The Insider
Kayaking with humpback whales
Observing a leopard seal
Seabourn Pursuit
CREDIT: Bautista Burgos
Q.Tell us a bit about Seabourn’s expertise in expedition cruising and what sets it apart. We started [offering] expedition experiences in 2013, so we have one of the market’s longest histories. The sailings are well received by our travellers in the luxury space, as we take them to undiscovered places without compromising on comfort. The point is not just to travel from A to B, but to really experience the world. We have renowned experts on board, including photographers, geologists, wildlife specialists and professors. Our expedition ships have polar-class capabilities and can operate in all conditions. They’re designed to take people to previously inaccessible destinations – for example, I was on our Greenland & Canadian Arctic trip last year and, in that 10 days, we went to three places that no other passenger vessels had visited.
Q.What’s new for Seabourn in 2024? We are excited to start our first season of warm-water expeditions in the South Pacific and the Kimberley region in Western Australia on Seabourn Pursuit. The Kimberley is an outstanding destination with natural wonders such as red rock formations and horizontal waterfalls, as well as a local and Aboriginal culture. It is truly a celebration of human history. We’ll also launch our first Grand Africa voyage in November. The sailing on Seabourn Sojourn will last for 90 days and visit more than 40 ports, travelling more than 17,000 miles. We’re working to ensure there’s a lot of unique destination and overland experiences for our guests to enjoy.
Q.Are there any other exciting plans that you can talk us through?
One of our main goals is to continue enhancing our destination experiences. Across every destination,
not just expedition, we want to offer more unique, bespoke experiences. We’ve been working on new programmes for a few regions in the Mediterranean and in Japan and I’m really looking forward to sharing these with our guests and travel partners. We’ve launched our Mediterranean fine-dining restaurant Solis, which will roll out across the fleet in the coming months. Another addition to Seabourn’s service is our Delight in the Details programme – the whole essence of this is to innovate and make even the smallest life moments special for our guests. We have also improved our booking system to make it easier for agents to book groups, because this was one of the biggest pieces of feedback I received during my last visit to the UK.
Q.Any selling tips you’d like to share with agents? Expedition cruising presents a new opportunity for agents who perhaps haven’t considered selling cruise before. Those who specialise in safaris or land exploration experiences have a good opportunity to expand into the expedition market because of the similarities between the trips.
Q.What trends are you seeing in the market? One of the most noteworthy things happening is the continued strong relationship between Seabourn and luxury travel sellers. In the ultra-luxury market, we have a long-standing, solid partnership with agents – I call them an extension of our leadership team. We rely on the input from our agent partners to help enhance our services. For example, feedback over the past 12 months helped us develop and establish our Delight in the Details programme, and our culinary innovations are powered by the voices of our agent partners.
ASPIRETRAVELCLUB.CO.UK THE INSIDER MAY 2024
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