It's a small-ship world
Good things come in small packages, even cruises, as is evident in these intriguing itineraries
Igor Lobanov
Published on
Feb 05, 2008
The traditional image of cruising is the luxury liner carrying up to 3,000 passengers and loaded with amenities, activities and highly structured itineraries.
Contrast this with the "other" cruising: small ships.
Defined as vessels that carry less than 500 passengers, they range from a smaller version of the classic ocean liner to voyaging in coastal waters to barging along lakes, rivers and canals to yachting off the Greek islands.
Most ocean-going small ships carry from 20 to 200 passengers. River boats take up to 250. A barge may accommodate from a half-dozen to several dozen.
A cruise on these smaller craft usually means less regimentation, less formal atmosphere, and a greater feeling of friendliness and neighbourliness than the traditional sea voyage. And there often is easier access to the bridge and more opportunities to talk to the officers.
The trade-off is fewer shipboard activities and amenities than on a typical liner. Still, you'll find a lounge, often a small library, shipboard lectures, and modest entertainment. While many do not have a pool, you may have a small sunning space and , in some regions, there may be swimming stops.
Many vessels on European river cruises carry bicycles to let passengers get about more easily during shore visits.
The principal focus of small ship cruises is "out there," meaning getting close to the scenery, local populations, and, in some cases, wildlife. These vessels can nose into narrow fjords, thread through drifting ice floes, dock in extremely remote villages, or ease onto South Pacific beaches.
Closer to home, they maneuvre up and down the major rivers of North America and through the Great Lakes.
Some stop in popular shopping ports, such as the U.S. Virgin Islands or Hong Kong, but most itineraries take them into more remote natural settings.
Vessels specializing in adventure cruises carry inflatable craft that take passengers to view sea-and-shore life in the Galapagos Islands, desert-foliage blanketed outcroppings in the Sea of Cortez, or glaciers in Alaska.
You can ride an icebreaker in the Russian arctic or, even if you're not into diving, join your scuba companion on multi-day expeditions on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
The range of destinations reached on small ships is unlimited.
Consider Casanova, a 338-foot-long vessel with a crew and staff of 40 that takes up to 96 guests on seven-night cruises on the Po River from Venice to Parma, Padua, Mantua, Bologna, Ferrara, and Verona.
Six- to nine-course dinners feature continental cuisine and there's a lounge, library, and nightly entertainment. Rates range from $1,555 to $2,395 per person double occupancy. For more information, check peterdeilmanncruises.com, which is a website for a German company specializing in European river cruises at rates ranging from $80 to $275 a day, plus airfare.
If you want to sail with the wind as they did in days of yore, the Lili Marleen is a 250-foot, 50-passenger three-masted barquentine clipper ship that offers seven-night voyages amid the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador. The cruises are part of 10- and 14-night itineraries that include treks to Quito, Lima, Cuzco, and Machu Picchu. Rates begin at about $3,400. For more information, visit winwinvacations.com.
The website SmallShipCruises.com lists more than 150 cruise lines with itineraries throughout the world. Here are a few examples.
Alaska Sea Adventures offers seven- to eight-day voyages aboard the four-cabin Alaska Adventurer that include journeys along the Inside Passage, sea kayaking, and shore hikes. There are such theme trips as archeology, birding, and photography as well as custom voyages for families and small groups. Rates begin at $3,126.per person.
The Majestic America Line's (formerly Delta Queen Steamboat Company) paddle wheelers ply the Mississippi River, Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon, and Alaska's Inside Passage.
Emeraude Classic Cruises provides two-day cruises in Vietnam's Halong Bay in the 78-passenger Emeraude. Included are kayaking and excursions to grottos for rates starting at $145 per person.
Flaka Cruising's itineraries are offered aboard six- and 12- passenger wooden sailing yachts with names such as Kaptan Yarkin, Musanddira II, and Kaldera. For rates beginning at 210 euros, they cruise from bay to bay along the southeast coast of Turkey and visit the Greek Islands. Shore excursions cover cultural and archeological sites.
Waterway Cruises has the 88-passenger Polonaise that makes 10- and 11-night cruises in Poland and Russia round-trip from Gdansk. The itinerary takes passengers on the Vistula River, along canals and across a large lagoon to reach Kaliningrad, Russia, in the region just south of Lithuania. Shore excursions include visits to a castle, Russian cathedral, the tomb of Copernicus, and an elk reserve. Rates start at 890 euros.
For those who prefer to stay in North American waters, one of the newer organizations is Connecticut-based American Cruise Lines. This carrier offers six-, seven- and 14-night cruises along the U.S. East Coast aboard two 110-passenger vessels, American Star and American Spirit, and two 49-passenger ships, American Eagle and American Glory.
Winter and spring itineraries offered are either along the antebellum South or on rivers in Florida. During late spring and summer, ports of call range from Chesapeake Bay to the New England coast and, by fall, they cruise on the Hudson River.
For more information, visit Americancruiselines.com, or call 800-814-6880.