Are you ready to elevate your travel goals to a whole new continent? Thinking about exploring Antarctica but wondering what luxury even looks like on the edge of the Earth? Then this is the episode for you! Welcome to the Luxury Travelers Podcast with your host, Rodney George, where today’s journey takes us deep into the heart of expedition cruising with Traci Farden and Shaun Powell from Seabourn Cruises. From polar plunges and penguin encounters to fine dining and five-star service at sea, this episode redefines what it means to travel luxuriously — even at the bottom of the world. Buckle up for a journey that promises to inspire and captivate, as we explore destinations that leave travelers forever changed.

IN THIS EPISODE:

1. (00:00) A polar plunge in Antarctica is described as brisk and invigorating, with warm robes and saunas waiting
2. (04:15) Antarctica is the most popular expedition destination due to the wildlife and scenery
3. (07:00) Crossing the Drake Passage and discussion of the Kimberly region of NW Australia
4. (09:38) Luxury experience on Seabourn Pursuit highlighted with intuitive staff creating personalized moments
5. (15:16) Expedition cruising builds team connections, elevating the experience beyond traditional cruises and discussion of the Drake Passage.
6. (20:46) Discussion of excursions, kayaks, zodiacs and fine dining
7. (27:15) South Georgia Island is highly recommended as a must-see destination, boasting a dense population of wildlife, including over half a million penguins

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Antarctica is life-changing, not just a sightseeing experience. The sheer scale, silence, and wildlife create an experience that’s both humbling and transformative. Guests often describe it as one of the most emotionally powerful journeys of their lives.
2. With small ships like the Seabourn Pursuit, guests enjoy five-star service, personalized touches, warm saunas after icy excursions, and an expedition team that feels like family. This is rugged travel reimagined through a lens of luxury.
3. Expedition cruising builds Deep Connection. The smaller group sizes, repeated interactions with expert guides, and intimate Zodiac or kayak excursions foster authentic community and ongoing relationships with the team and fellow travelers.

RESOURCES:

Luxury Travelers - Podcast

Luxe Travel - Website

Luxe Travel - Facebook

Luxe Travel - Instagram

Luxury Travelers Podcasts - Apple

Luxury Travelers Podcast - Spotify

Luxury Travelers Podcast - YouTube

Best Ultra-Luxury Cruise Lines - All Inclusive | Seabourn

Traci Farden - LinkedIn

GUEST BIOGRAPHIES:

Traci Farden is a seasoned professional in the cruise industry, with over 25 years of experience in leading business development across regional, national, and international markets. Known for her deep knowledge of luxury cruising and expedition travel, Traci brings a unique global perspective and passion for creating unforgettable guest experiences, especially in the world’s most remote and awe-inspiring destinations. Traci is especially passionate about the transformative power of voyages like those to Antarctica, where nature, discovery, and personal reflection converge.

Shaun Powell, Director of Expedition Operations at Seabourn Cruise Line, oversees the planning and execution of expedition cruises to remote destinations. He coordinates Zodiac® cruises, nature walks, cultural tours, and manages logistics for submarines and kayaks, shaping Seabourn’s ultra-luxury expedition experiences.

Shaun Powell: a coward, [00:00:15] but, uh, you might be wiser than, than your friends if you choose not to do it. It is, it is a very brisk and invigorating experience.

And then we've [00:00:45] got these beautiful saunas on board that you can sit in and relive that moment in your mind with a much warmer embrace of, of the heat of the sauna.

So buckle up and prepare for a journey into the lap of luxury now, your host.[00:01:30]

Crawl away from today knowing that you know a lot more about in a very, uh, unique part of the world and [00:02:00] can't wait to go there. Um, first of all, ladies, first I'll introduce my friend, um, Tracy Farden, who is. Tracy is a senior manager of national accounts for Seaborne uh, cruises. She's been in the travel industry for about [00:02:15] 25 years.

So Tracy, welcome.

Traci Farden: Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here and share this wonderful opportunity with our friend Sean Powell about the Antarctica.

Traci Farden: I'm in Vancouver, Canada.

Rodney George: Okay. So y'all are both We Western time zone. Y'all both got up early?

Traci Farden: We did lots of coffee.

Rodney George: Good.

Shaun Powell: I do, I do. I would say I've got about 25 years now of working in basically every climate and region on the planet and expedition, travel literally from pole to [00:03:15] pole.

And uh, yeah, it's been an amazing journey and one that I'm always excited about, as are all of our teams to be able to share with people when they come along for the expeditions with us.

Uh, so I, I think I just go ahead and dive right in if that's okay with you guys and Tracy. Feel, feel free, feel free to jump in with, uh, anything that you wanna add. We're gonna have some great, uh, we're gonna have a great time together and have some great videos that you're gonna be able to [00:04:00] watch along with all of this.

But what is the most popular destination? Uh, from the expedition sector for, not just for you guys, but for, for your competition as well.

To a lesser degree, Chile have really become hubs of Antarctic travel. They built in great port facilities for for ships to the launch, from the tip of South America, cross over the Drake passage and down to Antarctica. But I think the [00:04:45] main reason that is so popular is that I've never met a single person that went to Antarctica and came back disappointed.

And I think what, what most people go away from it is they're astounded with the, the. [00:05:15] The scale and scope of it, it's a really humbling experience, but in a very positive way. I, I think everyone goes there and finds that their life has changed for the better.

We, we spent a lot of time, uh, going out there. Uh, we had three, three failed attempts. [00:05:45] 'cause the, uh, the airport at St. George Island was fogged in. Uh, and only one of the three planes got through the first day. No one got through the second day, the third gate we're on the way to the airport and they sent us back to the hotel.

Uh, in the next few months.

There. It's a very small runway. It's a gravel runway. It's on a very remote and exposed island. And while there are a [00:06:45] few operators that are doing this pretty consistently, they have to book in a lot of flexibility because it can vary as you saw, three to four days on either end. And it varies longer than that.

Rodney George: So the verge are following the ship for one reason, right.

As it passes through the the air, it creates a little bit of a pressure wave, and you'll [00:07:45] see these tremendous gliders like the wandering albatross. For example, and they'll just hang right on that pressure wave. Sometimes it looks like you can step out on your veranda and just touch their wingtips as they'll sit there almost steady with the ship the entire time.

Shaun Powell: same.[00:08:15]

Rodney George: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So one of the questions I had down here was, where does Seaborn go? That will surprise, uh, new to Seaborne travelers.

But another one that I'm super proud of that we've done a lot of work on in the last couple of years is the Kimberly region of Northwest Australia. Right? It's an area that Australians know well really well, but even for them, it's a really remote and difficult region [00:09:00] to reach on their own very few roads in and out of that region.

They're just like, wow, I never knew this existed and I wish I had even more time here. It's an amazing place. [00:09:30]

Rodney George: Well, Tracy, you're all about the luxury experience. Is this truly a luxury experience that we're gonna have on the, on the, uh, seaborne pursuit?

The staff on board are spectacular and they have the, the ability to create these, what we like to call seaborn moments. They're very intuitive. They will go above and [00:10:00] beyond, uh, to make your vacation just spectacular. You know, they will know your name. You know, I just got off the venture a couple of weeks ago and I love the fact that at six o'clock in the morning as I'm going down the hallway with my baseball cap on Seaboard, um, [00:10:15] they have my coffee ready for me exactly the way I like it.

You know, just those little details really create, um, such a wow effect when our guests are sailing on Seaborn. And that's something we deliver time and time again.

You probably don't get in the water for your caviar here, do you?

Traci Farden: No, this is gonna be more about the ice.

Well, I dunno if you're

And then we've got these beautiful saunas on board that you can sit in and relive that moment in your mind. With a much warmer embrace of, of the heat of the sauna. But it is, it is something that so many people take part in and I think it [00:11:45] becomes this group sort of bonding experience. It's a really exceptional moment out there with the Seaborn team.

Does it take you a while to warm back up? [00:12:15]

But, uh, yeah, you're usually warmed back up. Within about five minutes. Uh, but it hits very quickly. It is, it is a bracing effect for sure. But it really, you know, the Scandinavians, uh, really embrace this, this approach. The, the, the cold plunge and the [00:12:45] course they sauna afterwards. Yeah. And they say it's the secret to their great, healthy lifestyle.

So I'll leave, I'll leave your judgment, uh, to that experience once you, once you have it yourself,

Rodney George: might need a little sip of brandy or whiskey when you come out too. Right. I didn't

Rodney George: Okay, good. Good. Why do you guys feel like, um. Expedition cruising, [00:13:15] enhances the traditional cruise experience that most people, uh, have become used to because the, we're seeing in, in our agency, and we've got, uh, we've got a pretty good sized agency here in Naples, Florida, but we're seeing our luxury clients.

Shaun Powell: Well, it is, it is the luxury element of, of Seaborn. I think that is one of our primary differentiators in the industry and in our sector is that we have not compromised the luxury experience at [00:14:00] all when you're joining one of our vessels, uh, whether it be our ocean fleet or expedition fleet at the pursuit and the venture, but what I think makes the expedition.

In a traditional, uh, voyage, you go to say Barcelona or, or Rome, or. Uh, Helsinki and you'll meet your local guides that day and they spend all day trying to impart upon you all their [00:14:45] passion, all their expertise, all their knowledge. But then when you leave, I. That connection is severed and now you're onto the next day and you may have follow up questions that you didn't get a chance to ask that day, or conversations that you wanted to continue.

And so many of our team end up becoming Facebook friends and Instagram followers of both our guests and vice versa. And so it's a journey that kind of breeds in or, or, or leads into the next journey and the next journey and the next journey. And I think that's the, [00:15:30] the really attractive and, and, uh, unique part of expedition travel.

Traci Farden: No, when they're more intimate in size, uh, it is much easier to get to know the personnel on board. And I had a conversation with a gentleman, [00:16:00] um, just this morning and he was telling me about how he got to know some of the expedition team while he was on board, and he's sailing again next year and he's reached out to them to find out things like how often are we taking the kayaks out and.

So it really creates this really great community of, um. You know, wonder like when people are traveling to Antarctica, for example, there's so many great things to learn, but just looking at it [00:16:45] yourself, you can't really appreciate it all. Having the expedition team there to really explain, um, every single day there's, there's, um, different conversations happening.

Rodney George: Well, and and you mentioned, uh, uh, that, that, that cruising in particular makes, seems to make people more empathetic and connected.

Traci Farden: Oh yeah, it, it really, you know, travel has the ability to really shift our perspective in the world, but when you're around that raw, that untouched nature, and you're really disconnected from [00:17:30] everyday life, um, really taking that opportunity to slow down and really observe what's around you, you just become more aware of the environment.

Often, as Sean had mentioned, we'll find it very transformative, um, in their everyday life.

Antarctica as a [00:18:30] training ground for astronauts to get used to, uh, the solitude of space somehow are, have you, are you connected with that at all or are you aware of that? I.

Mm-hmm. And the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica is a place they've, uh, they've done prep work and training and, and sort of tests to see how, uh, how life could be on, on remote, uh, uh, other [00:19:00] interplanetary bodies for Mars, for example. So that's one of the areas that they've trained up there. Uh, they've also got, of course they've got their Nutri Buoyancy lab in, in Houston and, uh, a few other locations around the world where they, they, they spend a lot of, a lot of time core to sort of [00:19:15] isolating the astronaut teams for, for training and like you said, for the, the solitude of space.

Yeah.

So that pacing of crossing the Drake ends up benefiting you a great [00:20:00] deal. And then by the time we sail into our. First landing site, it might be in the South Shetlands, which is a small group of islands named for the Shetland Islands in the Northern Hemisphere, because they're at the same latitude. Uh, but it may be even further down on the, on the continent itself.[00:20:15]

And so you're watching for those in the water coming, going from the landing side or seeing a few of 'em on ice flows drifting by the hole. But what we, the rhythm of [00:20:45] each day is really, we aim for two excursions each day, and some of those will be landing, some of those will be zodiac cruises, kayaking, maybe the submarines, and sometimes maybe it'll be something with the ship where we go through a very narrow.

They listen for that first announcement from [00:21:15] the expedition leader to say, the, the landing is a go. We're heading out. To say Nico Harbor, this'll be a continental landing and we're gonna see our Gen two penguins, and then guests, uh, guests go out in their groups. We've divided up the ship to keep it, [00:21:30] uh, nice and, and controlled, but also less crowded on shore, both for the animals and for ourselves.

Mm-hmm. Experience, if you will, your expedition team or your drivers, and they take you out. [00:22:00] And even on the way to and from the shore, you're already starting to be sensory overloaded because there is so much to take in between the temperature and the smell and the, the ice and the. Beauty of the mountainscapes there.

Rodney George: So Tracy, you just came back, uh, I didn't realize that.

Traci Farden: Uh, let's see on board. Hmm. Um, I would have to say the dining. I quite love food, uh, and the experiences, whether you know it's in the restaurant or [00:22:45] you know, out by the pool, I'm absolutely amazing. I. Like I said, it goes back to the staff for me and having the staff know that I want a chilled glass of ice water with every meal and it's just there waiting for me.

Um, so I kind of like those little features.

Rodney George: Okay. So what's your favorite, what was your favorite activity off the ship then? I.

But it also gave me the opportunity to, I. Learn a little bit more about the other people that I was sailing [00:23:45] with. Um, an opportunity to connect with the expedition team. Yeah. Um, and again, that, you know, there's not that many of us on the Zodiac, so you really have a, a chance to learn and to hear what the expedition team is saying and, um, the details that they're able [00:24:00] to give.

Rodney George: Bailey's just makes coffee even better than it is already.

Thank you. You know. Thank you. Right.

Traci Farden: Thank you. So, Sean,

Rodney George: Sean, uh, kayak or Zodiac, what's your favorite mode of transportation?

Shaun Powell: Well, the Zodiac is holds a special place in my heart. I lived in a Zodiac for two summers in the Arctic once on a project, so I am a supremely comfortable and Zodiac, wait, wait, wait.

Rodney George: Time out. Time out

The ship up there, but we had the opportunity to do that. We left fuel depots around the island in different places, around the different, uh, islands of the Archipelago, and myself and a photographer named [00:25:15] Paul Nicklin. We were up there for two summers and we spent months and months at a time living at times maybe two, close to one another when you're around each other, that often in, in their remote wilderness, but looking for opportunities to photograph the beauty of this, uh, that special [00:25:30] location in the world.

And, uh, so the whole

Rodney George: summer, where do you go to warm up during this, or do you just not

And yeah, we have our, our float suits, our dive suits, our dive underwear, and yeah, we just stayed out. The [00:26:15] coldest time was probably on, on the ice itself, or when you're just sitting and waiting a long time for that shot. I never realized until working with Paul just how much patience you. Was required to get those shots, and so you have to be still, and being still is when you really [00:26:30] got cold.

Once you're moving around and doing the work, the temperatures didn't bother you.

Rodney George: Wow. I guess that's what happened. Your hair, it just froze off. Huh?

Rodney George: Well, what would be the one place you wish everyone could see on an expedition cruise and, and, and why?

Shaun Powell: Well, there are, I think our entire catalog's spectacular. Our, our, our teams have built out a great portfolio of destinations. The Kimberly region I mentioned earlier is very near and dear to my art, [00:27:15] but.

South Georgia Island's, about 1200 nautical miles east of Tiara Fugo. So it's a little further away than the peninsula itself is. But this is like [00:27:45] the Serengeti, the Galapagos, the the Rocky Mountains and Antarctica all rolled into one and wow. The density of wildlife there has brought B, B, C documentary makers, national Geographic [00:28:00] photographers, right, and guests alike just to tears when they step foot as shore.

Rodney George: I hear they're kind of, that the penguins are kind of, uh, thieves, that they, they steal other, other, uh, penguins, rocks and things and, and put them [00:28:30] away to their place while the other penguins are in the water or something. Is that true? You do, you've seen those culprits in in action.

Shaun Powell: They do, yeah. Our tuxedoed friends are not all innocent.

In their eyes the best rock. So you will see an, a deli penguin in particular, go over to the other nest when no one's looking. Sometimes when the, when the, the occupant is asleep and, and laying down, and you'll see 'em pluck a rock out from underneath that one and then hobble over to the, [00:29:15] uh, to the nest of, of their, their paramore and present that to them like this.

Is the greatest thing I've ever found. And now we're, now we're paired and bonded for life over this rock that I stole.

Rodney George: This is how much I love you, sweetheart. Right?

Rodney George: Oh, well what I miss. What else, Tracy, what else can you add since you just came back from the ship? What else can you add? We got a couple of minutes left here.

Um, and aside from that, having that luxury experience onboard the ship where the staff is conditioned and. [00:30:15] Um, intuitive to create those seaboard moments that make your guests feel so comfortable and so welcome on board. It truly is a win-win. When you marry those two together, you have your tuxedo friends, you have the beautiful nature, [00:30:30] um, you have the staff on board and in such a luxurious environment, it's only gonna be one of those things that your guests are gonna come back with and say, oh my gosh, when are we doing this again?

Where are we going next? Because the experience is gonna be. So wonderful.

Shaun Powell: I would say the window is, is less appealing at this time.

Rodney George: we've got, uh, we've got two group dates, one in January and one in February of 27. So we're really looking forward to it, and I just hope I can convince the, the, the, uh, the viewers that it's worth the wait. It

'cause you not only get the penguin activity down there, you get usually some of the best weather of the season. But the whales will surprise people at that time of year. It's, it is a prolific season of plenty, uh, of humpback whales in [00:31:30] particular that have migrated all the way down there to take advantage of those summer waters and the feeding opportunities that present themselves to them.

Then you're gonna have an amazing time.

Rodney George: That's a long swim.

Rodney George: Oh, well guys, I could go on for another hour or two, just, just hearing about this.

It is later than you think. Guys, thanks for being here with us today. It was truly a pleasure not to get just one of you, but to have both of you on the show and I truly appreciate your time. Have a wonderful day.

Rodney George: Thank

Shaun Powell: you. Great to get to share this with Tracy as well. Uh, all of your viewers, have a great day as well and look forward to seeing you in Antarctica.

Voiceover: Thanks for joining us on the Luxury Travelers Podcast. For more information, head on over to Luxury Travelers podcast.com to connect with our team or leave us a message. Until next time, safe [00:33:00] travels and savor the [00:33:15] extraordinary.