Cruise to Antarctica – Seabourn Style

Goldring Travel specializes in selling luxury travel experiences.  A cruise to Antarctica with landings ashore with some of the most experienced and knowledgeable naturalists and lecturers in the world…and then returning to your luxury ship to enjoy a champagne and caviar toast to each day’s experiences upon return to your suite is about as life-fulfilling a luxury travel experience as you can have!




Seabourn’s Holiday Antarctic Voyage Itinerary

There will be a total of four Antarctic cruises of 21 or 24 days – the first departing November 20, 2013…right after the 2013 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise (what I a perfect way to start off!), December 11, 2013 (the Holiday sailing), January 4, 2014 and January 25, 2014.  I have already booked some clients on the 2013 Christmas-New Years Holiday sailing and the more the details become available the more excited I get. 

So let’s get to the details!

On Monday I had a great conversation with John Delaney, Seabourn’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and have some details to share with you…as you get ready to call Goldring Travel to book this magnificent experience aboard the Seabourn Quest.

During the Seabourn Quest’s upcoming scheduled drydocking a couple of exciting things are going to happen:  Her hull is going to be strengthened so that she will be ice-classed and she is having Spa Penthouse Suites installed and incorporated into the Spa area (with great views overlooking the ship’s wash…talk about a fantastic vantage point for these cruises!).  Remember this a both an adventure and luxury experience!

Your first two questions are:

• Are there going to be landings and where…or are we just going to sail around like most cruises? You are going to experience five (5) days of zodiac landings and expeditions as you visit the areas surrounding King George Island, Gerlache Strait, Paradise Bay, Lemaire Channel, Hope Bay and Elephant Island among others.  Where specifically will you have your landings?  Where the real-time reports of wildlife, weather and sea conditions dictate.

• Do I have to purchase any special gear?  No.  When you board this cruise you receive a really cool Seabourn Expedition Parka designed so that you can also use it when you return home and to impress your friends.  You will also receive a backpack specially made for your cruise (I think Seabourn took my idea, as I have long given backpacks – and other goodies – to many of my clients as gifts.)  Oh, and there won’t be a need to schlep boots as Seabourn will be providing them to use during your cruise (and you get to leave them behind!). If you book your Seabourn Antarctic cruise with Goldring Travel (with its great pricing) you will also receive a high quality Canon or Nikon digital SLR camera with telephoto lens with our compliments!

And then you probably will ask:

• Is it something safe and comfortable for me to do?  While there are going to be some exciting experiences, Seabourn is well attuned to the safety and comfort of its guests, so there are going to be a number of opportunities based upon physical ability and interests.  This starts with Captain Bjarne Larsen, who with his staff, have years of experience cruising the waters of the Antarctic and Expedition Leader, Robin West, who has participated in 40 prior Antarctic voyages (including a superyacht expedition) and Assistant Expedition Leader, Jara Versloot-West, an expert on all types of expedition cruising and (not surprisingly) also has 40 prior Antarctic journeys.

• Is this cruise just for Whale Watchers and Penguin Lovers?  I have studied the Antarctic for years and while the scenery and wildlife is spectacular, the law, politics and history of this most remote place on earth is equally fascinating.  Seabourn has put together quite an ensemble of lecturers and naturalists who will give lectures and have conversations around the ship on everything from paleontology to the legal issues concerning oil spills to politics and how it effects everything from scientific work to exploitation of the Antarctic’s resources.  When you experience this region you will most certainly better appreciate the issues!

• OK, Goldring Travel is giving me this fancy-smancy camera and I don’t know what “SLR” or “telephoto” even means!  Now what?  Seabourn has you covered (like I didn’t know that!).  There will be two (2) digital photography coaches onboard the Seabourn Quest for each sailing including on the first two sailings Wolfgang Kaehler (lecturer, author, safari leader and BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year – Composition and Form for his “Penguins on Ice”) and Daniel Cox (Two cover stories for National Geographic and author if 19 books) and on the second two sailings Pat and Rosemarie Keough (winners of the World Best Photography Book and 2012 Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal).

Remember, this cruise also has an in depth exploration of the Chilean Coast as well as port calls in such places as Ushuai and Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay.

Now why should you use Goldring Travel to book this extraordinary experience?  Other than great pricing and a great camera, one of my clients who is about to depart on the Seabourn Quest’s 2013 World Cruise just wrote me this morning and said it best:

Good morning, Eric. 

Yes, you also get great service!

Prices starting at US$14,999 (+ $608.88 in taxes).  For more information or to book your Antarctic Experience contact Goldring Travel today! 

Please email me at eric@goldringtravel.com or telephone at (877) 2GO-LUXURY or in the UK: 020 8133 3450 or Australia: (07) 3102 4685 or elsewhere internationally: +1 732 578 8585.