UK agents are exploring Seabourn Venture for the first time on short sailings and ship visits during the vessel’s maiden calls to Tilbury, Greenwich, Dublin and Leith this month.
Speaking to the 150 agents onboard in Tilbury on Thursday (11 May), president Natalya Leahy thanked the trade partners for their support and said: “You are an extension of our brand and you bring it to life for our guests.” She said guests from the UK and Europe account for almost a quarter of the line’s business.
To encourage more agents to experience the ship Seabourn is offering them complimentary places on Seabourn Venture’s Arctic sailings this summer. Lynn Narraway, the line’s vice-president UK and Europe, said agents can request a free place through the line’s sales team, and can pay an additional fare to bring a partner onboard. Flights won’t be included.
Narraway said agents from the UK had done “an amazing job” of selling Seabourn Pursuit for this summer, with the trade generating 90% of sales for the line. She said repeat guests account for 45% of business across the brand’s expedition and ocean cruises.
She added: “The agents onboard [Seabourn Venture] will go back and talk to their clients, not just those who already cruise, but hopefully also those who don’t; those luxury travellers who like safaris, as with us it’s like a safari at sea.”
On 12 May Seabourn Venture sails from Greenwich to Leith on the 12-day Lands of the Celts voyage, followed by an 11-day itinerary to the Orkney and Shetland Islands. It will then begin its second season in the Arctic with a series of 14- and 15-day voyages to Greenland and Iceland.
Narraway revealed that from 12 May the ship will offer improved WiFi via the Starlink technology from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, enabling guests to use “next generation WiFi connectivity” in the polar regions.
