Seabourn Unveils 2023 Northeast and Northwest Passage Voyages

By Susan J. Young Dec 15, 2021 1:40pm

For summer 2023, Seabourn is introducing voyages for its two new, PC6 polar-class expedition ships, Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit. Highlights include the line’s first voyages ever to both the Northeast Passage and Northwest Passage in the Arctic. These and other summer 2023 voyages are available for sale starting today, December 15, 2021.

Northeast Passage

Seabourn Venture will depart July 29, 2023, for a 26-day journey across the Northeast Passage from Tromso, Norway, to Nome, Alaska, across the top of Norway and Arctic Russia.

On this cruise, passengers will search for marine life and polar bears on Wrangel Island; observe seabirds nesting on cliffs and tundra slopes; and see how the region is transforming via climate change. Among the destinations visited will be:

Storstappen Island, Norway, a hotspot for hundreds of thousands of breeding seabirds
Murmansk, Russia with activities that include a visit to the Nuclear Icebreaker Lenin
Novaya Zemlya, Russia, for hiking, kayaking and Zodiac trips
Franz Joseph Land, an archipelago of 192 islands in the Russian Arctic National Park, and a chance to spot polar bears, Atlantic walruses, bowhead whales, and ivory gulls
Provideniya, Russia, the former Soviet military port, for a tour that visits a museum and the Cultural Center for tea, music and dance

Northwest Passage

Launching in March 2023, sister ship, Seabourn Pursuit, will offer a 21-day adventure to the Northwest Passage departing August 27, 2023, from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to Nome, Alaska, with guests traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across the top of the world.

Notable experiences for this voyage will include exploring small Inuit towns such as Cambridge Bay; seeing the ice of Bellot Strait, where the ship must navigate a narrow, challenging sea passage; visiting the resting sites of the Franklin Expedition on the wild and stark Beechy Island; and searching for marine life and wildlife.

Seabourn Pursuit will visit many destinations such as:

Sisimiut, Greenland’s second-largest city with the best-preserved historic church in the country
Ilulissat, which in Greenlandic means “iceberg,” located at the terminus of the Jakobshavn Glacier
Pond Inlet in Nunavut, Canada, where local Inuit residents will lead guests on a guided walk through town
Croker Bay at Devon Island, the world’s largest uninhabited island in Baffin Bay

During nine days tracing the Northwest Passage, the expedition team will deploy kayaks, Zodiacs, and submarines for naturalist-led experiences set on a flexible schedule that’s guided by ice. During five days sailing along Canada’s Northwest and Yukon Territories via the Beaufort Sea, cruisers will be on the look-out for seabirds and marine mammals en route to the Gold Rush-era town of Nome.

Seabourn Pursuit’s Maiden Season

During its 2023 maiden season, Seabourn Pursuit will explore the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and the Canadian Arctic, starting with a 12-day “Wild & Ancient Scotland & Iceland” pre-inaugural voyage departing on March 23, 2023 from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to Reykjavik, Iceland. The ship will then operate a 14-day “Lands of Fire & Ice” inaugural voyage departing April 4, 2023 roundtrip from Reykjavik.

The ship will also sail a series of voyages that visit the Arctic Circle from Norway including Svalbard for such options as a 14-day “Norway & Iceland Polar Bears & Puffins” itinerary. Then, a series of 14- and 15-day voyages between Greenland and Iceland will follow, as well as a 12-day “Bering Sea & Inside Passage” cruise visiting destinations along the coasts of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada.

Seabourn Venture’s Second Season

Seabourn Venture will embark on its second year of operation in summer 2023, exploring the Arctic, Scotland, Norway and the Russian Arctic. The ship will begin its summer season on May 12, 2023, with a 10-day “Wild Isles of Scotland and Iceland” voyage from London, U.K., to Reykjavik, Iceland.

The ship will then operate a 12-Day “Fjords of the Norwegian Sea” voyage, followed by a series of 11- and 12-day expeditions exploring Arctic Svalbard from Norway. In mid-July, the ship will sail on a 14-day “Norway, Novaya Zemlya & Franz Joseph Land” expedition. After the Northeast Passage journey, Seabourn Venture will explore the Russian Far East with a 14-day “Wild Coasts of Kamchatka” expedition in August and 14-day “Volcanoes & Wildlife of the Kuril Islands” voyage in September 2023.

Ship Highlights

Designed by Adam D. Tihany, Seabourn's two expedition ships will have such public spaces as the Expedition Lounge and Discovery Center. Both ships also will have a Landing Zone for launching and landing equipment for naturalist-led explorations; sea kayaks and Zodiacs to accommodate all guests will be carried aboard.

The ships will also have two battery-powered U-Boat Work Cruise Sub 7 submarines. Guests will dive beneath the waves in exquisite comfort guided by their pilot. Each submarine will be outfitted with custom embroidered leather upholstery, air-conditioning, a Bluetooth stereo system and a Champagne chiller.