Excursions on Pursuit South Pacifuc

[kej1]

Our 30 day cruise from Papeete to Guam on Pursuit starts on April 9th and no excursions are listed except for submarine and kayak

on Day 1.  I have called Seabourn as has my TA to ask and nobody seems to know anything.  
I understand it is expedition but it’s not Antarctica.  I would hope they would publish something soon as some of the ports have various 

things to see and do besides kayaking and the submarine which are both at a high cost.  We will likely do them both once on the trip 

and hope to do some snorkeling.  
I am about to give up so I did find a local tour company in Honaria, Guadalcanal and will likely book with them as we are there

overnight and my husband really wants to see the old WW2 things.  I’m so surprised Seabourn has nothing posted.  There are some places that are very remote but there are some with things we’d like to see and do so I’m now looking for private options since there is nothing posted.  I can find ideas on other

cruise lines that travel by expedition in these areas and have their tours posted to the public.  I realize some of the ports are new to Seabourn but some 

are on the bigger ship South Pacific trips as well.  If anyone has any ideas of who to reach at Seabourn I’d love to know a name!

[jjs217]

Is it April 9, 2024 or April 9, 2025?  If 2025, then it is too early.  If 2024, it could very well be that you have an included zodiac tour/landing at each stop.

[kej1]

We leave April 14th 2024.   I would not be concerned at all if 2025.  It’s now less than 2 months away.

[sfvoyage]

18 hours ago, kej1 said:

Our 30 day cruise from Papeete to Guam on Pursuit starts on April 9th and no excursions are listed except for submarine and kayak

on Day 1.  I have called Seabourn as has my TA to ask and nobody seems to know anything.  
I understand it is expedition but it’s not Antarctica.  I would hope they would publish something soon as some of the ports have various 

things to see and do besides kayaking and the submarine which are both at a high cost.  We will likely do them both once on the trip 

and hope to do some snorkeling.  
I am about to give up so I did find a local tour company in Honaria, Guadalcanal and will likely book with them as we are there

overnight and my husband really wants to see the old WW2 things.  I’m so surprised Seabourn has nothing posted.  There are some places that are very remote but there are some with things we’d like to see and do so I’m now looking for private options since there is nothing posted.  I can find ideas on other

cruise lines that travel by expedition in these areas and have their tours posted to the public.  I realize some of the ports are new to Seabourn but some 

are on the bigger ship South Pacific trips as well.  If anyone has any ideas of who to reach at Seabourn I’d love to know a name!

Normally, expedition voyages on the 2 expedition ships will "include cultural and hiking tours, as well as zodiac tours. The submersible and kayak will remain optional."

 

I got the above answer regarding my particular Arctic voyage on the Venture this summer from Seabourn Guest Services.  Just email them to enquire about your particular voyage.

 

In general, excursions on non-expedition voyages (e.g. Mediterranean) on the expedition ships will not be included unless otherwise stated.

 

 

[kej1]

11 hours ago, sfvoyage said:

Normally, expedition voyages on the 2 expedition ships will "include cultural and hiking tours, as well as zodiac tours. The submersible and kayak will remain optional."

 

I got the above answer regarding my particular Arctic voyage on the Venture this summer from Seabourn Guest Services.  Just email them to enquire about your particular voyage.

 

In general, excursions on non-expedition voyages (e.g. Mediterranean) on the expedition ships will not be included unless otherwise stated.

 

 

Thank you for your response @sfovoyage.  I have called and emailed guest services to no avail.  I’ve talked to destination services as well.  The answer is right now there are only submarine and kayak excursions available despite the voyage leaving April 14th 2024 - less than two months away.  I guess the issue is some of the ports are new to Seabourn.  So I guess we just have to go with the flow.  I find it a bit strange as some of their competitors that do this part of the world on expedition cruises have their “free” and paid excursions listed even for those of us who have not booked.  So I am using those sites to determine our options and in some cases am now looking into private excursions.  They did tell me there would be snorkeling opportunities which we are happy to hear and diving as well but  were unsure in which locations.  I do understand that is weather and seas dependent but I would think given the pricing they would have some more information available.  

[Nops]

We have booked on a similar itinerary for 2025 and on two expedition cruises this summer in Northern Europe. My understanding and confirmed in a video from Robin West (Seabourn Expeditions Director) is that kayaking and submarine rides have to be pre-booked. (These are always shown on the first day of a cruise, but in fact take place during the cruise at suitable locations. You will be allocated a time when you are onboard).  Other than that there is no specific excursion schedule. The expedition team arrange "expeditions" on the day according to weather/sea state. These are briefed to guests the night before in a daily presentation. These could be a simple zodiac tour or a landing and an activity. I think that if you are looking for scheduled excursions as on the classic ships you will be disappointed. The ethos of the expedition cruises is to maximise the guest experience which means being flexible on the day rather than having a strict plan. The good thing is that apart from kayaking/submarines is that everything is included. (This may not include scuba diving in fairness).

 

The only question I have is that we are on two back to back expedition cruises splitting in Tromso and Papeete. I do not know if excursions are available for these ports. However I am expecting to be so relaxed by those ports that I will go with the flow.

[kej1]

7 hours ago, Nops said:

We have booked on a similar itinerary for 2025 and on two expedition cruises this summer in Northern Europe. My understanding and confirmed in a video from Robin West (Seabourn Expeditions Director) is that kayaking and submarine rides have to be pre-booked. (These are always shown on the first day of a cruise, but in fact take place during the cruise at suitable locations. You will be allocated a time when you are onboard).  Other than that there is no specific excursion schedule. The expedition team arrange "expeditions" on the day according to weather/sea state. These are briefed to guests the night before in a daily presentation. These could be a simple zodiac tour or a landing and an activity. I think that if you are looking for scheduled excursions as on the classic ships you will be disappointed. The ethos of the expedition cruises is to maximise the guest experience which means being flexible on the day rather than having a strict plan. The good thing is that apart from kayaking/submarines is that everything is included. (This may not include scuba diving in fairness).

 

The only question I have is that we are on two back to back expedition cruises splitting in Tromso and Papeete. I do not know if excursions are available for these ports. However I am expecting to be so relaxed by those ports that I will go with the flow.

I agree that in places like Antarctica it makes sense to not have set expeditions.  We have been there with Seabourn and it worked well.  However some of the ports we are visiting have historical sights we would like to see.  Other expedition lines ( SS and others for example) have published “ included” expeditions and extra charge expeditions in many of these ports. We are happy to do zodiacs, snorkeling, submarine, kayak, etc but don’t want to miss out on things like Guadalcanal sightseeing, many of the sights in Rabaul, etc.  So we are starting to book some private tours where there are sites we want to see.  We know the difference between classic and expedition cruises but other lines do publish expeditions in the ports where it makes sense and there are a number of them on our trip.  Anyway we will book a few private and go with the flow on others.  I just find it odd when we are spending two days in Guadalcanal ( Honaria) for example there is nothing scheduled.

[reposado]

Your excursions will be included and decided at the time. Mostly on zodiacs. It'll be difficult to arrange local tours as port time will vary. 

[kej1]

Well, I tried calling Seabourn again yesterday.  After 3 attempts talking to different people in destinations and concierges I finally got someone that helped.  ( it’s like calling the airlines, hang up and keep calling back til you find someone who will help).  This person said he’d look into it and get back to me.  Given my experience calling them about various matters the past year I thought well at least he agreed to look into it and maybe I’ll get a call back.  I was tired of trying so went back to working. 
About 4 hours later lo and behold I received an email!  Not advertising but a rough list of potential included and paid excursions that “ might” take place along with a sentence stating that private tours were not advised on expedition trips even when visiting more traditional ports not dependent on zodiacs.  So the good news is we have an idea of what may transpire on the trip and it looks good and inline with what other expedition cruises offer in the more remote and traditional South Pacific ports. However since it was not included as an option I will book a private tour in Honaria ( Guadalcanal) as we will be there two days, docked as some passengers leave the ship and others arrive.  Thank you for the feedback and it seems like getting the correct visa information, getting unposted excursion information takes a lot of persistence and the luck of finding someone who will find the answers.  Not exactly what I’d call luxury service, but hopefully as some of these newer ports become more familiar it won’t be so difficult to get the right information.  And big kudos to the guy that finally did help and get back to me!  He gave me a completely different positive experience. 

[jccruiser]

Would you mind sharing or forwarding me the list and your contact person ?

we board 25 March in Santiago, sailing through to Honiara, and were also wondering when information would be released, especially for our Easter Island stop.

Many thanks

Jane

sidarira at hotmail dot com

[kej1]

We are not on the Santiago toPapeete leg.  We hpget on in Papeete and go through to Guam.

i received the information after calling the general Seabourn number several times.  The first few times they insisted it would eventually be published.  Then I got an agent who said we wouldn’t know til we got on board.  Eventually a gentleman answered and said he’d follow-up.  I must admit I doubted I’d hear back but about 3 hours later he got back to me with a little bit of what “might” be available.  Destination services I had called several times over the last few months and they didn’t help at all.

 

so for your first leg I have no information but if you are persistent in calling back and insistent you might be lucky and get someone who will hunt it down for you.

 

in Papeete I don’t know what they are offering as we board there after 5 nights at the Brando - a private island resort. Here is what else is “maybe” on offer ( it was all prefaced with “ to be confirmed”

 

Ra’tea:  snorkeling and scuba diving, visit to cultural site.

 

Cook Islands: lagoon tour with snorkeling, cultural excursion

 

Niue: snorkeling and diving, island tour, hike, garden tour

Optional with cost - golf, fishing, forest tour, vanilla tour

 

Samoa:  Cultural Center visit, rainforest hike with snorkeling

optional with cost: mountain biking, cooking, hike to waterfall

 

Tonga: snorkeling and diving, cultural program, botanical gardens 

 

Fiji:  village visits, snorkeling and diving

 

Ambryn, Vanuatu: ROM Dance

 

Pentacost, Vanuatu land diving ritual 

 

Honaria : potential WW2 tour 

 

I know this isn’t much but more than I had before.   Hopefully you can get some info on your first leg.  I was told they will gather everyone the night before and tell the, what is planned and if choices one can sign up after the lecture.   I understand this for some of the remote locations, but some of these ports are regularly traveled by not only expedition ships but also larger ships like Sojourn.  So it’s better than nothing but still pretty vague.

 

 

 

 

 

[jccruiser]

Thank you for sharing this 

It’s good to have an idea of the possible offerings , and we appreciate that with expedition style cruising things may change at any time 

 

look forward to meeting you when you board in Papeete

 

 

 

[markandjie]

Would love any info y'all can provide on the diving excursions, including how many people allowed, what dive sites, cost, etc. Very interested in doing this itinerary one day...

[highplanesdrifters]

Sorry I'm late with this reply, just off a C2C.

 

I would also appreciate any info on the diving program.  Specifically what gear is available, what does one need to bring? We are doing the 40 day Guam- Santiago in the fall.

 

It looks like many of the stops you have information about on the first leg are less than remote.  So I agree, why can't they publish the basic template!

 

As for the second leg,  expedition excursions in that area are a are a challenge.......  We did 35 day on SS Explorer last year.  All cruise lines have a basic plan of stops. The excursions stops are usually managed through a third party that negotiates with the specific islanders. These islands are usually remote without decent communication and any infrastructure. This makes planning extremely difficult.  The expedition leaders are often faced with minimal knowledge of what might happen at a port until a day or so in advance.  Will there be a welcome to country? Will there be a sing sing? Will there be hiking, swimming, snorkeling?  Each requires a negotiated fee.  Your second leg will mostly be what we called SDS,  Song, Dance, and Souvenirs with occasional swimming and snorkeling.  If mountain hiking is offered, be careful. The distances calculated may be wrong and trails treacherous. 

 

 It was one of our favorite trips. Enjoy!

 

 

[kej1]

Although still no excursions published online on Seabourn,  in addition to my previous post #11 on this message string is what I’ve learned through persistence.  Please note this was prefaced with these are ideas and not confirmed even though departing April 14.

 

On the Papeete to Honaria leg the previously “ maybe “ excursions are still not confirmed.

you can sign up for submarine, kayak, or scuba diving but they will let you know when on board when this will happen.  See post #11 in this string.

 

The second leg from Honaria to Guam also doesn’t have daily excursions published.  But you can sign up for Kayak or submarine.  Currently I don’t see diving as an option on this leg but will update if it becomes available.  The possible ( not confirmed excursions) include:

 

 Honaria - Guadalcanal WW2 sites ( we have a private tour booked in case Seabourn doesn’t offer on the first day of an overnight).  highlight for my husband so a must do even if Seabourn doesn’t offer.
Ghizo island:  snorkeling

Buka, Bougainville: PNG:  visit to school and local community. Parts of this island are on the State Dept do not go list so we will see if this stop happens. 

Rabaul:  another WW2 highlight for my husband. Visit some WW2 sites, Baining fire dance in the Evening.  ( HPD, checked out your comments on your trip and if the description you shared on the fire dance logistics is  the same we might skip this and focus on the day visits to the WW2 sites should the cruise go ahead with this program which we hope.

Kavjeng: visit ashore to meet locals, snorkeling

Rambutyo Island: visit ashore, possible welcome dance  snorkeling

Ponam Island: WW2 airbase and snorkeling

Oroluk Atoll, Micronesia:  village visit, hikes, snorkeling

Chuuk, Micronesia: WW2 sites, snorkeling

 

After my persistent outreach to destination services I received this but was told none of these are confirmed and that is why they haven’t published.  These are ideas they are working on, I was told we will not be given this on board except through lectures the night before each stop and can decide then which activity we’d like to do.

 

i understand things can change but it would be nice if they could publish some of this online as SS and Ponant for example seem to have done for many of their ports.  
 

Regarding diving and snorkeling here is what I understand:  they will have masks, fins, snorkels, weight belts with weights and tanks onboard.  All other equipment we need to bring.  We no longer dive despite doing so for many years so we are brining our own masks and snorkels, as well as skins and in my case a light short 1mm wetsuit as I can get cold even in tropical waters!  And booties in case have to do a beach snorkel which requires walking over coral.  We are not bringing fins and hope that we can use those on board.

 

I hope this helps somewhat.  I’ll report more once on board.

 

 

 

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

@kej1 Thanks much for you're reply, especially the diving.  I hope you'll do a live or follow up report.  You're hitting numerous ports we didn't. 

 

LOL, of course they'll sign you up for kayak, sub, etc.  They want the float on your money!

 

I hope I didn't discourage you too much from the fire dance on Rabul. Folks did say it was a great experience. As they say, we were sung sung from sing sings by then.  The thought of an hour each way on a small bus with no AC sealed the deal for us. 

 

I'm hoping that once Sebourn get a few more expeditions under their belts they will provide more info. We're all in the same boat when it comes to finding value and delivery of the product they promise. It's not fun rolling the dice with these pricey trips. 😁

 

Wishing you an awesome journey with fair winds and following seas!

 

 

[kej1]

10 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

@kej1 Thanks much for you're reply, especially the diving.  I hope you'll do a live or follow up report.  You're hitting numerous ports we didn't. 

 

LOL, of course they'll sign you up for kayak, sub, etc.  They want the float on your money!

 

I hope I didn't discourage you too much from the fire dance on Rabul. Folks did say it was a great experience. As they say, we were sung sung from sing sings by then.  The thought of an hour each way on a small bus with no AC sealed the deal for us. 

 

I'm hoping that once Sebourn get a few more expeditions under their belts they will provide more info. We're all in the same boat when it comes to finding value and delivery of the product they promise. It's not fun rolling the dice with these pricey trips. 😁

 

Wishing you an awesome journey with fair winds and following seas!

 

 

I will try to update as much as possible.  I’m gong to be working part time while on the cruise so may not be as frequent ( and top notch) as others but will try to update as much as possible.  I know you (HPD) also asked about Brando.  Assuming no travel glitches we will be there next Wednesday evening and will report before we leave Saturday!

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

Definitely hope some SCUBA options open up as several of your stops are world-class dive areas.

[highplanesdrifters]

8 hours ago, kej1 said:

also asked about Brando

Ah yes, the Brando! My addled brain forgot about that.😃

[markandjie]

On 4/6/2024 at 10:17 AM, highplanesdrifters said:

We are doing the 40 day Guam- Santiago in the fall.

 

I cannot wait for this 'live from...'

 

Doing a long S Pacific cruise is absolutely on our bucket list.

[highplanesdrifters]

16 hours ago, markandjie said:

 

I cannot wait for this 'live from...'

 

Doing a long S Pacific cruise is absolutely on our bucket list.

 

South Pacific is my favorite part of the world. Trips there are decadent vacations.  Coffee, snorkel, drink, eat, repeat.  I did a live from SS Explorer last year Fiji - Broome.  Many similar ports. The OP has some stops in NE PNG, all new to me.  Look forward to hearing about them.

 

@kej1. T-1.  Have a blast!

[Nops]

There is a blog of the current Pursuit South Pacific Cruise on the Seabourn website. Many diving pictures in the Pitcairn Islands.

[highplanesdrifters]

3 hours ago, Nops said:

There is a blog of the current Pursuit South Pacific Cruise on the Seabourn website. Many diving pictures in the Pitcairn Islands.

 

Good call Nops.  I forgot to look at Voyage Tracker.  Here's a link for others, can be a bugger to find.

 

https://www.seabourn.com/en/us/experience/voyagetracker/index.html

[PaulMCO]

On 4/8/2024 at 1:03 PM, Nops said:

There is a blog of the current Pursuit South Pacific Cruise on the Seabourn website. Many diving pictures in the Pitcairn Islands.

Yes but many passengers were not happy as they were NOT able to make land on Pitcarin, Ducie or Henderson. 

[frantic36]

1 hour ago, PaulMCO said:

Yes but many passengers were not happy as they were NOT able to make land on Pitcarin, Ducie or Henderson. 

 

 

I read the blog for Ducie and it stated they tried to go ashore but the swell was too strong so they did the zodiac tour. Experienced sailors know you can't guarantee a landing if there is a problem with swell or weather. At least the snorkelers and divers got a good experience and hopefully some on the zodiac trips.

 

I am on the 28/29 May Sailing so I have a vested interest in following the blog. I am hoping to snorkel but am sadly no longer a strong swimmer and had a scare a few years ago snorkelling so if we can't land I will just have to enjoy the zodiac trips and the ship. I'm glad to follow the blog as it helps with managing expectations.