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I Test Seabourn Expedition Cruising To See Why Cruisers Are So Unhappy
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Oct 8, 2024
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. This is what I discovered when I went. For bonus & exclusive content (including videos, articles, eBooks and more) become a channel member or patron: --------------------------------------------------- * Patreon Patron: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * YouTube Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join Check out my cruise-themed T-shirts and products: --------------------------------------------------- * T-Shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore * Mugs, notebooks, hoodies etc: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/tipsfortravellers?ref_id=22354 My social media: --------------------------------------------------- * Blog: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com * Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge * Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers * Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bembridge
View Video Transcript
0:00
Looking at reviews before heading off on Seaborn Venture, one of the new expedition ships from the ultra-luxury seaborn line
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I was concerned when I saw recent reviews calling it disappointing, saying it had unappealing food
0:11
The entertainment was abysmal, and the day core felt downscale versus other seaborne ships
0:17
I'm Gary Bembridge, and as I always do, I booked and paid for this costly trip myself
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so I was really concerned if I'd made the right choice and used my money wisely
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This is what I discovered. Let me start with the positives on my Seaborne Expedition Adventure
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Seaborn is an ultra-luxury line who have launched a dedicated expedition fleet and two identical
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tailor-made, 264 passenger ice-strengthened expedition ships, Seaborn Venture launching in 2022 and
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pursuit in 2023. My trip was a 10-night expedition cruise around the Kimberley in Australia
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I thought the ship was fantastic. My first reaction on seeing and boarding the ship is it felt
0:55
really large and expansive for an expedition ship and felt more spacious than other ones I've been on
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I really enjoyed, of course, being on such a new and modern ship. The ship's interiors were designed
1:06
by Adam Tihani, who also did their newest classic ships, the Ovation and the Encore. And unlike some of
1:11
those reviews, I actually felt they had a great similar look and felt really classy. I think the
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best way of reviewing the public areas of the ship is deck by deck, starting from the top and
1:21
working my way down. Up on deck nine is the Constellation Lounge. This
1:25
is a great space overlooking the bow of the ship with an outside deck. So I would go up there
1:29
for example, on sailing out at sunset for incredible views. It was also where the afternoon
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tea takes place. Seaborne has one of the best afternoon teas at sea. In evenings, there would
1:40
be live music in here as well. It was great. Also on deck nine is the club. It's a lounge
1:44
and bar which hosts things like daily trivia in the afternoon and in the evening live music
1:49
It also has a nightly sushi bar. I actually ate here many evenings and it was the only evening
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informal dining venue. More on that later. The Zodiacs used for all the expedition excursions are
2:00
also stored on deck 9. Down on Egg 8 is the bridge, which is open to visit and talk to the captain
2:06
and crew much of the time, which is great to be able to pop in there and find out what was going on
2:10
and how things worked. On deck 7 is the spa and fitness centre. For an expedition ship, both were
2:15
a pretty good size. It was never busy as expedition cruises are so hectic. As well as the gym
2:21
there was a studio running a few daily classes as well. Down on deck 6 is where some of the key public venues were, notably Seaborn Square at the rear of the ship
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Seaborn Square is a classic on Seaborn, which has things like guest services, future cruise sales
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and on Classic Fleet also it's where the shore excursions desk is
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It also has a large coffee bar with snacks relevant to the time of day
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There's a large deck outside too, making all of this whole area a really popular place to relax and hang out on
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At the front of deck six is the bow lounge, which on my trip and the Kimberley, I think
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most people were unaware existed and it was not used very much. It has an array of screens with live feeds of propulsion and maps, although no one ever
3:09
explained it, so I didn't really know what they said and what was going on. The space itself was not particularly inviting a place to hang out in either
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In front of the lounge, which I really did like, was a large open bow area where you could
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stand out and watch the scene as you were sailing. I suspect that the bow lounge and the open bow are used a lot when the ships are in the polar regions
3:29
to watch the ship do things like push through ice, spot wildlife, but it wasn't really used
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very much for that in the Kimberley. Down on deck five is the colonnade another seaborn standard
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It's a buffet restaurant for breakfast and lunch, and then in the evening it turns into a waiter
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served restaurant with various daily themed menus like Australian, Italian and so on
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Now I ate here a couple of times in the evenings because it wasn't that busy and I could get in and out much faster than in the main restaurant, which I quite liked
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None of the dining venues, by the way, require reservations at all. Outside of the colonnade
4:04
is the patio with a bar and an infinity pool. This was a very popular space in the Kimberley
4:10
because, of course, it was warm, it was a great place to hang out both day and night. It was a
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great great space. Also on deck five is another seaborn standard, the guest laundry. They only had
4:21
one on board and it was always really, really busy. Down on deck four are also then many of the busiest public venues. This includes the restaurant
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which is the main dining room with open seated dining, which is open every day for breakfast
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which was really really quiet I was often the only person in there and then it was open for dinner It opened for lunch on sea days as well Now I only went there for dinner once to be honest and I will talk a little bit more on why I did that and the food in the main restaurant a little bit later Also on this level are some of the key expedition focused venues
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First of those is the expedition lounge, which has a bar which is open certainly in the early
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evenings. It's a great, it's a really great looking venue. They've got a little fake fireplace
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there and this is where passengers would often wait before being caught together on the different
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Zodiac expeditions and hang out there in the evenings before and after the briefings
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Just off the expedition round is the Discovery Center where all the briefings and the talks
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took place during the course of the expedition cruise. It can seat all passengers and only has a
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really kind of narrow stage because it's suitable for talks, not for shows. The shop, by the way
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is within the expedition lounge and was on the small side selling kind of the essential seaborne
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branded merchandise, some clothes, watches and jewelry, the kind of standard crew stuff. Touched away behind
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the Discovery Center was the studio, with computer equipment loaded with various photo editing
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packages. I suspect most people had no idea it was there and had never saw anybody use it ever
5:48
Down on deck three is what's known as the mudroom. This is where on polar expedition cruises
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you store your boots, you clean them off on returning from the various outings on land
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It's also where we boarded the Zodiacs to take us out on the various expeditions
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Also down on deck three, but getting there via the stairs at the rear of the main restaurant
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are two garages that store two submersibles and also, I think, the sea kayaks
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Both expedition ships have these huge submersibles, which hold six passengers and one pilot
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They can only operate, though, in certain parts of the world, so they couldn't operate, for example
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women in the Kimberley, but they do more so in the polar regions. They can dive up to 200 metres, and they do, though, involve
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an extra charge over about 700 US dollars upwards per dive lasts about 45 minutes each and I'll talk
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later about the other inclusions and exclusions in the fair the ship looked good it never felt
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crowded and there was a good range of choice as hopefully you've seen so far but let me move on
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and talk about the cabins or suites as seaborn call them because I really really like them too
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there are 132 cabins on board or with balcony there are four sort of broad main grades veranda
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which are the bulk of them, penthouse, panorama penthouse and the big suites like the two-level
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winter garden suite. Now I splashed out on what I discovered was probably one of the best cabins I have
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ever cruised in across my 115 cruises so far, a panorama penthouse suite. There are 16 of them
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on board. It was a great size, incredibly quiet, even their conditioning was silent
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fabulous bathroom with bath and shower, comfy bed, plush bedding, a great balcony. It also had a
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mini bar, coffee machine, molten brown toiletries, including some of the seaborne molten brown
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fragrance, refillable water bottles, there were stations around the ship to refill them, by the way
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as well as jugs in the cabin, and an interactive TV. All the cabins also have a drying cupboard
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for wet jackets in the polar regions. Seaborne doesn't have butlers at any grade
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including the very top suites, unlike their close competitor, Silversea. But I did have
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two cabin stewards, one of which did quite a few of the tasks. that a butler does like keeping the mini-bar stocked, sorting out my laundry, that kind of stuff
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But to sort out of the arrangements, you had to then use the people in Seaborne Square
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I also liked that Seaborne have on certain sailings deep solo supplement discounts
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or putting another way low add-ons. I only paid a 25% solo supplement on this cruise, making it way more affordable to do this trip than normal
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Another thing that I liked were all the things that were included in the fair, all dining
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so no specially dining charges, drinks, which had an extensive range, including wines
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The real wine buffs I met told me that they felt they sort of needed to dip into the extra charge
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ones to get kind of really better grade of wines, but the wine list was pretty extensive
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I liked as a luxury line, they even though had things like caffeine-free diet Coke that are like those little touches
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Gratuitities, Seaborn, say, are not required or expected, so I was a little disappointed when my stewards left in a very pointed way some envelopes by their name sort of sign in the cabin on the
9:00
day. It felt a little bit less premium. I planned to tip them because they were great, but it just
9:04
kind of felt a little bit not quite right. Unlike on a regular seaborn cruise, all planned
9:10
expedition tours were included, and most days there were two of these. Now on this cruise
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there were some add-on trips, like a helicopter ride in Hunter River to the Mitchell Force
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That costs just under US a 1940s mallard seaplane ride in Kiribay which cost around Obviously on polar regions you then have the submersibles Basic Wi is included but to get streaming required buying a package
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and being Starlinked, though, it meant I could even upload and download videos
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When I'm on trips like this, I post exclusive add-on behind-the-scenes video updates for my Patreon patrons and channel members
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and I was able to post five on this trip because of the streaming Wi-Fi
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By the way, if that appeals to you, as patrons also get ad-free, early release
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of my regular videos and other perks. You can actually find out more at patreon.com slash
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tips of travellers or join button below any of my YouTube videos. In terms of other exclusions
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there were some upsells related to drink, including a champagne tasting for $125 per person
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a mccallin whiskey tasting at $250 per person, and a chef dinner wine pairing for $195 per person
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They even throw in photos and a video of the trip on these expedition cruisers. More on that shortly
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more things I like that I do want to talk about before I talk about the less good things
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First of all, being an expedition trip meant the ship never docked other than for embarkation
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and disembarkation. So passengers, as passengers, we had to climb on and off zodiacs, which require
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pretty good mobility. Now, there was a wheelchair passenger on the cruise, and I really like that
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Seaborne made an effort to try and take him out on dedicated zodiac rides in some of the places
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we called if the seas were kind of calm. They even brought him to a fun. day drinks on the beach so I like that extra touch they went to. I liked the informal dress code
10:59
although it was officially elegant casual at night requesting no jeans. Being an expedition trip
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they allowed a much more relaxed interpretation of the usual code. Next I want to talk about
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what I think they did that kind of matched their luxury expedition cruise competition before getting
11:13
to things that didn't quite work. The expedition cruise format was the same as on Silver Sea and
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ponant ones that I've been on. There was nothing unique or different here. Most days we would
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visit two locations, one in the morning and one in the afternoon interspersed with various talks
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In the evening, there would be a recap of that day's highlights and briefing for the next day
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All expeditions went out on Zodiacs with between 10 and 14 people on each one. We were divided
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into six colour groups of around about 40 people per group. Three groups would be out at any one time
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they would return and the next three would then go out. To make it fair, the order the color groups went out
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would rotate. So if you went first, then you would go last next time and so on. There was a mixture of wet and dry landings and zodiac only rides based on the site. A wet landing, by the way, is where you have to step off the zodiac into the water. So here in the Kimberley, we had to wear waterproof sandals. Obviously, when in the polar regions, you wear boots. Unlike Silver Sea, one disappointed was Seaborn gave us a branded beach tote bag, not a ruckering
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because you need to have your hands free for getting on north of the Zerliac, a
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rucksack would have been a much better kind of add-on to have
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I had overall a positive view about the expedition team and I felt they were good
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though in my mind they were still slightly pipped by those I've had on the three
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Silvers Sea expeditions and the one Ponont that I've been on so far. The team was 14 plus a photographer and a videographer, which is a little bit smaller
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than on the others I've been on but not substantially. So they were definitely enthusiastic, they were passionate about the region, though personally I would like there to have been at least perhaps one indigenous Aboriginal member because the Aborigines are so integral to the history and the story of the region
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Now, while they had huge knowledge, I did find some inconsistency in their stories and information at times
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I first noticed it when I was out on a morning and afternoon Zodak in the same location
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We were told slightly different information and stories by the different members driving the Zodiac
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so there wasn't complete kind of synchronisation there. I want to stress it was not a massive issue
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and it was on the small details, not substantive issues, but it was something that I noticed
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The talks, by the way, overall, were pretty good. They ranged from how to improve your smartphone photography
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crocodiles, regional birds, about the Ashmore Reef World War II in Australia
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the Montgomery Reef touring Australia in a four-by-four, those kind of topics
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So look kind of specific to the region. I could attend the talks in person
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I could watch them live on my in-room television or watch them afterwards on catch-up
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So that was great. But I have to say, most people I spoke to rated the team really highly
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So my points are probably pickier than many people would have for sure
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While I liked that, a photographer and videographer, and they gave us the chance to airdrop
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around about 100 photos to our phone at the end, we could also download a video once home
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Personally I was a little bit less keen on the video compared to others that I had on other expedition trips Compared to those trips that I been on the video on Seaborne was a little bit more esoteric a little bit art here
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rather than a kind of punchy story of our trip. Now, this could be a seaborne style
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It may have just been that specific videographer. But personally, I would like something a little bit more about the story, if you like, and what we saw
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Again, I think I was a minority. Most people, I think, really liked the video
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Another missed opportunity, though, is the expedition team run a blog with photographs during the trip
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then it's permanently available from forever, basically. But although they mentioned it, most guests that I spoke to had no idea existed when I asked
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if they were following it. And it's a pity because it's really, really good. It seems kind of a waste of such, all the kind of efforts they're going to
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So how did I rate, though, the things that I saw people complaining about in those reviews
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that I mentioned that I'd read before I went? One of the key criticisms in those reviews was around food
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Now, I have to say that while I thought the food was fine, it wasn't as memorable or stuble
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or stand out for me either. Certainly compared to regular seaborn ships, but I wouldn't rate it was bad
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like some people had. I just thought it was fine. Now, the problem is I struggled to say why I felt
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that in detail, the menus were a decent size, there was good choice and range, but the delivery didn't
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just quite hit the mark, which is strange because I believe like the executive chef was a classic
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seaborne fleet person. It just didn't quite kind of hit it, if you like. Now, because when I go on an
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ultra-luxy ship, I expect to come away remembering the food as being quite remarkable
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But it was not as standard as I wanted. It was fine. Everyone I spoke to kind of agreed with that
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They did, though, frequently fail my poach deck test, which is a great thing to do
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So the food was a bit dried out when dining with others. That one time I went to the main dining
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room for dinner, so just kind of little misses there. Crew were friendly and service was overall
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really good, though I felt on the classic seaborn ships, the crew actually got to know me by
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name and my likes better. So service on those ships, on the classic fleet, tends to be feel more
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personalized. This happened less on the trip. I'll give you one example. I would go a couple
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of times a day to the Seaborn Square, the coffee bar. On regular seaborn ships, they know my name
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they know my order, I'm very predictable. Not so much on here. Again, it's small things
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but in ultra-luxury pricing, you kind of just expect that much more personalization
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remembering your kind of stuff. At the start, I mentioned reviews saying entertainment was abysmal
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I don't have an issue with entertainment at all and for an expedition cruise I thought it was
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actually the right mix personally. The budget of course is going on having an expedition team
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not a large entertainment team. They did though have a cruise director, a really hardworking
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very outgoing, fun guy called Dave Resseltan. There was a duo, Elisa and Eli, great voice
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and a talented, very versatile singer- pianist Felipe. The daily program was overall light
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with a focus on talks and briefings, of course, being an expedition. Late in the day, there might be a trivia or a quiz hosted by Dave, some live music in the club and Constellation
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Lounge. Every few evenings, there was actually a deck party of some kind. So in addition to the
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welcome party, there was a farewell cocktail party which had an epicurean theme with lots of fun food
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a crew parade. We had an Aussie pub on deck one day, a sweet delights evening with desserts and
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DJ dancing, a serenade under the stars performance of songs by the cruise director Dave
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followed by DJ party. Dave, by the way, also did a moving one-man show called A Lerner
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where he sang significant songs from his life and an entertainment career date and
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Philippo the Singaporeans did a really entertaining tribute show to Elton John one evening
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So I thought the entertainment was perfectly great for an expedition trip
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There's by the way no casino but neither do their close expedition competition
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have either. So I think the criticism of the entertainment was probably a little bit unfair
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certainly from my perspective. What did this expedition experience cost me? I mentioned it was
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is pretty costly. Expedition cruises like this are expensive. They can start from $600, 500 pounds per
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person per night, even for kind of an entry level cabin. Now that big panoramic pentassar book
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including the 25% solar supplement cost me $14,500. That's 11,000 pounds for 10 nights. So that's
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$1,450, 100 pounds a night. So very, very expensive, which is by choosing the right expedition
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cruise line to do this once in a lifetime event activity is so
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important. So do I think I made the right choice going on seaborne expedition bearing all this
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in mind? Yes, I thought the ship was fantastic. I love the experience with the good, definitely
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outweighing the less good for me by some margin. So would I go on an expedition cruise again
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Absolutely. But why don't you come and actually join me on that expedition cruise? See the site
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see what it was like in the vlog that I did where I show you the experience day by day
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including some scrapes that I had along the way. Join me over there. I hope to see you there
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