Seabourn plans expedition cruise roadshows for agents

Luxury cruise line Seabourn is planning ship visits and expedition-themed events for agents to showcase its new ships and itineraries.

Lynn Narraway, vice-president for Europe and the UK, told a Travel Weekly webcast that more than 90% of Seabourn’s business comes through travel partners.

“That’s why it’s so important that our partners see our brand,” she said.

Wendy Lahmich, sales director, told the webcast that the cruise line is planning expedition cruise events for the spring, following the success of ocean roadshows across the country in 2022.

The cruise line will showcase its two new expedition ships to the trade – Seabourn Venture (pictured), which launched in July 2022, and Seabourn Pursuit, which starts operating this summer.

She said the plan is to include agents’ clients in the roadshows, as well as Robin West, VP general manager expeditions.

“We hope to have Robin come over for a few of those [events] as we know how successful he is at selling. He just presents and we get bookings,” said Lahmich.

Ship visits will take place in ports such as Greenwich, Cowes on the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Bristol, Liverpool, Dublin and Leith for Edinburgh. As well as a tour of the vessels, agents are invited to lunch onboard.

Narraway also said more than 100 partners travelled on Seabourn last year, which she hopes to repeat this year.

“[There are] lots of opportunities to see the product but, of course, you can never replicate that as much as when you’re sailing,” she said, highlighting how the cruise line offers travel partner rates.

She said Seabourn Pursuit will arrive in August, to offer seven new Mediterranean sailings that have just been launched.

The vessel will then sail in October to Barbados and onwards to the Antarctic, to offer expedition cruises.

The cruise line will also invite agents to see Seabourn Venture in Greenwich, Leith and Dublin.

Other trade activities include sponsorship of the Unsung Hero category at the recent Travel Weekly Globe Awards, and attendance at the UK Cruise Awards, this week, as part of Carnival UK.

Furthermore, the cruise line will be planning to celebrate its 35th anniversary during 2023, and it will take part in the Travel Weekly Agent Achievement Awards (AAAs) in July.

Narraway recalled taking part in the AAAs in 2022: “We love that AAAs event. It was such good fun…wearing expedition boots and a jacket over my gold evening dress.

“We’d love to do something for the AAAs again, it’s really, really important [with] all our travel partners there.

“It is such an opportunity for us to showcase our brand and have all those wonderful UK travel partners in one room at the same time. We’re really looking forward to that.”

More: Seabourn cuts prices by up to 25% on expedition sailings

Seabourn vows to invite agents on expedition ships

First purpose-built Seabourn expedition ship named in Antarctica

Seabourn Venture ‘opening up new audience’ for luxury line