My first expedition cruise on Seabourn Venture

Having just returned from my first expedition cruise, I can honestly say I’m excited to experience my next one!

We embarked in Greenwich on an incredibly cold and windy day.  The ship was tendered and the embarkation was one of the quickest I have experienced.  Our luggage was already in our suite by the time we got there, which was great.

We were staying in a V1 Veranda Suite.  Unlike the Ocean fleet, the V1 Verandas have a full glass-fronted veranda, they also have a bathtub and separate shower.  The veranda itself was nice and spacious with an enclosed walk-in wardrobe.  Our suite steward Olga was quick to introduce herself and showed us the heated gear locker in the suite, which is great if and when your clothes get wet.

We had ordered our Seabourn Expedition Parkers six days before travelling, they were waiting for us in the suite.  Mine was a little on the large side, however, this was easy to change at the Parker Exchange the following day.  The parker is multi-layered and perfect for zodiac tours.  They have been designed by Helly Hansen exclusively for Seabourn, carefully thought out, right down to the designated pocket in the sleeve for your key card.

The welcome/safety meeting onboard is where we first met the crew.  There are 24 Expedition Team Members on-board, ranging from academics, scientists and naturalists.  Their knowledge, passion and enthusiasm really showed throughout the whole cruise, the tours and the lectures.  You can tell they are genuinely excited to be there.

There is also a photographer and videographer on-board, not to try and sell you pictures but to help you take the best possible shots and help edit your footage, whether that be on a high-spec camera or a smartphone. As we were sailing from the British Isles, this was an itinerary full of natural history and expedition mixed with port operations.  We had Zodiac Tours, Kayaking and Nature Walks.

The Kayak guides scout before they head out and the kayaking starts before the other operations and before they deploy the zodiacs.  This gives a very different experience, being so quiet, on the water level and such a wonderful way to connect with nature.  The kayaks are all twin kayaks, so if you are wanting to do this on your own, you will be buddied up with another guest or guide.

There are 24 zodiacs onboard, varying in size.  I was surprised by how sturdy they are on the water, even at speed.  The guide gauges how fast you want to go, either a leisurely ride or a full-on jet ride as they’re taking you to/from the shore.  The next day we did a zodiac tour, which was another highlight.  We had Luciano Bernacchi (aka Luci), the Expedition Leader.  We sailed around the coast of the Calf of Man, taking our Swarovski binoculars (available to all guests), we were able to view the many different birds, including lots of puffins.  My personal favourites had to be the seals though!

One of the notable differences with an Expedition cruise is that the schedule is fluid, plans can and do change depending on sightings, the weather and many other factors.  Safety will always come first.  Seabourn talked about one of their Expedition cruises where the captain stopped the ship at 1am as there was a polar bear right beside them, and guests were woken up to take pictures. The Submersibles looked amazing.  Unfortunately due to British regulations plus the strong currents, we were unable to experience these.  There are two Subs onboard, each has three seats on either side which rotate 360 degrees. The fact that the acrylic dome looks to disappear when underwater, and with the powerful lights, I can only imagine how amazing that is!

The Seabourn Venture ship itself has a very different feel to the Ocean ships, it really does have a luxury ski lodge kind of vibe.  There were just 160 guests onboard, at maximum capacity the ship holds 264 passengers.  There are no formal nights and the dress code is much more relaxed.  There are two main restaurants onboard, the Colonnade for more relaxed dining and The Restaurant.  There is no Thomas Keller onboard the expedition ships, but we enjoyed the food very much and the wine.  The cocktails were also made perfectly, every time.  We had breakfast delivered to the suite and dined on the veranda several times.

All in all, we had a fantastic trip.  It really helped me get an even better understanding of the product and just how special the expedition cruises are.  I cannot wait for the next expedition cruise!

If you have been looking into expedition cruising, enjoy a bit of adventure, or would like some more information, I would be happy to speak with you in more detail about the operations behind the expeditions and how it all works on-board. 

Seabourn Expeditions cover the British Isles, Arctic, Iceland, South America, Antarctica and much more.