These Small & Intimate Expedition or Yacht type vessels offer a private, exclusive ambiance, along with personalized service and the advantage of being able to port almost anywhere. Passengers get a feel for the water and experience destinations in a very up-close and personal way.
Ships sizes range from very small vessels and luxury yachts whose passengers number in mere dozens. Knowing the differences is key to planning your best cruise vacation.
A beautiful example is Silversea’s 100-guest all-suite, all balcony Silver Origin, the luxury line’s first destination-specific ship. Silver Origin’s schedule of 7-day Galapagos sailings begins August 22, 2020, with an 11-day Silver Origin sailing scheduled for December 18, 2021, and a 10-day sailing immediately following on December 29, 2021.
Cover photo: Scenic Eclipse Outer Hebrides Courtesy Scenic
Here are small ships in the Expedition and Explorer categories, with guest capacity from 16 to 530:
CRUISE LINE | SHIP NAME (click ship names to see video, sailing information, dates, etc.) | GUEST CAPACITY | CATEGORY |
Celebrity | Celebrity Xploration | 16 | Expedition |
UnCruise Adventures Cruises | Safari Quest | 22 | Expedition |
UnCruise Adventures Cruises | Safari Explorer | 36 | Expedition |
Celebrity | Celebrity Xpedition | 48 | Expedition |
UnCruise Adventures | La Pinta | 48 | Expedition |
UnCruise Adventures Cruises | Wilderness Adventurer | 60 | Expedition |
UnCruise Adventures Cruises | Safari Voyager | 66 | expedition |
Windstar | Wind Star | 74 | Expedition |
UnCruise Adventures Cruises | Wilderness Discoverer | 76 | Expedition |
UnCruise Adventures Cruises | Wilderness Explorer | 76 | Expedition |
UnCruise Adventures Cruises | Safari Endeavour | 84 | Expedition |
UnCruise Adventures Cruises | S.S. Legacy | 90 | Expedition |
Viking | Santa Cruz II | 90 | Expedition |
Celebrity | Celebrity Flora | 100 | Expedition |
Silversea Cruises | Silver Galapagos | 100 | Expedition |
Silversea Cruises | Silver Origin | 100 | Expedition |
Windstar | Star Breeze | 106 | Expedition |
Windstar | Star Legend | 106 | Expedition |
Windstar | Star Pride | 106 | Expedition |
Silversea Cruises | Silver Explorer | 144 | Expedition |
Windstar | Wind Surf | 154 | Expedition |
Ponant | Le Jacques Cartier | 184 | Expedition |
Viking | Viking Octantis | 189 | Expedition |
Viking | Viking Polaris | 189 | Expedition |
Atlas Ocean Voyages Cruises | World Navigator | 198 | Expedition |
Crystal | Crystal Endeavor | 200 | Expedition |
Scenic | Scenic Eclipse | 228 | Expedition |
Silversea Cruises | Silver Cloud | 254 | Expedition |
Seabourn | Seabourn Venture | 264 | Expedition |
PONANT Cruises | Silver Cloud | 267 | Expedition |
Hurtigruten Cruises | MS Fridtjof Nansen | 530 | Expedition |
Hurtigruten Cruises | MS Roald Amundsen | 530 | Expedition |
PONANT Cruises | Le Boreal | 264 | Expedition Yacht |
PONANT Cruises | Le Lyrial | 264 | Expedition Yacht |
PONANT Cruises | Le Soleal | 264 | Expedition Yacht |
Hurtigruten Cruises | MS Fram | 318 | Explorer |
Hurtigruten Cruises | MS Spitsbergen | 335 | Explorer |
PONANT Cruises | Le Bellot | 184 | New Generation Explorer |
PONANT Cruises | Le Bougainville | 184 | New Generation Explorer |
PONANT Cruises | Le Champlain | 184 | New Generation Explorer |
PONANT Cruises | Le Dumont-D’Urville | 184 | New Generation Explorer |
PONANT Cruises | Le Dumont-D’Urville | 184 | New Generation Explorer |
PONANT Cruises | Le Laperouse | 184 | New Generation Explorer |