This past week a group of Australian luxury cruise specialists have been engulfed in the industry’s newest expedition cruise vessel, Seabourn Pursuit, as the ship makes its way down under to the Kimberley for the first time. Seabourn Pursuit entered service in August 2023, the second purpose-built, polar-class expedition ship in Seabourn’s fleet.
Last Wednesday, seven travel advisors from across Australia met on board the expedition vessel in Guam, Micronesia in the Western Pacific, for a full immersion in the product over two weeks, while the ship is relatively close to home. The famil is not only giving the advisors – and LATTE – the chance to soak up the five-star experience, but to also boost their knowledge of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and soon, the Solomon Islands.
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Hosting the group is Jennifer Compton, Key Account Manager at Seabourn (nearly 11 years with the luxury cruise line) and on her third expedition voyage having sailed to Antarctica aboard Pursuit in February and to Greenland on sister expedition ship, Seabourn Venture, last June.
In the past week our expedition has included visits to Gaferut and Ifalik Island in the Federated States of Micronesia. Both islands are extremely isolated, with Gaferut uninhabited aside from thousands of birds (mostly boobies), coconut crabs and other marine life.
Exotic Ifalik brought us face-to-face with the local people and engrossed us in their culture and traditional way of life. We are greeted with song and dance by one of the four communities on the island, and they welcomed us to explore their island home and village at our leisure.
Both islands are inaccessible to traditional ocean ships as there is simply no cruise ship infrastructure (piers or docks), and the typical lifeboat tenders would be incapable of providing ‘dry’ landings for guests.
On Monday, Seabourn Pursuit made history as the first ship to visit the island of Hauwei in Manus, Papua New Guinea – and dubbed by the locals as ‘Hawaii Island’. Again, Seabourn’s guests were treated to a welcome reception by the local community and elders, and guided throughout the island by the children who proudly showed off their primary school.
From Seabourn Pursuit, we transfer directly from the vessel to one of dozens of Zodiacs which have been deployed from the ship’s top deck to the water below in just minutes. Donned in lifejackets, attire suitable for wet weather and footwear that’s made to get wet, in groups of 8 to 12 we navigate ashore across rolling seas – some calm, some severely choppy, but all exciting – for a few minutes and then a make beach landing. Each outing we’re forewarned to expect to get your feet wet, and reef sandals are the most popular footwear of choice.
The lack of infrastructure is the major point of difference between expedition cruising and traditional ocean cruising. Whereas a typical ocean ship will dock in a city and guests will disembark directly into a cruise terminal and go off and explore a destination on an escorted shore excursion, visit local landmarks and attractions, wander the streets of the destination, window shop, sip a coffee while they people watch or dine somewhere fancy, the experience on an expedition such as this is far more experiential, and exciting!
All guests are also provided with their own snorkel gear (flippers, mask and snorkel) which is stored in the mudroom for the duration of the voyage, along with a bag to store possessions in on the zodiac while swimming and snorkeling. We’re also provided updates on the water conditions and suitability for snorkelers depending on ability, and what we can expect to see – coral, fish, marine life, etc.
Each day on Seabourn Pursuit our expedition leaders provide a recap of what happened, and what to expect the next day, where we are going, how to dress, what to be prepared for and what we could see. These are insightful sessions and if you can’t join them in the Expedition Lounge in person they are also streamed online and can be viewed from the comfort of your suite.
Additionally, there are multiple lecturers throughout the day on various topics. Today’s discussion was about earthquakes and volcanoes, while other topics have included ‘Plants on our Journey’, ‘What’s that bird?’ and ‘Sex and the Sea’!
More from Seabourn Pursuit over the coming days exclusively in LATTE, and stay tuned to our Facebook page for plenty of photo galleries and videos aboard the vessel as we continue to explore Papua New Guinea.
Lead image: In the Expedition Lounge of Seabourn Pursuit, from left are: Kate Traynor, Destination HQ; Ross Quigly, Luxury Cruise Escapes; Jennifer Compton, Seabourn; Nicole Reber, Mosman Travel; Rachel Husoy Cleary, Luxe Adventures; Sue Okmasich, Unley Park Travel; Megan Catterall, LUXE by itravel and Richard Muff, Off the Beaten Track Travel.
