While classic cruise destinations like the Caribbean, Alaska, and the Mediterranean continue to be popular, cruise lines also realize that they have passengers, new and returning, who want to explore emerging and off-the-beaten-path cruise ports. Expedition ships are wandering further than ever before, but so are other ships as they look to pique travelers’ interest in discovering new places.
These are seven exciting cruise routes that are on our radar for the year ahead.
Alaskan wilderness
HX Expeditions plans to spend more time outside of ports exploring nature-rich Alaskan destinations such as Icy Bay.
Photo by jet 67/Shutterstock
Tried-and-true cruise routes through the Last Frontier explore Alaska’s Inside Passage, stopping at popular ports such as Sitka, known for its small-town charm, and Juneau, Alaska’s capital. HX Expeditions, with the 490-passenger hybrid-electric Roald Amundsen (which can operate for short periods on sustainable battery power) is mostly staying offshore rather than docking in ports.
Spot whales, bald eagles, bears, seals, and other wildlife during outings on kayaks and Zodiac-style inflatable boats while accompanied by nature guides in destinations such as the Misty Fjords, the 150-mile-long Chatham Strait, and Icy Bay, with its three glaciers against the backdrop of Mount St. Elias, the second-tallest peak in the U.S.
When you do meet civilization, it’s in the remote Tlingit village of Klawock, home to an impressive 21-strong totem collection, and in Prince William Sound, Valdez, where you can learn about the famous 1989 Exxon oil spill at the local museum. This remote approach is unusual for all but the tiniest ships (under 100 passengers) in the Alaska market.
To book: HX Expeditions’ nine-night “Fjords of the Great Land,” sailing between Vancouver, Canada, and Seward, Alaska, starts at $4,286 per person
Canadian Arctic
Atlas Ocean Voyages offers a deeper dive into the Canadian Arctic, home to wild polar bears in destinations such as Churchill in Manitoba, Canada.
Photo by CherylRamalho/Shutterstock
Expedition ships may briefly visit Arctic Canada while, for instance, giving guests a taste of the Northwest Passage. But Atlas Ocean Voyages plans to linger this fall, improving, among other things, passengers’ chances of seeing a polar bear and maybe a walrus or narwhal, too, with added time for deeper interactions with Native communities.
The ship will cross into Canada from Greenland and spend time in remote, untamed areas of the Canadian Arctic and Labrador. Whales and black bears will likely be part of the scene. Immersive cultural experiences will include visits to Inuit communities in Greenland and Canada. You’ll also visit a 16th-century Spanish and French Basque whaling station and experience the charming French islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
Alluring attributes of Atlas Ocean Voyages’ 198-passenger luxury expedition ship World Voyager include an ocean-view sauna and sleek Scandinavian decor.
To book: Atlas Ocean Voyages’ 17-night “Canadian Arctic Explorer” cruise in September from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, to St. John’s, Newfoundland, starts at $15,212 per person
Ceuta, Spain
Ceuta, Spain, is located within Morocco—and more cruise lines are offering this city as a stop.
Photo by Sopotnicki/Shutterstock
This autonomous Spanish city of Ceuta occupies a remote corner of the Mediterranean coast and is surrounded by Morocco; it’s a European Union city in North Africa.
Newly discovered as a cruise stop—Seabourn will make a maiden call this year, and Azamara Cruises is visiting next year—the city is an architectural stunner with tall medieval city walls and history that encompasses the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Portuguese, and the Spanish.
The must-do photo opportunity is snapping the Casa de Los Dragones (House of Dragons), not to be confused with the Game of Thrones. This mansion was built in 1905 in art nouveau splendor with dragons prominently displayed on the exterior. The original dragons were in disrepair and removed in 1925 (and later lost), but new dragons, the work of local artist Antonio Romero Vallejo, arrived in 2006.
To book: Seabourn’s nine-night “Jewels of Andalusia & The Balearic Islands” sailing from Rome to Lisbon on the 458-passenger Seabourn Quest in November, from $7,649 per person
Lysekil, Sweden
Explore more of Scandinavia with a cruise stop in Lysekil, Sweden.
Photo by Jo Sorgenfri/Unsplash
Baltic itineraries used to combine stops in Scandinavian cities with the marquee destination of Saint Petersburg, Russia. But that changed after Russia invaded Ukraine. Cruise lines and Scandinavian countries got creative in seeking alternatives.
Lysekil, Sweden, is one such newcomer on the cruise map, popular with smaller luxury lines such as Oceania Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Explora Journeys, from May to September. You can stay in town and visit a church dating back to 1901 and an aquarium focused on marine life found in Sweden. Better yet, get on a local ferry (from Lysekil) to the charming fishing village of Fiskebäckskil, with its colorful old wooden houses with their elaborately carved porches. If you explore on your own, treat yourself to a seafood lunch in the village, and try some of the local herring.
To book: Oceania Cruises’ 10-night “Baltic Sea Discovery” cruise from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Stockholm on the 1,250-passenger Marina, from $3,749 per person
Mallorca, Spain (for the total solar eclipse)
Come for the total solar eclipse, but stay to explore Mallorca’s capital, Palma de Mallorca.
Photo by Yaroslav Syubayev/Shutterstock
For a major event in the sky on August 12, a rare daylight solar eclipse with more than six anticipated minutes of darkness, Mallorca will be ground zero, and cruise lines are positioning ships off the coast for optimum viewing—weather dependent, of course. Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Windstar Cruises, Ponant, Virgin Voyages, and others are planning eclipse parties, events, lectures, and other celebrations.
Some cruisers relish chasing such “rare moments,” says Rob Clabbers, president of Q Cruises + Travel. Windstar’s 148-passenger sailing ship Wind Star plans to visit Mahon, Spain, on August 11, before positioning for eclipse viewing at sea.
To book: Windstar Cruises’ seven-night “Treasure Troves of Corsica & Sardinia: A Total Solar Eclipse” sailing from Rome to Barcelona on Wind Spirit, from $6,899 per person
Tanzania’s Spice Islands
Explore Zanzibar on a new sailing from Aqua Expeditions.
Photo by Andy Soloman/Shutterstock
Beginning in late February, a newly acquired superyacht will sail the remote Seychelles and the untapped Spice Islands of Tanzania for small ship line Aqua Expeditions. Francesco Galli Zugaro, the brand’s founder and CEO, says the Spice Islands are akin to “the Galápagos of Africa.” Aqua Lares (a polar-class vessel that will sail Svalbard, a northern Norway archipelago, in summer) carries 30 passengers and 32 crew, including naturalists.
On the East Africa route, expect such experiences as seeing the world’s largest gathering of giant tortoises in the coral atoll of Aldabra and snorkeling with whale sharks off one of the islands in Tanzania. Sailing from Mahe, an island in the Seychelles, to Zanzibar, you may also admire historic Arab architecture, learn about the medieval spice trade routes, and meet farmers growing nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. “Right now, the region remains quite unexplored,” Zugaro says.
To book: 10-night “Tanzania & The Coralline Seychelles” cruise with Aqua Expeditions, from $21,500 per person
Toba, Japan
In Toba, ama are traditionally white-clothed women divers who retrieve pearls from oysters.
Photo by Camera_Bravo/Shutterstock
It’s no secret that Japan is currently a travel hot spot. Consequently, cruises are sailing the island country’s coasts to bring passengers to destinations that are less crowded than Tokyo, Kyoto, and other major cities.
Toba, a city of about 18,000, on the east coast, in Mie Prefecture, boasts views of the gorgeous Ise Bay and surrounding islands, including the 1,820-foot Mount Asama. Visit the massive historic Ise-Jingu Shrine complex, with 120 cypress-wood buildings dating back to the 7th century. Cultural experiences include a jaunt to Mikimoto Pearl Island for a lesson in cultured pearls and the ama (traditionally white-clothed women divers) who retrieve them from pearl oysters. Cruise lines such as Seabourn, Princess Cruises, and Ponant are calling here.
To book: 12-night “Authentic Japan” cruise from Busan, South Korea, to Osaka, Japan, in May on Ponant’s 264-passenger Le Soléal, from $16,970 per person
