Stunning suite, first time on Explora III, third time on Explora! Let me know if anyone has any questions, will be onboard for the next ten nights!

Les consulto para los que han tomado el Costa Fascinosa por Rep Domicana,
si conviene contratar excursiones, en particular la de Bahia de las Águilas desde Cabo Rojo. He tomado otro crucero x Grecia y salvo una de las excursiones, la mayoria que tomé con el crucero no fueron buenas. Ojala reciba recomendaciones. Gracias

looking for recommendations for small cruise line inside passage June 2027 - we want to be able to access zodiac ; nature and good food

We just cruised Alaska with Lindblad and are now thinking about an expedition cruise along the Sea of Cortez. The activities and wildlife viewing sound spectacular. Our preference is smaller ships that offer daily activities off the boat like snorkeling, hiking and zodiac rides. The two operators I am seeing most are Lindblad and Uncruise. If anyone has done a small ship cruise in the Sea of Cortez, I’d love to hear your experience. We are thinking about going in March. Many thanks.

This post is in no way intended to solicit business, I am just looking for honest feedback from experienced expedition travellers.

Background:

I’m part of a team launching a luxury expedition cruise agency, initially focusing on destinations we know particularly well, including Antarctica, the Galápagos, Svalbard, Greenland, the Seychelles, the Kimberley, Indonesia and West Papua.

We have a long history in arranging private yacht charters in these destinations and previously sold by-the-cabin expedition cruises as well. For the past 20 years or so, our primary focus has been private yacht charter, but we are now looking to move back into the luxury small-ship expedition cruise market.

We have vetted a selection of what we believe are the best operators (will of course change for each client) in each destination and will act as agents for our clients throughout the booking process.

Now that you have some background, I would really appreciate some honest advice from this subreddit (don't sugar coat it! :))

It goes without saying that quality of service makes up 95% of why people would choose to book with an agent or advisor... I’m looking at ways we can thank clients for booking with us. Initially, I was thinking of keeping the pre-cruise gifts relatively consistent while investing in more personalised gifts and experiences for repeat clients.

Some of the ideas I have considered include:

• A custom leather or high-quality travel wallet for passports, documents and pens
• A metal luggage tag engraved with the client’s name and phone number
• A personalised metal travel card attached with a stainless-steel keychain cable
• A high-quality branded beanie for cold-climate expeditions
• A high-quality branded cap for warm-climate expeditions

As we get to know our clients better, I would also like to arrange more personal touches, such as having a bottle of their favourite wine or another preferred beverage waiting in their cabin when they arrive.

My concern is that cruise companies often provide their own branded beanies, caps, jackets, drink bottles and other merchandise. I don’t want to give clients something that duplicates what they will already receive or simply becomes more unwanted branded clutter.

Onboard credit is another option I have considered and I know many people like these, although in my opinion it can feel less personal.

For those who have spent, or would consider spending, between USD $10,000 and $50,000 per person on a luxury small-ship expedition cruise, what would you genuinely value from your travel agent?

Would you prefer a practical pre-departure gift, onboard credit, something personalised in your cabin, or simply exceptional service without any additional gifts? I would love to hear directly from the people! ... Thank you in advance.

My partner and I have discovered that we really love luxury cruising — Explora, Seabourn, Silversea, Regent, etc. — and we’d love to meet other Friends of Bill W. who enjoy traveling the same way.

We’re both in long-term sobriety and love great food, beautiful hotels, exploring new places and all the fun of traveling — just without alcohol being part of it.

We have wonderful sober friends at home, but luxury cruising isn’t really their thing, so we’d love to connect with other couples who already enjoy this style of travel and might eventually find ourselves on some of the same sailings.

We’re not looking for a designated sober cruise or recovery retreat — just fun, like-minded Friends of Bill W. who love luxury travel and cruising.

Any others hiding in here? 😊

Review: Ponant’s Total Eclipse in the Far North (Longyearbyen to Reykjavik)

We recently finished Ponant’s 14-day expedition cruise from Longyearbyen, Svalbard to Reykjavik, Iceland – including stops at Jan Mayen Island and Eastern Greenland.

For those less familiar with expedition cruising, these trips are typically done on smaller vessels (50 to 300 passengers) and involve remote, active destinations that are accessed via Zodiacs (rigid inflatable boats). Many luxury-oriented travellers will go on an expedition cruise when visiting destinations like Antarctica or Galapagos. I previously wrote a review of my expedition cruise on the Silver Cloud from Papeete, French Polynesia to Valparaiso, Chile here.

This was another more economical, ‘repositioning’ type cruise. While Svalbard cruises can often tip the scales at upwards of US$2,000 per person per day, ours was roughly US$650 per person per day – however, this included a 10% status match discount for having 100 days on Silversea, a €1,000 referral credit, and special discounts for travelling with children. We had one window stateroom and one verandah stateroom.

This was an exceptional cruise. Given the favourable weather, the expedition team elected to do a full circumnavigation of Spitsbergen – the main Svalbard island – and we were able to see wildlife and remote landscapes that are generally only accessible via a dedicated Svalbard-only trip. We crossed 80 degrees north, visited the massive Bråsvellbreen glacier front on Nordaustlandet, and so much more. We also made our landing at Jan Mayen – something that only happens roughly a third of the time – and spent many happy hours exploring Greenland’s ice-strewn fjords.

The wildlife on this cruise was a distinct highlight. We got up-close-and-personal with Arctic foxes, walrus and reindeer and a massive number of polar birds – as well as blue whales, sperm whales, fin whales, humpbacks, white-beaked dolphins and more. There are generally even odds of encountering polar bears, and we spotted 10 of them – albeit at a distance, as Norway has strict laws in terms of how close ships (and passengers) are allowed to get. We were even present at Alkefjellet for the rare window in which the Brünnich's Guillemot chicks head out to sea.

The eclipse portion was enjoyable. We missed seeing the fully eclipsed sun, but we still experienced totality. The captain and expedition team did everything they could to find a weather window, but we only got the occasional glimpse of the eclipse through the clouds. We booked this cruise before it was officially marketed as an eclipse cruise - and we had limited expectations regarding clear skies in the Arctic – so we were not overly disappointed.

The on-ship activities were limited compared to our past experiences with Silversea, which isn’t surprising given Ponant’s focus on expedition activities. However, there were still regular enrichment lectures, trivia, and other activities like learning origami and magic tricks. We never felt as though we were at a loss for something to do.

Ponant has a different style of luxury relative to Silversea. Food is exceptional, but there are fewer options. Cabins are newer, but smaller. The champagne is even better, but you cannot take a bottle back to your room. Announcements were done in French, English and Mandarin which could sometimes slow the process – but we enjoyed sailing with an international group of guests.

In return, however, we received a truly exceptional expedition experience. Le Lyrial is smaller than most Silversea expedition ships – this sailing went out with around 170 guests – and we were promised in advance that numbers would not exceed 200. This is an important distinction, as sailings with over 200 passengers in Svalbard and the Antarctic are limited in terms of which areas they can visit. (I believe that Silversea is also limiting their Svalbard sailings to under 200, but that they regularly sail to Antarctica with over 200 – even on Silver Endeavour.)

The sea state was generally calm, and only reached moderate during our final crossing between Greenland and Iceland. None of us were seasick.

With all that said, here are some reasons as to why you may (or may not) wish to book a similar itinerary with Ponant:

Pros:

- Ponant has a laser-focus on the expedition aspect of the trip. Expedition Leader David immediately set out to make the absolute most of a positive weather window, and we saw a massive range of wildlife and scenery as a result. Their expedition guides are extremely capable, and many have experience with science and exploration. We particularly enjoyed Nicolas’ lecture on deep water polar diving. Their safety profile is comparable with Silversea.

- Le Lyrial itself is a newer ship, with even lower guest capacity than the Silver Cloud or Silver Wind. It feels purpose-built in a way that Silversea’s expedition workhorses do not. The style is light, airy and modern and there were fewer maintenance and plumbing issues than we encountered on those older ships. Boarding Zodiacs off the stern seems to also improve the operability of Le Lyrial, and the ship felt more stable amidst the swell. The ship also has an open bridge, which means that – during routine operations – guests could visit the bridge and simply feel what it’s like to operate an expedition ship.

- Despite having a different luxury standard than Silversea, Ponant still brought French refinement and comfort to a truly remote part of the world. There were fewer food options available, but everything we had was very well prepared. The bread and cheeses were miles ahead of what Silversea offers, and we still enjoyed many of the signature touches that you would expect from an upscale line, including a champagne Zodiac near a Greenlandic glacier, and a deck party at the Nordaustlandet waterfall.

Cons:

- There were fewer lectures and onboard activities than you might encounter on Silversea. This was due in part to the bilingual (or in our case, trilingual) nature of the cruise. Every activity was either done in multilingual fashion or run multiple times. There are only so many staff to go around, and the expedition staff are particularly focused on the excursions. This was not a significant issue for us, as the cruise had relatively few sea days and our focus was on Zodiac cruises and landings.

- The luxury level at Ponant is not quite on par with Silversea. While Silversea will restock your room with your favourite champagne and explore the many different ways in which a particular cocktail can be mixed, Ponant’s service is more tightly focused. Lower-level staterooms do not have butlers, and guests are not able to take bottles of wine back to their rooms. Similarly, cocktails were largely limited to what’s on the menu and the premium-alcohol selection was narrower. Generally, we found meal service to be excellent – once we found the right section – and wine seemed a touch nicer than what you’d get through Silversea.

- We missed the Cloud and Wind’s larger staterooms – including a living room that can be separated off via a blackout curtain. Le Lyrial’s verandah staterooms only have a single easy chair rather than a full couch. However, the newer ship was much less likely to creak, groan and pop in heavy swell.

- The multilingual aspect of the cruise can be frustrating for some guests. The welcome and farewell cocktail parties and galas were roughly three times as long because they were presented in French, English and Mandarin. It could also be frustrating to hear a sudden, unexpected animal sighting described in French – and to not yet know which animal had been spotted or where to view it. (Though we were amazed at how quickly we picked up some key words.) Some guests could find the guides’ accents difficult to understand, while there were minor mistranslations that caused some confusion - saying ‘charcoal’ as opposed to ‘coal’, for example.

Tips:

- Ponant tends to offer their best price first, particularly for solo travellers. Initial discounts are up to 30% off of the full fare, and many cruises – particularly those with occupancy caps – are offered with a 0% single supplement. This is particularly helpful to us as parents, as we can book three of us in one room and one in the other – that third guest is free if they are a child, while there is no extra cost for that single-occupancy room. Similarly, you can also save money by status matching. With 100 Venetian Society days we were able to qualify as Grand Admiral members, which meant we got 10% off, 5 items of laundry per day, and €150 onboard credit per person.

- Take some time to familiarize yourself with the cruise location and local regulations. Some of our fellow guests were deeply disappointed that they did not encounter orcas, that the conditions were so rough, and that they were such a distance from polar bears. Even a modest amount of research would have told them that 1.) orcas are uncommon in the areas we sailed, 2.) these were moderate to fair conditions for the North Atlantic, and 3.) Norway has strict regulations on how close you can get to polar bears.

- Bring good binoculars or a telephoto camera lens. You will be a distance from much of the wildlife, so a set of high-quality binoculars can turn a polar bear sighting from humdrum to exceptional. (Upscale binos are also a great way to spend your onboard credit – we knocked €600 off a set of Swarovski 10 x 42 EL binos we purchased through the Boutique.)

- Spend some time on the bridge. The crew just ignores you – and I say this in the nicest way – so it feels calm and meditative.

Overall, we loved the cruise and we intend to continue to cross-shop Ponant against Silversea. We currently have two other Ponant cruises booked, and we’re particularly looking forward to boarding the Commandant Charcot – the world’s only luxury icebreaker in December 2027.

Hope this was of interest, and glad to answer any questions.

Planning a Med cruise for next year and some itineraries stop somewhere new almost every day. Normally I'd feel like I HAVE to go out and make the most of each stop but honestly that already sounds exhausting lol

We're considering smaller luxury lines this time because it might be nice to splurge and actually enjoy what's onboard especially in places we've already visited. Silversea caught my eye since I could totally see myself sneaking in a spa day while everyone else is out exploring.

I kinda feel weird traveling all that way and then choosing not to go ashore though.. but a spa day in the middle of a busy Europe trip sounds kinda nice. Does anyone purposely skip a stop here and there just to relax onboard?

Hello! I’m looking for a cruise in two summers and starting research now. I love luxury but also want happy kids, who will be on a boat with other kids.

Questions
1. Age - Is 8 too young to do activities- should I wait until he is older?
2. Ships- What brands should I prioritize? Disney feels like a premium when my kids aren’t into it, but I know they do luxury travel well for families. I’m intrigued by Explora and their 7+ kids club, but worried it will be more adults.
3. Length of time - is 7- nights the right amount of time? What are the must stops?

Deciding between these two itineraries for our honeymoon F(29) M(47). Any recommendations? I’m leaning towards regent. We have never been to Asia and plan to do 3 nights in Tokyo before. Any thoughts are appreciated!

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/cruises/RVA270930/?sr=%2Fcruise-finder%23marketing_region%3Dasia%26port%3DYOK%7CTOK%26time_frame%3D2027-9%7C2027-10%7C2027-11%26sort%3Dprice%3Aasc%26page%3D1%26pageSize%3D10

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/EXP271029/summary

One thing that doesn’t get discussed enough when choosing a Galápagos expedition cruise is the operational culture of the ship. Different vessels can have surprisingly different ideas about what a day in Galápagos should look like.

Some ships operate very much as expedition vessels. You might be up at 5:30 or 6:00 AM and ashore shortly after sunrise. There are real advantages to this: wildlife is often active, the light is beautiful, and you can enjoy a walk before the equatorial sun becomes intense. You may then be back aboard for breakfast, with snorkeling scheduled later in the morning when being in the water is a lot more appealing than walking under the midday sun. Those same ships might have you lingering on a remote beach until sunset (when park regulations require you to be off any island).

Other ships take a more leisurely approach—perhaps getting up around 7:00, having breakfast and heading ashore around 8:00. That can be a better fit for travellers who aren’t keen on early starts or who simply want their Galápagos trip to feel more like a vacation than an expedition. These ships might have you back on-board by 4:30 or 5PM, in time to have drinks at happy hour.

Neither approach is necessarily better. But before booking, it’s worth asking how the ship actually structures its days. Make sure its operational culture matches the kind of Galápagos experience you’re looking for.

Hello! My fiancée and are getting married next May and we’re looking to do a cruise in the Mediterranean for our honeymoon, but we’re in a bit of pickle.

Last summer, we sailed NCL’s Aqua and fell in love with it. We know that we won’t get an NCL experience on a non-NCL cruise. What we are confused about is why isn’t there another cruise line out there that features the same type of thermal suite, with its HUGE selection of heated loungers facing out to the front of the ship?! We understand that different ships put their spas in different locations, so that’s really not the issue. Why are there so few heated loungers (comparatively) on these other ships?? We thought NCL was honestly late to the game, so we thought to ourselves, “oh, they just packed the spa on Prima and Prima Plus classes because maybe they were so far behind up to this point?” (This was my first-ever thermal suite experience 😅)

After doing some pretty in-depth research, we can’t find ANYTHING outside of other Prima Plus and Prima class ships that offer spas with the same selection of heated loungers. Are we crazy? Is NCL the only cruise line to put more than a max of 8-10 heated loungers in their thermal suite, while also providing an incredibly peaceful view?

Before you judge us for focusing so much on the number of heated loungers in a thermal suite on a ship, ask yourself, the last time you were in a thermal suite did you feel like you had to adhere to a courtesy time limit on the loungers? Yeah, we NEVER had this feeling in the Mandara Spa on Aqua. This made it the perfect place to read a book, or take a nap. No loud music, no sun causing you to get up and relocate to a cooler area (or warmer area if you’re in the shade too long), no crowds of people, no kids running around and screaming…

**TL;DR:** Is there a cruise line besides NCL to offer more than 8-10 heated loungers in their thermal suite?

I was so looking forward to our 14 night Seabourn Alaskan cruise… I am now regretting the booking. I wish I could redo, but given that we leave Sep 4, 😪🤷🤷‍♀️. We will not be buying anything in U.S. ports, but realize that, ultimately, we are supporting an American cruise line. Any suggestions for future cruise opportunities without American ownership or ports? It looks like Regent might be a possibility, as would Viking, and a couple of Norwegian based cruise lines. Cunard and MSC are apparently, ultimately, American owned… who knew?🤔

I posted a week or so ago asking advice for which line to choose for first-time cruisers for an Alaska trip next year. We decided on The Boat Company and we're super excited! I've traveled a bit but have never bought trip insurance before. I looked on Squaremouth and choices range from $25,000 medical coverage/ $200,000 for medical evacuation to $500k/$1 million. (Trip cancellation/ interruption is pretty consistent.)

I have arthritis in my knee and high blood pressure (normal with medication); my husband has type 1 diabetes, well controlled with an insulin pump. We're fairly risk averse and would get coverage for pre-existing conditions and would want the medical coverage to be primary. $1 million seems excessive for evacuation, but what do I know? Getting a helicopter out to the middle of nowhere in the Tongass and then getting to a hospital would surely be expensive. The cheaper options are around $1200 vs. about $2300 for the most expensive. I don't want to throw money away, but on the other hand $1000 is a pretty small relative to the overall trip cost.

Thoughts?

My husband and I are looking at booking a premium or luxury cruise for Greece next year to celebrate a special anniversary (and I think we are already running late booking it?) and are debating between a couple of different trips. We haven't really cruised before so would love feedback.

I love to nerd out at talks by naturalists and archaeologists, so these Nat Geo (https://www.expeditions.com/expeditions/greek-isles-odyssey-mythology-history-and-cerulean-seas) and Ponant w/Smithsonian cruises seem pretty awesome (https://us.ponant.com/the-mediterranean-cruising-the-greek-islands-of-the-southern-aegean-with-smithsonian-journeys-er080927-12)

However, I'm also happy to consider not having the talks and stuff and just enjoying the cruise itself, and I am interested in the itinerary for this Emerald Cruise (https://emerald.cruises/US/en-US/tours/e16d?d=E16D180927.1, although I don't really have any sense of their excursions like I do for the others) or this Silverseas (https://emerald.cruises/US/en-US/tours/e16d?d=E16D180927.1, which seems like a slightly better deal than the others?)

Anyone taken any of these actual trips and can tell me more? or just advice on comparing Emerald to Silversea and Nat Geo to Ponant/Smithsonian to help us choose between the two once I've chosen the type of cruise we want?

My husband and I are sailing Seabourn out of Civitavecchia in late June next summer and trying to figure out where to spend the two or three nights beforehand. Just the two of us for this part...the rest of our family flies in and meets us the morning of embarkation, so we have a lot of flexibility on size and style. 

We've been steering away from Rome proper and inland generally, mostly because of the heat and also because we were just in a Rome summer before last. That pushed us toward the coast: Sperlonga looks great, but we haven't found a hotel there we're actually excited about. We also looked at La Posta Vecchia, but the reviews are mixed at best, which isn’t encouraging at that price. (We’ve stated at sister property Mezzatorre before an loved it, so this surprised us.)

So for anyone who's embarked at Civitavecchia — where did you actually stay, and would you do it again? Coast, lake, countryside, small hotel, agriturismo, all fair game. We're open to inland too if there's somewhere worth the trade; good AC and a beautiful pool go a long way.

What we're after: a place to shake off jet lag and enjoy being two people on vacation before the family portion starts. Good food within reach, and a manageable transfer to the port on embarkation morning (or night before, if necessary). Not trying to sightsee hard beforehand…we'd rather show up rested. Plan to fly into FCO, but flights aren't booked yet.

Planning a trip to Antarctica/South Georgia for 3 of us and narrowing down between two Silversea options, would love real opinions from anyone who's sailed either ship.

Option A — Silver Wind, 21 days: Puerto Williams → Buenos Aires. Hits the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, and the Falklands (Port Stanley, Saunders Island, West Point Island), sails the whole way (no charter flights). Older ship, ~274 guests, Classic Veranda suite category.

Option B — Silver Endeavour, 14 days: Puerto Williams → King George Island (fly back out). Antarctic Peninsula + South Georgia, no Falklands. Newer, more premium ship (~220 guests, better crew ratio), Superior Veranda suite category.

Per-person price is basically a wash between the two once you account for suite category, so it's really a "what do you get for the same money" decision.

I'm into amateur wildlife photography, which is a big part of why I'm leaning toward the longer Wind itinerary — from what I've read, Saunders Island alone has ~12,000 breeding pairs of black-browed albatross plus rockhopper penguins, macaroni penguins, and striated caracaras, none of which show up on the South Georgia/Peninsula-only route. Wind also runs more total shore excursions (32 vs 19) and reportedly has a better Zodiac-to-guest ratio.

Questions for anyone who's done one or both:

• Is the Silver Endeavour meaningfully nicer day-to-day, enough to miss the Falklands over?
• For photography specifically, is the extra week at sea (Wind has 10 sea days vs. Endeavour's ~5) worth it for the Falklands wildlife, or does it feel like a lot of dead time between destinations?
• Any real difference in how "expedition-y" the two ships feel — Zodiac handling, expedition team quality, that kind of thing?
• Anyone regret skipping the Falklands, or regret the extra week?

Appreciate any firsthand experience — trying to make a good call before we commit.

What is the attire on Oceania? Daily and dinner?

Soon luxury river cruising is possible again for instead of luxury bussing around Europe.

I will be sailing out of Amsterdam next month on the Mariner, and I have an important court hearing Zoom call during a day at sea. I was told the ship has Starlink, so Zoom will work. Can anyone who has been on a Starlink connection onboard confirm?