At Home on the High Seas

As a former international chef with a restaurant resume that reads like a map of the world, Ana Esteves brings her deep knowledge of the globe’s cuisines and cultures to her role as Vice President of Hotel Operations for Lindblad Expeditions. We asked Ana—who was recently recognized as one of the United States Tour Operators Association’s “Future Lights of the Tour Industry”—to describe how she and her team consider every detail to make you feel truly at home and deepen your connection to the places we explore so that your time on the ship is as meaningful as your time on shore. I travel around the world for my job and in my experience it’s easiest to connect with a place when you feel welcome there. At Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, we define luxury as genuine comfort, and this value translates to an onboard experience that is truly friendly. Guests should feel like they can strike up a conversation with any crew member and tell them about the iceberg they saw or the sea lion they swam with and that crew member will be interested and excited for them! That sense of comfort helps travelers feel at ease with one another as well, and it’s part of the reason why, time and again, we see such strong communities form onboard.

Ana Esteves aboard the new, all-suite National Geographic Islander II.

“Lindblad-National Geographic travelers are naturally curious about their environments, and we like to feed that curiosity, both literally and figuratively.”

The food we serve comes from the very lands and waters we explore. If you have a slice of banana bread for breakfast on one of our Costa Rica expeditions, the bananas used to make that bread are endemic to the country. We’re able to do this because we build relationships with local farmers, and our chefs harvest ingredients alongside them. This helps us to establish a real connection through the cuisine and to understand what is culinarily important to the region both historically and today—and we can pass what we learn on to our guests.

Strong relationships with locals also help us uphold our commitment to sustainability which is a guiding principle for us. We know the exact fields and forests your food is coming from, and we reduce waste by asking our providers to reduce the food and plastic waste in our collaborative processes. These standards extend beyond the dining room. We use sustainable products wherever possible, from the bath amenities in your personal guest suite to the spa treatments in our shared wellness spaces. When your surroundings and experiences are ‘of the land,’ immersion in your destination comes naturally. The art in the corridors, the cabin cushions, and the table flowers—they all reflect the heritage of the regions you’re visiting. Everything you taste, see, feel— everything you experience onboard should tell the story of the land and its people.

CHEERS! Beginning in 2024, champagne, wine, beer, and spirits are on us across our fleet.