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Ventures By Seabourn®

More and more of our guests relish the opportunity to engage with destinations in a more interactive, experiential and participatory way. We created Ventures by Seabourn® to provide these travelers with exciting, adventurous optional activities that are expertly planned, professionally operated and escorted by skilled expert guides. 

Transcend the Ordinary

Enhance..

On select sailings featuring Ventures by Seabourn® excursions, share your voyage with a knowledgeable, experienced expedition team of scientists, scholars, naturalists and more. These fascinating, accomplished experts will be part of our complimentary Seabourn Conversations program, providing you an in-depth understanding of the history, ecology and culture of the places you visit. On board, their valuable insights are offered both in formal presentations and in more casual conversations over meals or at leisure.

Extend

In select ports of call and destinations, optional Ventures by Seabourn® excursions, guided by our Expedition Team, invite you to explore spectacular destinations on exhilarating sea-level adventures. Launching from your ship on board our fleet of sturdy, Zodiac® boats or paddling in double sea kayaks, these adventures will vary depending on your itinerary, but include thrills such as cruising picturesque fjords and waterways, trekking on scenic islands, viewing birds, seals, whales and other wildlife up-close, and surveying massive, white-blue icebergs.

Ventures by Seabourn vs Excursions: What's the Difference?

First launched in 2013, Ventures by Seabourn was introduced for guests who have dreamed of experiencing a Seabourn expedition, but are unable to sail on one of our expedition ships.

Unlike traditional shore excursions, the expedition team is placed aboard select sailings to offer knowledge, commentary, education on the destinations, and to lead hikes, Zodiac cruises, and kayaking in remote areas. It allows Seabourn guests to experience expedition-style encounters with the landscapes, but do it on the traditional Seabourn ships that our guests know and love.

Meet Your Expedition Leaders

Seán Bercaw | Alaska

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Seán Bercaw | Alaska

By the age of thirteen, Seán had already spent a quarter of his life sailing around the world with his mother, father, and two sisters on a 38-foot ketch. The 3½-year circumnavigation encompassed 37,404 miles and 248 ports-of-call in 28 countries. From that sailing foundation, Seán studied Civil Engineering at Northwestern University. Commissioned as a U.S. Naval Officer, Seán’s service included training with the Navy SEALs, a deterrence cruise aboard a submarine, and a year overseas in Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean. Upon leaving the Navy, Sean earned a Master’s in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island.

Although he has over 199,000 miles under sail, Seán considers himself a teacher first and sailor second. Teaching courses ranging from Celestial Navigation to Environmental Awareness, he has worked over thirty years as captain and faculty member for a university sea semester program on journeys throughout the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In addition to these oceanographic tall ship voyages, Seán was instrumental in captaining the Freedom Schooner Amistad into Havana, Cuba, in 2010, fulfilling the vessel’s ambassadorial mission.

Seán continues to explore new venues in the maritime environmental world. Scientific forays include working as the ROV navigator aboard the E/V Nautilus for deep ocean exploration and as the Marine Projects Coordinator aboard the two U.S. Antarctic Program Research Vessels. In that role, he facilitated numerous research expeditions to Antarctica. Seán joined Seabourn’s Expedition Teams in 2019 and began working as an Expedition Leader in 2022.

As a young lad, Seán began the tradition of launching messages in bottles on the high seas. To date, he has set over 300 bottles adrift and has received more than sixty responses. He has corresponded with bottle-finders from ages seven to seventy on five different continents. Whatever role he plays on the water, Seán remains steadfast to two missions: to connect people with the sea and to connect with people through the sea.

Adam Jenkins | Alaska

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Adam Jenkins | Alaska

Adam began sailing as a boy on the Salish Sea of Washington State, acquired his USCG Master license at 19 years old, Adam began working as a yacht captain aboard Puget Sound charter yachts.

After attending the University of Washington, Adam embarked on a single-handed voyage down the Pacific Coast aboard Saint Brendan, his 27-foot sloop. On this voyage, he explored the Sea of Cortez, Central America, transited the Panama Canal, circumnavigated the Caribbean Sea and explored the Eastern seaboard from Florida to Nova Scotia. During this four-year voyage, Adam made a living as a professional sailor, sailing as Master aboard various vessels in the Caribbean Sea and lived aboard his boat in Guatemala and Belize for a year. Other global adventures include traveling the length of Pakistan by train and four-wheel drive truck, trekking in the Hindu Kush, exploring Patagonia and climbing in Torres Del Paine National Park. As skipper of the expedition yacht MV Peregrine Adam explored the off-the-beaten-path anchorages in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia, including Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands BC).

For 25 years Adam was a field biologist for NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service and the US Antarctic Program as an expedition leader and science project manager supporting marine mammal and ecosystem researchers in Antarctica, and the coastal waters of the Eastern Pacific from Alaska to Cape Horn. Adam holds NOAA Master Diver and Dive Master certifications. When not at sea on an expedition vessel, Adam owns a yacht delivery company, Yachtlogic, and can be found at sea delivering a yacht as a professional sailor.

Through these adventures, Adam developed a passion for leading expeditions and working with adventure travelers and scientists. Adam loves to set out in small boats and get up close to nature. Hobbies include writing for sailing magazines, cooking, and sailing with his daughter Sophia aboard their 35-foot sloop based in the Sea of Cortez. Adam’s goal as your Expedition Leader is to make sure guests have a true adventure they will never forget.

Luqui Bernacchi | Northern Europe

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Luqui Bernacchi | Northern Europe

Luciano has been working on Expedition Ships across the globe for the last 15 years.  “Luqui" as most people call him, is particularly at home in both Polar Regions, after many expeditions sharing his passion for ice, glaciers and wildlife. He is part of Seabourn’s fulltime team since 2015.

Luqui is certified in a variety of specialties: as Ski Patrol with extensive training in skiing, snow safety, avalanche awareness and first aid; as a Birding Guide by Argentina’s National Ornithological Society, as a Mountain Guide and Rock & Ice Climbing Instructor by the Argentina Mountain Guide Association and Buenos Aires Alpine Club, not only does feel comfortable fin the mountains but also on the water. Growing up in a sailing family, he is certified by Argentina’s Coast Guard, and the RYA to operate sailboats, and small vessels. The Polar Tourism Guide Association (PTGA) has certified him and a qualified Senior Polar Guide. 

Birding and glaciers are his two main passions: a keen birder since a very early age, and many years of experience working around, on, under, and close to glaciers.

When he is not working, he is at home in Patagonia where he has lived and worked in the beautiful mountains and glaciers for the last 30 years. He has a wealth of experience in adventure travel and eco- tourism; leading, guiding, and lecturing to groups. From expeditions across the Patagonian Ice-Field and Ice Walks on the Perito Moreno Glacier to treks in Torres del Paine and Tierra del Fuego, Luciano has worked as a mountain guide, ski guide, tour leader, naturalist guide, and birding guide, across Argentina and in many other countries throughout the past 30 years.

Luciano is based in Los Glaciers National Park, Patagonia, Argentina and also works as Director and board member of GLACIARIUM/Museo del Hielo Patagonico – the largest and one of the very few Glacier museums in the world. Luciano’s diverse jobs and interests have taken him to many destinations and wilderness areas around the world. 

FAQ

Featured Ventures by Seabourn

Kayaking with Steller Sea Lions - Inian Islands, Alaska

Discover Alaska's rugged landscape as you coast alongside sea lions, puffins, sea otters, harbor seals, bald eagles and other birdlife that call the waters around the Inian Islands home. Migratory humpback whales pass through here on their annual trek between Alaska and the South Pacific.

Coast along this sub-Antarctic Island in peace and tranquility, with an expedition leader as your guide. Paddle along the mountains and glaciers of South Georgia, while searching for visit from local wildlife such as fur seals, king penguins, and southern giant petrels.

Explore by zodiac the narrow channel that flows along Ponta Negra -- a small peninsula between the Amazon and Tapajos Rivers. See the flooded forest, which comprise a fascinating and prolific eco-system, and enjoy sightings of tropical birds. Learn how the local people live in, interact with, and use this environment.

Experience the great white continent at every angle with a kayak exploration. Your expert guide will join you as you silently paddle along unexplored shorelines and amongst icebergs, porpoising penguins, and curious seals.