The sea at seven,
and nowhere to be until dinner.
OCEAN CRUISING & WATERWAYS
Every vessel is unique. The right one is a matter of judgement: the size, the company, the route, and the month you go.
Checked not assumed
Nothing else moves you through the world so effortlessly. It rests entirely on the ship, and getting that one decision right is most of the work. The rest is waking, opening the curtain, and finding a different coast outside it.
Which ship?
The brochures all say the same thing. The ships do not. Four kinds, and who each one is for.
01 THE SMALL SHIP
A few hundred guests, and a crew who know your name by the second morning.
Who it suits. The couple who want the sea without the crowd. All suites, most things included, and ports the larger ships cannot get into.
The honest trade. Fewer restaurants to choose from, no big theatre, and quieter nights. If you want a show after dinner, this is not your ship.
SEABOURN · SILVERSEA · REGENT SEVEN SEASASK ABOUT A SMALL SHIP
02 THE YACHT
A marina at the stern, and a harbour the big ships sail past.
Who it suits. Those who would charter a boat if they could be bothered with the crew. Later departures, long evenings in port, a pace closer to a private yacht than a liner.
The honest trade. You pay for the privacy, and the itineraries are shorter and warmer. Not the ship for a long crossing.
THE RITZ-CARLTON YACHT COLLECTION · EXPLORA JOURNEYS · FOUR SEASONS YACHTSASK ABOUT A YACHT
03 THE EXPEDITION SHIP
Breakfast in a parka, and a landing before the ice decides otherwise.
Who it suits. People who want Antarctica, the Arctic or the Kimberley with a proper suite to come back to, and a naturalist at the table.
The honest trade. The weather sets the schedule, not the ship. The day you were promised can change over breakfast. That is the point, and it is not for everyone.
SILVERSEA · SEABOURN VENTURE & PURSUIT · REGENT SEVEN SEASASK ABOUT AN EXPEDITION
04 THE LONG VOYAGE
Three weeks, one unpacking, and a different coast each morning.
Who it suits. The couple with the time, who want choice at dinner, a proper library, and a ship that feels like a place rather than a vehicle.
The honest trade. More guests, so more people at the pool and in the queue for the tender. The suite you choose matters more here than anywhere.
OCEANIA CRUISE · CRYSTAL · REGENT SEVEN SEAS
ASK ABOUT A LONG VOYAGE
05 THE RIVER CRUISE
Coffee on deck, a village going past at walking pace, and the cathedral by lunch.
Who it suits. Those who want Europe without the driving. A hundred and something guests, a new town most mornings, and the ship tied up in the middle of it rather than a port outside it.
The honest trade. Cabins are smaller than at sea, the days are set to the river, and in a dry summer or a wet spring the water level can change the route. No sea days, no open horizon.
UNIWORLD · SCENIC · AMAWATERWAYSASK ABOUT A RIVER CRUISEVIRTUOSO VOYAGES
A booking here also carries a host on board, a private welcome reception, a shore day arranged for you and shipboard credit. Which sailings, and what exactly, we confirm in writing before you commit.
Welcome event
Exclusive private reception
Onboard host
Private concierge services
Activity
Shore excursion or VIP tour
A credit
To spend onboard
One number
Until you are home
Where to sail, and when
The best suites on the best dates go first, often a year ahead.
If the month matters to you, write now rather than later.
The Mediterranean
September and October.
Warm water, the crowds gone.
The Norwegian Fjords
June. It barely gets dark.
Antarctica
December to February. The southern summer.
The Kimberley
May to September.
The dry season.
HOW SAILING IS ARRANGED
The ship is the easy part.
The conversation
Who is coming, how long you have, how much sea you actually want. Half an hour, usually.
1
The ship, then the suite
Two or three sailings that fit, with a view on each. Then the deck, the side of the ship, the suite that is worth it and the one that is not.
2
Everything around it
The flights you will sleep on, a night or two in the port city before you board, the car at the gangway at the end. One itinerary, one number.
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