I recently sailed on an 18 day expedition cruise with Hurtigruten from Nome to Vancouver as well as 3 other recent trips to Alaska with American Queen Voyages and Holland America, so I am up to date and enthused after a couple of challenging COVID years. Small ships- whether expedition or luxury ships - are wildly popular worldwide now- Alaska to Antarctica to Norway and Northwest Passage; I'm in the right business!
European River cruises are also a large part of my practice. I look forward to helping you plan your luxury/adventure small ship adventure.
Update Jan 5 2024: I thank everyone for their patience. I am still taking just a few new clients at this time so that I may service my current clients in this extremely busy year. If you know you want an Alaska small ship for 2024/2025 fill out this form and I will get back with you to set up a meeting.
Luxury Cruises-
YOU REALLY CAN HAVE IT ALL
ENJOY... IT'S ALL INCLUDED.
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Silversea Cruises & Silversea Expeditions
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Regent Seven Seas Cruises
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Seabourn
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& more (see this Travel & Leisure article)
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Besides the small expedition vessels and river cruises, the other half of my business is the luxury and ultra-luxury lines sailing all around the world. These are larger than the expedition boats but much smaller than the megaships; most are in the range of 200-1000 guests. These ships are built and designed for luxury: everything from soft-close drawers in your walk-in closet to the choice of several fine-dining restaurants, large balconies where you can privately view exotic cities to spectacular wilderness (glaciers, waterfalls, jungles, deserts), or attend talks given by world-class lecturers. And SO much more; just about everything is included.
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The all-inclusive concept has become increasingly popular among travelers, and luxury cruises offer just that! Imagine a cruise where everything is taken care of, from the moment you step on board. No worrying about hidden fees or additional costs.
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Who sails on Luxury Cruiseships?
Typical guests are savvy travelers who have "upgraded" their cruise experience from mass market to premium or from premium to luxury. They understand the value of all-inclusive. Customers are enticed by the SMALL SHIPS, and SPACIOUS SUITES, as well as by ELEVATED SERVICE EXPERIENCE, many with butler service in every suite. We boomers who used to enjoy "roughing it" are now preferring supreme comfort and service; I noticed this trend especially after Covid. Average age is 55-75.
Does it cost more?
The surprising part to many is that these luxury cruises can be LESS expensive than the smaller expedition vessels (for many reasons).
Silversea is probably my favorite, maybe because they have both Classic cruises and a division of incredibly luxurious expedition vessels. Their new vessel in the Galapagos is in a class by itself. But I book a fair amount of Regent Seven Seas and the others.
These luxury lines became popular because of the all-inclusiveness: there is no nickel and diming or surprise costs onboard- everything is included from food, drinks, entertainment, and tips, to shore excursions and airfare (with some exceptions).
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If you would like information on these, let me know where in the world you would like to cruise. Because of the volume we do with these lines, I get some very good prices with extra amenities (like shipboard credits) on many sailings.
If you want a small ship but are not quite the adventurous expedition-type. Or even if you are, let's set up a complimentary zoom and discuss!
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"Silversea Muse was a fantastic ship. It was upscale, clean and beautiful. The artwork was a treat to see. The staff were friendly and especially attentive to our needs. Our butler even made a special birthday display including desert for my wife one evening.
The food was fantastic. We ate in all restaurants for dinner except for Kaiseki. We enjoyed Kaiseki for lunch a couple of days. We chose to eat all of our meals on the ship since the food was soooo good. We really loved Silversea and chose to put down an early deposit for a future cruise and grab the discounts plus our 15% credit for a cruise in 2021. Again, thanks for everything you did to make this trip so memorable. Just wow!!"
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