Our first experience with Seabourn did not disappoint. Yes, Seabourn is expensive but Antarctica is not an easy destination. It’s a lot of work to truly experience what this place has to offer visitors. And Seabourn Pursuit provided us with a luxury expedition experience that was almost flawless. The service, food, entertainment and expedition education were all superb. What sets an expedition cruise apart from others is the expedition team and our team members were all accessible helpful and friendly. After 10 days together and five days in Antarctica with two expeditions daily, we got to know our team very well as well 250 of our fellow adventurers. We learned the most important attitude for an Antarctic is flexibility and perspective. Weather changes quickly here so you rely upon your captain and expedition team to provide you with a memorable but safe passage and visit. For example, we arrived a day earlier into the peninsula so we were able to spend an unscheduled stop in the South Shetland islands! And the Pursuit is a beautiful ship. It didn’t seem small and the two restaurants provided us with a variety of cuisines that surprised us. Where else could we enjoy fresh sushi, caviar and Champagne in Antarctica except Seabourn! Yes the coffee and gelato could be better but keep your perspective…we are enjoying an affogato in Antarctica! At the end of our adventure, we couldn’t think of one thing that Seabourn could have done better. (Well, maybe a butler to help dress and undress us with our polar gear which Is exhausting!). To top it off, at the end of our cruise, the ship’s photographer shared his best photos from our cruise at no extra charge to Us. We are looking forward to our next expedition cruise with Seabourn!

This three-week cruise on the Pursuit was an excellent  educational luxury scenic expedition, with three days in the Falklands (including Port Stanley), three days in South Georgia, and six days on the Antarctic Peninsula.   We are Seabourn (SB) veterans and also often sail with other lines, usually luxury. If you would like to read a day by day detailed description of our cruise experiences and thoughts, and see photos and videos  my husband (DH) and I took, here is a link to what was my live blog: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3040468-live-from-the-sb-pursuit-falklands-s-georgia-antarctica-121524-1525/ Below is an overview. PRE-CRUISE -- Guests gathered at the lovely luxury Alvear Palace Hotel in the Recoleta district of Buenos Aires a day before the cruise, and then flew to Ushuia early the next morning where we embarked.  DH and I had already spent a week at that hotel as a base for touring the city (we recommend a minimum of three days, longer if you can, and read as much about Argentina as you can before the arrive  if you want to try and understand what you see in Buenos Aires).  FLIGHT, AND EMBARKATION IN USHUIA -- the charter flight as noted was cramped, but everything was well-organized, and ship embarkation at 12:30 PM was quick and easy.  EXPERIENCE OVERALL  The Cruise Director (CD) Dave Resultan's infectious enthusiasm and endless energy, coupled with a talented entertainment staff,  made the on-board experience relaxing and pleasant.   The two dozen or so expedition team members were well-educated, qualified, organized, approachable, pleasant to deal with, and helpful.  We had landings and/or Zodiac tours once or twice each day in each of the three main locations.  As we had hoped, we saw abundant wildlife (over the course of the trip, at least five  different kinds of penguins, fur seals, elephant seals, a few leopard seals, humpback whales (especially in Fournier Bay), and many species of birds including albatross).  The weather was variable, but mostly low 40's F in the Falklands and South Georgia, and low 30's in Antarctica, usually overcast, sometimes rainy or sleety and windy, so our waterproof outfits were essential to keep warm  (parkas, boots, beanies provided by SB). The team had to adjust our course a couple times due to a crew member's illness and need to evacuate him, and/or weather, bird flu concerns. The bird flu outbreak precluded us from landing at  the famous Salisbury Plain in South Georgia, so instead we had a Zodiac tour that day, and  saw tens of thousands of penguins from a few hundred feet (good binoculars are provided by SB). Flu precautions also did not allow us to get as close to animals in some areas as we would have liked, but this was our first trip there, and we still saw more than we had expected.  We were not allowed to sit, kneel, squat, or put anything on the ground when on land, and of course there are no 'facilities' other than at Grytviken (where there is also a little post office and where the museum and Shackleton's grave are must-sees in addition to the animals). The voyage would not have been the same without photographer John Shedwick's brilliant images, which he shared with us throughout the cruise during daily debriefs and recaps and on our TV screen under 'photos of the day'.  His "Image Masters" (extra cost) guest pax photographers also contributed to the bounty. SUITE Our Panorama suite accomodations included a whirlpool single bathtub with a window to the balcony and enhanced spacious views  from the combined sleeping, dining  and sitting quarters (various Molton Brown scented bath bubbles, shampoo, conditioner, gel, hand lotion, and endless large and fluffy towels also  provided).  The views were so beautiful, comfortable and often magical that  we landed up spending a lot of time in our suite, instead of in noisier public areas. Housekeeping twice a day was reliable and outstanding.  The suite had a mini-fridge/bar area, and we had an espresso machine.  INTERNET  This was very good even in remote areas, (Starlink) though of course slower than most are used to in civilisation. The enhanced plan included a streaming option (and though we did not often use that feature, it worked well, and this  extra payment plan was also a bit faster for uploading photos and short videos. The connection was more than good enough to do basic remote regular work, financial reviews, and browsing if one needed to.  However, we did not try Facetime or conference calls. DEMOGRAPHICS Overall, as this was an expedition cruise, passengers (pax) were much younger than on SB's traditional style cruises, though there were still plenty of typical senior or almost-senior citizen couples, and a few solos. This small expedition ship was full. There were surprisingly few pax from South America, and surprisingly many passengers from Asia.  Per the CD and later also the passenger list, 43 were from Taiwan and 12 from China,  plus there were Chinese-speakers who live in North America. Half the ship had American passports, and the remainder were from a variety of other countries, e.g., Australia, UK in particular. Every passenger I saw except for one young Black lady was ethnically either Asian or Caucasian.   Even though this was a holiday period cruise, there were  very few children, just a handful of quiet and introverted teens and one quiet boy of around 10 or 11, none of an age who might have believed in Santa (though he made an appearance)  This was a  expedition cruise, so guests were mostly fit or very fit, only a few appeared frail.  With this demographic came a a bit of behavioral roughness around the edges (e.g., an older couple with an eastern U.S. accent, kitted out for a landing, casually put their booted feet up on a cocktail table in the Expedition lounge directly in front of me, feet facing my face, while we were all sitting and waiting for our group to be called to the Zodiacs;  I didn't have a drink on the table at the time, but I was still surprised). DECOR The Pursuit is a new ship, with comfortable lounges, clean modern lines, state of the art navigation and structure, and modern conveniences. The fit and finish of the furnishings and the artwork is not particularly sophisticated or refined (e.g., vinyl covered surfaces instead of leather) , but it is practical and good enough for its main purpose.   FOOD We had no dietary restrictions, but all kinds of special diets can be and were accomodated (advance planning helps if you have very unusual needs). Vegetarians would be very happy here, vegans happy enough. Food in all venues was on average very good, often excellent.  Special small group extra cost sommelier wine/food pairings were marketed, as were cognac and Bordeaux tastings, and we attended one out of curiosity, but would not necessarily want to repeat it as the food was similar to very good MDR dinners.  There was some repetition, and overall there had to be limitations due to the lack of resupply ports, but the chef did the best he could and I was pleased that fruits and salads were still available up until the end of the cruise. With planning, staff can also prepare special meals for pax if they have the ingredients.  The Club offered sushi every night for snacks or meals. SB Square had some cookies and gelato and frozen yoghurt every day, and fancy coffees, but we preferred the cookies in the self-service Bow Lounge, where there are also canned sodas and a (complicated) push button coffee machine. I would go harvest cookies for DH almost every day, as he preferred those to the formal desserts offered. Pastries were very basic (thank goodness, or we would have gained even more weight than we did). An afternoon tea was offered a couple times but we had no time, appetite, or energy to go.  Food was almost as good as it can get on a remote expedition cruise, though of course not like a luxury restaurant on land. The overall quality definitely exceded our expectations.  The only thing they ran out of that I was interested in was the complimentary sake (though they still had revenue varieties), about halfway through the cruise, and my favorite bottled sparkling water became harder to find, but the shortages seen during the Covid recovery years are gone.  The complimentary wine list was fair (I would not call the wines (which retail for $15 or less) "fine wines" , but there were some decent selections  for casual light drinking.  The extra charge wine list which we used several times was very good, but were no upscale wines other than champagne offered by the glass, Coravin, or half-bottle. As always on SB, the bars had included basic  'top shelf' liquors if desired. Complimentary basic caviar was not advertised, but was available for delivery to a dining area or your suite, as it is on other SB ships.   Towards the end of the cruise I asked various on-board guests what they would improve if they could.  My admittedly small sample of pax said they would have preferred having spicier and more dynamic flavors in their food, and some had  complaints about specific dishes they had to send back due to preparation problems and/or quality of product (e.g., a lamb dish). Food sourcing is controlled by headquarters in Seattle, and the chef has to make do with what he has. I'm fine without hot and spicy food, but apparently even when Thai and Indian themes were offered in the Colonnade (we didn't go) , it wasn't hot enough for some guests.   SERVICE As already noted, housekeeping was perfect and reliable with keeping our fridge stocked with our preferences. Laundy (either free or for pay, depending on pax status or booking details) given out by 10AM would return by dinner the next evening.  There was also a guest laundry (with soap) on deck 5 which we often walked by, and it was always busy.  Staff elsewhere, all over the ship, almost all  worked very hard and were friendly, helpful, polite  and engaged, despite their long work hours and distance and lonely time away from their families.  Guest services in SB Square always quickly answered the phone and dealt with the few problems we had expeditiously (e.g., a whistling and howling balcony door). The Do Not Disturb sign was always respected.  Food  service in all venues was excellent  (though it was slightly better  in the MDR Restaurant, where there were less abrupt interruptions of our conversations and where waiters were less likely to 'plate snatch' , e.g., ask if we were  finished right after we had put big bites of food into our mouths (this also sometimes happens on other luxury lines, as staff are trained  to efficiently keep things moving and plates cleared). Room service personnel were always hustling, but timely and responsive delivering and clearing and our food (even breakfast and soups) always arrived hot.  The Club lounge   (which also served excellent sushi dishes every evening 6-9) was short on wait staff at peak times when it would be full of guests decompressing and chattering over Mike Lee's piano music or the pumped in pop, with only one busy but amazingly efficient waiter, one bar man, and intermittently a laid-back "bar manager" in a coat and tie would come in and just chat with guests at the bar. But even on the busiest night, the wait for our sushi was less than a half hour. ENTERTAINMENT  The scenery and excursions were the main entertainment, of course, as were the 2-3 educational lectures (called "conversations") provided daily, which pax could thankfully also listen to in their suites. Bow Lounge time with expedition staff was regularly available and we also saw they were also generous with their precious free time, which we tried not to intrude on too much.  The bridge offered several "open bridge" times, easy to get.  I was delighted to unexpectedly have classical music on this cruise -- talented and engaging Singaporean pianist Congyu Wang, whose concerts were well-attended.  There was a guest musician couple from South Africa, powerful singer Corlea and her raspy-voiced big and enthusiastic fiance JD Mars.  Regulars on board included a mellow pianist/guitarist/singer (Mike Lee from UK) in the Club (deck 9 aft) , and a singing duo (Simon and Valentina) in the Constellation (deck 9 bow) lounge.  We know there was sometimes late night livelier more energetic  music in the Constellation lounge , especially on holiday nights, but we chose  not to congregate there (we are older and were too tired from busy activities,  so we went to bed by 10:30 most nights so we could be fresh for the next day's excursions). Aggressive trivia fans got their fill throughout the cruise, and the ship had the usual alternative small ship cruise amusements (spa, baggo, hot tubs, a decent gym, and small pool but it was too cold to swim).  Liars Club was amusing, as was a  'name that tune' event.  There is no casino. There were assorted secular styled holiday trees,  and the CD also organized two well-attended evenings of holiday music, one was a sing-along pax could participate in.  Friends of Bill W, LGBT, and those of Jewish faith also had opportunities to gather. We were very busy and never bored, and were surprised we had very little down time unless we chose to skip a major activity, so most of the kindle books and Prime downloads we had brought just in case went unused.  The weeks went by quickly, too quickly. NEGATIVES There were a  few things that detracted a lititle  from our personal experience, but overall we still rate the cruise 5/5 (this is an absolute rating, as  we have not previously sailed to these specific venues on other lines).   First, as noted, the charters were unpleasant.  They were JetSmart Argentina  flights to/from Ushuia-EZE.  The very tight orthopedically challenging seats (described by online descriptive sources as having 28-29 inch pitch, zero recline) , included sadly presented (though tasty) box snacks served with wooden 'cutlery' (using the term loosely) and were anything but a "luxury" experience. The extremely early outbound flight was physically difficult  (we had to be ready to leave the hotel at 5AM). But these were just one day at the beginning, and one day at the end. The logistics were fortunately well-organized on both ends, and we felt looked after.  Second, the Panorama suite was beautiful and unique (and was a key reason we chose SB instead of other luxury lines), but be warned  that the closet is impractically narrow, e.g., going in not uncommonly meant my face would get tangled up in a big wad of cotton/polyester blend,  and/or I would land up knocking down a jacket item or two while trying to get by -- and I'm by no means a 'person of size'. We got used to it, and accomodated, and still would prefer this suite over a veranda suite. Third, the  other minor annoyance we had was with some of the louder guests, a delicate difficult issue for SB, which works hard at being inclusive and accepting of everyone and which encourages diversity of expressive style. As noted, there were many passengers from Asia on this small ship cruise, some traveling in larger groups, and as is not uncommonly also the case on other cruise lines, larger groups (from anywhere) statistically tend to make themselves known in various ways and tend to be louder. But of course they provide abundant revenue to SB.  I was told by staff that the cruise just before ours was a charter for Mandarin speakers, but I'm not sure how often SB or other luxury expedition ships  have groups such as we had on board. Some in the groups tended towards louder interactions and speech than we prefer, and at times were frankly crude (e.g., yelling at  the Restaurant waiter to pour more wine while screaming "More! More! More!" , this at 90 DB , per our app before we and others near us asked to be moved to a quieter table).  The same groups also engaged  in on-land and/or Zodiac group congratulatory cheerings, and flag set-ups, even amidst wildlife (Taiwan flags, Antarctica flags set up for extensive photo positioning). One person, part of one of the larger groups, even dressed up in a penguin outfit for some land excursions. I learned post-cruise that the penguin outfit wearer is a winner of a Taiwan drag competition, so given their special status, SB may have been more reluctant to ban the Taiwan flag exhibition on land in their group than they would have been had DH and I and other Americans brought an American flag and set it up for Instagram photo-ops of ourselves cheering on serene nature preserve land.  Other details are in my blog.  DH and I are sensitive to repeated loud and harsh noises, from any nationality or ethnic group, machinery, overhead wailing pop or rap music, and other sources, so we adapted by avoiding  the loud groups  as much as we could on board (often by retreating to our suite, to eat or lounge, or other areas of the ship) .  We thus still managed to greatly enjoy this fantastic cruise and would still have signed up for it even if we knew about the issues in advance  (we would just make sure in advance that we were not assigned to Zodiacs with noted loud groups, and/or groups requiring translations of guide and driver speech, which we now understand is an option). In our SB feedback, we stated our perhaps controversial view that despite lack of overt legal,  prohibitions  we thought it was in bad taste to allow groups to set up their nation's and other flags, advertise QR codes, and do photo-ops with periodic group cheers on land. We noted that this and the penguin outfit on land for purpose of photo ops created a bit of a Disneyland atmosphere as opposed to the quiet, respectful, and subdued behavior on land that pax were generally encouraged to follow by guides, which is one reason its allowance surprised us.  Also, frankly no one knows what effect such noise has on the seabirds and other wildlife (in parts of the U.S., loud noises are officially forbidden due to concerns about fragile wildlife), and many precuations taken in Antarctica areas are already based on educated guesses.  I understand that many guests don't care about noise (and/or are partly deaf and/or are themselves routinely on the loud side when they relax even without alcohol), be it from pax or other sources, but DH and I are sensitive to it, especially in nature settings.   Of course, the few  negative aspects of the cruise won't stop us from booking another SB expedition. However, next time we go, we will likely book "Image Masters" (an extra charge program for photographers, who get to go out on a Zodiac dedicated to photographing nature as opposed to self, and those pax also usually quietly go out on land earlier than other groups. We were amazed at how smoothly this whole adventure went, and we congratulate SB on a job well-done. Bravo!

We loved our 18 day cruise from Santiago Chile, the Chilean Fjords and Antartica. The boat was perfection. The views were stunning. The historical and scientific information was insightful. The food was consistently delicious. The staff and the service were intuitive perfection. Of course it helps that Chili and Antartica are just gorgeous. To be more specific. My husband likes spices food and it could have been a bit more spicy for him. I found the bed to be a bit soft. I also found the pillow to be too soft and at my request they provided me with a firmer pillow. One day I called room service to ask if I could get popcorn anywhere on the ship. They answered, “You have called the right place. We will make some and deliver it shortly.” Even though it was not in the menu. My husband and I enjoy wine and we were fairly pleased with the wine pairings. We were offered the option of tasting the wine and they always offered an alternative if we didn’t care for it. My husband requested his favorite gin prior to embarking and it was waiting for him when we arrived. We also loved the spiked hot chocolate in the expedition lounge. I appreciated the helpfulness on my first time kayaking. We felt the staff motto was “don’t say no” but try to accomodate any guest request. We travel extensively and this was our “trip of a lifetime “.

I was on the 35-day itinerary sailing from Honiara to Papeete. The ship averaged under 180 passengers for the 2 cruise segments which made up the itinerary, and there were no lines for virtually anythng on the ship. The Pursuit is a beautiful ship with an ample selection of lounges and bars. While there are only 2 main restaurants on the ship, the menu choices were large, and I never had difficulty finding a good and varied selection of items to order. Additionally, the overall food preperation was excellent which resulted in many memorable meals. Overall service on the Pursuit also was excellent, and the expedition team was outstanding! During sea days, expedition team members were in both the Bow Lounge and Seabourn Square during morning and afternoon hours to answer questions and converse with passengers. Additionally, during sea days the world-class expediton team presented numerous and varied lectures. The expediton team took great care to assist passengers who used canes and walkers so that they also could participate in the Zodiac shore landings. These Zodiac landings were handled wth great expertise and the expedition team members always were around to answer questions and provide guidance when wanted -- truly, a very impressively organized and run operation (Seabourn really lived up to its advertising during this cruise.)! Other than for a small shower (disappointing on an luxury ship), my V2 suite was excellent. Also, it's one of the only ships I've been on where the regrigerator in the cabin atually keeps drinks cold. The Cruise Director, Lupi, was terrific and has a beautiful voice. The resident keyboard player and singing duo were excellent. Additionally, guest entertainers were brought onboard at several ports and they were outstanding talents. One tip: While Seabourn failed to mention this in its pre-cruise guidance, be sure to bring water shoes on itineraries like this where there are wet landings.