Seabourn Expeditions Review 2026: Voyage Prices, Owner, Terms and a Record Score of 57

Seabourn scores 57/100 as a company record for its expedition voyages: the Carnival-owned line names its Antarctic expedition team and prints a five-step cancellation scale, but its own voyage pages showed our reader no fares or day-by-day routes, it prints no 24-hour number, and it has published no financial protection since leaving USTOA in April 2024. This record covers Seabourn's two expedition ships, Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit, and the company behind them. Its ocean ships are outside the record, except where a figure covers the whole line.

Verified 25 September 2026 · seabourn.com cruise contract, contact, SeabournShield, ship pages and press releases · USTOA and IAATO · Adventure Life, Chimu Adventures, Affordable Tours and Kimberley Boat Cruises · Cruise Critic, Trustpilot and Tripadvisor · PR Newswire and Seatrade Cruise

How Seabourn scores: 57 out of 100

Seabourn scores 57 out of 100: a named expedition team, a long record and resellers' fares, held back by no 24-hour line, no fares or day-by-day routes on its own pages and no financial protection since it left USTOA. Its scores on our cruise indexes range from 84 to 6 because each weighs different things, from ships and submarines to solo fares. One planning line could not be read, so that criterion is rescaled, as the rubric requires.

Seabourn publishes the people and holds back the price. Its expedition team is named with years of experience, and its cruise contract prints dates and percentages; a fare, a day-by-day route, a number that answers at night and any scheme behind a buyer's money are not on its own pages.

The evidence record

The record holds 17 facts about Seabourn, each with its source and grade. Grade A means the company's own site or terms; grade B means a registry, review platform, awarding body or major press; grade C means a secondary source not confirmed elsewhere. Every line was read on 25 September 2026 unless its source says otherwise.

Who owns Seabourn?

Seabourn is owned by Carnival Corporation & plc and run within its Holland America Group, and a Holland America Line company, not a Seabourn one, is the other party to every booking.

Seabourn's cruise contract names Holland America Line Limited as "the operator of the Seabourn brand vessels" for bookings made from 17 December 2024, and Holland America Line N.V. before that; it does not say why the company changed. Both lines are run from 450 Third Avenue West in Seattle. Carnival announced on 25 November 2024 that Mark Tamis would lead Seabourn as president, with Beth Bodensteiner, president of Holland America Line, also given executive responsibility for it.

Seabourn's previous president, Natalya Leahy, became chief executive of Lindblad Expeditions on 1 January 2025; Lindblad's company record scores 84.

How much does a Seabourn expedition cost?

Seabourn expedition voyages listed by resellers cost from USD 11,077 per person for 12 nights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia to USD 33,999 for 21 days through the Northwest Passage; Seabourn's own voyage pages showed no fares to our reader. All prices were read on 25 September 2026 on resellers' pages and are starting prices per person, graded B because they are not Seabourn's own.

Two resellers price the same 28 December 2026 Great White Continent sailing at USD 11,077 and USD 13,743, so it pays to compare. Seabourn sells its expedition voyages as all-inclusive, but the reseller listings do not itemise what is included. Our comparison of seven expedition lines ranks Seabourn third, with two submarines on each ship, while our expedition cruise operator index leaves it unscored because no fare could be read. How it compares on the Antarctic crossing is in the fly-cruise vs Drake crossing index.

Seabourn booking terms and financial protection

Seabourn's cruise contract sets final payment 120 days before a voyage of up to 21 days, and from 120 days out a cancellation costs 15% of the fare, rising to 100% at 45 days or less.

Longer voyages have earlier final payment dates, 150 days for 22 to 69 days and 180 days for 70 days or more; the contract, marked "Updated June 2026 Version 1.0" states no deposit percentage. USTOA announced that Holland America Group, including Seabourn, left its membership on 4 April 2024, and the contract shows no seller of travel number or bond, so a US buyer has no published scheme behind the booking. UK and Australian terms were not found. How protection compares across polar lines is in the Antarctica operator index, where Seabourn ranks tenth.

Who guides a Seabourn expedition

Seabourn names its expedition team: a 2025-26 Antarctic team of 23 per ship, drawn from a roster of more than 80, with each member's role and experience published.

The October 2025 announcement names expedition leader Luciano "Luqui" Bernacchi, with more than 15 years of polar guiding; naturalist Brent Houston, with more than 30 years of wildlife research and 400 expeditions; and lecturer Will Wagstaff, a Falklands wildlife guide since 1985. Each ship carries 264 guests and a 19-member team, according to its ship pages, about one to 14. Our Antarctica operator index notes that Seabourn is one of two lines there to publish a team headcount rather than an adjective.

Support before and during the voyage

Seabourn publishes no 24-hour number for guests: its reservation lines keep office hours, and the only 24-hour service found belongs to SeabournShield, an optional paid plan.

The US line, +1 800-442-4448, opens 6am to 5pm Pacific on weekdays with shorter weekend hours, and the UK line, 0344 338 8615, 9am to 5.30pm on weekdays, according to the contact page. SeabournShield covers medical evacuation up to USD 100,000 on expedition voyages, "coordinated by our 24-hour assistance provider" with no number printed. For evacuation cover on polar voyages, see our guide to personal security for high-net-worth travellers.

What Seabourn reviews say

Seabourn holds 4.1 out of 5 on Cruise Critic from 920 reviews across all its ships, and 1.9 on Trustpilot from 31.

On Cruise Critic, Seabourn Venture alone shows 4.5 from 22 reviews, while Seabourn Pursuit shows 28 reviews and no rating. The Trustpilot profile is unclaimed, and its newest review was dated 3 September 2026. The guide to review platforms explains why a small sample moves a score.

Who Seabourn suits, and who it does not

Seabourn suits travellers who want an all-suite expedition ship with a named team and submarines, and who already know the Seabourn style.

It suits less well a buyer who wants to see a fare on the company's own site, or protection behind the booking. Solo travellers find no published single supplement, which is why Seabourn scores 6 on our solo cruise index. Its submarine dives are scored in our submersible index, and how an expedition ship differs from a classic cruise ship is in expedition vs luxury cruise.

Booking Seabourn: the decisions that come next

Seabourn's fares cover the voyage but not the flight to Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro or Broome, so the traveller still chooses how to pay, how to get there, where to stay and what to claim if a flight fails.

Where Seabourn stands on Uncompromised Travel

Seabourn appears on eight Uncompromised Travel pages and holds a ranked position on four of them.

Alternatives to Seabourn to compare

The closest alternatives are Lindblad Expeditions and Quark Expeditions for a named team with published protection, Scenic Eclipse for helicopters and a submersible, and Silversea for an ultra-luxury line with a 24-hour number.

What this record does not show

Five things a buyer would want could not be found or verified for Seabourn. Supplying a verifiable source closes a gap; it changes the evidence, never the rubric.

What changed at Seabourn, 2024 to 2026

Between 2024 and 2026 Seabourn left USTOA, changed the company that contracts with its guests, lost its president to Lindblad and named a new one, and published its expedition team by name.