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Small Ship Cruising


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Featured Small Ship Cruises

FULL BOARD CRUISING
No-Fly 2025/26 Christmas in the Canaries

Ambience 20 Dec 2025 18 nights No-Fly Cruise London Tilbury

Traditional No-Fly Cruising from a UK Port*

Full-board Cruising | Pound Sterling on board*

Adults Only Premium Value Cruising*

Pound sterling on board*

Itinerary: London (Tilbury) - Leixoes - Lisbon, Portugal ★Christmas Eve★ - Casablanca, for Marrakesh - Arrecife, Lanzarote - Santa Cruz de Tenerife - Las Palmas, Gran Canaria - Funchal,...
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Inside from £1,539pp

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FULL BOARD CRUISING
No-Fly 2025 Ireland & Normandy Discovery

Ambition 30 Oct 2025 8 nights No-Fly Cruise Liverpool

Traditional No-Fly Cruising from a UK Port*

Full-board Cruising | Pound Sterling on board*

Adults Only Premium Value Cruising*

Sail on the newest ship in the fleet*

Itinerary: Liverpool, UK - Cobh, for Cork,UK - Cherbourg, France - Honfleur - Belfast - Liverpool, UK
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Inside from £709pp

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EXCLUSIVE SAVINGS
No-Fly 2025 Scenic Isles & Landscapes of Scotland & the Faroes

Bolette 14 Sep 2025 10 nights No-Fly Cruise Liverpool

Book with the No. 1 Cruise Specialist for Fred. Olsen

Exclusive Savings - Only available when booking with ROL Cruise*

Traditional No-Fly Cruising from a UK Port*

Hand-Crafted Itineraries | Fred Olsen Signature Experiences Included*

Itinerary: Liverpool - Fingals Cave - Loch Hourn, Scotland - Stornoway, Lewis, Scotland - Ullapool, Scotland - Kirkwall, United Kingdom - Tórshavn, Faeroe Islands - Klaksvík - Lerwick,...
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(full fare £1,699) Inside from £1,649pp

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Popular Small Ship Cruise Destinations



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What is a small cruise ship?


Typically, a small cruise ship holds up to 1,300 passengers. They are perfect for those who love to cruise but are not looking for a resort at sea. What a small cruise ship may lack in innovative amenities it makes up for with a number of distinctive qualities that larger vessels can’t offer.

There are four distinct categories of small ships; oceangoing cruise ships, sailing yachts, riverboats and expedition vessels. Oceangoing cruise ships typically hold between 450 and 1,300 passengers while the capacity of sailing yachts ranges from 140 to 400, riverboats carry up to 200 passengers and expedition vessels carry up to 1,000 passengers. As passenger counts are significantly lower, embarkation and disembarkation is a breeze. This also means that queuing doesn’t take up a large portion of your day.

But it’s not just the reduced numbers that make small ship cruising special. Smaller ships have a more luxurious ambience and more personalised service - bar staff will not just remember your name but your signature drink too! What’s more, small cruise ships can cruise to more exclusive ports of call, allowing you to discover the most untouched corners of the world.


Where can you sail on a small ship cruise?

Small oceangoing cruise ships and sailing yachts explore a wide selection of destinations like the Caribbean, Mediterranean and the Far East. River cruise ships are able to navigate locks and sail beneath low bridges meaning they can sail into the heart of much-loved towns, cities and countrysides like Bordeaux, Budapest and Bucharest. While expedition cruise ships, with their shallow drafts, are able to get much closer to off-the-beaten-track destinations like Antarctica and the Galapagos Islands, offering guests once-in-a-lifetime experiences.


Which cruise lines offer small ship cruises?

For those looking for the ultimate luxury cruise experience, Silversea offers the very finest at sea paired with a personal experience. APT Cruising, Emerald Cruises, Scenic River Cruises and Uniworld River Cruises all offer fascinating river itineraries in Europe. If you’re looking to delve into the culture of the Far East, why not navigate the rivers of Asia on a Mekong river cruise?

Cruise Line Itineraries
Azamara  See all featured cruises >
Celebrity Cruises See all featured cruises >
Holland America Line See all featured cruises >
Oceania Cruises See all featured cruises >
Silversea  See all featured cruises > 

 

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