Last week, Seabourn welcomed professional photographers Pat and Rosemarie Keough to its Seattle office. The Keoughs are part of our Antarctica expedition team and will serve as digital photography coaches on two Antarctica voyages aboard Seabourn Quest, departing January 4 and 25, 2014.

They are recipients of numerous awards for photographic excellence, including World’s Best Nature Photographers, World’s Best Photography Book and Outstanding Bookarts Craftsmanship, and the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, a commemorative medal that serves to honor significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. Fellows of The Explorers Club, they have lectured worldwide and are medalists of the Royal Geographical Society. Featured in award-winning television specials and in periodicals such as Smithsonian and Forbes, their images have inspired eight books of their photography, including the renowned handcrafted tome Antarctica.

In keeping with the spirit of our Seabourn Conversations, the Keoughs are not only experts in photography, they are people of many fascinating facets. Be sure to ask Pat about the house he built on Norfolk Island out of 40,000 beer bottles. And Rosemarie can tell you a lot about worldwide folk dancing, too.

The Keoughs are part of a highly-skilled and knowledgeable Antarctica expedition team. To meet the rest of our Antarctica expedition staff, please visit our website: http://bit.ly/14QO59l

Pat and Rosemarie Keough with Seabourn President Richard Meadows.

Get a glimpse of what it will be like to sail aboard Seabourn Quest to Antarctica and Patagonia. In this video, Expedition Leader Robin West and Assistant Expedition Leader Jarda Versloot-West share their insights on what guests can expect when they sail to the White Continent – from the history and diverse wildlife and to the unique and stunning landscape. They possess a wealth of knowledge, with more than 80 trips to Antarctica combined under their belts, and will undoubtedly ensure guests experience the trip of a lifetime.

“It’s this beautiful serene wide landscape that you cannot explain unless you’ve been there. It’s incredible,” Jarda said.

Leopard seals, elephant seals, penguins, humpback whales, birds and more – there will no shortage of opportunities to view the distinct wildlife in Antarctica.

“The great thing is in Antarctica, when you come ashore, you can go 20 meters, sit down, and everything’s right there in front of you,” Robin said.

Seabourn Quest will be the most luxurious ship to sail to Antarctica. After spending a day ashore, guests will return to the ship and enjoy the luxuries and signature touches of Seabourn. The onboard dedicated will take every care to ensure the comfort and well-being of our guests.

“It’s incredible to be out on glaciers, see penguins, see whales and then in the evening come back, glass of champagne, dress and enjoy the luxuries of the ship,” said Robin.

We hope you enjoy this video about Seabourn’s “Antarctica & Patagonia” cruises, which will certainly be a journey of a lifetime. Robin and Jarda will be on board all four cruises – won’t you join them on one of the voyages?

Guests sailing on Seabourn’s “Ultimate Antarctica & Patagonia” voyages aboard Seabourn Quest will be in excellent hands under the guidance and care of our very experienced expedition team. Take for example Jarda Versloot-West, one of the two assistant expedition leaders on these cruises. Jarda has traveled all over the world, including 40 visits to the White Continent, and she will ensure that our guests have the best Antarctic cruise experience.

For the past 10 years, Jarda has been working full-time on expedition ships. At 18, she bid farewell to her native Holland to explore Australia, where she discovered her passion for travel and her love for the ocean. After completing her bachelor’s degree in International Tourism Consultancy, Jarda began working on expedition cruise ships, which has taken her to the world’s most remote corners and all seven continents. She is a qualified PADI rescue diver, Zodiac driver and a remote first aid responder.

Jarda will be sailing on all four Antarctica & Patagonia cruises aboard Seabourn Quest. She will be part of a very skilled and knowledgeable expedition team, and they will plan and manage the cruise and coordinate special landings in Antarctica. Guests will visit one of the world’s most remote destinations and some of the best ports in Patagonia, including the Chilean fjords, Cape Horn, the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas and more. All the while, they will enjoy Seabourn’s highly rated ultra-luxury cruise experience. The hardworking staff aboard Seabourn Quest will take every care to ensure the complete comfort and well-being of our guests.

Each cruise will include the following exclusive amenities and activities designed to enhance every moment:

• Zodiac landings and expeditions to selected Antarctic locations
• Digital photography workshops
• Seabourn parka and backpack
• Opportunities for frequent wildlife sightings from the ship and on shore
• Inspiring enrichment program and special guest speakers

We hope to see you on board! To learn more about our “Ultimate Antarctica & Patagonia” voyages, please visit our website.

Seabourn’s new zodiacs that will be used for the line’s upcoming Antarctica & Patagonia cruises successfully completed their sea trials last week. Seabourn Director of Nautical Operations Prash Karnik, along with our Antarctica consultant, Victoria Wheatley, inspected the zodiacs to check on their performance and ensure they were properly equipped to navigate the Antarctic waters. They even beached the zodiacs to test how it performed during a landing. All went well, and they gave the zodiacs two thumbs up! Embossed with the gold Seabourn logos, the zodiacs are almost 100 percent ready to take guests for up-close experiences on the White Continent!

In the open water

Testing Seabourn’s new Antarctica zodiacs.

In several months, we will embark on our first ever voyages to Antarctica, and we’re very excited to take our guests to one of the most remote areas in the world.  The White Continent is a wondrous land, with breathtaking scenery, massive icebergs and glaciers, and abundant, diverse wildlife.  These voyages will also visit some of the best ports in Patagonia, including the Chilean fjords, Cape Horn, Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas and more. It will certainly be a travel experience unlike any other.

We invite you to visit our “Antarctica and Patagonia” board on Pinterest and see what these voyages can offer you. We’ll continue to update this board with pictures evoking this awe-inspiring region, so please continue to come back for more inspiring images.

Happy pinning!

A crabeater seal on an ice floe in Antarctica.

This week Seabourn’s headquarters received a special visit from Chris Srigley, who will be an assistant expedition leader on our “Ultimate Antarctica & Patagonia” voyages.  A veteran of more than 60 Antarctic voyages, Srigley addressed Seabourn’s U.S. and international sales team in Seattle, where he shared tales of his experiences and illustrated facts and tips about Antarctic cruising.  In addition, he met with various departments – from marine and hotel operations to marketing – to discuss and prepare for the line’s upcoming Antarctic cruises.

With a passion for the natural world that did not go unrecognized by a former employer, Srigley started his career in the expedition cruise industry onboard the famed M/S Explorer as shopkeeper and Zodiac driver. Quickly he found his way directly onto the expedition team as a naturalist as he displayed his knowledge of the natural world.

Seven years now passed, he has spent as many as nine months of each year splitting his time between Antarctica, Central and South America, Northern Europe, Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland and Canada as naturalist/Zodiac driver, assistant expedition leader and polar bear guard. To Antarctica alone, he has participated in over 62 trips for elite expedition operators.

His interest in natural history was cultivated through spending time on his family farm and at their remote cabin on the Eastern shores of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada, where he would vanish for days, sometimes weeks at a time, exploring the wilds around him.

Considering himself a “generalist,” Srigley has become well versed in all aspects of the regions in which he travels with many intriguing stories accumulated along the way. Once guests have traveled with him, his only hope is that he has been able to transfer his passion and knowledge of these stunning places they experienced on to them so that they may pass them along to others.

Srigley will be sailing on all four Antarctica & Patagonia cruises aboard Seabourn Quest. To learn more about these voyages and the rest of the expedition team, please visit our website.

Chris Srigley visits the Seabourn office in Seattle.

We would like to introduce you to Robin West, the expedition leader for Seabourn’s Antarctica & Patagonia voyages.

Robin West

West’s venture into exploring the Antarctic and the South Pacific began in the world of elite expedition cruising aboard a luxury private super yacht. During these voyages over the last 10 years, he gained a wealth of knowledge that has given him the experience to lead expeditions on every continent and across every ocean, including polar exploration of both the Arctic and Antarctic. To date, he has participated in some 40 Antarctic voyages.

“Antarctica is a place like no other,” said West. “Taking guests to see two-mile-long tabular icebergs, thousands of penguins, leopard seals and blue whales — the largest animals to have ever lived on the planet — it is a place that makes you realize just how insignificant we are and at the same time makes you feel bigger than life itself. Saying all of that,” he continued, “Antarctica cannot be put into words — it has to be experienced to be understood.”

West studied Biokinetics at the University of Port Elizabeth in South Africa, where he qualified as a Master Scuba Diver Trainer by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. During his time on and under the water, he developed a passion for the sea. He pursued his interest and first established his own two companies specialized in outdoor adventures and scuba diving. West was born in Port Elizabeth and currently resides in The Netherlands.

We have no doubt our guests will have an in-depth and unforgettable experience under the expertise and guidance of West. He will be sailing on all four Antarctica & Patagonia cruises aboard Seabourn Quest. To learn more about these voyages, please visit our website.

Staff Includes Expert Naturalists, Lecturers, Award-Winning Photographers

To ensure that our guests have the best and most memorable Antarctic cruise adventure, we have contracted some of the world’s most experienced expedition staff to guide our “Ultimate Antarctica and Patagonia” cruises aboard Seabourn Quest during our inaugural Antarctic season of 2013 and 2014.

The skilled team consists of naturalists, scientists, political and historical experts and other lecturers with decades of Antarctic experience, who will be sharing their knowledge, guidance and passion for Antarctica during the cruise and accompanying guests on excursions ashore to add valuable insights to the adventure.  Award-winning photographers will also be on board to offer digital photography coaching, helping guests capture exciting wildlife images and the visual splendor of the White Continent. The expedition team will sail on the four 21- to 24-day voyages aboard Seabourn Quest starting in November of 2013.

Expedition Leader Robin West is a veteran of over 40 Antarctic voyages. He and his staff will plan and coordinate the five days spent on the Antarctic Continent, plotting opportunities for wildlife sightings from the ship and choosing from numerous available sites for Zodiac landings, based on real-time weather and wildlife reports.

“Antarctica is a place like no other,” said West.  “Taking guests to see two-mile-long tabular icebergs, thousands of penguins, leopard seals and blue whales — the largest animals to have ever lived on the planet — it is a place that makes you realize just how insignificant we are and at the same time makes you feel bigger than life itself. Saying all of that,” he continued, “Antarctica cannot be put into words — it has to be experienced to be understood.”

To meet the members of Seabourn Quest’s Antarctic expedition team, click here.

Beginning Nov. 20, 2013, Seabourn Quest will sail on a series of four 21- to 24-day voyages between Valparaíso, (Santiago) Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina. They include days exploring the Chilean coast and fjords, Beagle Channel, Glacier Alley, the breathtaking Torres del Paine National Park, Cape Horn, the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, Montevideo and five days of cruising and landings on the Antarctic Continent in uncompromised Seabourn luxury. A 24-day Holiday version, departing Dec. 11, 2013, will include two days exploring the sub-Antarctic wildlife Eden of South Georgia Island, renowned for its beauty and its vast, teeming rookeries of king penguins and other seabirds, as well as breeding elephant and fur seals.

For more information or reservations about Seabourn’s new Ultimate Antarctica & Patagonia voyages, contact a travel professional, call Seabourn at 1-800-929-9391 or visit www.seabourn.com.

Dear Traveler,

I am writing to invite you on an epic adventure to the most remote place on earth. I hope you’ll join me as I sail the beautiful Seabourn Quest on our Ultimate Antarctica & Patagonia voyages during the austral summer of 2013 and 2014. I have had the good fortune to sail these waters before, and I can attest that the places we will explore on these voyages guarantee a cruising experience beyond anything you’ve witnessed.

The Patagonian portion alone is an awe-inspiring voyage along some of the most magnificent coastlines in the world. We will cruise by great sea-run glaciers, thread channels between tall, forested islands, and visit rustic, fascinating ports and breathtaking landscapes. Add far-flung outposts such as Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands and Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, and it’s a traveler’s dream.

But, of course, the heart of our journey will be spent in the pristine, unspoiled Antarctic. We have equipped Seabourn Quest to show you Antarctica in style. You will be joined by a skilled expedition staff specializing in a number of disciplines, who will inform you on board and accompany you ashore to interpret the wonders you encounter. Landings at historic sites, teeming wildlife colonies, and Zodiac cruising among fantastically shaped icebergs and abundant sea life will fill each day.

And you will see it all from the gracious, luxurious base of Seabourn Quest, furnished with every comfort and amenity you could desire, and a staff dedicated to filling your time on board with Seabourn moments that match the wonders outside.

I have experienced Antarctica before, and I can promise you that, if you sail with me on Seabourn Quest, you will discover the White Continent in a way that no one has before.

I hope that I may welcome you on board to share one of these voyages.

Captain Bjarne Larsen

Master, Seabourn Quest

Combines Popular South American Itinerary with Landings on the White Continent

Cruise the Farthest Place on Earth on the World’s Highest-Rated Small Ship Cruise Line

More than 20 years after the company pioneered an entirely new style of small-ship, ultra-luxury cruising, Seabourn plans to extend its repertoire of highly desirablecruising destinations to include Antarctica for the first time in 2013. Seabourn Quest, the newest ship in Seabourn’s award-winning fleet, will begin a series of four 21- to 24-day voyages sailing between Valparaíso, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina starting in November of 2013.

“Seabourn is already renowned for our extensive portfolio of worldwide itineraries,” noted Seabourn’s president Richard Meadows. “Antarctica was the only continent that Seabourn did not feature in our itineraries. This expands our global reach to all seven continents and builds on our already impressive list of exotic destinations. Seabourn is very proud to be bringing our highly rated ultra-luxury cruise experience to Antarctica.”

The  all-suite ship will cruise the Chilean coast, including visits to Puerto Montt for the Chilean Lakes District, Castro on the huge island of Chiloé, and Puerto Chacabuco for the Rio Simpson Valley and Coyhaique, as well as Punta Arenas, from where guests can tour the magnificent Torres del Paine National Park. Then the intimate ship will thread the glaciers, peaks and channels of the Chilean Fjords, culminating in a transit of the Beagle Channel and its spectacular Glacier Alley.  Weather permitting, following a call at Ushuaia in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego, Seabourn Quest will cruise by Cape Horn bound for the Southern Ocean. Guests on board will experience five days in Antarctica, including scenic cruising of highlights such as the breathtaking Lemaire Channel, picturesque Paradise Bay and the Gerlache Strait. An experienced Antarctic expedition staff will ensure that guests enjoy the best of the hundreds of available sites for landings and cruising in smaller inflatable boats, based on real-time weather and wildlife reports during their Antarctic adventures. Scientists, naturalists and other lecturers in a number of disciplines will speak on board and accompany guests ashore to add insights to their once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

During the South Atlantic portion of the voyage, guests will enjoy visits to Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, and Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital, en route to or from Buenos Aires.

A 24-day Holiday version will include two days exploring the sub-Antarctic wildlife Eden of South Georgia Island, renowned for its beauty and its vast, teeming rookeries of king penguins and other seabirds, as well as breeding elephant and fur seals.

For more information or reservations, contact a travel professional or visit www.seabourn.com.