jsea

This is delayed (took me longer than anticipated to catch up to the 'real world' upon returning home), but we had a fantastic time. You have done an excellent job of reporting so my comments will be brief. My perspectives are influenced by our Antarctica trip on Crystal Endeavor last year. Venture highs: - crew (they all seem happy and I hope that has to do with the cruise line allowing them to take zodiac trips, do polar plunges, etc.) - ship itself (beautiful and well-designed); seemed to handle rough seas well - will be curious to see how she does in the Drake Passage; plenty of outdoor space for viewing scenery; pool deck with hot tubs is wonderful (Endeavor's pool is indoor - which has pros and cons; but major con is that it is a shared space with the buffet with tables nearly right on the edge of the pool - so often you will have an audience dining overhead while you are taking a dip) - captain's navigating capabilities and getting us up close to wonderful scenery - sushi option at night in the Club - high def wildlife / scenery camera beamed to shipboard TVs - watching the glaciers calve in a zodiac with a very knowledgeable guide in Greenland - gym (layout and size superior to Endeavor) - spa (also superior layout compared to Endeavor) Venture neutrals: - sometimes long lines to get in zodiac; to us, calling three groups at a time but telling them to arrive 5 minutes apart wasn't very successful at crowd management; I did appreciate keeping the life vests in our suite, as on Endeavor you kept them in a locker in the mud room and that led to more crowding in a very tight space - "hikes" ashore were hardly that - would be nice to have some more active options for those who choose, but I realize with polar bears at some sites that is more challenging - would be nice for Seabourn Square offerings to continue beyond 6; so you could stop in for a coffee or tea or gelato after dinner Venture lows: - Longyearbyen boarding day - ungodly early hour, followed by a tour that was two hours too long made for a rough day which postponed jet lag recovery We look forward to see what itineraries Pursuit will be doing and plan to be aboard a Seabourn expedition ship again in the future. Thankfully for those who like this type of cruising (on newer, more capable vessels) currently we are fairly spoilt for choice with Silversea Endeavour, Ponant, and Viking, amongst others...

The onboard future cruise consultant on Venture told us that Pursuit itineraries would be released mid-September (I believe the 15th) and she would be launched in October of 2023 (I could be off on that launch date but to the best of my recollection that’s what the consultant said).

Yes. Staff are required to wear masks. And it appears that either KN-95 are mandatory or it’s simply what Seabourn provides and no one opts for other style / type mask.

No Serene area in spa. There’s a male and female dry sauna within their respective changing rooms. Open to all regardless of spa reservation.

Do you, by chance, know if the smoking area is port or starboard? From your photos it appears you were in 643 which is starboard. We are booked next summer in a Privilege Suite and thinking about upgrading to a Duplex. I absolutely loathe cigarette smoke and would hate to have it wafting around the balcony at most hours during our voyage to the North Pole. I suppose if one’s averse to smoking, selecting a French line may not be the best choice. Many thanks for the review and photos. It was all very helpful.

Many thanks! I ordered and it went through. I appreciate the pointers and help.

This may be an obtuse question, but safe to assume there is no expedition gear pre-ordering for Arctic trips? We just realized we haven’t had to submit sizing info like for Antarctica.

WINTERGARDEN SUITE

SPA LOBBY VERANDA SUITE THE CLUB

SAUNA DISCOVERY CENTER PANORAMA VERANDA SUITE

SEATTLE, July 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Seabourn, the ultra-luxury ocean and expedition cruise line, is embarking on a new era of adventure on the high seas with the launch of Seabourn Venture. The first of the line's two new ultra-luxury expedition ships, Seabourn Venture entered service and welcomed its first guests on board today, July 27, 2022, on a 12-day Northern Isles expedition, departing Tromsø, Norway, and bound for the Arctic and the Svalbard Archipelago, one of the world's northernmost inhabited areas and home to wildlife from puffins to polar bears. "Exploration has always been part of our brand legacy, but the launch of Seabourn Venture turns the page on a new chapter for us, offering our guests opportunities to explore remote destinations in every corner of the globe and truly be a part of the natural wonders, wildlife, history, and culture they'll find there," said Josh Leibowitz, president of Seabourn. "Seabourn guests are as passionate about discovery as they are about traveling in ultra-luxury, and Seabourn Venture offers a new type of expedition experience allowing our guests to discover the magnificence from the Arctic to the Antarctic." (press release continued here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/seabourn-venture-seabourns-first-purpose-built-expedition-vessel-sets-sail-for-its-first-voyage-heading-from-the-arctic-to-antarctica-over-the-year-ahead-301594550.html)

https://twitter.com/SeabournCruise/status/1552027481640665088?s=20

My “final documents” now list a 0545 departure from Oslo for charter flight with 0845 arrival to Longyearbyen. 😵 I am curious to find out what will be the actual departure time. All in due course…

Yes, when your departure is 14 days away or sooner, in the Seabourn Source app a boarding pass will be available in the “wallet” section.

Agree, it looks like it. We enjoyed Endeavor immensely but felt it lacked outdoor lounging spaces. The hot tub on the bow was excellent but I think we will prefer Venture’s set up with multiple outdoor hot tubs and the infinity-edge pool. The solarium was a beautiful space on Endeavor but awkward to use the pool with dinners perched nearly directly above swimmers at the edge of the water.

That appears to be true (no discount) for our upcoming voyage on Venture. Regarding Endeavor, we sailed on her to Antarctica with Crystal and loved it. The ship is fantastic and the suites are marvelous. The food was phenomenal, especially when you consider how far away we were from mainstream supply lines.

Good question. I was wondering the same. I think that might be planned departure for flight as they also list an ETA to Longyearbyen at 10am. And from my googling OSL-LYR is around 3 hours. Seems like an early start to the day 🙂

This past week we received air info from Seabourn, via our TA, for the Oslo - Longyearbyen charter flight. It is a charter operated by Widerøe. Departs 0700, supposedly.

I think the website only shows sailings that have availability. We are booked on the August 6th voyage and have not received any notification of cancellation.

The July 15th sailing is off the books. This article reports, so far, July 27th sailing is a-go. https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/expedition-cruising/seabourn-ventures-inaugural-cruise-canceled