Adventure
Top 5 adventure cruises 1. Antarctica
Most ships visit the Antarctica Peninsula and its offshore islands. They sail during the warm months of the Southern Hemisphere, November through March. The two best months are January and February.
2. Galapagos
Passengers make shore excursions to the islands that helped inspire Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
3. Arctic
BEST PARTS: • Svalbard Island (this far-northern Norwegian Island is known for its polar bear sightings and icy rugged coastline) • Iceland (famous for glaciers, geysers, and volcanoes). • Greenland (spectacular glacier coastline). • Runners-up: Baffin Island (Canada) and North Cape (Norway).
4. Mekong
The Lower Mekong cruise is in Vietnam and Cambodia and is best because it includes a visit to Angkor Wat, one of my Top 100 Wonders of the World. The Upper Mekong route is in Laos and Cambodia, and passes through the Golden Triangle.
5. Amazon
BEST PART: The Upper Amazon (especially in the Iquitos area in Peru). The Lower Amazon in Brazil is less thrilling.
Key differences
Ship size
Their small sizes allow them to navigate into petite bays, narrow channels, and shallow depths.
Ports
They can stop at interesting ports that are too small or lack sufficient tourism infrastructure for big-ship visits.
Passenger count
It ranges from about a dozen (see boat photo above) to several hundred. The typical standard cruise ship carries a thousand or more passengers.
Passenger profile
Overall, the voyagers are more educated, well-off, and well-traveled.
Cost
They are more expensive because of factors like lack of economy of scale.
Educational
The focus is on learning and experience, not onboard entertainment and touristy ports. Expert lecturers give educational onboard lectures relevant to the boat's current location - and provide guidance on shore excursions. The ports are typically too small and lack sufficient tourism infrastructure for big-ship visits.
Land excursions
They are more educational and physically challenging. The typical boat-to-shore conveyance is not a tender but rather the Zodiac (a motorized inflatable rubber watercraft with a shallow draft). Read the informative 3-page Zodiac section in my Antarctica Cruise guide.
Itinerary flexibility
Many captains are authorized to change the itinerary (including port stops) on short notice to take advantage of an unexpected wildlife-spotting or other sightseeing opportunity.
