Alison Levine is a mountaineer, a polar explorer and a best-selling author. And she will soon be a cruise ship godmother of the Seabourn Venture, an expedition ship embarking on its maiden voyage on July 15.
The team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition said her new relationship with Seabourn is “just the perfect partnership.”
“I’m so passionate about encouraging people to get out there and really see the world,” said Levine. “You don’t have to go climb Mount Everest to embrace the expedition spirit. You can embrace the expedition spirit by just being willing to get out of your comfort zone.”
Levine was a 35-year-old investment banker for Goldman Sachs in 2002 when she led a team of five women up the south side of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain. She also became the first American to complete a 600-mile trek from west Antarctica to the South Pole in 2008.
Levine has also climbed the highest peak on each continent and skied to both the North and South Poles, an achievement known as the Explorers Grand Slam, which she completed in 2010.
Levine worked as finance director for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s successful bid for governor of California and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Department at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. She is the author of a New York Times bestseller, “On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and Other Extreme Environments.”
“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.
Levine had never cruised until she boarded the Seabourn Sojourn in December 2019, when she shared tales of her adventures with guests through the line’s Seabourn Conversations, an onboard enrichment program.
The Venture is the first of two ships in Seabourn’s new class of luxury expedition vessels. The Seabourn Pursuit is slated to enter service in April 2023.