No news on new expedition ships?

[SLSD]

Here's a bit more information that was given to us.  All Zodiac adventures will be included as part of the cruise far.  Kayaking, on the other hand, will be for an extra charge.  Mr. West explained that when kayaking is included (no extra charge), EVERYONE wants to kayak.  He said that this is a problem because people who are not able to kayak sign up, find out once they are in the kayak that they are unable to do this activity---have to be taken OUT of the kayak and ruin the experience for the other participant in the kayak.  He said things go better and the experience is on a higher plane when people affirmatively choose to go kayaking, giving it some thought and that these people are more likely to have the strength to do the activity. 

 

The submarine activity will be an extra charge on the expedition ships.  

 

jdk-atlga,  Of course I don't know a definitive answer to your question as to whether you would find the higher price vindicated by the experience you would have.  Some factors to consider:  only 264 passengers (probably less due to solo travelers taking up their suites), cutting edge technology (not all of it has been revealed yet), lots of expertise on board, the new open bridge policy (I would love that part), brand new ship with a new design and decor.  Mr. West says that they have looked at what their competitors have done for expedition ships and he believes that Seabourn will be jumping leaps ahead (my words, his sentiment) with these new ships.  

 

Mr. West says that they have in the works about three years worth of itineraries.  

[captjohn]

Very interesting stuff. My wife and I just booked the Holiday cruise to the Antarctic, Dec. 15, 2021.Will be celebrating Christmas, B-Day (big one), and New Years. So will be watching future posts with great interest. I think this is the longest out that we have ever  booked a cruise, aprox .922 days and counting, lots of time to plan !

Oh, this will only be our second Seabourn cruise, for what it's worth.

 

John & Christina

 

[alexander51]

I like Seabourn, but almost all cruise ships are notorious air polluters because they tend to burn high sulfur bunker fuel. Anyone know if the stack exhaust from these newer ships will be cleaner, given that they are sailing into the high latitudes most affected by global warming?

[cruiseej]

Great stuff, SLSD! Thank you for taking notes and typing everything up.

 

I was excited for the new ship, but the price of the Antarctic itineraries that include South Georgia Island that we were eyeing is too rich for our blood. But I hope we’ll get on one of these ships at some point in the future.

 

Can’t wait to see what an excursion on one of the submarines costs! 😉

[SLSD]

I just ran across this photo of a Seabourn submarine---to be custom made for the Venture, the new expedition ship.  The ship will have two submarines---and room for four.  

Edited July 1, 2019 by SLSD

[2SailingNomads]

Interesting pix.  

[cruiseej]

They will hold six passengers each (not four), plus a pilot. In the picture, you can see three seats in a glass bubble on the right side, which is replicated on the left side. The pilot sits in the middle. The passenger seats in each pod are on a platform which can rotate within the pod for what looks like about 180 degree visibility.

 

I wonder how much these excursions are going to cost. 😉  (And if I have to ask, I probably can't afford it!)

[cruiseej]

Here's the website of the sub manufacturer, which includes a 360-degree view of the sub.

 

https://www.uboatworx.com/model/cruisesub

 

The 5-person model lists for about $2.9 million; I didn't see a price for the 7-person model Seabourn is buying. Do you think there's a volume discount for buying 4? 😉

[SLSD]

Seabourn's submarines are being custom built according to what I have read.  

[cruiseej]

Yes, they're being custom built by the company I linked to, the Dutch U-Boat Worx. They developed the design for 5, 7, and 9 person subs -- of which Seabourn has chosen the middle model -- and have been pitching them to luxury cruise and yacht manufacturers. I'm sure every one is "custom-built" for the owner, and for more than $3 million apiece, I imagine there might be some minor configurable options for the buyer to select. But if you click on the U-Boat Worx link I posted above, you will see it's the exact same picture as the one you posted above, with the Seabourn logo slapped on.

 

The U-Boat Worx site says the subs have batteries sufficient for up to 10 dives a day, meaning Seabourn could conceivably accommodate up to 60 passengers a day per sub -- half the ship with two subs. But I doubt they'll ever be in a position to offer 10 trips a day; I'd guess more like a max of 4-5 trips a day x 2 subs = 48-60 passengers in a day.

 

Crystal's small ship, the 62-passenger Esprit, carries a 3-passenger sub from the same company. They charge $599 for a 20-30 minute dive. Here's hoping the larger capacity of the 6-passenger subs Seabourn will have will result in a lower price!

[SLSD]

Don't count on a lower price.  I think this will be very much profit driven. 

 

I remember one other things from the presentation we heard about the Expedition ship while aboard the Sojourn.  Someone in the audience asked, "Is the new ship going to have better internet connectivity?"  The VP said, "Would that make you book a cruise on it?"  I think that says it all.