CARIBBEAN


team has pointed out some life amid the murky skies. A brown boobie with bright yellow feet swoops down to forage some food from the sea; a lesser frigatebird glides past on long, narrow wings.


High swells also put paid to our much-awaited submarine excursion, so we opt for the next best thing. An engineer sneaks us into one of two submarine hangars on board and we’re able to marvel at one of these state-of-the-art machines up close. Holding up to six guests at a time, the fully electric submarines can sink to a depth of 300 metres, with lights as powerful as a football stadium and 360-degree rotating seats installed for the full cinematic viewing experience. Each 45-minute experience is different, but guests can expect to hover over sunken shipwrecks, observe the dark waters of the deep, or, in polar regions, come face-to-face with glacier walls. The submarines, which each cost €4 million, can’t operate in big swell or in lots of wind and ice, and their deployment is dependent on permission from local governments and maritime laws. I can’t help but wonder how these machines will fare in Antarctica if the tropical weather of the >ÀiLLi>n ià «ÀoÛin} Ìoo `ivwVÕlÌ] LÕÌ -i>LoÕÀn >««i>Àà Ìo embrace the fact that this is an exciting work in progress. “Guests just want to explore and they want to see what other people haven’t seen before,” one expedition team member tells me, while another describes the submarine expeditions as “100% a learning curve”. Indeed, the fact that submarines are on board at all is


clearly proving a hit. “We are getting a lot of new-to-Seabourn guests,” the line’s vice-president of global sales, Steve Smotrys, says during a press conference. “Seabourn Venture is going to open up a new audience for us – those who maybe aren’t big cruisers but expeditions appeal to them. There is this great appeal for doing a more adventurous experience but then also having the luxury [element] – it’s like glamping.” Caviar in the Surf feels like a step up from glamping, but the sentiment remains. Marrying a high-impact, adventurous itinerary with familiar luxuries is surely a winning formula.


BOOK IT: A 21-night Wild South Atlantic and Antarctica Peninsula sailing, departing on November 7, starts at £9,999 per person on


board sister ship Seabourn Pursuit, which launches in August. SEABOURN.COM


FROM TOP: Seabourn Venture’s submarines can descend to a depth of 300 metres; the ship’s Expedition Lounge; St Louis Cathedral in Martinique Credit: Shutterstock/Petr Kovalenkov


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