It’s not only the rich and famous who get to sail on stunning yachts, even customers who can’t afford the price tag for their own ship can still travel like a millionaire, booking a cruise on a small, intimate vessel.
Many commercial cruise lines have yacht-style ships that sail around the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the South Pacific and Asia.
While they are generally more expensive than regular ocean cruises, prices aren’t as crazy as you might think. For example, a week in Croatia on a commercial yacht could start at about £1,500.
Yachts are generally small ships with room for anything from 20 to 350 passengers.
They could be motorised or ships with sails, but their USP is that they’re small enough to nip into the smaller ports, taking guests to areas not accessible to larger cruise ships.
Yacht cruising tends to appeal to clients who have already sailed on larger, premium or luxury ocean cruise ships but are looking for something more intimate, but also those who have have taken a river cruise or escorted tour.
There has been a growth in the market in recent years, with more cruise lines adding yachts to their fleet.
One of the more established lines is SeaDream Yacht Club, which has two 112-passenger ships sailing around the Caribbean, Mediterranean and northern Europe.
Windstar Cruises has a trio of classic sailing yachts, with masts, and three all-suite motorised yachts. It operates across the globe, but highlights include year-round sailings in Europe, winters in the Caribbean and in 2027 it will have two ships in Tahiti.
Star Clippers has sailing yachts, with masts, and operates under wind power 70% of the time. Royal Clipper, its largest yacht, sleeps 227 guests.
Emerald Cruises, which is best known for river cruises, now has two super yachts, Emerald Azzurra and Emerald Sakara. A third, Emerald Kaia, is due in April 2026.
Upscale hoteliers have also entered the commercial yacht market, with Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons launching their own small ships.
Ritz-Carlton’s sleek 298-passenger Evrima features balcony suites as standard, an infinity pool and lots of space to relax. A second ship, Ilma debuts this month (September).
Four Seasons will launch its ultra-luxury 95-suite yacht in 2026.
For bucket-list destinations such as Antarctica and Indonesia’s Raja Ampat, consider Aqua Expeditions, Atlas Ocean Voyages, Ponant and Scenic.
For clients on a tight budget, or those looking for affordable smaller ships carrying 20 to 40 passengers, look at APT Travelmarvel, Riviera Travel, Cruise Croatia and Sail Croatia. Riviera currently has a week sailing Croatia’s coast on a half-board basis for £1,799 per person.
Yachts are able to visit small ports that can’t be reached by larger ocean ships, such as Sifnos in Greece, which is visited by both SeaDream and Star Clippers, or the Solomon Islands and some of the smaller ports in Vanuatu in the South Pacific.
Another USP of yacht-style cruising is that itineraries are often flexible. For example, on a recent Cruise Croatia sailing the captain decided to take guests to visit his home island of Krk for the morning.
Yachts have a laid-back vibe and generally there isn’t a fixed programme of activities like you’ll find on larger cruise ships.
Windstar has guest lecturers, but the focus is more on relaxation and guided shore excursions. Aqua Expedition also takes guest on small group expert-guided excursions.
SeaDream Yacht Club has a similar style with no butlers, no formal nights and no need to worry about pre-booking restaurants, shows or dinners.
Small yachts generally have only one or two dining outlets, but if you have guests wanting more variety then Scenic is a good option with 10 restaurants onboard. Windstar also has choice of dining venues, all with open seating.
On Windstar, Scenic, Emerald and SeaDream all meals are included, but some may charge extra for alcohol.
Smaller lines such as Riviera and Cruise Croatia offer half-board rather than full board, so guests can dine independently ashore.
Many have small pools, gyms and spas. Scenic Eclipse I and II even have two helicopters and submarines, which are used to explore when the ships are in Antarctica.
As with all cruise lines, cabins range in size and you will find porthole windows are common, but even some of the smallest ships have a handful of balcony cabins, and Emerald and SeaDream have generous owner’s suites for those who want to splurge.
Travel Gossip’s Senior Reporter Kelly Ranson has been on ships of all sizes – but Cruise Croatia’s 18-cabin My Wish was by far the smallest.
Before boarding in Dubrovnik, I was a little hesitant and wondered if a ship for just 38 people would be a bit too small and if there’d be enough to keep me occupied as a forty-something.
By day two I was sold on the concept. Not only were my fellow ship mates lovely (and some younger than my friend and I, with ages ranging from mid-twenties to eighties) and the yacht itself was a winner.
My Wish is a sleek ship, with leather seating at the aft, sun deck with a hot tub and plenty of loungers.
Our cabin was admittedly small (11sqm), but designed well enough that we both had space to store our clothes, shoes and suitcases without tripping over.
What I loved more than anything was the ease of the day’s itinerary. We’d sail throughout the day, leaving each destination around 7am and arriving in our next location mid-afternoon.
My seven-day agenda went a little like this: breakfast, swim stop, lunch, relax, dock in port, a short walking tour, dinner ashore, sleep, repeat. The swim stops in the Adriatic were a highlight each day.
It’s one to recommend to clients who don’t need entertaining 24/7 and are happy with having the ‘basic’ (albeit of a high standard) facilities onboard. It’s more about enjoying the slower sailing pace, meeting new friends and exploring the lesser-known ports along the way.
The post Yacht cruises 101 appeared first on Travel Gossip.
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Many commercial cruise lines have yacht-style ships that sail around the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the South Pacific and Asia.
While they are generally more expensive than regular ocean cruises, prices aren’t as crazy as you might think. For example, a week in Croatia on a commercial yacht could start at about £1,500.
But what is a yacht cruise, exactly?
Yachts are generally small ships with room for anything from 20 to 350 passengers.
They could be motorised or ships with sails, but their USP is that they’re small enough to nip into the smaller ports, taking guests to areas not accessible to larger cruise ships.
Yacht cruising tends to appeal to clients who have already sailed on larger, premium or luxury ocean cruise ships but are looking for something more intimate, but also those who have have taken a river cruise or escorted tour.
Which cruise lines have yachts?
There has been a growth in the market in recent years, with more cruise lines adding yachts to their fleet.
One of the more established lines is SeaDream Yacht Club, which has two 112-passenger ships sailing around the Caribbean, Mediterranean and northern Europe.
Windstar Cruises has a trio of classic sailing yachts, with masts, and three all-suite motorised yachts. It operates across the globe, but highlights include year-round sailings in Europe, winters in the Caribbean and in 2027 it will have two ships in Tahiti.
Star Clippers has sailing yachts, with masts, and operates under wind power 70% of the time. Royal Clipper, its largest yacht, sleeps 227 guests.
Emerald Cruises, which is best known for river cruises, now has two super yachts, Emerald Azzurra and Emerald Sakara. A third, Emerald Kaia, is due in April 2026.
Upscale hoteliers have also entered the commercial yacht market, with Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons launching their own small ships.
Ritz-Carlton’s sleek 298-passenger Evrima features balcony suites as standard, an infinity pool and lots of space to relax. A second ship, Ilma debuts this month (September).
Four Seasons will launch its ultra-luxury 95-suite yacht in 2026.
For bucket-list destinations such as Antarctica and Indonesia’s Raja Ampat, consider Aqua Expeditions, Atlas Ocean Voyages, Ponant and Scenic.
For clients on a tight budget, or those looking for affordable smaller ships carrying 20 to 40 passengers, look at APT Travelmarvel, Riviera Travel, Cruise Croatia and Sail Croatia. Riviera currently has a week sailing Croatia’s coast on a half-board basis for £1,799 per person.
Which ports?
Yachts are able to visit small ports that can’t be reached by larger ocean ships, such as Sifnos in Greece, which is visited by both SeaDream and Star Clippers, or the Solomon Islands and some of the smaller ports in Vanuatu in the South Pacific.
Another USP of yacht-style cruising is that itineraries are often flexible. For example, on a recent Cruise Croatia sailing the captain decided to take guests to visit his home island of Krk for the morning.
What entertainment is available?
Yachts have a laid-back vibe and generally there isn’t a fixed programme of activities like you’ll find on larger cruise ships.
Windstar has guest lecturers, but the focus is more on relaxation and guided shore excursions. Aqua Expedition also takes guest on small group expert-guided excursions.
SeaDream Yacht Club has a similar style with no butlers, no formal nights and no need to worry about pre-booking restaurants, shows or dinners.
What facilities are onboard?
Small yachts generally have only one or two dining outlets, but if you have guests wanting more variety then Scenic is a good option with 10 restaurants onboard. Windstar also has choice of dining venues, all with open seating.
On Windstar, Scenic, Emerald and SeaDream all meals are included, but some may charge extra for alcohol.
Smaller lines such as Riviera and Cruise Croatia offer half-board rather than full board, so guests can dine independently ashore.
Many have small pools, gyms and spas. Scenic Eclipse I and II even have two helicopters and submarines, which are used to explore when the ships are in Antarctica.
As with all cruise lines, cabins range in size and you will find porthole windows are common, but even some of the smallest ships have a handful of balcony cabins, and Emerald and SeaDream have generous owner’s suites for those who want to splurge.
Review of Cruise Croatia
Travel Gossip’s Senior Reporter Kelly Ranson has been on ships of all sizes – but Cruise Croatia’s 18-cabin My Wish was by far the smallest.
Before boarding in Dubrovnik, I was a little hesitant and wondered if a ship for just 38 people would be a bit too small and if there’d be enough to keep me occupied as a forty-something.
By day two I was sold on the concept. Not only were my fellow ship mates lovely (and some younger than my friend and I, with ages ranging from mid-twenties to eighties) and the yacht itself was a winner.
My Wish is a sleek ship, with leather seating at the aft, sun deck with a hot tub and plenty of loungers.
Our cabin was admittedly small (11sqm), but designed well enough that we both had space to store our clothes, shoes and suitcases without tripping over.
What I loved more than anything was the ease of the day’s itinerary. We’d sail throughout the day, leaving each destination around 7am and arriving in our next location mid-afternoon.
My seven-day agenda went a little like this: breakfast, swim stop, lunch, relax, dock in port, a short walking tour, dinner ashore, sleep, repeat. The swim stops in the Adriatic were a highlight each day.
It’s one to recommend to clients who don’t need entertaining 24/7 and are happy with having the ‘basic’ (albeit of a high standard) facilities onboard. It’s more about enjoying the slower sailing pace, meeting new friends and exploring the lesser-known ports along the way.
The post Yacht cruises 101 appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
