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How to choose a small ship cruise

From weather, time at sea and your wildlife wish list, to low carbon credentials and accessibility – there are a boatload of considerations when choosing a small ship holiday. The best small ship cruise operators will juggle your preferences and needs with ease. Read this guide for clues on how to choose a small ship cruise.

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How to choose a small ship cruise

You could go to almost any corner of the earth. Bay-hop around the Greek Islands or seek out the emptiest beaches in Belize. Watch for dolphins in the Aegean, whales in Mexico, penguins in the Antarctic, or narwhals around Baffin Island. Cruise rivers, canals or oceans. Get stuck into unfurling sails and cooking, or let the experts do the hard work while you concentrate on the on-board lectures and what’s over the horizon.

So how on earth do you choose the right small ship cruise for you? Here are some things to keep in mind.

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Weather

No one knows better than a sailor that paths plotted are totally dependent on the whims of the weather and waves. Saying that, some things can be guaranteed. Scotland isn’t exactly going to promise you hot and sunny weather like the Caribbean might. You can depend on it not being dependable, in fact; it’s a four-seasons-in-a-day kind of place. To travel here you have to be open-minded about an itinerary that flexes with the rains and suns – and you have to not mind waterproofs.

It’s a similar story in the polar regions. To go on a cruise to either end of the earth, you have to be the sort of person who doesn’t mind dressing for weather – i.e. like an onion, with lots of layers. You also have to be prepared for the possibility of sea sickness. Are you ready to brace yourself for the shake-rattle-and-roll of the Drake Passage? Or would you rather dip in and out of the still bays of Croatia?

Are you only available at a certain time of the year? Then that will affect what type of cruise you go on, too. Caribbean sailings generally shove off between December and April to avoid the hurricane season. If you’re after the midnight sun in Svalbard, then you’ll have to go in July. If you’re after the Northern Lights, then winter is your best bet. Read more about when to go on a small ship cruise.

Comfort

All small ships are clean, well organised and comfortable, but some have more mod-cons than others. Smaller ships will have shared toilets; expedition ships often have private bathrooms. Looking for Wi-Fi signal on a tiny yacht? You’ll have more luck looking out for a mermaid. It might exist on bigger ships, although signal will be wobbly in remote regions. Let the tour operator know your comfort zone before booking (Instagram or incommunicado?), so that you’re not caught unawares.

Sailing holidays are more hands-on. Like camping holidays, you might get the chance to chip in with tying bowline knots and setting the mainsail. You’ll be taught everything you need to know. If you’re sailing a tall ship, you’ll also take part in a night watch. Consider whether that’s something you’re happy doing.

Itinerary

Have a think about what you want from the itinerary. Do days at sea fill you with dread? Then an Antarctic cruise probably isn’t for you – it takes two days to voyage from the tip of South America to the Antarctic Peninsula. (Although it might well change your perspective on what days at sea are like – think albatross, whales and Arctic terns.) Also keep an eye on activities. Do you want to snowshoe powder-soft fjords or hike island volcanoes? Meet isolated river communities or see nothing but whales for days? Some cruises specialise in a theme – say, polar bear watching or a river cruise down the Congo.

Travel Team

If you'd like to chat about Small ship cruising or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.

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01273 823 700

Calling us from outside the UK?

rosy@responsibletravel.com

Family

Some cruises are better for families than others. Larger ships offer extra-large or adjoining cabins for families. Flotilla sailing is great for the whole brood, as you can sail in your own boat as part of a – you guessed it – flotilla of yachts. Others introduce you to regions that the kids will lap up, like Nile River cruises through the land of the Pharaohs or an Icelandic adventure through whale waters. Check out our family guide for more about small ship cruises for sprogs.

Carbon reduction

Your small ship cruise doesn’t have to be carbon heavy. You can catch the train to many ports in Europe and North America. And if you’re really keen to minimise your carbon emissions, consider a tall ship trip. These vintage vessels rely on motors to get out of port, but once they’re set loose in the ocean they’ll glide along using the trade winds whenever possible. This vastly reduces the amount of planet-warming carbon crunched. Read more about how to reduce your carbon use while on holiday.

Accessibility

It all depends on your accessibility needs, from mobility or cognitive to hearing or sight. A specialist tour operator will be able to root out the cruise that matches your abilities, whether that’s a wheelchair accessible Nile cruise or an Antarctic expedition. Sadly, choice is sorely lacking. With narrow gangways and ladders, small ships can be inaccessible by nature and very few are designed from the hull up with accessibility in mind. Find out more about accessible travel.

Lara Paxton, from our specialists The Small Cruise Ship Collection, says:
“Some of our boats are old Russian expeditions ships and just don’t have the access, but a lot of the newer ships do have access, and so it is really good to see that this is available for some people, especially if they don’t want to do the massive cruise liner thing.”

More about Small ship cruising

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Types of cruises

Small ship cruising comes in all shapes and sizes without ever entering that supersize, floating hotel territory. Read on to find out which type of small ship cruise is for you.

Cruise destinations

We've created a guide that sums up where you can go when on a small ship cruise. Of course the weather dictates everything, so you must always be prepared for flexibility.

What is a small ship?

What is a small ship, anyway? It might be a family-sized yacht, a schooner designed to tuck into orca fjords, or a 200-passenger icebreaker that delves into the frozen Arctic.

Top 10 cruise destinations

Our top 10 cruises vary from the well known, such as the Galapagos or the Nile in Egypt, to some really far out there expeditions: Kamchatka in Russia or Svalbard in the Arctic.

Cruise activities. What to do on a cruise

Small ship cruise activities are far from the world of mini golf and lounge singers. The evening entertainment is more likely to be an eco lecture or a photography tutorial.

Wildlife cruises

Some of the most characterful creatures on the planet can only be reached on a small ship wildlife cruise. Find out how you can see polar bears, penguin colonies and whales.

Small ship sailing cruises

You can go on a small ship sailing holiday as an expert, novice or total beginner. Read our guide to work out which sailing holiday floats your boat and where you can go.

River cruise holidays

Whether you’re gliding down the Nile on a felucca, aboard a groundnut boat in the Gambia, or exploring Kerala, river cruise holidays explore cultural and spiritual monoliths.

Lisbon to Malaga cruising

Go to southern Spain and you can see 700 years of Moorish influence, go to Morocco and see millennia of it.

Small ship cruises for families

Who says cruises aren’t for kids? Some of the smallest Caribbean-bound yachts can be fitted with toddler-proof safety nets, while Antarctic icebreakers come with quad rooms.

Small ship cruises for single travellers

We run through your options as a solo traveller on a small ship cruise, whether that’s booking a single cabin or recommending months when supplements are kicked to the kerb.

Cruise tips

Our experts have given us some top cruise tips, from packing tips and remembering that you might be at sea for a few days, to sea sickness and whether to bring children.

Responsible cruising

Giant cruise ships have come in for a lot of bad press, and we believe that they really are cruising for a bruising. Read on to find out why we really don’t need a bigger boat.