When my family boarded the 46-passenger Juno and made our way to our pair of cabins, I was delighted to find that the cozy rooms of this 1874-built former cargo barge were reminiscent of vintage sleeper car train compartments. Elegant and compact, we had bunk beds and a small sink.

Our window faced out over the boat’s wraparound promenade and to the serene countryside that lined our route, Sweden’s Gota Canal, the backbone of a nearly 400-mile waterway that links rivers, lakes and man-made canals across the heartland of the country. For four days, we slowly moved past villages and farmland, practically close enough to reach out and touch a flock of sheep, and through dozens of fascinating locks of all kinds, including the steep staircase of the Carl Johan Locks.

This and the other small-ship cruises I’ve sampled since the 1990s sowed the tiny seeds that would grow into a full-blown passion for cruising small.

There were many cruise experiences in those early years that pointed me in the direction of small ships, from Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, where I joined the other free spirits drinking rum swizzles and Red Stripes aboard a fleet of ultracasual sailing ships with few rules, to my first intimate encounter with Alaska aboard Cruise West’s Spirit of Endeavour (today, UnCruise’s 84-passenger Safari Endeavour). The captain nudged the bow against the sheer rock face of a fjord just so we could feel the spray from a waterfall. Later, he cut the engines so we could quietly watch humpbacks breach nearby. No binoculars needed.

Other small-ship lines followed, including Star Clippers, Pandaw, Galapagos Network/Ecoventura, the SeaDream twins, Windstar’s sailing ships and Silversea’s original Silver Wind and Cloud.

After a lifetime of cruising on ships of all sizes as a travel journalist writing for cruise guidebooks and other outlets, fellow writer Ted Scull and I created the website QuirkyCruise.com out of our shared passion for small-ship cruises. We wanted a place where reviews and news about cruises under 300 passengers could live to inspire travelers to consider the small-scale cruises we’ve always been drawn to — some small and luxurious, some unusual and some downright, yes, quirky.

Small-ship demand

From casual tall ships to upscale expedition vessels, sleek riverboats and everything in between, there’s been big growth in the small-ship cruise sector over the past 10 to 15 years. 

Look no further than Viking’s growing fleet of more than 75 riverboats, American Cruise Lines’ plan to build 12 catamaran-style vessels and the explosion of expedition ships, from Swan Hellenic’s 152-passenger Vega to American Queen Voyages’ 186-passenger Ocean Victory. 

While I’m partial to older heritage ships (Juno) or at least ships designed to look old (the ships from Star Clippers, Pandaw, the American Queen and various canal barges), I realize plenty of folks prefer sleek and new, thus fueling demand. 

Other new small ships include the posh 40-passenger Aqua Nera positioned in the Peruvian Amazon; the 100-passenger, globe-trotting Emerald Azzurra; and the recently announced series of high-end, hotel-branded vessels. 

“I find it most encouraging that as small-ship cruising has gained interest overall, the industry has expanded so that there are small-ship cruises of all shapes, sizes and varieties for everyone as more and more people opt for small-ship authenticity,” said Ben Lyons, CEO of Eyos Expeditions, a company that arranges luxury yacht charters and leads expeditions.

Why might this be happening? For one, bucket lists have expanded, and many people are looking to visit farther-flung destinations and try new experiences — like diving with whale sharks in Indonesia, cruising Alaska’s Inside Passage in the winter to ski (possible on UnCruise), checking out the Mekong River in rural Laos, cruising the Svalbard archipelago on the lookout for polar bears or doing an African river safari on the Chobe and Zambezi rivers. And small-ship cruises are an appealing way to do that. 

Anecdotally, I see folks of all ages putting their disposable income toward memorable travel instead of another luxury car or upgrading their house. And when I’m cruising, I meet people who are retiring earlier with enough money, time and energy to pursue adventurous travel and places they haven’t been to before. I meet couples who are traveling for a month or two or more, combining land travel with river cruises in India and Southeast Asia or hitting Australia and the South Pacific, doing part of their trip on small ships from lines like Coral Expeditions, Captain Cook Cruises and Blue Lagoon Cruises.

A focus on destinations

In the realm of small-ship cruising, the destination is the driver.

As Silversea Cruises CEO Roberto Martinoli pointed out at Seatrade a few months ago: “We had our smallest and oldest ship in the Galapagos, and it got the best passenger feedback because the destination is phenomenal. The destination prevails over everything else.”

Coveted small-ship destinations often involve spectacular landscapes or wildlife. Not only are small ships able to navigate remote harbors and coastal areas, they carry aboard even smaller tenders or rigid inflatable boats/Zodiacs to get small groups within touching distance of humpback whales or remote spots for spectacular snorkeling and diving.

I love the access a small-ship cruise provides. Small ships can bump right up to the shoreline, enabling crew members to pluck a piece of ice out of Glacier Bay for happy hour cocktails. 

Or tie up to a tree. I watched just that on the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar several years ago, standing at the railing of the colonial-style 40-passenger Kalaw Pandaw as it nudged up against the muddy riverbanks at Bagan and a crew member hopped out to tie the lines to a log.

Microcruising

Just like the niche lines within the mainstream cruise market, there are sub-niches within the small-ship space, and that’s the place I have been attracted to the most.

This sub-niche is occupied by companies with very small vessels carrying under 40 or 50 passengers, often just 10 to 20. Frequently called “microcruises,” they typically are hyperfocused on a single region — for instance, the waterways of India, the Amazon River, the Inside Passage, the Galapagos Islands, the canals of France and Svalbard in the Arctic. 

For more than 25 years, Pandaw has single-mindedly focused its fleet of 10- to 60-passenger traditional boats on the rivers of Southeast Asia. Their offerings include a deep dive into the interior of Vietnam on the Red River to see small towns and villages few tourists get to, for a closer look at trades like noodle- and candy-making, pottery and puppet-theater acting. Pandaw also explores the rural hinterland of Laos via the Upper Mekong River, where the only other tourists encountered will likely be from another Pandaw boat.

Another example is Secret Atlas, a company sailing solely in the polar regions, mostly in Svalbard and the Arctic, with a fleet of converted research and maritime authority vessels carrying just 12 passengers each for super up-close access. 

Called “expedition microcruises,” they’re geared to folks with a penchant for wildlife, nature and photography. Everyone, including two guides, can fit into the Zodiac at the same time. No sign-up sheets, no waiting.

Far Horizon Tours specializes in river and canal cruises in India, including the backwaters of coastal Kerala, a network of canals, rivers and lakes popular for houseboating aboard the region’s traditional wood and thatched boats originally used to transport crops. I spent a week aboard the 18-passenger Vaikundam, cruising past rice fields, palm trees and banana plants and enjoying village walks, temple visits and insights into traditional vocations like boat building, bell making and fishing. 

Private charters

Private charters are another appealing sub-niche. Croatia has many options, including Goolets, an agent who puts together private, seven-night charters along the coast aboard eight- to 36-passenger yachts and two- and three-masted yachts called gulets. 

Luxury live-aboard dive boats are another charter option to consider for sporty, wildlife-loving clients, such as the 18-passenger Dewi Nusantara’s 11-night dive cruises in Indonesia’s gorgeous Raja Ampat Islands. 

The raft of six- to 12-passenger canal barge cruises in France have long been an attractive private charter option. Travel sellers should also consider barge charters in places other than France, such as Scotland’s Caledonian Canal and the Bianco Canal south of Venice.

Barge cruises can be booked directly or though a broker, such as Barge Lady Cruises, which can help narrow down the choices.

There sure is a lot of choice. It’s a great time to lean into the quirky cruise space and explore, because — in my opinion, at least — the biggest cruise experiences truly come in small packages.