Small-Ship Cruises
Luxury small-ship cruises, for travelers who want the whole story.
I plan luxury small ship cruises for people who'd rather sail with a couple hundred guests than a few thousand. Smaller ships get into harbors the big ones can't. You're ashore with a naturalist or a historian instead of a crowd, and dinner is the kind you remember.
Most of the people I plan these for have already done the big trips. Now they want to come home knowing a destination, with the stories behind it. I'm a PONANT Explorations Expert and a Paul Gauguin Cruises PEARLS Accredited Partner, and I hold 60+ professional certifications.
PONANT Explorations Expert | Paul Gauguin PEARLS Accredited Partner | Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection | Silversea | Scenic
Small ships suit slow travel. You unpack once and the ship moves you through the islands while you sleep.
How I match you to the right ship
The ship decides the trip. A 32-guest sailing yacht, a 184-guest PONANT Explorer and a 330-guest Tahiti ship feel nothing alike. I ask how you like to spend a day, how much structure you want and what you'd regret skipping. Then I bring you two or three ships that fit.
I also watch the details most people find out too late. Which suites have the better balcony, which ports are tender only, and when the best excursions open.
The ships and lines I plan most
Le Ponant, PONANT's sailing yacht
A three-masted yacht with 16 staterooms and up to 32 guests, and the first sailing yacht ever admitted to Relais & Châteaux. She sails the British Virgin Islands, the Grenadines, Corsica, the Cyclades and Croatia, and you book her by the cabin. For my BVI catamaran clients who want the islands with a crew and a chef, she's the next step up.
PONANT's Explorer ships
Six ships of 184 guests, every room with a balcony, and the Blue Eye underwater lounge where you hear whales and dolphins through the hull. PONANT's polar ships and Le Commandant Charcot, its luxury icebreaker, are on my expedition cruises page.
PONANT with Smithsonian Journeys
Co-branded sailings with two Smithsonian Journeys experts aboard, leading talks and conversations. One shore excursion in every port is included, along with transfers. It's the closest thing at sea to traveling with a professor you actually like.
Paul Gauguin Cruises
My first call for Tahiti and the South Pacific. The m/s Paul Gauguin carries 330 guests and was built for French Polynesia's shallow lagoons. I'd point you to the longer voyages, 10 to 14 nights through the Tuamotus, the Marquesas or the Cook Islands. More on my Tahiti and Bora Bora page.
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
Yacht-style cruising with Ritz-Carlton service, in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and French Polynesia. I'm certified with the Yacht Collection.
Scenic Eclipse I and II
Discovery yachts for up to 228 guests, with two helicopters and a submarine aboard. I'm certified with Scenic, on the ocean and on the river.
Emerald Yacht Cruises
Emerald Azzurra and Emerald Sakara carry 100 guests each and sail close to the coast, calling at small ports. The Mediterranean in summer, and Sakara heads to the Indian Ocean and the Seychelles in winter.
Silversea and Azamara
Silversea for all-suite ships with butler service. Azamara for more late nights and overnights in port, so you see a city after the day-trippers leave. I'm certified with both.
Why PONANT stands out
PONANT is the only small-ship expedition line partnered with The Explorers Club. It sails with Smithsonian Journeys experts, works with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and was the first cruise line to stop using heavy fuel oil.
It also never carries more than 264 guests on any ship. About one in four of its guests had never cruised before, and that's usually the person who tells me "I don't cruise."
Small ship or big ship?
Big ships are built around the ship. Small ships are built around the destination. If you want a waterslide and a Broadway show, a small ship will feel quiet.
If you want the pass at Fakarava, the art islands of Japan's Seto Inland Sea or a Zodiac landing in Antarctica, size is the whole point.
Is a small-ship cruise right for you?
It fits you if
- You'd rather know a port than just see it.
- You want lectures, naturalists and good conversation at dinner.
- You've said "I don't like cruises" about the big ships.
It's not the best fit if
- You want a casino, shows and a kids' club.
- You want the lowest fare. Small ships include more, but the price reflects it.
Questions
Questions I get asked
Tell me the place you'd love to know by heart. I'll find the ship that takes you there.
I reply within one business day.
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