Seabourn Pursuit cruise ship review: An luxury expedition vessel

Overview of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn Pursuit is one of the world’s newest and most elegant expedition ships.

Like all expedition ships, it’s specifically designed and equipped to get travelers to remote and hard-to-reach places like Antarctica that most people never get to see.

For starters, it’s built to be inordinately tough. Its strengthened hull allows it to bump through ice in polar regions, and its unusually large fuel tanks and food storage areas allow it to operate for long periods in remote areas without reprovisioning.

Additionally, it travels with its own landing craft — small rubber Zodiac boats — to get passengers ashore in remote areas. It also carries other adventure gear for exploring remote areas, including kayaks, snorkeling equipment and scuba gear, and it has two submarines for exploring deep underwater.

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What I loved about Seabourn Pursuit

Its elegant and upscale onboard experience

Seabourn Pursuit offers an elegant and upscale onboard experience that is unlike almost anything else found in the expedition cruise space. Its onboard venues, including its restaurants, lounges and spa, are beautifully designed, as is typical for Seabourn ships. It also sails with an extraordinarily high ratio of crew to passengers, allowing for high service levels (on my sailing, the ratio was exactly one-to-one, with 238 crew and 238 passengers).

Essentially, what Seabourn has done with Seabourn Pursuit is create an expedition ship that mimics the luxury feel of its traditional ocean ships. Or, to put it another way, Seabourn Pursuit is a luxury ship with all the adventure-focused trappings of expedition cruising overlaid on top.

What I didn’t love about Seabourn Pursuit

The high passenger count

Seabourn Pursuit can carry up to 264 passengers — a large number in the expedition cruise ship space. The newest ships from two of the best-known expedition cruise operators, Lindblad Expeditions and Ponant, by contrast, carry just 126 passengers and 184 passengers, respectively. New ships from Aurora Expeditions are built to hold 132 people. In expedition cruising, this sort of differential in passenger capacity is a big deal. It can make a considerable difference in the quality of the expedition cruise experience.

The more passengers an expedition ship has on board, the more its expedition guides have to break them up into separate groups for landings, slowing down the process of exploring at any single landing site. The result is that passengers on smaller ships often get to see more wildlife and scenery up close than passengers on bigger ships. This is particularly true in polar destinations such as Antarctica, where passenger landings are restricted to 100 people at a time.

Seabourn Pursuit cabins and suites

Picking a room on Seabourn Pursuit isn’t as complicated as it is on some ships. There is basically just one main cabin category that accounts for the vast majority of the 132 accommodations on board: the Veranda Suite.

On paper, there are five categories of Veranda Suites, but all the rooms in these categories — 101 in all — are basically the same, with the only difference between them being their location. Higher-category Veranda Suites are toward the middle of the ship, which is considered more desirable. Lower-category Veranda Suites are toward the front of the ship.

My cabin was one of the lower-category Veranda Suites toward the front of Deck 6, and just like the higher-category Veranda Suites, it measured 355 square feet — a generous amount for an expedition ship cabin. That space included a 78-square-foot balcony area, the same as you’ll find with higher-category Veranda Suites.

As with all Veranda Suites, my room featured a queen-size bed that could be split into two twin beds, a built-in cabinet and wall-mounted TV opposite the bed and an adjacent seating area with a sofa, a chair and a built-in desk. There was also a walk-in closet and a bathroom.

Decor-wise, it was a lovely cabin with all the high-end finishings and amenities you would expect on a luxury ship. The look was contemporary and residential, with synthetic walnut and bronze cabinetry topped with expensive marble, quality bone white furnishings, patterned mocha and bone carpeting and walls covered in faux parchment.

I particularly liked the custom bedside panels with perfectly placed built-in bedside lights and foldaway reading lamps controlled by vintagelike toggle switches. The bed itself was opulent, with a super-comfortable mattress and high-end sheets. Each side of the bed was topped with three large white pillows that, from top to bottom, were extra firm, firm and soft (as explained on a pillow menu). Two red patterned throws and a sumptuous faux fur pillow rounded out the high-end look.

Among thoughtful touches to the room were its heated compartment for fast-drying wet clothing after Zodiac landings and Swarovski Optik binoculars to borrow during the voyage. A minibar was also stocked with almost any drink I wanted. (Though the one drink I wanted most in my cabin, a morning coffee, was unavailable. Unlike many cabins on high-end ships, the room had no espresso maker.)

On a practical note, the room was loaded with power outlets of all sorts — enough to keep even the most device-laden traveler fully charged. The bedside panels on both sides of the bed had both U.S.-style 110-volt and European-style 220-volt outlets, as well as two USB ports (alas, there were no fast-charging USB-C ports, something that is increasingly standard on new ships). More outlets and USB ports were located at the desk area and above the cabinet across from the bed.

If there was a flaw to the room’s design, it was its storage space, which seemed to take a back seat to the overall look. The built-in cabinet across from the bed was stylish but too narrow to be practical. The desk across from the sofa lacked drawers that would have made it more functional — no doubt to keep its minimalist line.

More notably, perhaps, the room’s walk-in closet was just a tad too narrow to be fully functional. It offered lots of room for hanging clothes on one side but was light on shelving for sweaters, folded shirts and the like — the result of a significant amount of its space having been left open so that passengers could walk into it. A less elegant but more practical use of this block of space would have been to forgo the idea of a walk-in closet and create large built-in wardrobes that opened from the outside.

The same sort of style-over-practicality in design was evident in the bathroom. It was a beautiful space with marble tile walls and floors, a built-in marble vanity and high-end Grohe fixtures, but it wasn’t optimally designed for function. Despite being larger than the typical cruise ship bathroom, it had a comically tiny shower (so tiny it was an exercise in contortion to soap up) and lacked a single drawer for hiding away toiletries. The only storage was three impractically small and narrow shelves to the side of the vanity and several hard-to-reach shelves tucked under the corners of the vanity.

The bathroom also contained a bathtub that few people would use. A bathtub is a nice touch when there is room for one, but in this case, there wasn’t. The bathtub ate up the space that could have allowed for a bigger shower — something everyone expects these days.

For those who want something more spacious than a standard Veranda Suite such as mine (and are willing to pay significantly more for the privilege), Seabourn Pursuit also has more than two dozen larger suites — a few truly spectacular.

The most over-the-top suites on the ship, by far, are its two Wintergarden Suites. Measuring a whopping 1,175 square feet, they are two-story-high apartments that each have an expansive living area on their lower floors and a stunning bedroom with a bed facing floor-to-ceiling glass walls on their upper floors. Both of the suites can be combined with an adjacent Veranda Suite to create an even larger two-bedroom complex that measures 1,605 square feet.

Also spectacular are the ship’s two rear-facing Signature Suites, which fill up the entire back of Deck 8. Each of the suites measures 1,380 square feet, not including its balcony, and has a massive living area overlooking the ship’s wake in addition to a bedroom. Each also has a seemingly endless wraparound balcony with its own Jacuzzi and elegant lounge furniture.

Seabourn Pursuit restaurants and bars

As is typical for small ships, Seabourn Pursuit has just a handful of eateries. Still, it manages to offer a wide range of cuisines with rotating theme nights in one of its restaurants. Several bars and lounges offer a diversity of drink choices.

Restaurants

Seabourn Pursuit has two main restaurants: The Restaurant and The Colonnade.

The Restaurant is the more formal of the two, offering a fine dining experience in a stylish space filled with custom-designed, modern Italian furniture and bronze-framed wine displays.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, The Restaurant offers classic cuisine such as eggs Benedict in the morning and grilled snapper and beef tenderloin in the evening.

The Colonnade is a more casual alternative eatery that offers a buffet service for breakfast and lunch (augmented with some a la carte menu items that you can order from your waiter). It then transforms into a waiter-served sit-down restaurant at dinnertime.

The Colonnade’s cuisine at dinner changes daily, offering passengers a more diverse dining experience in the evenings than one might expect from a ship with just two restaurants. One night, it’ll have a French focus, the next, Spanish. When I was on board, nights devoted to Australian, Thai, Italian and American cuisines were also on the schedule.

Additionally, on several nights of each cruise, The Colonnade morphs into a pop-up eatery called Earth & Ocean that offers an eclectic mix of dishes inspired by the places the ship visits around the world.

The Colonnade has both indoor and outdoor seating, with the outdoor area known as The Patio. Seabourn touts The Patio in its marketing material as a separate eatery, but it’s not really.

In addition to the above, passengers will find sushi made to order every evening in The Club, one of the ship’s bars. A nod to the popular sushi eateries found on Seabourn’s bigger ships, the sushi dishes at The Club can be something you order as an appetizer before heading to The Restaurant or The Colonnade for dinner, or they can be your full meal. Just note the sushi menu is relatively limited.

You’ll also find quick grab-and-go bites available during the day in The Bow Lounge, a small, unstaffed lounge space overlooking the ship’s bow. It has a refrigerator stocked with small portions of salads and wraps in glass containers. The Bow Lounge also has a self-serve espresso machine for cappuccinos, lattes and other espresso drinks.

Additional small bites are available throughout the day at Seabourn Square, a living roomlike lounge space that is home to the ship’s main coffee bar, guest services desks, games tables and a library area.

Along with barista-made coffee drinks, Seabourn Square’s European-style coffee bar serves pastries in the morning and small sandwiches, homemade cookies and desserts during the day. It’s also one of two places on the ship where you’ll find lovely homemade gelati — the other being The Colonnade (at lunchtime).

Should the above options not be enough to keep you satiated, you can always order room service. Seabourn Pursuit offers in-suite dining around the clock, with an all-day menu of six starters, a dozen mains and various desserts. The menu is a mix of casual items such as sandwiches and burgers and more elegant dishes such as a Black Angus New York steak. During dinner hours, passengers can also order anything they want off the day’s The Restaurant menu.

In general, the cuisine on board Seabourn Pursuit is high-end but nothing that will leave you wowed. Dishes in The Restaurant skew to classic continental fare that is traditional and safe, with relatively simple plating. A typical night might bring such main dishes as a filet of red snapper draped over cooked Swiss chard with piped mashed potatoes on the side or slices of pork tenderloin over polenta with vegetables. The choices don’t typically include anything overly innovative. On my sailing, the execution was also hit-or-miss.

Additionally, for those who like flavorful food, be warned that dishes at both The Restaurant and The Colonnade come out very unseasoned — that is, they are very light on salt, pepper, herbs and spices. This is by design, as Seabourn has many older customers who are on low-sodium diets or have other health or taste concerns for which they have requested blander dishes. Still, it could be a turnoff if you’re the type of luxury traveler who travels in part for distinctive culinary experiences.

Foodies also should note that the complimentary wines included with meals are more down-market than you might expect for a luxury ship. On my sailing across Australia’s Kimberley region, the ship was serving a 19 Crimes shiraz as its main red on some nights that retails in Australia for under 10 Australian dollars (about $6.70). Tastewise, it was about what you’d expect at that price point.

There are plenty of wonderful wines on Seabourn Pursuit, for sure. But for the most part, they’re only available with an upcharge.

One standout element of Seabourn Pursuit’s culinary offerings is its breakfast buffet in The Colonnade. I loved such luxury touches as the giant juice machine for making fresh orange juice to order; the wide array of available fruits, including fresh berries (something you generally only find at breakfast buffets on luxury lines); the array of homemade breads; and the congee station.

Bars

If you’re heading out for a drink in the evening on Seabourn Pursuit, you’re probably heading to one of three places: the Expedition Lounge, the Constellation Lounge or The Club.

Just outside the ship’s theater, where expedition-related briefings take place, the Expedition Lounge is a cozy space that evokes the age of exploration with steam trunk-inspired leather and fabric furnishings. Anchored by two fireplaces with faux flames, with a bar tucked into the wall in between, it lacks a menu of signature drinks, but its bartenders will make you whatever you desire.

Given its location, the Expedition Lounge is popular as a drinking spot just before and after the evening expedition briefing.

Five decks higher at the top front of the ship, the Constellation Lounge is a classic observation lounge with stunning 270-degree views through floor-to-ceiling glass walls. As its name suggests, it takes its theme from the night sky with carpets and cushions patterned from the constellations. Even the lighting follows the theme, with dozens of ceiling-mounted lightbulbs mimicking the stars above.

Unlike the Expedition Lounge, the Constellation Lounge has live music every night (on my sailing, it was a singing and guitar-playing duo), and it’s also home to a signature cocktail menu designed by mixologist Brian Van Flandern — a well-known drinks creator. In the early evening, it offers a self-serve buffet of tapas along its back wall.

The Club, on the same deck as the Constellation Lounge but at the back of the ship, is another cozy space with a faux fireplace and warm, residential furnishings. As noted above, it features sushi made to order in the evenings. It also has a signature drinks menu with an array of sake-infused Saketinis, as well as handcrafted cocktails with such names as Smokin’ Margarita and Honey Dew Wop.

Like the Constellation Lounge, The Club has live music nightly. During my sailing, it was home to a piano player.

Because of its made-to-order sushi bites, which are popular, The Club is always the busiest of the bars at night. There were times in the early evening when I had trouble finding a table.

The Club also has the most interesting cocktail menu on the ship. That said, in general, the cocktails on Seabourn Pursuit aren’t as cutting edge as what you’ll find at high-end cocktail lounges on land, despite the brand’s relationship with mixologist Van Flandern. You’re not going to find sophisticated garnishes, handmade bitters, smokers for infusions or unusually shaped ice cubes as you do nowadays at upmarket cocktail bars on land. The bartenders don’t appear particularly steeped in cocktail culture.

Seabourn Pursuit activities

As is typical for expedition ships, the activities on Seabourn Pursuit revolve heavily around experiencing and learning about the wildlife and natural wonders of the mostly remote destinations that the vessel visits.

Seabourn Pursuit sails with a 24-member expedition team that includes experts in geology, marine biology, ornithology, local cultures and other topics of relevance. The team leads outings for exploring, typically by Zodiac boat, and lectures on board about what passengers are seeing on such outings.

A typical day in Antarctica, for instance, might include a Zodiac landing to see penguins, a secondary Zodiac outing to cruise coastal waters in search of whales and icebergs, and an onboard lecture on the history of Antarctic exploration.

In Australia’s Kimberley, a typical day might bring a Zodiac cruise down a mangrove-lined river in search of crocodiles or an up-close look at the region’s otherwordly red rock formations, followed by a lecture on the region’s thousands-of-years-old Indigenous Australian rock art.

The hub for such activities is the Discovery Center, a theaterlike space used for daily lectures, recaps of the day’s explorations and briefings on the next day’s off-ship exploring.

Seabourn Pursuit also has two side-by-side mud rooms (called The Landing Zone) with lockers where passengers can change, clean and store their boots and gear following excursions.

Just off the mud rooms are the side-of-the-ship portways where passengers board Zodiacs for the daily outings.

Seabourn Pursuit sails with a fleet of 24 Zodiacs for such outings, stored at the very top of the ship and lowered by cranes during landing operations. The ship also carries eight sea kayaks for included-in-the-fare kayaking tours, snorkel gear for snorkeling during outings and two submarines for extra-charge underwater exploration. The latter is still relatively rare on expedition ships.

Both kayaks and submarines are used on the ship’s Antarctica and South Pacific sailings but not in the Kimberley. The presence of crocodiles in the Kimberley makes the use of kayaks risky. Other factors, such as strong tides, keep Seabourn from using the submarines in the Kimberley.

In addition to the above, Seabourn Pursuit offers complimentary scuba diving sessions led by an onboard divemaster in select warm-water destinations in the South Pacific.

While expedition cruise-style adventure is the focus of trips on Seabourn Pursuit, the vessel also offers traditional cruise ship allures such as a sun deck with an infinity pool, two whirlpools and chaise lounges at the back of Deck 5. More chaise lounges are located at the backs of Deck 6 and Deck 7. There are two more whirlpools at the back of Deck 9.

Seabourn Pursuit also has a small but elegant spa and wellness center with four treatment rooms (including a room for couples treatments), separate men’s and women’s saunas that offer stunning views of the ocean through floor-to-ceiling windows, a hair and nail salon and a small fitness room.

Just be prepared to pay up for spa services. As is often the case on cruise ships, particularly luxury cruise ships, the pricing is sky-high. A 50-minute facial, for instance, will cost you about $270, including an 18% gratuity that is automatically added to bills.

Unlike on Seabourn’s bigger ocean ships, there is no casino on Seabourn Pursuit. Seabourn regulars also will notice the ship lacks a back-of-the-ship marina or a secondary pool area.

Another difference with Seabourn’s bigger ocean ships is its open-bridge policy. On most days, while the ship is underway, passengers can visit the bridge at will and watch it in operation. This is more common on expedition ships than on bigger traditional vessels.

Seabourn Pursuit itineraries and pricing

Seabourn Pursuit currently spends its summers in the Kimberley region of Australia and its winters in Antarctica. In both cases, the ship operates expedition-style trips that revolve around landings to see wildlife and scenery.

Seabourn Pursuit also offers a few one-off sailings across the South Pacific and down the coast of Chile in the spring and fall, traveling between the Kimberley region of Australia and Antarctica.

The Kimberley sailings are mostly 10-night trips that follow one-way routings between Broome and Darwin, Australia. The Antarctica sailings range from 11 to 21 nights in length, with the longer sailings including visits to South Georgia Island and the Falkland Islands.

Fares start at $8,499 per person, based on double occupancy, for a 10-night Kimberley cruise.

An 11-night Antarctica trip that includes 10 nights on the ship and a night at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, starts at $8,498 per person.

What to know before you go

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Bottom line

Seabourn Pursuit is one of the most elegant and upscale expedition ships currently sailing the world’s oceans. Like all Seabourn ships, it features lovely interior venues designed by noted hospitality design firm TIhany Design, and it has spacious, high-end accommodations, including some truly spectacular suites. It sails with a large number of crew to passengers, ensuring high levels of service. If you’re looking to explore the ice-filled coast of Antarctica or the rugged shores of Australia’s rugged Kimberley region in the utmost style and are willing to pay up for the privilege, this could be the ship for you.

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