Sunday, 27 October 2024
by BD Banks
Ultra-luxury cruise line Seabourn offers adventurous travelers unique opportunities to the explore the far corners of the world through expedition cruises aboard two of its yacht-like ships. These expedition voyages even allow passengers to venture into the depths of the underwater world though onboard luxury submarines.
Seabourn Pursuit and its sister expedition cruise ship, Seabourn Venture, feature two custom-built submarines that take passengers up to 300 meters below the ocean’s surface. Alongside the pilot, the innovative submarines carry six passengers, three each in two clear acrylic spheres that provide 360-degree views of reefs, marine life and even shipwrecks.
Related: Seabourn releases new ultra-luxury cruise itineraries for 2026
True expedition excursions, Seabourn submarine explorations can take passengers to places where no other human may have gone before. They also give travelers the opportunity to be part of rare undersea discoveries – like one that just happened during a recent Seabourn submarine expedition off the coast of Chile.
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Image source: Seabourn
During a submarine dive off the coast of Alejandro Selkirk Island in Chile’s Juan Fernández Archipelago on Oct. 14, Seabourn Pursuit passengers had the ultra-rare opportunity to witness the historic discovery of the Titania, a German supplier ship that sank in 1914.
Lost for 110 years, the ship was located by Seabourn Pursuit’s submarine team 95 meters deep, about 4.25 nautical miles off the northwest coast of Selkirk. Local fisherman Gino Perez, who had long heard stories of the Titania’s suspected location, helped guide the team to the site of the shipwreck.
Stories of the Titania wreck had been passed down through generations in the local community since the ship sank on Nov. 19, 1914. Fishermen occasionally discovered metal fragments in their lobster traps that they believed belonged to the scuttled vessel, but the wreck had never been officially located until now.
Seeing the Titania for the first time was an extraordinary experience for both Perez and Seabourn passengers who got to be part of the expedition.
Related: Oceana Cruises shares new, and rare, itineraries
The discovery occurred during one of Seabourn Pursuit’s expedition voyages which sailed more than 4,000 miles between Melanesia, French Polynesia and San Antonio, Chile.
Seabourn will offer similar expedition cruises in 2025 featuring four voyages on Seabourn Pursuit: a pair of 20-day voyages departing March 18, 2025 from San Antonio, Chile to Papeete, Tahiti; and October 10, 2025 from Papeete to San Antonio; an 18-day voyage from Papeete to Sydney departing April 7, 2025; and a 16-day Remote Shores of New Guinea & Indonesia cruise departing April 24, 2025, from Sydney to Darwin.
Seabourn’s submarine expeditions are offered as an optional add-on activity for an additional charge on select expedition cruise itineraries like the South Pacific sailings.
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