NEWS SPECIAL REPORT


Crew to be trained on line’s values


Seabourn is reintroducing a training programme to ensure crew understand the “brand’s culture and values”. President Natalya Leahy said


Seabourn Venture in London this month


Line hosts 150 agents on Seabourn V enture as its first purpose-built expedition ship makes maiden London visit. Hollie-Rae Brader reports


Seabourn boss hails brand as ‘experts in expedition’


S


eabourn’s president has urged the trade not to consider the brand as a newcomer to expedition


as it has offered adventurous excursions for a decade. Speaking to Travel Weekly


during an overnight sailing on board the line’s first purpose-built expedition ship, Seabourn Venture, Natalya Leahy described the brand as “experts in expedition”. She said the introduction of


Seabourn Venture, which launched last year, and Seabourn Pursuit, which is due to enter service in August, was “a very logical step for [the] brand”. Leahy said the long-established


Ventures by Seabourn excursion range was an example of the line’s presence in the expedition arena. “There are a lot of new entries to


the expedition market but we, as a brand, are not new to expedition,” she said. “We have been offering amazing experiences with our Ventures by Seabourn programme for years. “We have been doing these


incredible experiences with Zodiacs and kayaks for 10 years. We might have new dedicated purpose-built expedition hardware, but we are experts in expedition because we’ve been doing it for so long. That’s why this step was so logical – it isn’t a change in direction for us.”


Leahy, who took up the role of


president in March following the departure of Josh Leibowitz, said Venture and Pursuit were attracting an equal split of new-to-brand and previous Seabourn passengers. She said she believed consumers


were being enticed by the brand’s “innovative approach, highly immersive experiences and highly intuitive service”. Seabourn hopes the new ships will


“push brand equity even further”. Leahy added: “We were always


offering ultra-luxury and authentic experiences, but doing it on a purpose-built expedition ship will build on our equity.”


LINE BOOSTS SHIPS’ WI-FI WITH STARLINK


Guests on Seabourn’s expedition ships now have access to improved Wi-Fi after the brand partnered with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Seabourn V


enture is the first


ship in the fleet to benefit from the enhanced connectivity, now


10


available to guests travelling on the 264-passenger ship. Sister vessel Seabourn Pursuit


will also have Starlink Wi-Fi when it launches in August. Lynn Narraway, the line’s


vice-president for the UK and


Europe, said the offering ensured “next-generation Wi-Fi capabilities”. She added that an increasing


number of Seabourn guests work during their sailing and the move ensured clients would remain connected even in remote destinations.


Natalya Leahy with Seabourn


captain Alex Golubev 25 MAY 2023 travelweekly.co.uk


“exceptional service” was one of her top-three priorities for the brand, alongside supporting the trade and delivering “incredible experiences”. To ensure high-level service


is maintained, the brand is reinvesting in a shipboard training programme that was originally introduced pre- pandemic and targets new crew members. Leahy said the aim was to ensure “the environment and atmosphere [on board] is reflective of the brand’s culture”. “We already hire well, so


our team is already the best in hospitality,” she said. “But it’s important to explain


more about what the Seabourn culture is all about.” Leahy stressed that strong


relationships with the trade were also a “strategic priority”, describing agents as “an extension of [Seabourn’s] leadership team”. She encouraged agents to


continue providing her and the brand’s leadership team with feedback and suggestions, crediting the trade for the creation of a new 90-day circumnavigation of Africa. “[Agents] have given me lots


of feedback already and we have taken action,” she said. “We introduced the Grand


Africa deployment based on recommendations from the trade.”


PICTURE: Sarah Lucy Brown S


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52