Small Ship Cruises

Our collection of small ship cruises is perfect if you’re searching for an intimate cruise holiday experience that offers the opportunity to enjoy a range of diverse itineraries to hidden ports of call and unspoilt lands throughout the world.

Enjoying a small ship cruise has two main advantages, the first of which is that many cruise enthusiasts believe that cruising on a small ship cruise line offers a greater level of intimacy that simply cannot be recreated on larger vessels. The public spaces on cruises on small ships are generally more relaxed and there’s often a greater sense of camaraderie between passengers and also the ship’s crew.

The second advantage for a choosing a small ship cruise is that they tend to offer a wider variety of ports on their itineraries. Due to their size, small ships are able to easily navigate their way into remote ports of call that are generally inaccessible to larger vessels. It is for this reason that many cruisers tend to prefer small ship cruises when wanting to explore destinations such as Alaska or the Galapagos Islands.

How is a ‘small ship’ defined?

Perceptions on what constitutes a ‘small ship’ generally vary and are often debated, with some believing that anything over 200 passengers is too big, whilst others are would argue that when compared to ships that offering capacities over 1000 anything under this number could be classified as a small ship. At The Cruise Line our Cruise Experts recommend small ship cruises on vessels that carry no more than 600 passengers.

Small ship cruise lines

We offer a range of small ship cruises across a large spectrum of cruise lines. Some of these visit ports of call throughout popular cruise destinations such as the Mediterranean and Caribbean, whereas others are more specialised and perfect for exploring a specific destination or region.

Choose from a variety of cruise itineraries on small ships with capacities varying between 600 passengers and 12 passengers; from boutique-style luxury small ships to custom-built ice-standard vessels perfect for navigating arctic waters in maximum comfort.

We take pleasure in recommending small ship cruises with lines including:

Silversea Cruises - all-inclusive 6-star cruises to all four corners of the world.

Seabourn Cruises - supreme luxury cruises on stunning vessels.
American Safari Cruises - the world's experts for small ship Alaskan cruises.
Lindblad Expeditions - enjoy unique itineraries to a host of exciting destinations.
Windstar Cruises - award-winning itineraires to the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Central America.
Star Clippers - the ultimate in tall-ship sailing.

Small ship cruises from the UK

There are a number of cruise lines that offer small ship cruises from the UK. For example, Hebridean Island Cruises are renowned for their cruise itineraries that take in the best of Scotland’s Inner and Outer Hebrides onboard the Royally endorsed Hebridean Princess. For those looking to travel a little further a field, both Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery offer small ship cruises from the UK to destinations throughout Europe and the Mediterranean.

We have selected a number of small ship cruises below. If you would like more information on Small Ship Cruises, please call one of our Cruise Experts on 0800 008 6677.

Read more: If you’re looking for a specialist cruise line with a view to exploring a specific destination then take a look at our selection of adventure cruises.