Seabourn has added more lecturers and naturalists to the expedition staff on the line’s “Ultimate Antarctica & Patagonia” cruises, rounding out an experienced team that will offer guests insights and knowledge of the White Continent during its series of four 21- to 24-day voyages aboard Seabourn Quest beginning in November of 2013. Collectively, the 15-member expedition team represents more than 100 years of work, research and involvement in Antarctic matters.

Expedition Leader Robin West

The combined experience of the senior team alone, which includes Captain Bjarne Larsen, Program Manager Victoria Wheatley, Expedition Leader Robin West, and Assistant Expedition Leaders Jarda Versloot-West and Chris Srigley, amounts to more than 225 Antarctic expeditions. In addition, Wheatley currently serves on the U.S. delegation to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM), and four of the lecturers have also been involved with ATCM.

New additions to the team include Dr. Roger Hewitt, who has lead expeditions and surveys in Antarctica for more than 15 years; Dr. Jason Hicks, a geologist who will discuss the geology and glaciology of South America and Antarctica; Meriwether Gill, who will share her passion of marine wildlife; Pat and Rosemarie Keough, award-winning photographers who will provide expert photography tips and advice to guests; and many more.

“We are pleased to have an expedition team with as much experience, knowledge and passion of Antarctica as this team,” said Richard Meadows, Seabourn president. “Experience really counts on an Antarctic voyage because daily activities are planned around changing conditions, and changeable wildlife patterns. A team such as ours, with such broad-based expertise, will help ensure that Seabourn’s guests get the most out of every day in Antarctica.”

Seabourn Quest, one of the most luxurious ships ever to take guests to Antarctica, will carry an expedition team including six lecturers, four naturalists, three expedition specialists and two award-winning photographers, who will share their knowledge, guidance and passion for Antarctica during each cruise. The team will accompany guests during landings to add valuable insights to the adventure, and the photographers will offer digital photography coaching to help guests capture exciting wildlife images and the visual splendor of the White Continent.

Please visit our website to read more about the entire Antarctic expedition team and their background and qualifications.

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.

This winter season, Seabourn Spirit sailed to South America for the first time, circling around this diverse region that is home to some of the world’s most beautiful natural wonders and magnificent landscapes.  One of the most memorable “calls” took place in February, when Spirit sailed to Cape Horn, the southernmost part of South America.  (more…)