The Seabourn experience and the art of conversation
Seabourn’s voyages are crafted for people who enjoy talking together, sharing their interests, adventures and discoveries, with an enthusiasm and curiosity that sparks their desire to travel the world. Renowned for offering unique experiences with special events and special guests on-board, this year proves to be no exception. Seabourn invited daring explorers, esteemed chefs, celebrated performers and renowned experts from the arts, sciences, politics and humanities to share the journey with guests on-board, participating in the day-to-day social scene; sharing meals, adventuring ashore and casual chats with guests throughout the sailing, enabling guests and experts to engage in the art of conversation. Here are some of the highlights guests on-board in 2023 can expect to enjoy.
Royal Special Interest Voyage
Seabourn Encore, 7-Night Aegean Allure. 5th – 12th November 2023
Guests sailing through the Greek Isles can expect to enjoy the beauty of the islands as well as visit World Heritage sites, sailing from Athens to Istanbul guests will be joined by expert speakers on all aspects of British Royalty and the Royal Family. Guests can also expect to enjoy the iconic ‘Classical Concert at Ephesus’ on this sailing, a private evening event exclusively for Seabourn guests.
Guests will be joined by The Royal Butler, Grant Harrold, a former member of the Royal household of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla, based at Highgrove House in The Cotswolds, his duties included butlering The King and Queen as well as other members of the Royal family. On occasions, he also had the honour of Butler to the Late Queen Elizabeth II and her husband the Late Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh.
Celebrity Photographer, Brian Aris, will also join guests on this sailing, sharing insights about his creative achievements with Royals and international superstars.
Princess Margaret’s son David Linley asked Brian to take the official photographs at his wedding to Serena Stanhope, when he photographed members of the Royal Family for the first time. He went on to photograph Her Majesty the Queen Mother at Clarence House and Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret at Kensington Palace. He was then commissioned to produce the official portraits marking both Her Majesty The Queen’s 70th birthday and, later, the Golden Wedding Anniversary of her marriage to His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. Brian has also been commissioned to photograph the Yorks, and the wedding of Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly at St. Georges Chapel, Windsor, where he also photographed Kate Middleton.
Wine Special Interest Voyage
Seabourn Encore, 7-Night Greek & Turkish Treasures. 12th – 19th November 2023
Sailing from Istanbul to Athens, this voyage includes wine and food experiences ashore. On-board the ship, guests will be entertained by world-renowned wine experts with talks, tastings and pairing advice, together with premium ‘wine and dining’ opportunities. Joining the sailing will be The World Wine Guys, Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, the duo are wine, spirits, food and travel writers, educators, television presenters, emcees and hosts, as well as award-winning journalists and best-selling and award-winning authors. They have written five books, including ‘Wines of the Southern Hemisphere’, which won the Gourmand International Award for Best Wine Book in the USA as well as ‘Red Wine’ which was co-authored with Kevin Zraly and won the Gourmand International Award for Best Wine Book in the World in 2018 and Best Wine Book in the last 25 years in 2021 and was honoured in at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and the Alfred Novel house in Sweden. Their new book ‘White Wine’, published by WW Norton will be released in May 2023.
Sunday Times Wine Club Vice President and award-winning journalist Will Lyons will also join guests. For over a decade he has published a weekly column on drinks, previously in The Wall Street Journal and now in The Sunday Times. Known for his discerning palate and accurate predictions, he is also an accomplished wine taster and has lectured on the art of wine appreciation at Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities.
Optional regional wine experiences ashore on this voyage will include a Wine Tasting and Dinner at Karnas Vineyards in Bodrum in Turkey. This award-winning vineyard’s 2015 Shiraz took top honours with the Sommelier Award, while the 2016 Zinfandel and Syrah took bronze medals at the Decanter Awards. Following a wine tasting, guests will enjoy a wine pairing dinner, featuring dishes that represent the region’s deep-rooted culinary heritage.
In Santorini, guests may choose a Caldera Yoga and Wine Tasting, one of Seabourn’s special mindful living tours, an extension of the Spa & Wellness partnership with Dr Andrew Weil. At the island’s caldera rim, a revitalising and relaxing class with a qualified yoga instructor will take place in a truly breath-taking setting. Next, at a local winery renowned for its organic grape cultivation, guests may follow the process of wine production from vine to glass, and sample some of the region’s popular varieties.
Seabourn Conversation guests of interest for British travellers
Chef – Robert Thompson
Robert became the youngest chef to be awarded a Michelin Star in his own right. He achieved this at Winteringham Fields, England, before earning a star at The Hambrough on the Isle of Wight.
Guests will enjoy a live cooking demonstration, experience Robert’s Guest Chef dinner menu in the Colonnade and have an opportunity to book a bespoke tasting menu with premium wines (chargeable).
Seabourn Quest, 1st to 25th August, 2023
A 24-day Route of the Vikings sailing from Dover to Montreal.
Seabourn Sojourn, 29th June to 13th July 2024
A 14-day Bay of Biscay & English Channel sailing from Lisbon to Dover.
Garden Historian – Caroline Holmes
Caroline is an international lecturer on every continent except Antarctica and an author, consultant designer and broadcaster.
Her consultancy projects range from devising the planting of a poison garden at Alnwick, a creation of Humanist Renaissance gardens to the ongoing creation of communal landscapes for a housing project in historic Norfolk, England.
The following Seabourn Voyage will feature ‘Seabourn Conversations’ by Caroline as well as optional excursions to four of the UK’s best-known gardens including Alnwick Castle and Gardens near Newcastle Upon Tyne and the Arduiaine Gardens in Oban, Scotland.
Seabourn Sojourn, 13th – 27th July 2024
A 14-day Jewels of the British Isles, Dover roundtrip sailing.
Find out more about ultra-luxury cruising with Seabourn by speaking to our expert concierge today on 0808 278 4192