Seabourn Pursuit cruise ship overview: An luxurious expedition vessel

As is typical for expedition ships, Seabourn Pursuit travels with a big expedition workforce of specialists on the locations it goes. The members of the workforce lead landings and lecture on board.

Whereas small in comparison with most cruise ships, together with Seabourn’s 5 conventional luxurious ships, Seabourn Pursuit is comparatively massive for an expedition ship at 23,615 gross tons — one thing that has each benefits and drawbacks in terms of working expedition-style journeys.

Twice the dimensions of the newest expedition vessels constructed for such expedition cruise leaders as Lindblad Expeditions and Quark Expeditions, it provides a wider array of eateries, lounges and different onboard venues than is typical for such a vessel. However its larger dimension additionally comes with a capability for extra passengers, which could be a downside when working expedition-style landings in distant areas.

Seabourn Pursuit is the second of two practically similar expedition ships that Seabourn has launched over the previous two years because it strikes into the expedition cruising house for the primary time. The primary vessel within the sequence, Seabourn Enterprise, additionally sails to distant components of the world, together with Antarctica and the Arctic.

What I cherished about Seabourn Pursuit

Its elegant and upscale onboard expertise

Seabourn Pursuit provides a chic and upscale onboard expertise that’s in contrast to virtually the rest discovered within the expedition cruise house. Its onboard venues, together with its eating places, lounges and spa, are superbly designed, as is typical for Seabourn ships. It additionally sails with an awfully excessive ratio of crew to passengers, permitting for top service ranges (on my crusing, the ratio was precisely one-to-one, with 238 crew and 238 passengers).

Basically, what Seabourn has carried out with Seabourn Pursuit is create an expedition ship that mimics the luxurious really feel of its conventional ocean ships. Or, to place it one other manner, Seabourn Pursuit is a luxurious ship with all of the adventure-focused trappings of expedition cruising overlaid on high.

Its at all times obtainable caviar

Talking of chic and upscale, one of many fantastic little luxurious touches on Seabourn Pursuit is which you can order caviar to your room or wherever else you occur to be on the ship at any time, day or night time. There is no further cost. It is a small factor, however it speaks to the luxurious degree you will get when crusing on Seabourn Pursuit. Simply observe that Seabourn would not promote this a lot on board, presumably due to the price. You kind of must be within the know (and now you might be, so … order away).

What I did not love about Seabourn Pursuit

The excessive passenger rely

Seabourn Pursuit can carry as much as 264 passengers — a big quantity within the expedition cruise ship house. The latest ships from two of the best-known expedition cruise operators, Lindblad Expeditions and Ponant, in contrast, carry simply 126 passengers and 184 passengers, respectively. New ships from Aurora Expeditions are constructed to carry 132 individuals. In expedition cruising, this kind of differential in passenger capability is a giant deal. It may possibly make a substantial distinction within the high quality of the expedition cruise expertise.

The extra passengers an expedition ship has on board, the extra its expedition guides have to interrupt them up into separate teams for landings, slowing down the method of exploring at any single touchdown website. The result’s that passengers on smaller ships typically get to see extra wildlife and surroundings up shut than passengers on larger ships. That is notably true in polar locations equivalent to Antarctica, the place passenger landings are restricted to 100 individuals at a time.

Seabourn constructed Seabourn Pursuit bigger than many current expedition ships partially to supply passengers the identical kind of luxurious expertise that they get on the road’s conventional ocean ships. The ship needed to be larger to make room for all of the upscale venues, together with a number of eating places and lounges, that Seabourn passengers anticipate. However in expedition cruising, crusing on a smaller vessel with fewer individuals is its personal kind of luxurious.

Seabourn Pursuit cabins and suites

Selecting a room on Seabourn Pursuit is not as difficult as it’s on some ships. There may be mainly only one major cabin class that accounts for the overwhelming majority of the 132 lodging on board: the Veranda Suite.

On paper, there are 5 classes of Veranda Suites, however all of the rooms in these classes — 101 in all — are mainly the identical, with the one distinction between them being their location. Increased-category Veranda Suites are towards the center of the ship, which is taken into account extra fascinating. Decrease-category Veranda Suites are towards the entrance of the ship.

My cabin was one of many lower-category Veranda Suites towards the entrance of Deck 6, and identical to the higher-category Veranda Suites, it measured 355 sq. ft — a beneficiant quantity for an expedition ship cabin. That house included a 78-square-foot balcony space, the identical as you will discover with higher-category Veranda Suites.

As with all Veranda Suites, my room featured a queen-size mattress that could possibly be cut up into two twin beds, a built-in cupboard and wall-mounted TV reverse the mattress and an adjoining seating space with a settee, a chair and a built-in desk. There was additionally a walk-in closet and a toilet.

Decor-wise, it was a beautiful cabin with all of the high-end finishings and facilities you’d anticipate on a luxurious ship. The look was up to date and residential, with artificial walnut and bronze cabinetry topped with costly marble, high quality bone white furnishings, patterned mocha and bone carpeting and partitions lined in fake parchment.

I notably appreciated the {custom} bedside panels with completely positioned built-in bedside lights and foldaway studying lamps managed by vintagelike toggle switches. The mattress itself was opulent, with a super-comfortable mattress and high-end sheets. Both sides of the mattress was topped with three massive white pillows that, from high to backside, have been further agency, agency and tender (as defined on a pillow menu). Two crimson patterned throws and a luxurious fake fur pillow rounded out the high-end look.

Amongst considerate touches to the room have been its heated compartment for fast-drying moist clothes after Zodiac landings and Swarovski Optik binoculars to borrow through the voyage. A minibar was additionally stocked with virtually any drink I wished. (Although the one drink I wished most in my cabin, a morning espresso, was unavailable. Not like many cabins on high-end ships, the room had no espresso maker.)

On a sensible observe, the room was loaded with energy shops of all kinds — sufficient to maintain even probably the most device-laden traveler totally charged. The bedside panels on each side of the mattress had each U.S.-style 110-volt and European-style 220-volt shops, in addition to two USB ports (alas, there have been no fast-charging USB-C ports, one thing that’s more and more commonplace on new ships). Extra shops and USB ports have been positioned on the desk space and above the cupboard throughout from the mattress.

If there was a flaw to the room’s design, it was its space for storing, which appeared to take a again seat to the general look. The built-in cupboard throughout from the mattress was fashionable however too slender to be sensible. The desk throughout from the couch lacked drawers that might have made it extra practical — little doubt to maintain its minimalist line.

Extra notably, maybe, the room’s walk-in closet was only a tad too slender to be totally practical. It provided a lot of room for hanging garments on one aspect however was gentle on shelving for sweaters, folded shirts and the like — the results of a major quantity of its house having been left open in order that passengers may stroll into it. A much less elegant however extra sensible use of this block of house would have been to forgo the concept of a walk-in closet and create massive built-in wardrobes that opened from the surface.

The identical kind of style-over-practicality in design was evident within the lavatory. It was a wonderful house with marble tile partitions and flooring, a built-in marble vainness and high-end Grohe fixtures, however it wasn’t optimally designed for operate. Regardless of being bigger than the everyday cruise ship lavatory, it had a comically tiny bathe (so tiny it was an train in contortion to cleaning soap up) and lacked a single drawer for hiding away toiletries. The one storage was three impractically small and slender cabinets to the aspect of the vainness and several other hard-to-reach cabinets tucked beneath the corners of the vainness.

The toilet additionally contained a tub that few individuals would use. A bath is a pleasant contact when there’s room for one, however on this case, there wasn’t. The bath ate up the house that would have allowed for an even bigger bathe — one thing everybody expects lately.

For many who need one thing extra spacious than an ordinary Veranda Suite equivalent to mine (and are prepared to pay considerably extra for the privilege), Seabourn Pursuit additionally has greater than two dozen bigger suites — a couple of actually spectacular.

Essentially the most over-the-top suites on the ship, by far, are its two Wintergarden Suites. Measuring a whopping 1,175 sq. ft, they’re two-story-high residences that every have an expansive residing space on their decrease flooring and a surprising bed room with a mattress going through floor-to-ceiling glass partitions on their higher flooring. Each of the suites may be mixed with an adjoining Veranda Suite to create a fair bigger two-bedroom complicated that measures 1,605 sq. ft.

Additionally spectacular are the ship’s two rear-facing Signature Suites, which refill the whole again of Deck 8. Every of the suites measures 1,380 sq. ft, not together with its balcony, and has an enormous residing space overlooking the ship’s wake along with a bed room. Every additionally has a seemingly countless wraparound balcony with its personal Jacuzzi and stylish lounge furnishings.

Two extra bigger suites on the ship are its Homeowners Suites, which measure 1,023 sq. ft, together with balcony house. Positioned on the entrance of the vessel, in addition they have massive residing areas separate from their bedrooms.

Two different classes of suites on Seabourn Pursuit which can be bigger than the usual Veranda Suites however not practically as large because the Wintergarden, Signature and Homeowners suites are its 9 Penthouse Suites and 16 Panorama Veranda Suites. These two classes of rooms measure 527 sq. ft and 417 sq. ft, respectively, together with their balcony house.

Seabourn Pursuit eating places and bars

As is typical for small ships, Seabourn Pursuit has only a handful of eateries. Nonetheless, it manages to supply a variety of cuisines with rotating theme nights in certainly one of its eating places. A number of bars and lounges provide a variety of drink decisions.

Eating places

Seabourn Pursuit has two major eating places: The Restaurant and The Colonnade.

The Restaurant is the extra formal of the 2, providing a high quality eating expertise in a classy house crammed with custom-designed, trendy Italian furnishings and bronze-framed wine shows.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, The Restaurant provides traditional delicacies equivalent to eggs Benedict within the morning and grilled snapper and beef tenderloin within the night.

The Colonnade is a extra informal different eatery that gives a buffet service for breakfast and lunch (augmented with some a la carte menu objects which you can order out of your waiter). It then transforms right into a waiter-served sit-down restaurant at dinnertime.

The Colonnade’s delicacies at dinner adjustments each day, providing passengers a extra various eating expertise within the evenings than one would possibly anticipate from a ship with simply two eating places. One night time, it’s going to have a French focus, the subsequent, Spanish. Once I was on board, nights dedicated to Australian, Thai, Italian and American cuisines have been additionally on the schedule.

Moreover, on a number of nights of every cruise, The Colonnade morphs right into a pop-up eatery known as Earth & Ocean that gives an eclectic mixture of dishes impressed by the locations the ship visits around the globe.

The Colonnade has each indoor and outside seating, with the outside space often called The Patio. Seabourn touts The Patio in its advertising materials as a separate eatery, however it’s probably not.

Along with the above, passengers will discover sushi made to order each night in The Membership, one of many ship’s bars. A nod to the favored sushi eateries discovered on Seabourn’s larger ships, the sushi dishes at The Membership may be one thing you order as an appetizer earlier than heading to The Restaurant or The Colonnade for dinner, or they are often your full meal. Simply observe the sushi menu is comparatively restricted.

You will additionally discover fast grab-and-go bites obtainable through the day in The Bow Lounge, a small, unstaffed lounge house overlooking the ship’s bow. It has a fridge stocked with small parts of salads and wraps in glass containers. The Bow Lounge additionally has a self-serve espresso machine for cappuccinos, lattes and different espresso drinks.

Further small bites can be found all through the day at Seabourn Sq., a residing roomlike lounge house that’s house to the ship’s major espresso bar, visitor companies desks, video games tables and a library space.

Together with barista-made espresso drinks, Seabourn Sq.’s European-style espresso bar serves pastries within the morning and small sandwiches, home made cookies and desserts through the day. It is also certainly one of two locations on the ship the place you will discover beautiful home made gelati — the opposite being The Colonnade (at lunchtime).

Ought to the above choices not be sufficient to maintain you satiated, you’ll be able to at all times order room service. Seabourn Pursuit provides in-suite eating across the clock, with an all-day menu of six starters, a dozen mains and varied desserts. The menu is a mixture of informal objects equivalent to sandwiches and burgers and extra elegant dishes equivalent to a Black Angus New York steak. Throughout dinner hours, passengers may order something they need off the day’s The Restaurant menu.

Normally, the delicacies on board Seabourn Pursuit is high-end however nothing that may depart you wowed. Dishes in The Restaurant skew to traditional continental fare that’s conventional and secure, with comparatively easy plating. A typical night time would possibly carry such major dishes as a filet of crimson snapper draped over cooked Swiss chard with piped mashed potatoes on the aspect or slices of pork tenderloin over polenta with greens. The alternatives do not usually embody something overly revolutionary. On my crusing, the execution was additionally hit-or-miss.

Moreover, for many who like flavorful meals, be warned that dishes at each The Restaurant and The Colonnade come out very unseasoned — that’s, they’re very gentle on salt, pepper, herbs and spices. That is by design, as Seabourn has many older clients who’re on low-sodium diets or produce other well being or style considerations for which they’ve requested blander dishes. Nonetheless, it could possibly be a turnoff should you’re the kind of luxurious traveler who travels partially for distinctive culinary experiences.

Foodies additionally ought to observe that the complimentary wines included with meals are extra down-market than you would possibly anticipate for a luxurious ship. On my crusing throughout Australia’s Kimberley area, the ship was serving a 19 Crimes shiraz as its major crimson on some nights that retails in Australia for beneath 10 Australian {dollars} (about $6.70). Tastewise, it was about what you’d anticipate at that worth level.

There are many fantastic wines on Seabourn Pursuit, for positive. However for probably the most half, they’re solely obtainable with an upcharge.

One standout ingredient of Seabourn Pursuit’s culinary choices is its breakfast buffet in The Colonnade. I cherished such luxurious touches as the enormous juice machine for making contemporary orange juice to order; the big selection of accessible fruits, together with contemporary berries (one thing you typically solely discover at breakfast buffets on luxurious strains); the array of home made breads; and the congee station.

Bars

If you happen to’re heading out for a drink within the night on Seabourn Pursuit, you are in all probability heading to certainly one of three locations: the Expedition Lounge, the Constellation Lounge or The Membership.

Simply outdoors the ship’s theater, the place expedition-related briefings happen, the Expedition Lounge is a comfortable house that evokes the age of exploration with steam trunk-inspired leather-based and material furnishings. Anchored by two fireplaces with fake flames, with a bar tucked into the wall in between, it lacks a menu of signature drinks, however its bartenders will make you no matter you need.

Given its location, the Expedition Lounge is well-liked as a consuming spot simply earlier than and after the night expedition briefing.

5 decks larger on the high entrance of the ship, the Constellation Lounge is a traditional remark lounge with gorgeous 270-degree views by means of floor-to-ceiling glass partitions. As its title suggests, it takes its theme from the night time sky with carpets and cushions patterned from the constellations. Even the lighting follows the theme, with dozens of ceiling-mounted lightbulbs mimicking the celebs above.

Not like the Expedition Lounge, the Constellation Lounge has reside music each night time (on my crusing, it was a singing and guitar-playing duo), and it is also house to a signature cocktail menu designed by mixologist Brian Van Flandern — a widely known drinks creator. Within the early night, it provides a self-serve buffet of tapas alongside its again wall.

The Membership, on the identical deck because the Constellation Lounge however in the back of the ship, is one other cozy house with a fake hearth and heat, residential furnishings. As famous above, it options sushi made to order within the evenings. It additionally has a signature drinks menu with an array of sake-infused Saketinis, in addition to handcrafted cocktails with such names as Smokin’ Margarita and Honey Dew Wop.

Just like the Constellation Lounge, The Membership has reside music nightly. Throughout my crusing, it was house to a piano participant.

Due to its made-to-order sushi bites, that are well-liked, The Membership is at all times the busiest of the bars at night time. There have been instances within the early night once I had hassle discovering a desk.

The Membership additionally has probably the most fascinating cocktail menu on the ship. That mentioned, on the whole, the cocktails on Seabourn Pursuit aren’t as leading edge as what you will discover at high-end cocktail lounges on land, regardless of the model’s relationship with mixologist Van Flandern. You are not going to search out subtle garnishes, handmade bitters, people who smoke for infusions or unusually formed ice cubes as you do these days at upmarket cocktail bars on land. The bartenders do not seem notably steeped in cocktail tradition.

I used to be particularly shocked to search out Outdated-Fashioneds and Negronis ordered on the ship’s bars arrive loaded with small machine-made ice cubes of the kind you get in your soda at a quick meals outlet. These ice cubes melted quick and diluted the drinks to some extent the place they have been undrinkable after a couple of sips. In order for you a blended drink, be sure you order it “up” (served with out ice).

Along with the above, Seabourn Pursuit provides two small outside bars which can be open a part of the day: the Sky Bar and the Patio Bar.

The Sky Bar is on the high of the ship simply outdoors of The Membership and serves a small outside sunning space with sizzling tubs. It is also the one bar space on the ship the place you’ll be able to smoke.

The Patio is the bar for drinks across the infinity pool in the back of the ship.

Seabourn Pursuit actions

As is typical for expedition ships, the actions on Seabourn Pursuit revolve closely round experiencing and studying concerning the wildlife and pure wonders of the largely distant locations that the vessel visits.

Seabourn Pursuit sails with a 24-member expedition workforce that features specialists in geology, marine biology, ornithology, native cultures and different subjects of relevance. The workforce leads outings for exploring, usually by Zodiac boat, and lectures on board about what passengers are seeing on such outings.

A typical day in Antarctica, for example, would possibly embody a Zodiac touchdown to see penguins, a secondary Zodiac outing to cruise coastal waters looking for whales and icebergs, and an onboard lecture on the historical past of Antarctic exploration.

In Australia’s Kimberley, a typical day would possibly carry a Zodiac cruise down a mangrove-lined river looking for crocodiles or an up-close have a look at the area’s otherwordly crimson rock formations, adopted by a lecture on the area’s thousands-of-years-old Indigenous Australian rock artwork.

The hub for such actions is the Discovery Heart, a theaterlike house used for each day lectures, recaps of the day’s explorations and briefings on the subsequent day’s off-ship exploring.

Seabourn Pursuit additionally has two side-by-side mud rooms (known as The Touchdown Zone) with lockers the place passengers can change, clear and retailer their boots and kit following excursions.

Simply off the mud rooms are the side-of-the-ship portways the place passengers board Zodiacs for the each day outings.

Seabourn Pursuit sails with a fleet of 24 Zodiacs for such outings, saved on the very high of the ship and lowered by cranes throughout touchdown operations. The ship additionally carries eight sea kayaks for included-in-the-fare kayaking excursions, snorkel gear for snorkeling throughout outings and two submarines for extra-charge underwater exploration. The latter continues to be comparatively uncommon on expedition ships.

Each kayaks and submarines are used on the ship’s Antarctica and South Pacific sailings however not within the Kimberley. The presence of crocodiles within the Kimberley makes the usage of kayaks dangerous. Different components, equivalent to sturdy tides, preserve Seabourn from utilizing the submarines within the Kimberley.

Along with the above, Seabourn Pursuit provides complimentary scuba diving periods led by an onboard divemaster in choose warm-water locations within the South Pacific.

Whereas expedition cruise-style journey is the main focus of journeys on Seabourn Pursuit, the vessel additionally provides conventional cruise ship allures equivalent to a solar deck with an infinity pool, two whirlpools and chaise lounges in the back of Deck 5. Extra chaise lounges are positioned on the backs of Deck 6 and Deck 7. There are two extra whirlpools in the back of Deck 9.

Seabourn Pursuit additionally has a small however elegant spa and wellness heart with 4 remedy rooms (together with a room for {couples} therapies), separate males’s and girls’s saunas that supply gorgeous views of the ocean by means of floor-to-ceiling home windows, a hair and nail salon and a small health room.

Simply be ready to pay up for spa companies. As is usually the case on cruise ships, notably luxurious cruise ships, the pricing is sky-high. A 50-minute facial, for example, will value you about $270, together with an 18% gratuity that’s routinely added to payments.

Not like on Seabourn’s larger ocean ships, there isn’t any on line casino on Seabourn Pursuit. Seabourn regulars additionally will discover the ship lacks a back-of-the-ship marina or a secondary pool space.

One other distinction with Seabourn’s larger ocean ships is its open-bridge coverage. On most days, whereas the ship is underway, passengers can go to the bridge at will and watch it in operation. That is extra widespread on expedition ships than on larger conventional vessels.

When assembling your paperwork, make sure your passport shall be legitimate for six months past the top of your cruise, as that is a requirement to enter many nations.

Additionally, you will have to fill out preboarding paperwork on-line earlier than your cruise.

Associated: When and how one can renew your passport, based on the State Division

Gratuities

Seabourn’s all-inclusive fares cowl all crew gratuities, and passengers thus aren’t anticipated to tip when on board Seabourn ships. The one time you is perhaps anticipated to tip whereas on a Seabourn cruise is throughout an off-the-ship tour, as gratuities for tour guides and drivers on shore excursions are usually not included in fares.

Wi-Fi

All passengers can entry the ship’s Wi-Fi at no cost. Passengers in Ocean View and Verandah suites obtain limitless commonplace web service (fundamental shopping, messaging and emailing) on one gadget, whereas passengers in higher-category Penthouse and Premium suites get limitless premium web service (streaming and video calling) on a number of units. Passengers who’ve reached the Diamond tier of the Seabourn Membership loyalty program additionally will obtain the quicker premium service, irrespective of their suite class.

Passengers in suites that solely include commonplace web service will pay about $20 a day to improve to the premium service that permits for streaming. Upgrading additionally helps you to entry the web on as much as 4 units concurrently.

Carry-on drinks coverage

All drinks are complimentary on Seabourn Pursuit, except for the most costly wines and liquors. Nonetheless, if you’re explicit to sure manufacturers, you’ll be able to carry on board a vast quantity of wine and liquor, each on embarkation day and in ports of name, and also you should not have to pay a corkage price.

Smoking coverage

The one place you’ll be able to smoke cigarettes, cigars or pipes on Seabourn Pursuit is alongside the starboard half of the ship’s outside Sky Bar space. Smoking such objects wherever else on the ship, together with in all inside areas, in suites and on non-public balconies, is prohibited.

The foundations are barely looser for digital cigarettes, which may be smoked in passenger suites and the Sky Bar space.

Passengers caught smoking conventional cigarettes, cigars or pipes of their suites or on balconies shall be charged a $250 per day cleansing price.

Laundry

You could have two choices for doing laundry on Seabourn Pursuit. You’ll be able to pay to have your garments washed, pressed or dry-cleaned by the ship’s laundry service, or you’ll be able to clear them your self at no cost utilizing the self-service launderette discovered on Deck 5.

If you happen to select the previous possibility, your suite attendant will decide up your soiled garments and convey them again clear. Costs for such service vary from $6.50 for a males’s shirt to $11 for a gown until you have got standing in Seabourn’s loyalty program. If you happen to do, you would possibly get some or your entire send-out laundry carried out at no cost. The quantity depends upon your loyalty degree, with top-tier Diamond Elite members getting complimentary regular laundry and urgent companies all through their crusing, plus restricted dry cleansing companies.

For these doing their very own laundry, the ship’s launderette has washers, dryers, complimentary detergent and ironing boards.

Electrical shops

Seabourn Pursuit suites provide each U.S. 110-volt and European 220-volt shops, in addition to USB ports subsequent to beds. You will discover further shops and USB ports on the built-in desks in suites and above the cupboards throughout from beds in Veranda Suites. Individuals could wish to carry an adapter for charging units in public rooms, the place the shops are all European-style.

Forex

The onboard foreign money is the greenback, no matter the place Seabourn Pursuit is on the planet. The ship operates on a cashless system. You’ll use your cruise keycard to pay for all purchases after which obtain a ultimate invoice on the finish of the cruise. You’ll be able to pay that invoice with a bank card (Visa, Mastercard, Diners Membership, American Specific or Uncover) that you have registered with the ship or with money.

You’ll be able to request a money advance on board however shall be charged a 3% price on the quantity.

Ingesting age

The minimal consuming age on Seabourn Pursuit is 21, with some exceptions. On sailings departing and returning to Australia, New Zealand, Europe and a few components of Asia, the consuming age is eighteen. For cruises departing and returning to Japan, the consuming age is 20.

The ship’s crew may refuse to serve alcohol to anybody they deem excessively inebriated or a hazard to others on board.

Costume code

Pack to your cruise such as you would for a keep at a high-end resort. Through the day, you will need informal outfits appropriate for the day’s climate and actions, together with applicable swimwear cover-ups and comfy footwear for strolling. Company are typically fashionable and stylish even when dressed casually, however shorts and denims are welcome in all lounges and eating venues.

Within the night, after 6 p.m., friends ought to adhere to Seabourn’s “elegant informal” gown code. For males, it is slacks with a collared gown shirt or sweater; jackets are non-obligatory. For girls, it is slacks or a skirt with a shirt, a pantsuit or a gown.

Seabourn makes some extent of noting denims are usually not allowed in The Restaurant after 6 p.m.