Do you want to know what it’s like to sail on Seabourn Quest? Then check out this great article by Ruthanne Terrero, editorial director of Luxury Travel Advisor magazine. She wrote about her experience when she was on board last December in the Caribbean. From dining and relaxing on the pool deck to the ship’s unique amenities, her story gives a great sense on what life is like on board when you sail on Seabourn Quest. Happy reading!

Luxury ship Seabourn Quest

Readers’ Polls, Critics, Travel Agents and Experts Agree on Top Rankings

In 2012, Seabourn continued to occupy the top ratings of the most prestigious awards in the travel industry. In annual surveys, high-profile consumer publications Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure discovered their readerships to be unified in naming Seabourn the Best Small-Ship Cruise Line, for the third and fourth consecutive year respectively. Cruise-specific consumer magazine Porthole’s annual readers’ poll showed Seabourn honored as Best Luxury Line, offering the Best Accommodations and Seabourn Sojourn named as the industry’s Best Small Ship. Seabourn also maintained its perfect record of inclusion on Condé Nast Traveler’s “Gold List” of top global vacation choices every year the list has been published, and became a charter inductee of the magazine’s Platinum Circle of the most consistent winners.

“We truly appreciate these magazines giving Seabourn’s customers a venue to express their support and endorsement,” said Seabourn president Richard D. Meadows. “These awards are absolutely a testament to the hard-working hospitality professionals who serve our guests on board. Of course everyone likes to be told they are the best,” he continued, “but in truth there is no greater honor than to see past guests returning up the gangway to sail with us again. Nothing makes our staff more proud than that.”

The ultra-luxury line also garnered some more specialized accolades in 2012.  The Spa at Seabourn has twice been awarded a SpaFinder® Wellness Readers’ Choice Award as Best Spa on a Cruise Ship, including this year. The newsletter Ocean & Cruise News, published by the World Ocean & Cruise Liner Society cited Seabourn cruises as the Best Cruise Value in the highest, Ultra-Deluxe, 6-Star+ category.

Professionally edited cruising guidebooks concur, with Stern’s Guide to the Cruise Vacation awarding the Seabourn fleet Six+ Black Stars, its highest rating, and the Berlitz Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships awarding Five Stars and listing the Seabourn fleet among the highest-rated ships in the world.

With so many of Seabourn’s guests utilizing the convenience and expertise of a travel agent to handle their travel arrangements, it is important to note that the travel trade publication Travel Weekly’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards named Seabourn as the Best Luxury Cruise Line.

Finally, the prestigious American Academy of Hospitality Sciences has once again awarded Seabourn its highest honor, the Six Star Diamond Award.

Seabourn has been named the “Best Luxury Cruise Line” by the readers of Cruise International, a consumer cruise publication centered in the United Kingdom. We’re very honored to receive this distinction! Many thanks to all our guests who voted for us, and a big thank you and congratulations to our entire staff who gave our guests the “Seabourn Moments” they voted for!

Lynn Narraway, Seabourn’s UK managing director, accepted the award on behalf of the line. Here is a photo from the ceremony held last week at the Soho House in London.

(L-R) Liz Jarvis, editor of Cruise International; Kate Huet, managing director of OneStop4; Lynn Narraway; and Gyles Brandreth, host.

Seabourn has announced a diverse line-up of prominent guest speakers who will be among those enhancing the 116-day World Cruise aboard Seabourn Quest in 2013. The speakers’ breadth of knowledge is as worldly as the cruise itself, including such notables as the sly, witty comedienne Rita Rudner, NASA astronomer Dr. Norman Caisse and satirical author Christopher Buckley. Seabourn Quest’s world cruise will depart January 6, 2013 from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and end in Venice, Italy on May 3.

Rita Rudner

Luminaries including scientists, historians, scholars, maritime experts, documentary filmmakers and politicians will share their expertise and provide valuable insights on destinations to Seabourn Quest guests during their memorable world cruise.

“This is a very exciting group of speakers with personalities and portfolios as diverse as the ports of call the cruise will visit,” said John Delaney, Seabourn’s senior vice president, marketing and sales. “Many of them specialize in the regions we visit, and their knowledge will undoubtedly enhance our guests’ cruise experiences and entertain them on their way around the globe.”

Seabourn Quest’s 2013 lineup of World Quest guest speakers and destination experts will include, among others:

Entertainment/Literature

• Rita Rudner – American comedienne, actress, screenwriter, author. She has starred in numerous television specials and performs live in the U.S. and U.K. April 27 – May 3.
• Christopher Buckley – American political satirist and novelist. March 26 – 31.

Science

• Dr. Norman Caisse – NASA engineer and astronomer who participated in a variety of space exploration projects. January 16 – 30.

Destination Experts

• Dr. Roderick A. McDonald – professor, author, Caribbean and Latin American historian. January 6 – 16.
• Dr. Michelle Craig McDonald – professor and author of Early American, Caribbean and maritime history. January 6 – 16.
• Dr. Adrian Kerr – author and historian in ancient civilizations. April 8 – 21.
• Farhana Qazi – international relations analyst and expert on Middle Eastern political conflicts.  April 12 – 23.

Military History/Foreign Relations

• Captain Peter Martin, Commander, Royal Australian Naval Reserve. – one of Australia’s few titled Masters and Commanders; maritime expert and foreign affairs scholar. February 22 – March 2.
• Col. Ralf Vargas – retired U.S. Army officer, former Chief of the NATO Situation Center, specializing in European Affairs. April 23 – May 3.

Exploration/ Geography/Ethnology

• Dr. Lawrence Blair – adventurer and documentarian whose acclaimed TV series Ring of Fire highlights his10-year exploration of Indonesia. March 1 – 23.
• Paul Deegan – mountaineer and award-winning author whose ascents include Mount Everest and other major peaks worldwide. March 9-19.

The onboard enrichment lineup augments an extensive array of daytime and nightly entertainment that ranges from dynamic, up-to-the-minute vocal revues, classical recitals, comedy, engaging quiz shows, dance classes and live music for dancing.

For more information on Seabourn’s 2013 World Cruise, please visit www.seabourn.com.

On Sunday evening, February 19, Seabourn Odyssey was sailing the Pacific Ocean some 150 miles southwest of Pago Pago, America Samoa, when the portside bridge watch spotted something in the distance. Captain Mark Dexter found no missing vessel reports, but wondered why this boat would be so far from land. He deviated from his course to investigate further and spotted a small boat adrift some miles away from the ship. As they drew closer, they saw three men jumping and frantically waving their clothing, clearly trying to catch the attention of Seabourn Odyssey. The ship deployed one of its rescue boats and, after determining that they were no threat, rescued three fishermen who had been lost at sea for nearly three weeks! The crew transferred them to the rescue boat and took them to the ship, where they were immediately checked out by the ship’s doctor. While they were dehydrated, hungry and had a few skin sores from the sun, the three men were in surprisingly good health considering they had been drifting at sea for weeks.

They shared their story that evening: they set out to sea from Apia in Western Samoa in early February with the goal of bringing back a chest full of fresh seafood. Unfortunately, they ran out of fuel and drifted further and further away, surviving on their catch of fish and rain water. They had no distress flares, nor any means of radio communication other than a cell phone. Days turned into weeks and they saw no ships until Seabourn Odyssey. They could only hope that the ship would see them and luckily, it did. If Odyssey had been passing in darkness an hour later, the ending might have been tragically different.

The fishermen gave the ship a contact for their employer. When the ship gave him the news, he burst into tears. The men’s families had given up hope and were preparing funerals for them, believing them lost at sea. Those plans have obviously changed and they will be preparing a festive “welcome home” celebration instead!  Seabourn Odyssey contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, which had stopped searching for the missing men, assuming the boat had sunk. The ship arrived in Pago Pago the next morning and the fortunate men were turned over to authorities, who assisted in transferring them home to Western Samoa the following day.

During the rescue efforts, Captain Dexter kept his guests informed of the situation. They were so moved by the men’s ordeal that they opened their hearts and wallets. When the fishermen disembarked in Pago Pago, they each received $800, collected from among the guests–money that they can use to purchase a new boat. What an incredibly thoughtful gesture from our guests!

Thanks to the watchful eyes of Seabourn Odyssey’s bridge watch, and the curiosity of Captain Dexter, the three fishermen were saved and will live to tell their terrifying tale. This is the second rescue involving a Seabourn ship in less than a year. It is another example of the amazing skills of our seagoing staff and the timeless code of seamen to look out for each other, which does not change from generation to generation. As the Coast Guard captain put it: “the PV Seabourn Odyssey and its crew deserve a Bravo Zulu for securing these fishermen’s lives!”

The rescue boat approaches the fishermen.

A small boat in the world’s largest ocean.

Safe and sound! They’re never letting go of those water bottles!

For the second year in a row, Seabourn’s intimate, luxury cruise ships sailed to the top of Condé Nast Traveler’s prestigious list of the world’s 100 best cruise ships, based on scores achieved in the magazine’s annual Readers’ Choice poll. Seabourn’s fleet dominated the survey, occupying five of the top seven spots. Once again, Seabourn Odyssey was the highest-rated small cruise ship, with Seabourn Pride coming in second. Seabourn Sojourn ranked fourth, and Seabourn Legend and Seabourn Spirit rounded out the top seven. Seabourn Quest, which debuted to rave reviews in June of 2011, was not included in the poll but is a sister ship to the top rated Odyssey.

“These honors truly belong to Seabourn’s hardworking crew” said Richard Meadows, Seabourn’s president. “We’re extremely proud of them, and we know that these rankings are a direct result of the exceptional way they care for our guests.”

The list, published in the magazine’s February issue, outlines the scores of each ship in a variety of categories, including service, itineraries, food and dining, activities, design and layout, and more. Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Sojourn and Seabourn Legend received the highest scores in three categories: 93.5 for design/layout, 97.1 for cabins, and 98.8 for food/dining, respectively.

We can’t say it enough: THANK YOU to our extraordinary staff for their hard work and dedication. We’re very honored to receive this recognition.

By now you are surely aware that in June, Seabourn was voted the World’s Best Small-Ship Cruise Line by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine for the third consecutive year. John Delaney, Seabourn’s senior vice president of marketing & sales, went to Los Angeles to accept the award at the ceremony on behalf of everyone at Seabourn. We finally got a picture of the ceremony, and here it is.

Travel + Leisure Editor-in-Chief Nancy Novogrod, John Delaney and T+L VP/Publisher Jean-Paul Kyrillos

The new Seabourn Quest will embark on a 116-day World Cruise in 2013, visiting an array of exotic destinations in the South Pacific, Australia, Indonesia and Southeast Asia, India, Arabia and the Mediterranean.  The ship will depart Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on January 6, 2013, and traverse the globe westbound, arriving in Venice, Italy on May 3, 2013.

Travelers sailing on the entire World Cruise will visit 51 ports in 27 countries on six continents. They’ll have the chance to see world famous marquee ports and hidden gems, and can also overnight in some of the world’s greatest cities.  The itinerary also includes a number of destinations that are either maiden calls or ports that the line has not visited in years, such as Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji; Kuto, Ile des Pins and Nouméa, Grande Terre in New Caledonia and Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

We’re pleased to offer a value-packed menu of complimentary benefits and amenities for full world cruise guests, including:

• A pre-cruise Gala Bon Voyage event and luxury overnight stay in Ft. Lauderdale
• Special shoreside events and exclusive complimentary shore excursions
• Personal Valet luggage shipping service of up to 150 pounds
• Shipboard credits of $2,500 per guest
• Private car transfers, including door-to-door from the guests’ homes
• Complimentary round-trip business class air or $2,500 air credit
• Onboard gala celebrations
• A variety of special gifts.

Rates for the full 116-day world cruise begin at $49,640 per person, based on double occupancy.  For guests who cannot sail on the entire 116-day voyage, shorter segments ranging from 21 to 90 days are also available, with rates starting at $11,350 per person, based on double occupancy, that also include certain complimentary amenities.  Check out the entire 116-day itinerary here.

Have you ever sailed on a Seabourn World Cruise?  What is your most memorable experience?

If you’re making travel plans for the end of this year or early next year and still deciding where to go, here is a suggestion: South America.  Between October 2011 and January 2012, Seabourn Sojourn will sail around this continent on a series of cruises, including two 17-day Treasures of the Inca Coast voyages between Ft. Lauderdale and Valparaiso, Chile, and six 14-day Patagonian Passage voyages to the picturesque Chilean Fjords, Cape Horn and the Falkland Islands between Valparaiso and Buenos Aires, Argentina.  This continent is filled with stunning natural beauty, classic colonial cities, majestic ancient monuments, and exciting adventures that will undoubtedly leave visitors with unforgettable memories and experiences they’ll cherish forever.

One of the highlights is the famed Torres del Paine National Park, located in Chilean Patagonia.  A designated UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, the park centers around an alpine massif of three imposing granite towers, reaching more than 10,000 feet, together with several lesser horns formed of black shale, and a variety of glaciers, lakes, and wild rivers. Here is a snapshot of the park taken earlier this year.

There is so much more to see and experience on this beautiful continent, and we hope you’ll be able to join us on one of our voyages this year!  Stay tuned for more posts about South America!

Have you seen our new 2012-2013 catalogue yet? You can now view “The Cruise Collection” online and start planning your Seabourn vacation!  As you peruse through the colorful brochure, you can save pages as favorites, print out pages or sections, and even email the entire brochure or just pages you’re interested in. You can also share information from the catalogue on Facebook and Twitter.

Check out our e-brochure here.