John Roberts' Christmas Markets Cruise on the Rhine River By Heidi Sarna We love how involved in the travel world our contributing writers are. John Roberts is a great example. In fact, John — who is owner of In The Loop Travel, a website and social media brand that...
Best Luggage For Cruises By Heidi Sarna & the QC Team Readers often ask us about luggage recommendations; the latest query came from a woman booked on an upcoming small-ship Alaska cruise. It’s a great question, luggage is important. Small-ship cruises are...
Best Arctic Cruises to See Polar Bears By Heidi Sarna The Arctic season is just starting so we thought we’d go to straight to the source for some details on spotting polar bears. Seeing a great big polar bear in the wild is a dream for many adventurous travelers....
Belgium & Netherlands River Cruise By Heidi Sarna Pedaling to the magnificent Castle de Haar along a sun-dappled bike path through leafy suburban neighborhoods and past wheat fields and grazing cattle, I knew this week was going to suit me just fine. This was the...
European River Cruise Cycling Tips By Heidi Sarna Last fall I spent a week aboard the 156-pax AMA Stella round-trip from Amsterdam to explore the waterways of the Netherlands and Belgium. We chose this itinerary because of the many opportunities for us to sightsee by...
sponsored Cruise Director Trevor Houle Takes Us Behind the Scenes By Heidi Sarna. I had an e-chat with Trevor Houle, cruise director and purser for St. Lawrence Cruise Lines to find what it’s like to be the glue that holds a cruise together. Wearing many hats, a...
Heidi’s No Nonsense Cruise Packing Tips By Heidi Sarna Update July 2025 I travel for pleasure and I also travel for a living. As a freelance writer for many years and co-founder of QuirkyCruise.com, a review site focused on the small-ship cruising experience, I’m a...
Paul C Thornton's New Podcast Series by Heidi Sarna Paul C Thornton is a passionate man. He’s led a fascinating and full life, enough so to inspire him to write an award-winning memoir a few years back. Originally from New York and now based in Florida with his...
sponsored Grand Victoria Barge Cruise Charter By Heidi Sarna We love when travelers want to tell us all about their latest small-ship quirky cruises. Here, Ron Maxwell shares details on his recent charter of the luxury 6-pax Grand Victoria. QuirkyCruise: When did you...
The Best Small Ship Cruise Travel in 2022 By Heidi & Ted & the Gang For many, 2022 was a year of travel, for getting back out there after two years at home tethered to zoom and youtube doing the virtual travel thing. And so, our QuirkyCruise gang was...
If you can imagine it, we’ve cruised it! With reviews, articles and destination overviews, we’ve got you covered.
Nile River Cruise On The S.S. Sudan By Carolyn Muraskin Egypt had been at the top of my travel list for years, and in January 2023, I finally made the journey. As an architect turned tour guide in Washington, DC, I talk about design daily. While Washington offers a...
French Country Waterways Marne Rhine Canal Cruise By John Roberts When I boarded the Horizon II barge for a French Country Waterways Marne-Rhine canal cruise in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, I had only a basic idea of what to expect. After more than three...
Staying Fit On A Barge Cruise By John Roberts Because we always cruise with a rough plan on how we'll incorporate fitness into our daily routines, Colleen and I were able to stay very active on our recent barge cruise aboard the 8-passenger Horizon II through France's...
Can ChatGPT Make a Good Packing List? By Paige Okun & ChatGPT I panicked for the fourth time in a week about packing for an upcoming trip. I travel all the time, and while I’m not a great packer, I’m competent. However, this trip had me in a tizzy. I was setting...
Crew Members Removed From Victory's Two Ships By Peter Knego QuirkyCruise Contributor and Ship Expert Peter Knego shares his commentary below, based on his extensive cruise experience and contacts within the cruise industry. Updated August 16, 2025 Following my...
By Robin McKelvie I’ve long been a fan of Hebrides Cruises, whose sturdy wee Elizabeth G has spirited me out to the ultra-remote St Kilda archipelago and on other superb adventures around the Inner Hebrides and along the remarkable Caledonian...
Cruising with Viking in India By Anne Kalosh Starting in 2027, Viking is branching out to a new river cruise destination, India, with its own new vessel, the 80-passenger Viking Brahmaputra. It will ply the Brahmaputra River between Guwahati and Nimati Ghat in the...
sponsored By Heidi Sarna, with Judi Cuervo You’ve done the Danube, seen the Seine and rolled on the Rhine. Now it’s time to experience a hidden world of Europe river cruises. It’s not surprising that the best way to discover unique Europe River cruise routes is with...
New Ship on the Nile River By Anne Kalosh Waldorf Astoria's luxurious style is joining the growing selection of Nile River cruises with a new vessel to debut in 2026. The five-deck, 29-suite riverboat will operate four- and six-night itineraries, down river from Luxor...
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 John and Sandra Nowlan It’s a river cruise for U.S. history buffs but, as we soon discovered, it offers a lot more. Our riverboat, American Harmony, is one of 20 modern vessels in the growing fleet of American Cruise Lines, the largest cruise line operating...
