Seabourn Venture: Dublin to Edinburgh May 8th - 30th, 2025

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Thursday May 8^th Embarkation. The Venture, fresh out of dry-dock having had the stabilizers replaced, looked in pristine condition. It didn't take long to discover that the majority of the passengers were travel agents who were very upfront about the fact that they had paid very little for the cruise, which did not sit well with those of us who paid top dollar!

Friday May 9^th Calf of Man. Zodiac tour of cliffs in the morning. Quite rough, some birds but few photo opportunities. Not worth getting out of bed for.

Douglas, Isle of Man. Tender by zodiac. Chose “Castle Rushen, Steam Railway and Tynwald Experience”. Quite interesting but would have liked more time to explore Douglas. Showtime was Shamrock Tenors, described as “Ireland’s newest and most electric four-piece harmony group”. Amateurish but entertaining if you like Celtic melodies.

Saturday May 10^th Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland. Tender by zodiac. Chose “Bute Island Drive”. Short drive around Bute with a couple of photo stops. Had free time to explore Rothesay pre and post tour. Rothesay has a nice promenade but town is a bit run- down. Highlight was the Victorian Toilets.

Sunday May 11^th Tobermory, Isle of Mull. Half day in Tobermory. Tender by zodiac. Opted for “Panoramic Mull Experience” bus tour. Mountainous and picturesque island but only one photo stop. Colourful waterfront. Nice island for return visit.

Isle of Eigg, one of the Small Isles in the Inner Hebrides. Popular with walkers, with a population of 100 there is one ‘taxi’ and no tourist infrastructure. We were the first cruise ship of any size to visit. Normally closed on Sunday, they opened the local store and brewery especially for us. We hiked several of the trails and on way back flagged down the taxi to take us to the brewery where several fellow Seabourners, having enjoyed a pint or two in the sunshine, were waiting to return to the dock. Thinking that the taxi driver would return to take us back we were enjoying our drinks and chatting to the bar manager until he informed us that we had missed the last ride back! We had 30 minutes to catch the last zodiac and we were 3 kms away from the dock! Half running/walking back I was regretting buying the 4 cans of Eigg Ale in my rucksack! If it hadn’t been for Meghan who was on her way back in a golf cart after visiting a friend on the island we probably wouldn’t have made it.

Monday May 12^th Shiant Islands. Morning zodiac tour of bird cliffs. Rough, pretty boring. Again, not worth getting up early for.

Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, largest town in the Outer Hebrides. Tender by zodiac. Opted for "Blackhouse Village Experience", a short bus tour to a broch and to Gearrannan Blackhouse Village, a living museum to crofting life. Quite interesting.

Tuesday May 13^th Am Baile, St. Kilda, Island of Hirta. Tender by zodiac. Quite rough but managed to get in. Quick visit, rushed as we were last group ashore. Interesting place, very remote and wild, with a somewhat chequered history. Once one of the most isolated inhabited places in the British Isles. Now a small group of volunteers/rangers who in summer months maintain the ruins as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is also a MOD facililty on the island which provides utilities to the heritage site.

Wednesday May 14^th Lerwick, Shetland Islands. Docked. Shuttle bus into town. Opted for Jarlshof & Southern Shores Experience. Bus tour to Jarlshof prehistoric site. Revealed by a storm in 1890 the archeological remains reveal settlements from Neolithic times through the 16^th century.

Isle of Noss, bird cliff. Scheduled zodiac tour canceled due to winds/seas so sailed past to view gannet colonies.

Thursday May 15^th & Friday 16^th At Sea

Saturday May 17^th Heimaey, Iceland. Morning zodiac tour of bird cliffs near harbour entrance. Rough, waste of time. Docked in Afternoon. Opted for Heimaey Island and Reception Experience comprising bus tour & Eldheimer (volcano) Museum. Having been to the museum before we took advantage of the bus ride to Stórhöfði peninsula at southern end of the island and walked 5km back along the cliffs. Very few puffins, but nice weather. Enjoyed a beer in town from Brothers Brewery before returning to the ship.

Sunday May 18^th Reykjavik, Iceland. Changeover day. We were staying on but some 190 of our companions were disembarking (thankfully most of the travel agents!) to be replaced practically one-for-one by new venturers. Being one of our favourite cities, we walked along the seafront, bought pastries from the bakery, visited the maritime museum, and generally revisited old haunts.

Monday May 19^th Flatey Island. FOG. Kept awake at night by sound of fog horn every two minutes, and it was still foggy on arrival. We did however manage the zodiac landing, the fog adding to the mystery of the place. Flatey (flat) Island, the largest of the forty islands in Breidarfjordur fjord, has only 5 permanent residents, a church, a library (smallest in the world?), a cemetery and a bar. The library contains a copy of the Flateyjarbok (The Book of Flatey), one of Iceland’s most important manuscripts. No cars are allowed on the island and it can be reached by ferry from either Stykkisholmur or Brjanslaekur. There are a few sheep and it is a haven for migratory birds, mainly fulmars, puffins and arctic terns. The bird cliffs were off limits and we were restricted to certain paths/routes, but interesting nonetheless.

Tuesday May 20^th Sigulfjordur. Fog again overnight and into the morning. Once known as the herring capital of the North Atlantic, Sigulfjordur had its heyday during the “herring goldrush” of the early 20^th century, the legacy of which is preserved in the Herring Era Museum, a masterful recreation depicting the lives of the “herring girls” and herring industry of bygone days and well worth a visit. Aside from the museum, Sigulfjordur lies at the end of a short, narrow fjord with steep hills on either side. An easy hike from behind the church provides a nice panorama of the town and its surrounds.

Wednesday May 21^st Akureyri. Fog followed us again. Lying at the end of Eyjafjordur, Iceland’s longest fjord, Akureyri is Iceland’s second largest town, often referred to as the “capital of the north”. We opted for the included 4-hour “Akureyri, Falls and Farmland Experience” tour. First stop was the botanical gardens, which at this time of year were not particularly impressive. Second stop was The Laufas Turf House a sort of living museum comprising a very large multifamily turf house/vicarage, at one time housing some 20-30 people, and a church. Very well preserved and interesting. Unfortunately, we spent too much time at the gardens so our visit was somewhat rushed. Last stop was Godafoss, “Waterfall of the Gods”. Very impressive but time limited so lucky that we had been there before. After lunch onboard, and in the afternoon sunshine, we walked along the river trail and over the hills above the town.

Thursday May 22nd Sea Day

Friday May 23^rd  Jan Mayan Island. I was praying for high winds which would make landing impossible but no such luck. Jan Mayan is a remote outpost of Norway in the Arctic Ocean. Dominated by the Beerenberg volcano, which on the two occasions we have been there has been cloaked in cloud, The Norwegian caretakers posted there do not want visitors (words straight from one of their mouths), and unless you are a geologist there is nothing there of interest. It was cold, windy and pretty miserable! Should have stayed on board and done laundry. I can think of no good reason to include Jan Mayan on any cruise itinerary – sail past if you must but please don’t stop.

Saturday May 24^th Expedition Day at Sea. Woken by announcement at 7:35 am that a pod of Orcas had been spotted off the port side. Comprising 5 or 6 Orcas it was a first for us. What excitement to start our journey to Svalbard….sadly it didn’t last.

Sunday May 25^th Expedition Day - Barents Sea, Arctic Ocean. All onboard excited to be going into the ice. We went into the ice at 6:30 am and came out at 11:00am. No wildlife, not even a seal. Afternoon zodiac tour of the ice, which was a staged photo op for the Seabourn Bar Team and our Cruise Director (dressed in polar bear outfit), who set foot on the ice with a cooler of champagne, and the zodiacs, pulled up to the ice for the guests to be served a glass of champagne. At least some guests were, because, before our group was called, there was an emergency. Two zodiacs containing the Image Masters Photography Group had become stuck in the ice and the ship had to reposition and use its thrusters to get them off. Most exciting part of the day, if not the whole trip! By the time that was over, the champagne had been packed away and the sea swell had increased so all we got was a very bouncy zodiac ride keeping well away from the ice. Total waste of time and fuel.

Monday May 26^th Laughably described as an “Expedition Day” we spent the morning looking for a place to do the Polar Plunge which at least made the 64 guests who participated happy. The remaining 190 or so not so much. Spent the afternoon sailing back and forth with the same stretch of ice/view of Svalbard alternatively on the port or starboard side, hoping for a miracle. It seemed even the on-deck Ventures staff had given up the pretense, spending more time in the coffee bar than outside. Trivia was the highlight of the day!

Tuesday May 27^th “Svalbard Experience” Gjertsenodden. Wet landing by zodiac. Short walk up a hill to view a receding glacier. Couple of reindeer in distance. Everyone happy to stretch their legs but not very exciting.

Wednesday May 28^th “Svalbard Experience”. 6:30 am Eidembukta. Wet landing for a very short walk.

2:30 pm Mortensenodden: zodiac tour of glacier with small number of walrus in the distance (had to keep 300 metres away).

Thursday May 29^th “Svalbard Experience” 7:45 am Coles Bay. Wet landing at old Russian coal mining station. Afternoon “cruising Billefjorden”, basically en route to Longyearbyen where we would be anchored overnight and disembark in the morning.

Friday May 30^th Longyearbyen. Couldn't dock because there was another ship in port so luggage was put onto a barge and disembarkation was by zodiac! Short tour with visit to the Musuem, followed by lunch before being taken to the airport for charter flight to Edinburgh. Not very well planned or executed. Charter flight was OK, immigration at Edinburgh was horrible, Virgin Hotel in Edinburgh was nice and in a great location. Seabourn provided a shared taxi next day to take us to the airport for our onward flight, but it was really too early and we had to wait an hour in the airport before check-in opened.

Summary

After my first cruise on the Seabourn Venture I swore it would be my last. However, after hearing that they had improved the experience we decided to give them another chance. After all, how bad could it be? Well, it wasn’t awful but it wasn’t good either. The first leg of the cruise from Dublin to Reykjavik had its moments but the zodiac tours of the sea cliffs were ‘for the birds’ in more ways than one! And I still don’t understand the insistence on using the zodiacs to tender ashore in ports. ”Zodiacs are our product” I was informed by one driver when I questioned the practice. The second half from Reykjavik to Lonyearbyen was, overall, a disappointment. When we signed-up for the cruise the itinerary included 6 days of Svalbard Experience. However, after Svalbard (Norway) changed the rules restricting access to the National Park and most landing sites to ships with fewer than 200 passengers the Svalbard Experience was shortened and replaced with more stops in Iceland. We knew this going in and so were somewhat prepared for a watered down experience. However, we still expected to go into the ice, fully expected to see polar bears, and were not prepared for what in essence were additional sea days to be followed by a very disappointing “Svalbard Experience”!

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