Four New Small Ships Just Out

Four New Small Ships

By Anne Kalosh

There are more choices for quirky-cruise fans with four new small ships delivered during April alone. Each carries fewer than 200 passengers.

They are:

Ocean Albatros for Albatros Expeditions
SH Diana for Swan Hellenic
Scenic Eclipse II for Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours
American Serenade for American Cruise Lines

Three are expedition ships and one is a riverboat for the U.S. heartland.

Ocean Albatros

The 190-passenger Ocean Albatros, with its distinctive inverted X-Bow, is sixth in a series of Infinity-class ships for Miami-based SunStone Maritime Group. SunStone builds them in China for long-term charter to various tour operators — in this case, Copenhagen, Denmark-based Albatros Expeditions for year-round cruising.

Ocean Albatros is the sixth in a series of Infinity-class expedition ships. * Photo: SunStone Maritime Group

For Albatros, which caters to international clientele, this means deployment primarily in the Arctic and Antarctica, with some other regions visited on repositioning voyages.

Albatros already fields another Infinity-class ship, Ocean Victory, for part of the year in Antarctica and South America. (In the northern summer, Ocean Victory sails in Alaska for American Queen Voyages.)

Aboard Ocean Albatros, adventurers can explore the Northwest Passage; experience Greenland’s fjords, icebergs and glaciers; visit the northernmost inhabited polar regions in the Kennedy Channel between Canada and Greenland; search for polar bears in Svalbard; and trace Viking routes across Denmark, Norway, the Shetland and Orkney Islands, Greenland and Iceland.

Antarctica expeditions range from 12-night Antarctica-only programs to longer trips adding the South Shetland Islands, Falkland Islands and/or South Georgia.

I’ve traveled on Ocean Albatros twin Ocean Victory in Alaska and found it to be an elegant yet comfortable ship with a spacious lecture lounge, an observation lounge, main restaurant and observation specialty restaurant, gym, mini-spa and outdoor pool and whirlpools.

Ocean Albatros has mostly balcony staterooms, and 12 accommodations are for solo travelers.

The ship is built to Polar Class 6 standard, and Ulstein Design’s patented X-Bow provides stability and comfort.

Besides the open upper decks, two viewing platforms can be lowered forward of the lecture lounge on starboard and port sides for over-the-water wildlife-watching. A mudroom provides lockers for boots and gear, and Zodiacs and kayaks are available for exploring.

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Scenic Eclipse II

The 200-passenger Scenic Eclipse II is the sister of 2019’s Scenic Eclipse, both billed as “ultra-luxury discovery yachts.” Built in Croatia, they’re operated by Australia’s privately owned Scenic Group and cater to well-heeled international clientele with all-suite accommodations and butler service, a wide selection of gourmet restaurants, 1:1 crew to passenger ratio and a spacious spa and fitness facilities.

Scenic Eclipse II’s maiden voyage this month was an 11-night “Iberian Discovery” cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona. For its first two months of operation, the yacht will sail around Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Spain and France before heading north for a series of Arctic expeditions.

Four New Small Ships include Scenic Eclipse II

Scenic Eclipse II is billed as an ultra-luxurious discovery yacht. * Photo: Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours

Iceland, Greenland, the British Isles and Canada are destinations before Scenic Eclipse II heads south via Bermuda to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal and down the Pacific coast of South America to begin its maiden Antarctica season.

In March 2024, the yacht takes a turn across the Pacific to French Polynesia, Tahiti and Fiji, before a series of cruises exploring the Kimberley coastline of Australia. New Zealand, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands are among more Pacific options until October 2024.

I’ve visited the first Scenic Eclipse, a sleek, sophisticated yacht that drew admiring comments in the harbor. The Scenic vessels provide plenty of plush amenities for those who seek a lot of creature comforts when exploring.

Among the design enhancements to Scenic Eclipse II are a new Sky Deck with 270-degree views and a Sky Bar with indoor and outdoor seating and six private cabanas. Also new is the large, oval-shaped pool with furniture by Italian design house Paola Lenti. The pool has jets, allowing swimmers to get in their “laps.”

Scenic Eclipse II is built to Polar Class 6 standard and besides Zodiacs, kayaks, sailboats and e-bikes are a pair of Airbus H130-T2 helicopters and a custom-built submarine.

SH Diana

The newly delivered SH Diana, built in Helsinki, Finland, rounds out Swan Hellenic’s three-vessel fleet. It is the largest of the three — however, “large” in this case means capacity for 192 passengers, up from 152 on SH Vega and SH Minerva.

SH Diana is also longer (125 meters/410 feet, up from 113 meters/371 feet) and larger (12,100 gross tons versus 10,600 gross tons) and has space for more crew (140).

The extra size allows SH Diana to be equipped with a pair of 48-passenger tenders for exploring, along with a fleet of Zodiacs.

The ship entered service with a pair of Mediterranean cruises and will next head north for three comprehensive Norway voyages, one all the way to the North Cape and then crossing to Svalbard. This begins an Arctic season. In August, SH Diana heads down Europe’s Western Seaboard to the Mediterranean for varied cruises there.

These range from a circumnavigation of Sicily to an eastern cruise ending at Istanbul. From there, SH Diana travels through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea, with calls at Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Then it’s on to the Seychelles and East Africa, Madagascar and southern Africa. From South Africa, a 20-night odyssey explores the South Atlantic islands en route to Antarctica. This begins the 2023/24 Antarctic season.

Swan Hellenic bills its ships as five-star. They have ample open deck space, stylish interiors, an elegant restaurant, a club lounge adjacent to the aft pool deck with its bar and grill and a forward-facing observation lounge. New to SH Diana is a private events room beside the observation lounge. A gym and small spa are other amenities. Most accommodations have balconies.

SH Diana is built to Polar Class 6 standard, down from PC 5 for the first two ships.

SH Diana rounds out Swan Hellenic’s three-ship fleet. * Photo: Swan Hellenic

American Serenade

April’s crop of new builds includes a riverboat, the 180-passenger American Serenade. Built at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Maryland, it is the sixth in a series of modern-style (no paddle-wheel) vessels for American Cruise Lines and the 18th ship constructed at Chesapeake for the company.

Four New Small Ships include one from American Cruise Lines

American Cruise Lines’ modern riverboats make stunning use of glass. Here, the airy atrium. * Photo: American Cruise Lines

American Serenade’s home is the U.S. heartland, where it’s initially operating seven-night Lower Mississippi River cruises between New Orleans and Memphis, Tennessee. Seven-night Tennessee Rivers cruises will follow, with sailings from Memphis to Nashville, Tennessee, and between Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. A couple of these are music-themed, and one is also a culinary cruise.

In August, American Serenade embarks on a complete Mississippi cruise, 21 nights, from New Orleans to St. Paul, Minnesota. A series of weeklong Upper Mississippi cruises follow. A couple of these are Mark Twain theme cruises, and several are fall foliage sailings, ending with a “Grand Heartland” cruise, 15 nights, from St. Paul to New Orleans.

Lower Mississippi sailings follow, capping 2023 with a Christmas cruise from New Orleans to Memphis featuring holiday-inspired cuisine, special music and onboard and onshore enrichment.

The five-deck American Serenade sports all private balcony staterooms, including suites and singles. Its interior design incorporates expansive use of glass for views throughout, including from the multi-deck atrium.

The vessel also showcases American’s patented opening bow and retractable gangway, as well as an open-air Deck 5 skywalk with an ellipse that cantilevers over the café below.

Other amenities include indoor and outdoor lounges, a grand dining room, casual café, library/chart room and fitness center.

As these four new vessels show, the variety of cruising styles and itineraries for small-ship fans just keeps getting richer.