We’re all about cruising without the crowds. QuirkyCruise is THE source for reviews, news & round-ups about unusual & small-ship cruises under 300 passengers, from river boats to canal barges, sailing ships, coastal cruisers & expedition vessels. We also share special offers & info on private charters.
The latest small-ship cruise news by our chief news correspondent Anne Kalosh.
We review our favorite small-ship cruise experiences to inspire & inform. Here, we also share special offers from our cruise partners.
Here we share ideas for private charters of small boats, barges & yachts that are ideal for intimate friend & family groups.
WE’RE SMALL-SHIP EXPERTS, having cruised on more than 200 boats, ships & yachts all over the world!
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We do a deep dive on all aspects of small-ship cruising under 300 pax, with reviews, news, tips & destination overviews to inspire & inform.
Tulip Time Cruise By Katherine Rodeghier After a cold winter, I anxiously await welcoming signs of spring: the first robin, more daylight hours, flowers poking their heads from bulbs growing in slowly warming soil. I especially look for my favorite — tulips — and...
Seatrade Miami Convention 2024 News By Anne Kalosh From newbuilds to a new expedition brand, plenty of small-ship news emerged from cruising's biggest annual B2B event, Seatrade Cruise Global, this month. The Seatrade Miami Convention 2024, with a jam-packed...
Windstar Adding 2 Ships By Ted Scull, with reporting by Anne Kalosh Windstar broke the mold 40 years ago when in 1984 the new firm launched its first of what would be a trio of sleek combination motor sailers. Now, decades later, Windstar is adding a new build, the...
Biking River Cruise With Backroads & AmaWaterways By John Roberts You can have it all as a cycling enthusiast who wants to explore Europe on a highly curated, hassle-free vacation. In fact, I took a river cruise bike tour that combines the best elements of sailing...
7 Alaska Small Ship Cruises By M.T. Schwartzman I took my first cruise to Alaska in 1988 aboard the old Noordam — an ocean-liner-type ship with over 1,200 passengers aboard, which was considered big back in those days. The next year, I boarded my first small-ship...
American Cruise Lines Buys American Queen By Ted Scull. If you are old enough to recall the nightly newscaster Gabriel Heatter, he began his nightly news broadcast with “Good evening everyone, there’s good news tonight.” Indeed, there is great news for those cruisers...
sponsored New UnCruise Itineraries As usual, UnCruise keeps things fresh and exciting! Check out this cool new UnCruise itinerary debuting in 2025, in the Aleutian Islands. New UnCruise Itineraries for 2025 — Aleutian Islands Adventure with Kodiak, Katmai & Kenai...
sponsored Packing Tips For Alaska Cruising With Uncruise Adventures By Heidi Sarna No one does small-ship cruising better than UnCruise Adventures. The leader in small-scale Alaska cruises, the Uncruise fleet carries from 22 to 86 passengers on wide-ranging...
sponsored Overnight River Boat Cruising In Canada This year, St. Lawrence Cruise Lines’ (SLCL) one-of-a-kind small passenger ship, the 64-passenger Canadian Empress, will sail the scenic waters of eastern Canada’s 1000 Islands and the St. Lawrence River for its 44th...
Bar Harbor To Limit Cruise Visitors By Anne Kalosh For many years Bar Harbor, with a year-round population of just 5,500, was Maine's busiest cruise port, handling hundreds of thousands of passengers a season. For some residents, that was too many. Even though the...
Do I Need Travel Insurance? By Heidi Sarna I had a chat with travel advisor Kevin Flink about travel insurance. I met Kevin on a recent UnCruise in Alaska, where we had the opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of travel insurance. Kevin knows a lot about insurance...
Alaska Cruise Packing Tips By Heidi Sarna I’ve been to Alaska many times over the years, having done nearly a dozen cruises there, on big and small ships, but mostly on the small ones, my favorites. And I've learned some things along the way; what to pack and what to...
Heidi & Ted, along with their team of expert travel writers, have reviewed and traveled their way around the world, seeking out the very best in small-ship cruising. We have organized our reviews in six small buckets — river & canal, sailing, micro, coastal, oceangoing and expedition small-ship cruises.
If you can imagine it, we’ve cruised it! With reviews, articles and destination overviews, we’ve got you covered.
