Seabourn has announced that global adventurer, mountaineer and polar explorer Alison Levine will serve as Godmother of Seabourn Venture, the first of the line’s two new ultra-luxury purpose-built expedition vessels.
According to a press release, Levine will be attending the traditional naming and christening of the ship, which is set to launch in July 2022.
“With her extraordinary history of travel and adventure, familiarity with the most striking of destinations, and her deep roots in the expedition world, Alison is a perfect choice to send Seabourn Venture off to explore the most-remote corners of the globe,” said Josh Leibowitz, president of Seabourn. “We are excited for Alison to take the mantle as Godmother of our first expedition vessel, and we’re certain she will embrace her role with the same passion she brings to everything she does.”
“I am truly honored and beyond excited to have been asked to become Godmother of Seabourn Venture and to be part of the line’s new chapter in expedition cruising,” said Levine. “I’m thrilled to be representing a company that embodies what the true adventure and expedition spirit is all about.”
According to the press release, Levine is a native of Phoenix. She served as team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition in 2002. In 2010, she completed her bid for the Explorer’s Grand Slam, which includes climbing the Seven Summits – the highest peak on each continent – as well as skiing to the North and South Poles.
Levine earned her MBA from Duke University and worked in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs. She worked as deputy finance director for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s successful bid to become Governor of California and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. She is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, “On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and Other Extreme Environments,” which chronicles the lessons she learned on her various expeditions.
In 2019 she received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, an award she shares with seven U.S. Presidents and numerous Nobel Prize winners.
In December 2019, Levine also shared her experiences, insights and tales of adventure with guests onboard the Seabourn Sojourn through Seabourn Conversations, the line’s onboard enrichment program.
It was her first ever cruise but, according to Seabourn, she is “hooked” now and looks forward to more voyages in the future. The Seabourn Venture and its sister expedition ship, the Seabourn Pursuit, will feature 132 oceanfront veranda suites. Some of the places they will visit across the world are only accessed by ship. Itineraries for the first season of travel aboard the Seabourn Venture are now open for booking on the Seabourn website.
