Seabourn Expeditions: the yacht-club ship, sent to the ice
Two identical PC6 ships, 264 guests each, and Seabourn’s full bar and dining in the fare. The headline gadget is gone and the Kimberley has no season scheduled after 2027 — so check what changed before you compare.
Seabourn sells the polar trip for people who want the suite to matter. Every cabin is a veranda suite, the bar and every restaurant are in the fare, and 24 Zodiacs can take every guest out on the water at once, per Seabourn.
Three things moved in 2026. The submarines are gone, with nothing in their place. The Kimberley has no Seabourn season scheduled after 2027. And Seabourn Quest no longer runs an Antarctic season of its own.
Kayaking costs extra, and Seabourn doesn’t show its fares outside a live search. Get a quote for your exact dates before you weigh it against another line.
What’s different since the brochure you read
Tap each card for the detail and the date it took effect. Every one comes from Seabourn or the trade press.
Seabourn came to expedition cruising late and built for it properly. Venture entered service in 2022 and Pursuit on August 12, 2023, both from the T. Mariotti yard, both to PC6 Polar Class standards.
The submarines were the part everyone wrote about. They’re also the part that no longer exists.
What’s left is the core of the product — the suite, the open bar, the Zodiacs and an expedition team of 21 per voyage for the 2026–27 Antarctic season, per Seabourn’s October 2026 announcement. Older figures, 19 on the ship pages and 23 on the 2025–26 roster when submarine pilots were still aboard, come from earlier pages.
Read the ship guide for the hull itself. Then come back for the calendar.
Where the two ships go, month by month
Dark cells are the core of a season. Pale cells are shoulders, short windows or months Seabourn doesn’t break out.
The Seabourn expedition year
Built from Seabourn’s 2027–28 and 2028–29 programs. Tap a month for the voyage behind it.
With two ships, the pattern is a swing, not a puzzle. Both go south for the austral summer, from late October to early March. In the northern summer, Venture works the Arctic and the Northwest Passage while Pursuit sails the South Pacific and the Kimberley — until 2028, when both head north.
South Pacific months are shaded as limited, not peak. Seabourn publishes the window, April to September 2027, but not a month-by-month count, so we haven’t invented one.
Start with the region, then the month. Our Antarctica, Arctic, Greenland and Kimberley guides cover what each window trades away.
Inside the fare, region by region
Three ways to sail with Seabourn, ten lines that change the bill. Bold means it’s in the fare.
| Item | Antarctica | Kimberley (2027) | Grand Expedition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zodiac landings, Zodiac tours, guided hikes | Included | Included | Included |
| Snorkel gear | Where offered | Where offered; wetsuits not supplied | Where offered |
| Bar, premium spirits, fine wines, caviar | Included | Included | Included |
| Wi-Fi (Starlink) | Surf package | Included, unlimited minutes | Stream, two devices |
| Crew tipping | Not expected | Not expected | Not expected |
| Expedition parka | Parka and day pack | Not listed | Custom Polar Parka |
| Hotel and charter flights | Buenos Aires night, Ushuaia charter | Not listed | Reykjavik night, two charters |
| Kayaking | Extra | Extra | Included tours |
| International flights | Extra | Extra | Business class |
| Spa and salon | Extra, plus 18% | Extra, plus 18% | Extra, plus 18% |
The rows come from Seabourn’s 2027–28 Antarctica and 2027 Kimberley pages, its expedition excursions FAQ and the Grand Expedition 2027 page. The Buenos Aires night and the Ushuaia charter are listed for most 2027–28 Antarctic departures (one starts in San Antonio, Chile).
That charter matters. Lindblad, for one, bills its Antarctic charter flights on top.
We left the Arctic column out on purpose. The Seabourn Arctic page we tried wouldn’t load for us, so we won’t vouch for a parka or a charter there.
Ask us for the Arctic inclusions on your departure before you compare totals.
Your quote, then the rest of the bill
Price a Seabourn expedition
Seabourn shows fares only inside its live booking search. Type in the fare we quote you, then tick what you’ll add.
We found no published “from” fare we could log for these voyages on November 1, 2026, so every fare starts at $0 for you to fill in. Seabourn runs frequent sales: its Explore Beyond offer, up to $2,000 shipboard credit a suite and a reduced 15% deposit in select markets, is open to new bookings through November 16, 2026. Rows marked “not published” are priced by quote.
Look at the ticked rows, not the empty ones. On the two Antarctic voyages, the hotel, the charter and the parka sit inside the fare, which is where the real savings against other lines live.
Ask us for the kayaking and helicopter prices too. They’re the add-ons people book once aboard and forget to budget.
Ventures by Seabourn is the other fleet’s program
The included program covers the landings. These are the things that add to the bill.
| Optional extra | Where | Price published? |
|---|---|---|
| Kayak tour, about two hours | All expedition regions; eight double kayaks | No |
| Image Masters, four days | Antarctica, Kimberley; one group of ten on select sailings | No |
| Kelp Point wildlife excursion | Antarctica voyages | No |
| 74 Days to Victory, Stanley | Falklands calls | No |
| Helicopter to Mitchell Falls | Kimberley, 2027 | No |
| Mallard flight over Kuri Bay | Kimberley, 2027 | No |
| Ventures by Seabourn | Ocean ships, such as Kayak Hubbard Glacier in Alaska | No |
The name trips people up. Ventures by Seabourn began on Seabourn Quest as optional Zodiac and kayak outings led by experts, according to Seatrade Cruise News. Today it lives on ocean itineraries — Seabourn’s Alaska port pages list a Ventures kayak trip at Hubbard Glacier.
On Venture and Pursuit, the paid layer is called Optional Expeditions, not Ventures.
None of these extras shows a price on Seabourn’s pages. The Hubbard Glacier page reads “Information Not Currently Available” where the price should be.
Places are rationed, not guaranteed. Seabourn says kayaking and Image Masters fill by day and by voyage, so reserve them when you pay the deposit.
How long each region actually takes
Seabourn’s shortest and longest published voyage in each region. Switch tabs to compare.
The Kimberley and the shortest Antarctic trips both start at 10 days. Antarctica stretches to 25 once South Georgia and the Falklands come in, and the Grand Expedition is a season in itself.
Pick the length you can take off work first — the time, not the region, is usually the hard limit. Then choose the region inside it.
The cancellation clock, step by step
Insurance is recommended, not required. Seabourn’s own FAQ strongly recommends extra cover that includes evacuation, and stops there.
The CDC puts a medical evacuation from a remote place at more than $250,000. That’s the number to hold a policy against for Antarctica.
Seabourn doesn’t state a standard deposit on the pages we read. Its current sale offers a reduced 15% deposit in select markets, which tells you sale terms vary.
Compare plans in our expedition insurance guide before final payment.
A credit, not a fee
Cancel this early and Seabourn keeps $100 a guest, issued back as a Future Cruise Credit valid one year.
Final payment
The balance is due 120 days out on voyages of 21 days or fewer, and the fee jumps to 15%.
Two steep steps
The fee is 50% from 90 to 61 days and 75% from 60 to 46.
All of it
From 45 days out, or a no-show, the whole fare is gone.
The solo price, in Seabourn’s own terms
The ship pages list no solo suites. All 132 are veranda suites.
That makes the offer, not the ship, the variable worth chasing.
The Diamond Elite single-supplement offer excludes full world and grand voyages, so don’t assume a reduced rate on the Grand Expedition.
Ask us which departures carry the 125% rate this month, and book those first.
Seabourn, or a different ship
Our judgement, built on what Seabourn publishes. We earn commission from whichever line you book.
The suite and the bar are part of the trip
Every cabin is a veranda suite, every restaurant is in the fare, and nobody expects a tip at the end.
You want Antarctica without the flight logistics
Most 2027–28 Antarctic departures bundle the Buenos Aires hotel night and the charter to Ushuaia.
You can only take one long trip this decade
The 96-day Pole to Pole voyage leaves Reykjavik on August 17, 2028, and ends in Ushuaia.
The submarine was the reason
It’s gone. Scenic and Viking are the lines to price for a dive.
You want naturalists over service
Seabourn sells the suite first. Lindblad leads with its guides and photographers.
You’re traveling with young children
The minimum age is 6. Lindblad takes infants from 6 months on most voyages.
You want the Kimberley after 2027
Seabourn’s 2028–29 program lists none. Scenic sends Eclipse II to the Kimberley in 2028.
You’re comparing all-suite polar ships
Price Silversea beside Seabourn on the same dates. It’s the closest match we’d put up.
What people ask before booking Seabourn
Do Seabourn's expedition ships still have submarines?
No. Seabourn told travel partners it was ending the program in a message reported on February 20, 2026, and the subs on Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit came out of service at the end of the 2025–26 Antarctic season. Seabourn cited lower-than-expected participation, the specialist upkeep and recertification, and tightening regulations. Nothing replaced them; Seabourn says it is putting the weight on Zodiac cruising, hikes and snorkeling instead. Any listing that still sells a dive is out of date.
What does a Seabourn expedition fare include?
On the Antarctica and Kimberley pages we read: all dining venues and caviar, premium spirits and fine wines, an in-suite bar, Starlink-powered Surf Wi-Fi, daily briefings and fireside chats, the Polar Plunge and Caviar on the Ice, and no expected tipping. Zodiac landings, Zodiac tours, guided hikes and snorkel gear are included on every expedition voyage. Antarctica adds an expedition parka and day pack, and Seabourn’s 2027–28 Antarctic departures each include a pre-cruise Buenos Aires hotel and charter flights to Ushuaia.
Is kayaking included on a Seabourn expedition?
Usually not. Seabourn’s expedition excursions FAQ lists kayaking and the Image Masters photography program as optional and for a charge, with eight double kayaks per ship and limited places. The exception is the Grand Expedition, which builds kayak tours into the fare. Seabourn doesn’t publish the kayaking price, so ask us for it on your departure.
Is Seabourn still sailing the Kimberley?
2027 is the last season Seabourn has scheduled. Seabourn Pursuit runs four 10-day Kimberley departures between May and August 2027, according to Seatrade Cruise News. Seabourn’s 2028–29 program lists no Kimberley voyages and moves Pursuit to the Arctic for its first season there, and a Seabourn spokesperson told Cruise Passenger the change was about Arctic demand, not Kimberley performance.
When is final payment due, and what does cancelling cost?
For voyages of 21 days or fewer, final payment is due 120 days before departure. On bookings made since December 17, 2024, cancelling 121 or more days out costs $100 a guest, returned as a Future Cruise Credit; then 15% from 120 to 91 days, 50% from 90 to 61, 75% from 60 to 46, and 100% from 45 days. Longer voyages have earlier final-payment dates (150 or 180 days) and their own fee schedule; ask us for yours. Sale offers can set their own dates.
How old do you have to be for a Seabourn expedition?
Six. Seabourn’s age policy says expeditions require guests to be at least 6 years old. Its ocean voyages allow infants from 6 months, or 12 months on remote itineraries.
Does Seabourn Quest still go to Antarctica?
Not on a regular season. Seabourn’s 2027–28 and 2028–29 Antarctic programs are sailed by Venture and Pursuit. Quest’s one scheduled Antarctic visit is the 120-day Cape to Cape World Cruise, leaving Miami on January 7, 2028, which includes Zodiac cruising and hiking in Antarctica.
Weighing Venture against another line? We’ll price both, all in.
Tell us the region, the month and who’s coming. We’ll pull Seabourn’s live fare, the kayaking and flight costs it doesn’t publish, and put the full total beside the line you’re comparing.
- The live fare and any sale on your departure
- Kayak, helicopter and Image Masters prices
- Which 125% solo offers are open
No fee, no obligation. You pay the cruise line’s own fare. A real advisor replies, usually within one business day.
Ask about Seabourn expeditions
Answers come straight from this guide.
Answers come from our guides and are general information. Confirm details with us before you book.
Where each claim came from
Inclusions, terms, seasons and ship figures are Seabourn’s own published material on the date shown, with trade press for fleet changes. The fit verdicts, the region comparisons and our reading of what is stale are our judgement, not Seabourn’s. Seabourn publishes no fares outside its live search, so this page quotes none; your invoice governs.
Where to go next
The voyage, the gateway night, and the cover that matters out there.
Expedition trips have more moving parts than a Caribbean week: a charter flight, a night in a gateway city, gear lists and an evacuation clause the line sets for you. We book them together and check that the dates and the fine print agree.