I Test Seabourn Expedition Cruising To See Why Cruisers Are So Unhappy
I Test Seabourn Expedition Cruising To See Why Cruisers Are So Unhappy
Looking at reviews before heading off on Seabourn Venture, one of the new expedition ships from the ultra-luxury Seabourn line, I was concerned when I saw recent reviews calling it disappointing. Saying it had unappealing food, the entertainment was abysmal, and the decor felt downscale versus other Seabourn ships.
Let me start with the positives on my Seabourn Expedition adventure.
Seabourn Expedition – The Best Parts
Seabourn is an ultra-luxury line who have launched a dedicated expedition fleet with two identical tailor-made 264 passenger ice-strengthened expedition ships: Seabourn Venture launching in 2022 and Pursuit in 2023.
My trip was a 10-night expedition cruise around Kimberley, Australia.
I thought the ship was fantastic. My first reaction on seeing and boarding the ship was it felt large and expansive for an expedition ship. It felt more spacious than other ones I’ve been on. I enjoyed being on such a new and modern ship. The ship’s interiors were designed by Adam Tihany who also did their newest classic ships the Ovation and the Encore and, unlike some of those reviewers, I felt they had a similar look and felt classy.
I think the best way of reviewing the public areas of the ship is deck-by-deck starting from the top.
Constellation Lounge
Up on Deck 9 is the Constellation Lounge. This is a great space overlooking the bow of the ship with an outside deck. I would go up there when sailing out at sunset for incredible views. It was also where afternoon tea takes place. Seabourn has one of the best afternoon teas at sea. In the evenings there would be live music here.
The Club
Also on Deck 9 is The Club. It is a lounge and bar which hosts daily trivia and, in the evening, live music. It also has a nightly sushi bar. I ate here many evenings, as it was the only evening informal dining venue. More on that later.
Zodiacs
The Zodiacs used for all the expedition excursions are also stored on deck 9.
The Bridge
Down on Deck 8 is the Bridge, which was open to visit and for guests to talk to the Captain and crew much of the time, which was fantastic.
Spa and Fitness Centre
On Deck 7 is the spa and the Fitness Centre. For an expedition ship, both were a pretty good size. It was never busy, as expedition cruises are so hectic. As well as the gym there was a studio running a few daily classes.
Seabourn Square
Down on Deck 6 aft, is where some key public venues were. Notably, Seabourn Square at the rear of the ship. Seabourn Square is a classic on Seabourn which has Guest Services, Future Cruise Sales and on classic fleet also the shore excursions desk.
It also has a large coffee bar, with snacks relevant to the time of day. There’s a large deck outside too, making all this area a popular place to hang out.
Bow Lounge
At the front of Deck 6 is the Bow Lounge, which on my trip in the Kimberley I think most people were unaware existed. It was not used much.
The lounge has an array of screens with live feeds of propulsion and maps, although no one ever explained it, so I didn’t really know what was going on. It was not a very inviting space to hang out in either.
In front of that, which I really did like was a large open bow area to stand out and watch scenery. I suspect that the Bow Lounge and the open bow are used a lot when the ships are in Polar Regions to watch the ship push through ice and spot wildlife – but was not in the Kimberley.
The Colonnade
Down on Deck 5 is The Colonnade, another Seabourn standard. It is a buffet restaurant for breakfast and lunch and then in the evening, it turns into a waiter served restaurant with various daily themed menus like Australian, Italian, and so on.
I ate here a couple of times in the evenings because it wasn’t that busy and I could get in and out faster than in the main restaurant.
None of the dining venues required reservations.
Patio and Pool
Outside the Colonnade is the Patio, with a bar and an infinity pool.
This was a very popular space during my Seabourn expedition in the Kimberley because being warm outdoors made it a great place to hang out day and night.
Guest Laundry
Also on Deck 5 is another Seabourn standard, the Guest Laundry. They only had one, and it was always busy!
The Restaurant
Down on Deck 4 are many of the busiest public venues.
This includes The Restaurant, which is the main dining room with open seating and which was open every day for breakfast, which was very quiet. I was often the only person in there for dinner. It opened for lunch on sea days.
I only went there for dinner once, and I’ll talk a little bit more on why and the food later.
Expedition Lounge
Also on this level are some key expedition-focused venues.
First, the Expedition Lounge, which has a bar open in the early evening. It is a great looking venue with fake fireplace, and where passengers often waited before being called to go out on the zodiac expeditions, and in the evenings before and after the briefings.
Discovery Center
Just off the Expedition Lounge is the Discovery Center, where all the briefings and talks took place. It can seat all passengers and only has a small narrow stage suitable for talks.
The Shop
The shop is within the Expedition Lounge and was on the small side selling essentials, Seabourn branded merchandise, some clothes, watches and jewellery.
The Studio
Tucked away behind the Discovery Center was The Studio, with computer equipment loaded with various photo editing packages. I suspect most people had no idea it was there, and I never saw anyone use it.
Mud Room and Zodiacs
Down on Deck 3 is what’s known as the mudroom. This is where on Polar Expedition cruises you store your boots and clean them off on returning from outings. It’s also where we boarded the Zodiacs to take us out on the various expeditions.
Submersible Garages
Also down on Deck 3, via stairs at the rear of The Restaurant, are two garages that store the two submersibles and the sea kayaks.
Both Seabourn expedition ships have these huge submersibles which hold six passengers and one pilot.
They can only operate in certain parts of the world, so while not in the Kimberley, they do use them in the Polar Regions. They can dive to up to 200 metres and involve an extra charge of US$700 upwards per dive lasting around 45 minutes. I’ll talk later more on other inclusions and exclusions in the fare.
The ship looked good, never felt crowded and there was a good range of choice.
Let me then move on and talk about the cabins, or suites as Seabourn call them, because I really liked them too.
Suites
There are 132 cabins are aboard, all with balcony. There are four main grades: Veranda, which are the bulk of them, Penthouse, Panorama Penthouse, and then big suites like a two-level Wintergarden suite.
I splashed out on what I discovered was probably one of the best cabins that I have ever cruised in, a Panorama Penthouse suite. There are 16 of them. It was a great size, incredibly quiet (even the air conditioning was silent), fabulous bathroom, comfy bed, plush bedding, and nice balcony.
It also had a mini-bar, coffee machine, Molton Brown toiletries including some with a Seabourn Molton Brown fragrance, refillable metal water bottles (and there were stations around the ship to refill them as well as jugs in the cabin) and Interactive TV.
All cabins have a drying cupboard for wet jackets in Polar regions.
Seabourn doesn’t have butlers at any grade, including the top suites, unlike their close competitor Silversea. But I did have two cabin stewards, one of which did some of the tasks a butler does, like keeping the minibar stocked and sorting out laundry.
Seabourn Expedition – Solo Supplements
I also liked that Seabourn have on certain sailings, deep solo supplement discounts. I only paid a 25% solo supplement on this cruise making it a bit more affordable to do this trip.
Seabourn Expedition – Inclusions and Exclusions
Another thing that I liked were all the things included in the fare.
All dining, so no speciality dining charges, drinks which had an extensive range including wines, though real wine buffs told me they felt they needed to dip into the extra charge ones. I liked that as a luxury line they even had things like caffeine-free diet coke that I like.
Gratuities, Seabourn say, are not required or expected. I was a bit disappointed when my stewards left in a very pointed way, envelopes by their name sign in the cabin on the last day which felt less premium even though I had planned to tip them as they were great.
Unlike on a regular Seabourn cruise, all the planned Seabourn expedition tours were included and most days there were two.
Add-on Trips
On this cruise there were some add-on trips like a helicopter ride in Hunter River to the Mitchell Falls that cost just under $800 and a 1940s Mallard Seaplane ride in Kuri Bay costing over $300.
Basic Wi-Fi is included, but to get streaming you are required to buy a package and being Starlink, it meant I could even upload videos.
When I am on trips like this, I post exclusive behind-the-scenes video updates for my Patreon Patrons and Channel Members and I was able to post five on this one. If that appeals to you, as Patrons also get ad free early release of my regular videos and other perks, you can find out more at Patreon.com/TipsForTravellers or “Join” button below any of my YouTube videos.
In terms of other exclusions, there was some upsells related to drink, including a champagne tasting, for $125 per person, Macallan whiskey tasting at $250 per person, and a Chef dinner wine pairing for $195 per person.
They even throw in photos and a video of the trip on these expedition cruises. More on that shortly.
There are a two more things I liked that I want to talk about before I talk about the less good.
No Docking
First, being an expedition trip meant the ship never docked other than for embarkation and disembarkation, so passengers had to climb on and off zodiacs, which requires good mobility.
There was a wheelchair passenger on the cruise and Seabourn made an effort to take him out on a dedicated zodiac in some stops if the seas were calm, and even brought him to a final day drinks on a beach.
I liked the informal dress code, although it was officially “elegant casual” at night, requesting no jeans, being an expedition trip they allowed a relaxed interpretation of the code.
Next, I want to talk about what I think they did that matched their luxury expedition cruise competition, before getting into the things that did not quite work.
Seabourn Expedition – The “Similar To Others” Parts
Expedition Format
The expedition cruise format was the same as on Silversea and Ponant ones I have been on. There was nothing unique or different.
Most days we would visit two locations, one morning and one afternoon, interspersed with talks. In the evening there would be a recap of that day’s highlights and briefing for the next day.
All expeditions went out on Zodiacs with between 10 and 14 people.
We were divided into 6 colour groups of around 40 per group. Three groups would be out at any one time, and then on return the next three would go. To make it fair, the order the colour groups went out would rotate.
There was a mixture of wet and dry landings and zodiac only rides based on the site. A wet landing is where we had to step off the zodiac into the water. So here, we had to wear waterproof sandals. Obviously, when in the Polar regions you wear boots.
Unlike Silversea, one disappointment was that Seabourn gave us a branded beach tote bag not a rucksack. As you need to have your hands free for getting on and off the zodiac, a rucksack would be better.
Expedition Team
I had positive view about the expedition team and felt that they were good, though in my mind were still slightly pipped by those on the three Silversea expeditions and one Ponant I have been on.
The team was 14, plus a photographer and a videographer, which is a bit smaller than on the others I have been on.
They were enthusiastic and passionate about the region, though I would like there to have been at least one indigenous Aboriginal member as they are so integral to the region.
While they had huge knowledge, I did find some inconsistency in their stories and information at times. I first noticed it when going out on a morning and afternoon zodiac in the same location, as we were told slightly different information by different members driving the zodiac.
I want to stress it was not a massive issue and was on the small details not substantive issues. But something I noticed.
Talks
The talks overall were good and ranged from how to improve your smartphone photography, crocodiles, regional birds, Ashmore Reef, World War Two activity in Australia, the Montgomery Reef touring Australia with a four-by-four. I could attend in person, watch them live on my in-room television or watch them afterwards on catch-up.
But I have to say most people I spoke to rated the team highly, so my points are pickier for sure.
Whilst I liked they had a photographer and a videographer, and they gave us the chance to airdrop about 100 photos to our phone at the end, and we could download a video once home, I was less keen on the video.
Compared to other expedition trips I’ve been on, the video was more esoteric and artier, rather than a punchy story of our trip. This may be Seabourn house style, or it may be just that specific videographer, but personally I would have preferred that. Again, I think I was a minority.
Another missed opportunity is that the Seabourn expedition team run a blog with photographs during the trip, which is permanently available, but although they mentioned it, most guests had no idea it existed when I asked if they were following it. So, it seems a waste as a good and detailed record of the trip.
So, how did I rate the things that I saw people complaining about in those reviews before I went?
Seabourn Expedition – The Less Good Parts
Food
One of the key criticisms in those was around food.
I have to say, that while I thought the food was fine, it was not memorable nor stand out for me either, certainly compared to regular Seabourn ships. But I would not rate it bad like some had.
I struggle to say why I felt that though. The menus were a decent size with good choice and range, but the delivery just didn’t quite hit the mark, which is strange because I believe the Executive Chef is a classic Seabourn fleet person.
When I go on an ultra-luxury ship, I expect to come away remembering the food as being quite remarkable, but it was not stand out. It was just fine. Though they did frequently fail my poached egg test! And the food was a bit dried out when dining with others the one time I went to the main dining room for dinner.
Service
Crew were friendly and service was overall good.
Though I felt on the classic Seabourn ships the crew got to know me by name and my likes, so service felt more personalised. This happened less on this trip.
For example, I would go a few times a day to Seabourn Square coffee bar and on regular Seabourn ships they learnt my name and order. Not on here. Small things but at ultra-luxury pricing could be better.
Entertainment
At the start, I mentioned reviews saying entertainment was “abysmal”. I didn’t have an issue with it at all, and for an expedition cruise I thought it was the right mix. The budget goes on having an expedition team not a large entertainment team.
They had a Cruise Director, the hard-working and outgoing Dave Resultan, a duo (Elise and Eli) with great voice and talented and versatile singer-pianist (Filippo).
The daily program was overall light, with focus on talks and briefings. Then later in the day would be a trivia or quiz hosted by Dave, live music in The Club and Constellation Lounge and every few evenings a deck party of some kind.
In addition to the Welcome Party, the farewell cocktail party had an epicurean theme with food and a crew parade, there was an Aussie pub on deck, a “Sweet Delights” evening with desserts and DJ dancing, and a “Serenade under the Stars” performance of songs by Dave, followed by a DJ party.
Dave also did a moving one-man show called “Alive”, with significant songs from his life and entertainment career to date, and Filippo the singer-pianist did an entertaining tribute show to Elton John one evening.
There’s no casino, but neither do their close expedition competition have a casino either.
I think the criticism of the entertainment was probably a little bit unfair.
Seabourn Expedition – The Cost?
What did this Seabourn expedition experience cost me?
Expedition cruises like this often start from $600 / £500 pounds per person per night.
That Panoramic Penthouse I booked, including the 25% solo supplement cost me $14,500 / £ 11,000 pounds for 10 nights. That’s around $1,450 /£ 1,100 pounds a night. So very expensive, which is why choosing the right expedition cruise line is so important.
Do I think I made the right choice going on Seabourn Expedition?
Yes. I thought the ship was fantastic and I loved the experience with the good outweighing the less good for me by some way. Would I go on a Seabourn expedition cruse again? Absolutely.
