In The Loop Travel
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • The Americas
    • Caribbean
    • Mexico
    • Europe
    • Asia/Pacific
    • Africa
  • Fitness
  • Cruising
  • Travel Tips
  • Videos
  • Work With Us
  • My Work
  • About
  • Colorado Craft Brewery Guide
  • Media Kit
  • TBIN Influencer Network

7 Cool Cruise Lines Sailing to Exotic and Remote Places

3/6/2017

0 Comments

 
Katarina Line cruise ship Vjeko
Katarina Line's cruise ship Vjeko sails with up to 21 people and is one of the large fleet of vessels the company uses to cruise throughout Croatia.
By John Roberts

I was both excited and circumspect as a meandered through the crowd and stumbled upon new destinations and adventurous itineraries.

You see, I went to the London Cruise Show. And these types of travel conferences leave me overwhelmed by the number of amazing sailing voyages available from cruise lines, many of which I was learning about for the first time.

I saw an array of ships and itineraries that I wanted to sail. Many of them looked so glorious I could already imagine the trips. My favorite discoveries come in the form of the expedition ships that sail with smaller passenger counts, provide more intimate and adventurous daily excursion activities and journey to the most beautiful and remote places on earth.

That is a wonderful and exciting thing. I get jacked up to go out and explore places that are new and interesting to me, spots where I can go hiking or swimming or biking or kayaking or even try new sports or spy new creatures. But here's the thing that left my head spinning.

As I walked the floor at Olympia in London and flipped through all the colorful brochures and chatted with people about these incredible the voyages and places and food, I realized that I'll never be able to do it all in one lifetime.

Life is precious, travel is fantastic. And the clock is ticking. Therefore, I better make the best use of my time!

Here are the new lines that I was especially drawn to after seeing the types of adventurous voyages they sail.
 
Noble Caledonia: The London-based tour operator runs river and ocean cruises around the world. The cruises that drew my attention, though, are an 18-day epic adventure from Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean, that visits Reunion and Madagascar on its way to Mozambique. The voyage carries 90 passengers on the MS Serenissima, and activities include snorkeling at coral reefs, beaches, hikes to waterfalls and tour of rainforests, bays and mangroves. The island of Madagascar is home to an immense number of unique creatures and plants and most famously, the lemur.
 
Noble Caledonia also offers a 12-day trip on MS Serenissima to the Peloponnese region and its islands in Greece. The Greek isles are my favorite place to sail on a small ship. I have been twice on yacht sailings with Mar-A-Mar Travel, and you can see how much we enjoyed those cruises in the Ionian and Aegean seas:
 
Noble Caledonia's trio is roundtrip from Athens and visits the magical islands and historical sites in such places as Olympia, Delphi, Corinth and Kythira.
 
Quark Expeditions: This line has a fleet of small expedition ships that go to the most remote regions of the world. Quark Expeditions' cruises to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, the Arctic Circle, Greenland and the North Pole take you to icy straits and along rugged rocky coastlines to the lands of polar bears, penguins and other polar creatures. Activities include mountaineering, cross-country skiing, kayaking, paddleboarding, snowshoeing and camping.
 
Iceland ProCruises: Sailing on 199-passenger Ocean Diamond, you get to explore the Land of Fire and Ice. Iceland ProCruise offers circumnavigation sailings of Iceland from the world's northernmost capital, Reykjavik, to enjoy a range of adventures while exploring fjords and keeping watch for the Northern Lights. Hiking and boating excursions take you to black sandy beaches, picturesque waterfalls and iceberg-filled lagoons. Iceland ProCruises also has a pair of sailings to Greenland. I wrote more about the Greenland cruises for 2017:
 
Katarina Line: These Croatia cruises and tours explore the Adriatic and coastal Croatia across four ship categories, from the new deluxe ships to more austere vintage wooden sailing vessels. Cruise itineraries sail in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria, and Katarina features theme cruises focused on biking or yoga. You can also pick a combined land and cruise adventure. Whatever journey you take, you will be able to swim, snorkel, hike and bike in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, visiting such gems as Plitvice Lakes and the walled city of Dubrovnik. 
Picture
Courtesy The Floating Resort by ScubaSpa
The Floating Resort: If ever I was going to finally learn to scuba dive, this would be the perfect vacation to finally give it a try. The Floating Resort by ScubaSpa voyages also feature snorkeling and other activities. You can join the vessel for a dive cruise or a spa cruise or some combination of both. This is luxury and pampering at its finest as you play in Maldives. The main activities are diving and water sports in the pristine island system located in the Indian Ocean. You'll have to chance to get up close to mantas, whale sharks, hammerheads and turtles. Night life includes beach barbecues with soothing drum performances under clear skies. Onboard the 50-meter yachts, you sail as one of 44 passengers in a luxury cabin or suite. Don't forget the gourmet food and those spa treatments.
Picture
Courtesy Poseidon Expeditions
Poseidon Expeditions: This cruise line operates the 128-passenger 50 Years of Victory and 114-passenger Sea Spirit on icebreaker cruises to the North Pole, Arctic and Antarctica. On Sea Spirit, you can experience deluxe expedition sailings to Svalbard, Franz Josef Land and Iceland. Explore geographic and historical sites, visit vast penguin colonies, spy polar bears hunting for a meal and get a chance to camp or go sea kayaking in arctic conditions. Now, that's an adventure.
 
CroisiEurope: This line operates a wide range of cruises in numerous waterways, from rivers in France and on the Rhine and Danube, coastal cruises in the Adriatic, sailings on the Mekong in Vietnam and Cambodia and on the Volga in Russia. CroisiEurope also sails hiking and biking themed cruises. But I am looking at the line's cruises in Southern Africa. You take nine-day trips on the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers and with stays in lodges to visit South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. During the safari, you'll be on the lookout for elephants, antelope, hippos, zebras, water buffalos, birds and more.   
 
These smaller cruise lines with specific niches in adventure travel and active shore excursions will always be my favorite. I know I'll never run out of new experiences to look forward to.
 
Got any smaller expeditions that you have enjoyed? I'd love to hear about them.
 
Where are you going next in your travels? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
 
Thanks for reading and happy sailing!

JR
Subscribe today to get the latest reviews, tips and tricks to help you have your best adventure ever.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Africa
    AIDA Cruises
    Alaska
    Albatros Expeditions
    Alicante
    AmaWaterways
    Amber Cove
    American Queen Steamboat Company
    American Queen Voyages
    Amsterdam
    Antarctica
    Antigua
    Arctic
    Arizona
    Aruba
    Asia
    Atlas Ocean Voyages
    Australia
    Austria
    Avalon Waterways
    Backroads
    Bahamas
    Barbados
    Barcelona
    Belize
    Blue World Voyages
    Bonaire
    Bora Bora
    Brooklyn
    Budapest
    Burma
    Cabo San Lucas
    Cadiz
    California
    Cambodia
    Cancun
    Caribbean
    Carnival Cruise
    Celebrity Cruises
    Celestyal Cruises
    Christmas Markets
    Cologne
    Colombia
    Colorado
    Corfu
    Costa Rica
    Cozumel
    Craft Beer
    Croatia
    Crystal Cruises
    Cuba
    Curacao
    Dominican Republic
    Dubrovnik
    Egypt
    Emerald Cruises
    Emerald Waterways
    Europe
    Expat Life
    Explora Journeys
    Fathom Travel
    Fitness
    Florida
    Fort Lauderdale
    France
    French Polynesia
    Galapagos
    Galveston
    Germany
    Grand Cayman
    Greece
    Grenada
    Guatemala
    Halifax
    Harmony Of The Seas
    Hawaii
    High Line Park
    Hiking
    Holland America
    Hong Kong
    Houston
    Hungary
    Ibiza
    Iceland
    Isla Mujeres
    Italy
    Jim Thorpe
    Key West
    Kotor
    Labadee
    Lake Minnewaska
    Las Vegas
    Lisbon
    Lithuania
    London
    London Eye
    Maine
    Malaga
    Mexico
    Miami
    Minnesota
    Mississippi River
    Monte Carlo
    Montenegro
    Monterey
    Montreal
    Moorea
    MSC Cruises
    MSC Divina
    Netherlands
    Newfoundland
    New Jersey
    New Orleans
    New York
    New York City
    New Zealand
    North Carolina
    Norway
    Norwegian Cruise Line
    Nuremberg
    Oceania Cruises
    Oregon
    Orlando
    Panama
    Panama Canal
    Passau
    Paul Gauguin
    Paul Gauguin Cruises
    Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia
    Pickleball
    Ponant
    Portugal
    Prague
    Princess Cruises
    Puerto-rico
    Queens
    Regensburg
    Regent Seven Seas
    Rome
    Royal Caribbean
    Saint-Tropez
    San Francisco
    Santorini
    Scenic Cruises
    Scottsdale
    Seabourn
    SeaDream Yacht Club
    Sicily
    Silversea
    Sintra
    Sorrento
    Spain
    Star Clippers
    St. Maarten
    St. Thomas
    Symphony Of The Seas
    Tahiti
    Travel Gear
    Travel Tips
    Tunisia
    Turkey
    Turks And Caicos
    UnCruise
    Un-Cruise Adventures
    UnCruise Adventures
    Universal's Islands Of Adventure
    Uniworld
    Utah
    Utica
    Utica Boilermaker 15K
    Vienna
    Vietnam
    Viking Cruises
    Washington
    Windstar Cruises
    Wisconsin

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

Copyright © 2013 | All rights reserved | Ewing, New Jersey.
Contact | About | Media Kit