned and part of the Solomons.  Great snorkeling, and to top it off we were able to do the submarine.  Now I must say as a former diver and current snorkeler when you go that deep even on a reef, it’s dark and you don’t see the fish activity and colorful coral you see in shallower depths.  But it was a fascinating experience.  There were six of us and the pilot.  You take a zodiac to the submersible, board it, then climb down a three step ladder to get to your seat.  Three on one side and three on the other, pilot in the middle.  
 

We descended down a reef we were told 180 meters, cruised around for a while and then came up slowly.  As you’d expect as we rose there were more fish, lovely fans, and coral.  All six of us agreed we really enjoyed the experience.  However I wouldn’t say it replaces diving or snorkeling.  What I didn’t know til we were down was that the fish appear smaller than they are through the sub’s glass.  I saw a grouper and asked Tom, our pilot why it was so small and he told me it is the glass they use in the sub.  Glad we did it and since there hasn’t been an opportunity in the first 18 days I’d say we were lucky!  For those of you interested I’d recommend you give it a try, but again don’t think it will replace fabulous diving or snorkeling.  It’s just different.  
 

BTW I heard the divers had a great dive as well!  

[BioInfoLib]

Thanks so much for this thread kej1!  My husband and I are on the Pursuit in August, Darwin to Sydney, with 4 stops in Indonesia and 2 in Papua New Guinea. I am hoping that people disappointed in the excursions are making that disappointment known to expedition team/Seabourn. I understand this is a new itinerary for them, but we were assured when we booked the trip that aside from weather issues there would be ample snorkeling, and your report is giving me a little pause. Thanks so much for reporting your experience so I can put my expectations somewhat in check. Hope the rest of your trip is fantastic!