Small Ship Expedition Cruises — Expert Reviews & Articles

Here we share articles and reviews about adventurous expedition cruises all over the world, from the Galapagos to Antarctica and the Arctic.

Expedition cruises have a distinctive learning element and bring to mind a sense of adventure whether it’s visiting remote peoples in the South Pacific or plying the Upper Amazon; looking for rare birds and exotic animals in the Galapagos Islands, along Australia’s Kimberley Coast or in Central America; cruising amongst amazing and colorful ice formations in Antarctica and the Arctic; or encountering dramatic landscapes in Patagonia.

Here are some things that set expedition cruises apart:

  • A team of trained experts gives talks aboard and leads active outings ashore.
  • Expedition cruises are often longer than a cultural or scenic cruise, from 10 days to three weeks.
  • Most expedition cruises require a certain level of fitness to get in and out of various landing craft when going ashore in remote places and also a degree of stamina to trek across ice, through rain forests, along rocky shorelines and so on.
  • Typically they’re expensive — many, not all, in the range of $500 to $1,000 USD per person a day — in part due to their length, the remoteness of the region, often requiring pricey flights, and because of the number of high-quality onboard experts and the logistics of operating remote shore explorations.

Subscribe to QuirkyCruise.com for monthly curated newsletters highlighting our top small cruise ship reviews, round-ups & offers!


Prince William Sound Alaska Cruises — 5 Beautiful Things Active Travelers Will Love About UnCruise’s New Alaska Itinerary

Prince William Sound Alaska Cruises By John Roberts UnCruise Adventures long has been the clear...

Read More

ABERCROMBIE & Kent (tour operator)

Abercrombie & Kent Abercrombie & Kent was founded in 1962 as a safari tour operator in...

Read More

EXODUS TRAVELS (Formerly INTERNATIONAL Expeditions)

Exodus Travels (formerly International Expeditions) Exodus Travels (formerly International...

Read More

LINDBLAD Expeditions: Expert Cruise Review

Lindblad Expeditions — Unbiased Reviews and Tips Based in New York, Lindblad Expeditions has a...

Read More

AMERICAN QUEEN VOYAGES (formerly American Queen Steamboat Company) — UPDATE: Shuts Down Feb 20, 2024

American Queen Voyages 🎧 Listen to Ted’s audio tour of the American Queen:   Update...

Read More

OVERSEAS Adventure Travel

Overseas Adventure Travel This major tour company covers the world with land tours, and many of...

Read More

UNCRUISE Adventures in Alaska & More

UnCruise Adventures Seattle-based UnCruise Adventures operates a fleet of nine expedition vessels...

Read More

G Adventures

G Adventures For more than 30 years, G Adventures has been offering affordable adventure travel...

Read More
Loading

Write A Review

UnCruise Ad

UnCruise ad about Alaska

SLCL Ad

St Lawrence Cruise Lines Ad for Canada rivers

Croisi Ad

CroisiEurope ad

ACL Ad

Cruise American ACL Banner Ad

Heidi Booking Ad

QuirkyCruise Heidi Booking ad

2023 SATW Lowell Thomas QC Win

SATW Lowell Thomas Award winner

Adsense

Sign Up box

QC Sign Up Ad Sept 22

bird

Travel Without the Crowds

SATW Proud member

Adsense

About Us


Heidi and Ted HEIDI SARNA

I'm up to 78 countries and 110+ cruises worldwide, and it's the small ship journeys that I love writing about most. And so QuirkyCruise.com was born, an excellent research tool for planning your own unforgettable small ship trip.

THEODORE W. SCULL

I have traveled between all continents by sea and cruised along three dozen rivers. Ships and travel are in my blood, and so is writing. My journeys have translated into many books and many hundreds of articles.

More...

Our Small Ship Cruise Reviews & Articles

If you can imagine it, we’ve cruised it! With reviews, articles and destination overviews, we’ve got you covered.

12 Top Mississippi River Cruises Offered by American Cruise Lines

12 Top Mississippi River Cruises Offered by American Cruise Lines

By Jackie Sheckler Finch Cruising the mighty Mississippi and its tributaries has been my pleasure since 1976. Someone asked me once if it doesn’t get tiresome watching the river day after day. For me, definitely not. As America’s first highway, the Mississippi River...

Cycling & Europe River Cruising — A Great Combo

Cycling & Europe River Cruising — A Great Combo

Cycling & Europe River Cruising By Ralph Grizzle I am not your typical river cruiser. While no one loves river cruising more than I do, my approach is somewhat different. After more than 50 European river cruises, I’ve seen the sights and done the tours. I’m not...

Island Windjammers Packing Tips & Cruise Insights

Island Windjammers Packing Tips & Cruise Insights

Island Windjammers Packing Tips & Cruise Insights By Sarretta McCaslin My husband and I love to travel, and cruises have become a favored way to do so — we’ve been on over 25 cruises in 33 years of marriage. We appreciate being able to see many different areas or...

Small Ship Norwegian Fjords Cruises — 7 Cruise Lines to Consider

Small Ship Norwegian Fjords Cruises — 7 Cruise Lines to Consider

Small Ship Cruises to the Norwegian Fjords By Ted Scull & Heidi Sarna Updated February 2025 by Jackie Sheckler Finch The coast of Norway is long and beautiful. If you include all the shorelines of the bays, fjords, and myriad of islands — coastal Norway adds up to...

Planning Your Own Shore Excursions — Why It’s A Great Idea

Planning Your Own Shore Excursions — Why It’s A Great Idea

Planning Your Own Shore Excursions May Be Cheaper & More Tailored to Your Interests Than Booking the Cruise Lines' Tours By Judi Cuervo, with Heidi Sarna The dream of a flight with Napa Valley Balloons couldn’t have been better timed. A cruise was on the horizon,...

  • Subscribe

    Sign up for our monthly newsletter to get insider reviews, tips & deals on unusual & small-ship cruises.

  • * I would like to subscribe to the QuirkyCruise newsletters. QuirkyCruise.com will not sell your email. See PRIVACY POLICY