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And when Caledonia sails in Canada and New England, you can gain perspective on Newfoundland’s ancient sea culture from an onboard expert, then pay a visit to Port au Choix, a tiny town rich in fishing history. The ultra-luxury Seabourn Encore features 300 suites for 600 passengers with all the amenities of Seabourn’s Odyssey-class ships. Additions to Encore include a VIP area on the top deck, a wellness program and two restaurants, The Grill by Thomas Keller and Sushi. In the 2023 voting, readers gave high marks to established brands that have reinvigorated their offerings. Consider No. 2 Windstar Cruises, which recently rebuilt three of its small ships at an investment of $250 million, adding more suites, improved culinary options, and enhanced spa facilities to each.

Best for Scenic Nature Cruises
2023 Global Cruise Ship Market Thrives on Affordable All-Inclusive Vacation Appeal - Yahoo Finance
2023 Global Cruise Ship Market Thrives on Affordable All-Inclusive Vacation Appeal.
Posted: Wed, 30 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Silversea Cruises is a pro at luxury small-ship cruising — the line has been at it for more than 30 years. With Silver Endeavour, it achieves the perfect mix of ultra-luxury surroundings with tough-as-nails expedition hardware for its focus on polar cruising. L'Austral is the ideal size for a small ship — intimate but still large enough for amenities such as a gym, spa and show lounge.
Silversea Silver Dawn – 40,700 tons, 569 guests
An impressively kitted-out expedition ship, Scenic Eclipse has an ice-strengthened hull with a C6 rating suited for polar cruising, including navigating the Northwest Passage. High-tech features include a GPS dynamic positioning system to maintain a location without dropping anchor. I've sailed on more than 125 cruise ships of all sizes, but my favorites have never been the big "floating resorts."
No. 1: SeaDream II

The line offers sailings in the Windward Islands from Grenada on the 10-passenger Diamant; its 24-passenger schooner and 26-passenger Vela offers a mix of both. Other itineraries include the French West Indies and the British Virgin Islands. Look out for special themed cruises like Solo Sojourns (for those traveling alone), rum cruises, pirates and mermaid Week, and Taste of the (Caribbean) Islands foodie sailing. At other times Vela has two single cabins and single travellers can be paired up with a same-sex cabin mate to avoid paying a supplement. Onboard facilities include 10 dining experiences, including a Champagne bar and private dining room for just eight people, the Senses Spa and suites with private hot tubs. Water sports include an inflatable trampoline, paddle-boards and kayaks and the ship has Zodiacs for wildlife spotting and shore excursions.
Alaskan Dream Cruises
While big is best for plenty of travelers – what if (small) size matters to you? If thousands of vacationers sounds unpleasant – these small-ship cruise lines will no doubt appeal. Intriguing itineraries are more often the focus of the voyage and often include some ports of call that are inaccessible to larger ships.
Why Grand Circle Is the River Cruise Line for You - Cruise Critic
Why Grand Circle Is the River Cruise Line for You.
Posted: Fri, 08 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
There’s rarely room for multiple dining venue, so small ships ordinarily have a single restaurant that can accommodate all guests in a single open seating. Gracious service and fine dining are paramount, and your table is likely to be set with signature china, European crystal, and heavy silver, and covered with Belgian linens. Of course, these intimate experiences mean giving up big-ship amenities like Broadway-style shows, multiple dining venues, expansive kids’ programs, and endless watering holes.
Regent Seven Seas Splendor – 55,498 tons, 746 guests
The first of its kind to join the Crystal Cruises' fleet, the 62-passenger Crystal Esprit is a luxury yacht with multiple restaurants offering top-notch cuisine, a gym, a spa and an expansive sun deck with a plunge pool and lounge. Its superb crew is consistent with the line's reputation for attention to passengers and detail. Most cabins on Crystal Esprit are a comfortable 280 square feet, with a king bed, lots of high-tech toys and lavish marble bathrooms. Additionally, every cabin comes with 24-hour butler service and room service. Celebrity's Galapagos cruise ships combine the line's modern style and focus on service and cuisine with a local, small ship ambience. Destination-oriented features are incorporated into the onboard experience; such as a performance highlighting Ecuadorian folklore on Xpedition and regionally inspired sustainable decor on Flora.
The best Crystal Cruises sailings for 2024 & 2025 to book now
You can also take in the scenery from the ship's shallow pool and two adjacent hot tubs. Seabourn's new Seabourn Venture (and upcoming sister Seabourn Pursuit) are on par with Silver Endeavour and Scenic Eclipse when it comes to pairing top-of-the-line luxury and pampering with incredible itineraries. For dining, there are four main restaurants, including an Italian and a French-inspired venue. The Grill is an eatery enclosed in floor-to-ceiling glass for the best views in the house.
Vessels come equipped with kayaks, paddle-boards, snorkelling equipment and hot tubs onboard for relaxing after a day of hiking or paddling. As the diverse fleet incorporates upscale expedition ships, yachts and even a replica turn-of-the-century steamboat, onboard offerings vary. Expect thoughtful premium appointments and amenities throughout, though, with fitness areas, lounges, libraries and mealtimes highlighting gourmet, locally sourced cuisine and fine wines and microbrews. Australian river cruise and tour company Scenic made its ocean cruising debut with the 228-passenger Scenic Eclipse offering all-inclusive itineraries to destinations including Antarctica, the Arctic, South America and the Baltic. The ship combines all the trappings of luxury with the thrill of expedition sailing. Standout features include two onboard helicopters and a submarine, Scenic Neptune, which can carry six passengers and dive to a depth of nearly 1,000 feet.
UnCruise doesn't do many typical port stops, preferring to pause in inlets and bays that offer maximum exposure to nature and wildlife. Whether you want penguins or polar bears, Quark Expeditions, which specializes in Arctic and Antarctic journeys, is a great choice. The line's newest ship, Ultramarine, has a pair of onboard helicopters, and all six ships in the fleet include kayaking, cross-country skiing and mountaineering equipment (not to mention the ever-present Zodiacs). The line's 128-passenger expedition vessel, 50 Years of Victory, is one of the world's most powerful icebreakers and has nuclear-powered capabilities to go through nearly 10 feet of ice to make the voyage to the North Pole. Silversea's classic fleet, ranging in size from 298 to 728guests, offers a number of Caribbean options, including a handful of Barbados round-trips.
Besides kayaks and Zodiacs for landings, ships are equipped with scientific tools like hydrophones (to listen in on marine mammals), underwater cameras and video microscopes. SeaDream's laid-back, al fresco style is perfectly suited totropical latitudes, and both of their 112-guest yachts winter inthe Caribbean. Itineraries include Bridgetown round-trips focusingon the stunning Grenadines, a particularly attractive option for UKtravellers, and cruises around the Virgin Islands from San Juan orSt Thomas.
There is a hot tub on the aft deck, and a cozy lounge that doubles as a dining area. Since 1986, Maple Leaf has been operating sailing cruises in British Columbia, Haida Gwaii (the former Queen Charlotte Islands) and the Inside Passage. On Maple Leaf's fleet of three vessels, expect an even more intimate experience than on a regular small ship, and a program that is full of First Nations history. Most of UnCruise small ships in Alaska sail between Ketchikan and Juneau, between Sitka and Juneau, or round trip from Juneau, though repositioning departures from Seattle are also on offer (typically at the start and end of each season). The line generally doesn't stop in touristy ports like Skagway, and instead keeps its ships close to Alaska's wilderness, though Wrangell, Misty Fjords and Tracy Arm do feature on some itineraries.
This is serious no-frills, destination-intensive cruising on the cheap, with special prices sometimes hovering around the $30 per person, per night hostel territory—if you’re cool with a quad room or tiny windowless double. While there's already a great selection of small cruise ships available, new additions continue to emerge. One such addition is the Seabourn Pursuit, a recently launched expedition vessel, offering travelers access to some of the world's most captivating destinations. Designed after the tall ship Preussen, the Royal Clipper is the world’s largest full-rigged sailing ship, complete with 42 sails. The vessel carries just 227 guests with luxurious accommodations and modern amenities like three swimming pools, relaxed dining and a marina platform for water sports.
Nearly 165,000 T+L readers completed the 2023 survey, an increase of nearly 25 percent over pre-pandemic voting levels. A total of more than 685,000 votes were cast across over 8,500 unique properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.). Water sports are also a major component of each tall ship sailing cruise, with complimentary snorkelling, kayaking, sailing and other sea-based activities offered directly from the ship. A specialist in Galápagos Islands cruises, Quasar has a two-vessel fleet that operates in the ever-compelling destination. The 32-guest M/Y Evolution and the 16-passenger M/Y Grace both get high marks from readers, who consistently score Quasar as not only one of the best cruise lines of any size but one of the top travel offerings in any World's Best Awards category. "This was our second cruise to the Galápagos because we loved our previous experience on the Evolution so much," said one reader about a trip aboard the Grace.
One of our favourite features -- available on each of Windstar's vessels -- is the water sports platform, with its range of complimentary activities such as snorkelling, wind-sailing, paddle-boarding and even water skiing). There are also longer two-week voyages encompassing both the above regions, includinground-trip Barbados sailings. Windstar's fleet of six small ships includes three sail-assistedyachts and three all-suite former Seabourn ships, giving you twodifferent ways to cruise the Caribbean. Their 14-night Star Collector voyages out of Barbados are a greatoption if you're looking for a longer trip, and Windstar also havea handful of itineraries visiting the so-called 'ABC Islands' ofAruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. Fortunately for adventurous travelers several cruise lines offer small ship Alaska cruises -- and they’re expanding their fleets, itineraries and excursion offerings. Residing in New Brunswick, Canada, Ming has been in the cruise industry since 1994.
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