The submarines are gone
This belongs before everything else, because it is the argument that sold
these two ships. Each carried two seven-seat crewed submarines. Seabourn
announced the programme's withdrawal on 20 February 2026, effective at the end
of the 2025-2026 Antarctic season. The company gives three reasons: lower
guest take-up than expected, heavy maintenance and recertification, and
tightening regulation in several operating regions.
Two honest qualifications. The dives were an optional paid activity, not an
inclusion, so their withdrawal changes nothing in the fare. And the rest of
the programme stands: twenty-four inflatables, eight sea kayaks and guided
hikes ashore, run by an expedition team of around two dozen specialists.
The ship
The Seabourn Pursuit is the sister of the
Seabourn Venture: same Italian yard, the same
one hundred and seventy metres by twenty-six, the same twenty-three thousand
gross tons, the same one hundred and thirty-two suites, all outside with
balconies, five of them wheelchair accessible. Two hundred and sixty-four
guests, one hundred and twenty crew, an expedition team of around two dozen
specialists, a PC6 polar-class hull, twenty-four inflatables and eight sea
kayaks.
Her entry into service followed the same bumpy path as her sister's.
Announced for May 2022, then for December of that year, it finally happened in
August 2023. That is more than a year off the original schedule, and it
affected guests who had already booked.
One hundred and eight dates, and a ramp
The Pursuit carries one hundred and eight departure dates with us: seventeen
in 2026, thirty-six in 2027, forty-nine in 2028. That is the smallest inventory
among the Seabourn ships still in service, which follows from the nature of
expedition work, where a season holds fewer departures than a Mediterranean
one.
What is included, and what is not
Seabourn is clear on this, and that deserves saying because not every line
is. Gratuities are neither required nor expected. Premium spirits and wines
are served on board at all times at no extra charge. Every restaurant is
included, with no exceptions and no cover charge. Starlink satellite Wi-Fi is
included, in unlimited-minute packages. Caviar is included. Your suite bar is
stocked to your preferences.
What is not included fits in one line, and it is the one to remember: shore
excursions and the Ventures by Seabourn programme are charged separately. On
an expedition voyage that is the item that can weigh most after the fare
itself. Get the list before you sail.
Elsewhere in the fleet
For a classic ship from the same line, the
Ovation carries the largest inventory and the
Seabourn Quest runs to Antarctica regularly.
The fleet has numbered five since 2026.
Booking from Quebec
The contract repays a careful reading, because it is markedly less
favourable than several competitors'. The carrier is Holland America Line
Limited, which has operated the Seabourn ships since 17 December 2024. United
States maritime law applies, and where it does not, the law of the State of
Washington.
A personal injury or death claim goes to the United States District Court
for the Western District of Washington at Seattle, or a court in King County.
Every other claim goes to binding arbitration in that same
county. And the contract imposes a class-action waiver: you sue alone, never
as a group.
The notice periods are the shortest we have recorded on this site. Six
months for injury or death. Fifteen days for any other claim.
One year to file suit, ninety days to serve. Fifteen days go quickly once you
are home: write the disembarkation date down somewhere.
The carrier also reserves the right to cancel the cruise or deviate from
the route, ports and timetable, for any reason and without notice. Nothing
establishes a Quebec licence for it. Your protection comes from here: Voyages
AquaTerra holds a licence from the Office de la protection du consommateur,
your payments pass through a trust account, and your departure is covered by
the compensation fund for travel agency customers.