Seabourn has unveiled a program of new expedition voyages for summer 2024 and winter/spring 2025 on its two new purpose-built expedition vessels, Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit. Both ships will explore remote corners of the globe, from the South Pacific and Antarctica to the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and more. The program also includes the line’s first visit to the Kimberley region in northern Australia, where Seabourn Pursuit will travel between JUN and AUG 2024.
In addition to the Kimberley, Seabourn Pursuit will visit Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and sail to the South Pacific from Chile to Melanesia between MAR and OCT 2024. Meanwhile, sister ship Seabourn Venture returns for another season in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Greenland, Iceland and the Canadian Arctic. Both ships will sail to the “The Great White Continent” at the end of 2024 and early 2025.
All of the new 2024 and 2025 expedition voyages are now on sale.
“These new expeditions are going to be thrilling and offer so many opportunities for guests to discover the natural and cultural wonders found in some of the farthest corners of the planet, including our first-ever visit to the Kimberley in Australia,” said Robin West, Vice President and General Manager of Expeditions.
Seabourn Pursuit sails to the Kimberley and South Pacific
The Kimberley
Located in the north portion of Western Australia, Kimberly is home landscapes, wildlife from short-eared rock-wallabies to flying foxes, and Aboriginal culture that traces back some 50,000 years. With the Expedition Team geared to lead Zodiac rides to Horizontal Waterfalls and guided hikes to sandstone escarpments, gorges, and visits with the Traditional Landowners to see primeval caves tagged with rock art, Seabourn Pursuit will offer six 10-day voyages to the region between Broome and Darwin in JUN, JUL and AUG 2024.
Highlights include:
- Immersion in the Indonesian island of Matakus, with sandy beach access to swimming and snorkeling above coral in the Timor Sea.
- Visits to remote settings such as the Bungle Bungles, El Questro National Park, and the Ord River.
- Exploration of King George Falls, dual waterfalls and the highest in Western Australia, and Zodiac rides through rivers and sandstone gorges crowded with geological formations.
- Talbot Bay, offering viewing of the Horizontal Waterfalls, while “boab” trees will provide backdrops for photography and local stories.
- Helicopter viewing of the Hunter River and the Kimberley en route to the triple falls of Mitchell Plateau.
- Montgomery Reef, an ancient reef formed some 1.8 billion years ago and recognized as one of the most significant geological marine environments in the Kimberley.
Papua New Guinea & West Papua
Seabourn Pursuit will operate a series of 15-day voyages to the Papua New Guinea and West Papua in MAY and JUN and again in AUG and SEP 2024, with combination voyages up to 35 days also available. Snorkeling and diving opportunities await at protected reefs off the mainland and islands surrounding Papua New Guinea and West Papua.
Guests will be welcomed ashore at the village of Watam near the Ramu River, where traditional homes constructed of sago palm line the banks; front row seats for the sacred Baining Fire Dance at Rabaul under an active volcano on the island of New Britain; and mixing with locals in the matrilineal society of the Trobriand Islands, where yams are a form of currency. The itinerary also includes a visit to Agats, built on stilts amid a river that swells with the rising tide, as well as exploration of the Misool, Wayag, and Gam Islands, part of Raja Ampat (“Four Kings”) of Indonesia, characterized by limestone rock formations called karsts that rise from the sea.
The South Pacific from Chile to Melanesia
In MAR and APR and again in SEP and OCT 2024, Seabourn Pursuit will sail between the islands of the South Pacific and the coast of Chile via a series of voyages of 14, 17, and 20 days, with combination voyages of up to 37 days also available.
Voyage itineraries will offer guests opportunities for adventure, such as exploring the remote Juan Fernandez Archipelago off the coast of Chile, where rocky coastlines harbor pink-footed shearwaters and fur seals; spending time at Easter Island with travel to the quarry where volcanic rock was excavated to carve the moai that look out from the island’s perimeter; visiting the volcanic islands of the Pitcairn group; visiting Marae Taputapuatea on Ra’iatea Island in French Polynesia, a destination once considered the most important religious site in the region; and arriving ashore at the remote Yasawa Islands of Fiji to explore the limestone formations of the Sawa-I-Lau Caves. Mysterious Ambrym Island and Pentecost Island of Vanuatu are also on itineraries.
Seabourn Venture heads north to the Arctic
The United Kingdom & Ireland
Seabourn Venture will offer three 14-day voyages between Greenwich (London) and Leith (Edinburgh) in APR and MAY 2024, with two different itineraries and availability for combination voyages up to 28 days.
Guests can see Tresco, home to the subtropical Abbey Gardens; Iona, where St. Columba established an Abbey in the year 563, with a Zodiac cruise to Staffa to look into Fingal’s Cave; and explore remote St. Kilda, a double UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other highlights include the ancient archaeological Neolithic sites on the Orkney Islands; explorations of the seabird colonies of Copinsay by Zodiac and the landscapes of Lochinver in the Scottish Highlands by foot; and visits to Cape Clear and Schull on the coast of West Cork, the historic architecture of ancient Kinsale, and the seaport town of Plymouth, with its architecture, local gin production, and coastal nature.
Norway, Greenland, Iceland & the Canadian Arctic
Seabourn Venture sails through Norway, Greenland, Iceland and the Canadian Arctic from JUN through SEP 2024. Expedition options include a series of 11- and 12-day Svalbard itineraries, a 15-day voyage from Svalbard to Greenland to Iceland, an 11-day circumnavigation of Iceland, and 11 to 15-day voyages in Iceland and Greenland before closing out Summer 2024 with a 14-day voyage from West Greenland to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Combination voyages of 28 days will also be available.
Guests can keep an eye out polar bears; the light of the midnight sun; the geological wonders Iceland teeming with volcanic features and wildlife and cultural experiences; and a walk around Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, where the National Museum preserves the Uummannaq mummies. Explorations via Zodiac include the cliffs and seabird colonies of Bear Island, Bjørnøya; the mouth of the UNESCO site Ilulissat Icefjord with an opportunity to kayak among icebergs; and the seabird colonies of Heimaey Iceland, known for its geological history. Destinations of discovery also include the world’s longest fjord system in remote East Greenland, the waterways of Prins ChristianSund in Southern Greenland, and the Viking farm of Brattahlið where Leif Eriksson departed to discover Vinland en route to North America.
Antarctica
Both expedition vessels will spend time at the bottom of the world, with Seabourn Pursuit offering the Seabourn Antarctic Experience on a 21-day voyage starting in FEB 2024, and then on 11 voyages of 11, 13, or 21 days from OCT 2024 through mid-MAR 2025. Seabourn Venture will also be bound far south following its exploration of the Arctic with nine voyages of 11, 13, or 21 days featuring the Seabourn Antarctic Experience from NOV 2024 to MAR 2025.
Regardless of the ship chosen, guests can spy penguins, whales, and seals in their natural habitats; kayak around icebergs and glaciers; and hike along the edge of the continent to see up close in the company the Expedition Team. Highlights include the 600-mile crossing of Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; spotting seabirds including albatrosses, whizzing prions, and petrels; sailing the jagged glacier-covered mountains and mazes of blue-tinted icebergs; and explorations of waters via kayak and underwater realms where marine worms, crustaceans, and brittle stars thrive via submarine. Some of the voyages will also explore the wildlife of the Falklands Islands and South Georgia, a sanctuary to elephant and fur seals, a half million pairs of King Penguins, more than 1 million Macaroni Penguins, and many other bird species.
For more information, visit Seabourn's web site.
