Douro River Cruise Review By Heidi Sarna Joyfully wandering around hilly Porto, a colorful old city built on the steep banks of Portugal's Douro River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean, after flowing some 500 miles from north-central Spain, I was smitten by this...
Hooghly River Cruise Review By Heidi Sarna I recently spent a fascinating week on a Hooghly River cruise aboard Raj Mahal, a 40-passenger riverboat from Assam Bengal Navigation (ABN). Our journey covered about 250 miles of this twisting distributary of the Ganges,...
Magna Carta Thames River Cruise Review By Heidi Sarna Walking off the 8-passenger hotel barge Magna Carta, from its Thames River mooring at the edge of lush woodlands that envelop the Cliveden House estate in the Berkshire hills, we set off on a short uphill trek...
By Heidi Sarna. I've taken more than 125 cruises during my traveling life so far, many small-ship cruises carrying fewer than 100 passengers. Hands down, these are my favorites. Thus, why QuirkyCruise was hatched. Among the many kinds of small ships out there, barge...
By Heidi Sarna With the handsome 166-passenger Star Clipper anchored off in the distance, as if posing for a postcard, we motored in one of the ship's tenders to Isla Iguana in Panama. It was one of the week's several wet landings. This meant we climbed out of the...
Europe River Cruise Packing Tips By Heidi Sarna Updated January 2026 I've taken more than 125 cruises all over the world. Many on river boats and canal barges in Europe. And, in large part, I know what to pack based on how many times I didn't bring the right stuff —...
Small Sailing Ship Cruises in the Caribbean By Judi Cuervo & Heidi Sarna It was probably about 40 years ago when I saw my very first sailing ship. I was leaning lazily against the rail of the cruise ship I was sailing in the Caribbean, probably a Carnival or Home...
Nile River Cruises By Heidi Sarna & Judi Cuervo Updated September 2025 The Nile River IS Egypt. This 4,132-mile river, the longest in the world, inspired the ancient Egyptians to become experts in the areas of transportation, shipbuilding, farming, and...
American Cruise Lines Maine Coast Cruise By Heidi Sarna Stepping out on our small ship's private balcony as the sun was setting over southeastern Maine, I savored the fresh sea air and close-up views of the state’s scenic rocky coastline. VIDEO: View of Maine coast...
sponsored Prince William Sound UnCruise Adventure UnCruise loves going deep into wild Alaska, taking small groups of passengers to remote places to kayak, hike and skiff around the shoreline looking for animals and soaking up the natural beauty. There's no better way...
If you can imagine it, we’ve cruised it! With reviews, articles and destination overviews, we’ve got you covered.
Antarctica Cruise Tips By John Roberts Today, there are more cruise lines and more ships offering exciting expeditions to Antarctica than ever. I’m talking about getting down to the peninsula and to the Antarctic continent for actual landings and other adventurous...
New Atlas Ocean Voyages Ship By Charles Kipps Given its reputation for polar expedition cruising, it seemed fitting that on the day Atlas Ocean Voyages chose to make a major announcement in New York City the temperature would be 13 degrees with a wind chill of seven....
New River Cruise Ships for 2026 & 2027 By Anne Kalosh River cruises are booming, and for good reason. They offer everything we at QuirkyCruise love about small-ship travel. They take you to the heart of destinations — European capitals or major wine regions, tiny...
Douro River Cruise Review By Heidi Sarna Joyfully wandering around hilly Porto, a colorful old city built on the steep banks of Portugal's Douro River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean, after flowing some 500 miles from north-central Spain, I was smitten by this...
Wilderness Legacy Cruise Ship Review By Peter Knego (Photo Above: The handsome Wilderness Legacy, shown at anchor near Le Conte Glacier, was built in 1984 as a replica Chesapeake Bay coastal steamer. * Credit: Peter Knego) After no less than a dozen Alaska cruises on...
C’est La Vie Barge Cruise Review By Molly Hottinger, with images and videos by Len Kaufman From the moment I stepped aboard the C’est La Vie for a 6-night journey on the tranquil banks of the Marne River and the Canal Latéral à la Marne, I knew the Champagne region...
Tauck Rhine River Cruise Review — Beyond the Ordinary By John and Sandra Nowlan (Photo above: John & Sandra at the top of Heidelberg Castle.) Our late fall river cruise with Tauck was called Rhine Enchantment, but the enchantment extended well beyond the seven...
Bella Desgagnés Cargo Passenger Cruise By Aimée Laberge Natashquan, Harrington Harbour, Tête-à -la-Baleine, La Tabatière, Saint-Augustin, Blanc-Sablon… Why on earth would you head out on a supply ship to isolated villages on the Gulf of St. Lawrence’s northernmost...
The Traveling Professor By Heidi Sarna I recently had a chat with Steve Solosky of The Traveling Professor. We found each other online a few years back and bonded over our shared passion for small-scale travel and quirky cruises. If you’re not familiar with The...
Sukapha Brahmaputra River Cruise Review By Anita Nirody When I, along with my husband and a few friends, boarded the Sukapha in late November, we did not know quite what to expect. Some of us have done small boat cruises in other parts of the world (including Egypt,...
Marne Canal Barge Cruise Review By Kathryn Harrison Sunday – Arrival in the Rain The rain began somewhere past Paris and kept us company all the way east. In the back of a comfortable van, we made gentle small talk with our future shipmates — two friends from...
