6 of the best small cruise ship experiences
If you fancy boutique journeys, petite pleasures and intimate destinations, then think small.
Small ships venture into waters less frequented by big cruise lines, thanks to their shallow drafts and greater nimbleness, while tailor-made shore excursions and Zodiac expeditions (often with active options) gain you access to the surrounding environment.
And accompanying expedition teams are experts in their field, who can provide a better understanding of your destinations.
Ports are often visited overnight, offering more opportunities for exploration where large ships simply spend the night at sea. For a unique style of travel with small ships and off-the-beaten-track ports, here are six small-cruise destinations sure to thrill.
Corinth Canal, Greece
At just 21.3 metres wide, you wouldn't want to try and transit the Corinth Canal that separates mainland Greece from the Peloponnese peninsula in anything but a small ship; even small ships seem spectacularly squeezed between high sandstone walls, as if you're about to be swallowed into the gullet of the Earth. The canal is a miracle of engineering, dreamt of – and attempted by – ancient Greeks but only completed in 1893.
Puerto-Princesa, Philippines
Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park isn't a name that trips off the tongue, but it ought to be better known for its amazing geological formations. It has large caverns the size of cathedrals, spiked with stalactites and stalagmites, and an entire underground river. The biodiversity of this sea-to-mountain national park is impressive. Above the surface, karst pinnacles tumbled with rainforest rise from an often green-looking ocean like something from a science-fiction novel.
St-Malo, France
Only small ships can dock in St-Malo, whose enclosed medieval ramparts offer wonderfully windswept views over the English Channel towards the old enemy. Almost the entire town is surrounded by sea and rugged beaches. There's a great concentration of shops and cafés (hello buttery galette pancakes) around Porte St-Vincent, where it's hard to resist a whirl on the Belle Époque carousel.
St Petersburg, Russia
Few cruise arrivals beat sailing up the Neva River into the fantastic baroque heart of St Petersburg, a city of pretty palaces and churches that appear to float on innumerable canals. Seat of imperial power and hotbed of revolution, St Petersburg is crammed with parks, palaces, theatres and gracious statue-studded boulevards reflected in water at every turn.
Miyajima, Japan
This treasure-trove island located two kilometres off the coast near Hiroshima – today among Japan's most pleasant and lively cities – offers one of the country's most iconic sights. It's a giant orange tori (gateway) that appears to float on the Inland Sea, the body of water separating the main islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Miyajima also features wooded hills where shrines and temples nestle in maple and cherry trees with views of glimmering bays below. Free-roaming deer and monkeys add to the appeal of this magical site.
Turku Archipelago, Finland
Islands are always magical places, and sailing sedately through a vast array of them provides great cruising. Journey towards Turku and you navigate some of the 20,000 islands and rocky, pine-clad outcrops of this archipelago. Most are uninhabited, others dotted with summerhouses, wooden churches and little fishing harbours. Yes, you might have to rug up, but the pale northern light on the silvery sea is glorious.
Have you visited any of these dream destinations? Do you have a holiday on the cards, and if so where are you planning to go?
Let us know in the comments.
First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
Related links:
8 beautiful islands you can only visit on a cruise
10 things you didn’t know about cruise ships
5 items to never bring on a cruise (and what to pack instead)