islandwoman Posted September 23, 2019 #1 Share Posted September 23, 2019 In your opinion, which cruise lines have the most interesting/unique itineraries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorex Posted September 23, 2019 #2 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Well, ships that cruise the world instead of repeating the same old, same old itineraries have the more uncommon port stops. Next summer Regent is doing the North Cape, but going over the top of the cape onward to Russia for stops in Murmansk, Archangel, and the Solovetsky Islands. That's pretty cool. Thinking about it. In 2020 we'll be stopping in Manila (doing a Corregidor excursion), and Saipan (hopping a brief flight over to Tinian, 5 miles away). In 2021 our stops include St Helena (Napoleon's last port), Ascension Island, and Namibia and Senegal. Mostly expedition ships port at South Georgia/South Sandwich Islands. Definitely on the wish list. The more remote ports are mostly visited by smaller ships. To send 2,000+ tourists tramping over St Helena would be a travesty. Check out Crystal and Silversea also, they have some great itineraries. Ocean-wide Expeditions is our go-to for penguins and polar bears (obviously, not on the same trip.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic6318 Posted September 23, 2019 #3 Share Posted September 23, 2019 7 hours ago, islandwoman said: In your opinion, which cruise lines have the most interesting/unique itineraries? Hi Needless to say that would depend on what are your interests. So, for most that would be the cruise line that goes where they want to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandwoman Posted September 23, 2019 Author #4 Share Posted September 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Nic6318 said: Needless to say that would depend on what are your interests. So, for most that would be the cruise line that goes where they want to go. But in your opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted September 23, 2019 #5 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Unique? Probably those who offer smaller ship expeditionary itineraries to, as example, the Galapagos Islands or Antarctica, which would include Azamara and Silver Sea, to name two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted September 23, 2019 #6 Share Posted September 23, 2019 9 hours ago, islandwoman said: In your opinion, which cruise lines have the most interesting/unique itineraries? "Interesting" and "unique" may be very different things. That said, in general, cruise lines that have smaller ships with longer itineraries will have more unique itineraries. But, some of those ports may be "bare bones" (no Diamonds International 😳😉). If you want the largest variety of unique itineraries, you will need to consider premium/luxury lines that focus a significant amount of their fleet resources on regional globetrotting routes (e.g., Rio to Lima, transpacific, Capetown to Singapore, etc). This is just one of the many reasons why we prefer Oceania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted September 23, 2019 #7 Share Posted September 23, 2019 I cruise for itinerary primarily. There are lots of different ways to dissect your question. Among the mass market lines, Holland America has the most interesting/unique itineraries. They don't excel at the cookie-cutter Caribbean itineraries but if you are looking for good itineraries particularly in Northern Europe, Asia, and South America they offer some interesting ones at prices that remain pretty affordable. I haven't really researched Australia/New Zealand but have no reason not to think they offer some interesting options there as well. (One omission, I have not found HAL itineraries in the Med to be better than some other lines, especially now that their smaller ship, Prinsendam, has left the fleet.) I have been looking for itineraries on Oceania as I would like to sail with them, but so far they have not impressed me overmuch. IMHO Oceania focuses more on 'first line' ports but on an excellent onboard experience. So far I prefer the itineraries of their 'Premium' level competitor Azamara, which focuses more on the itinerary and off-ship experience, with quite a few unusual port stops and more overnights than other ships offer, which allows you to have a somewhat more in-depth experience ashore. Some luxury lines offer interesting itineraries, others less so. It's often a matter of just wading through their brochures or websites to see what's on offer. And there are some interesting expedition ships (and river cruises) which offer unique and interesting itineraries but I almost consider them to be in a different bucket from "cruise lines" so I'm not sure that's what you're after. Finally, there are a few lines that really seem to specialize in certain regions: Hurtigruten for the coastal Norwegian area, for example. Or Paul Gauguin cruise line for Tahiti. Or Cunard for the 'real' Trans-Atlantic experience. Lots of interesting options out there. I find that the more I travel (and strike things off my bucket list), the more I tend to add to it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted September 23, 2019 #8 Share Posted September 23, 2019 1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said: Hurtigruten for the coastal Norwegian area, for example. They definitely do that but they're who we sailed on to Antarctica. And because of their small size we got to go ashore which the big ships are banned from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizmark'sMom Posted September 23, 2019 #9 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Most unique / interesting is going to be the expedition ships and the smaller cruise lines; Lindblad / Nat Geo Hurtigruten Oceania Viking Windstar Azamara 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandwoman Posted September 23, 2019 Author #10 Share Posted September 23, 2019 4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said: And there are some interesting expedition ships (and river cruises) which offer unique and interesting itineraries but I almost consider them to be in a different bucket from "cruise lines" so I'm not sure that's what you're after. I am looking for a "cruise line" but would be willing to branch out onto an expedition ship or river cruise. Do you have some suggestions for those also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted September 23, 2019 #11 Share Posted September 23, 2019 10 minutes ago, islandwoman said: I am looking for a "cruise line" but would be willing to branch out onto an expedition ship or river cruise. Do you have some suggestions for those also? As mentioned - Azamara and Silversea both have expedition ship itineraries. There are numerous river cruise lines - Naval, Viking, Crystal, Tauck would be a few for Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted September 23, 2019 #12 Share Posted September 23, 2019 (edited) Any of the expedition ships. We booked one with Hapag-Lloyd on their new international expedition ship. It goes up the Amazon all the way to Iquitos. All other ships turn around in Manaus. Check out some of Ponant's cruises. If you haven't travelled on the Aranui in French Polynesia yet, that ship does the freight/passenger run to the Marquesas Islands and one to an island group that almost nobody visits, definitely none of the 'regular' cruise ships. The river boats do run of the mill itineraries but also some more unusual cruises in Asia and Russia. Edited September 23, 2019 by Floridiana 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducklite Posted September 23, 2019 #13 Share Posted September 23, 2019 The most unique I have seen lately is Nat Geo Linblad starting in Buenos Aries and ending in Dunedin, NZ, with a good chunk of the trip within the Circle and about 20 days of landings--35 days in all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jocap Posted September 23, 2019 #14 Share Posted September 23, 2019 In the UK, I look for Fred Olsen and Cruise and Maritime- small, old ships but often with unusual ports, and reasonable prices. Fred Olsen's Balmoral is in the middle of their annual Mystery Cruise... and it's eleven countries in eleven days. Some passengers were a bit disgruntled when the first port was a run down fishing port in the UK- I'd have enjoyed it, as there's amazing country, castles and the Norfolk Broads nearby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandwoman Posted September 30, 2019 Author #15 Share Posted September 30, 2019 Thank you everyone. A lot of good ideas here. I now have a lot of research to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookish Angel Posted October 8, 2019 #16 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Expedition ships to remote Antarctica and the Galapagos were our favorite ocean-going vacations. Small numbers of quiet, savvy passengers, great lecturers, interesting and often physically-challenging hikes, walks and climbs, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducklite Posted October 10, 2019 #17 Share Posted October 10, 2019 On 10/8/2019 at 7:11 AM, Bookish Angel said: Expedition ships to remote Antarctica and the Galapagos were our favorite ocean-going vacations. Small numbers of quiet, savvy passengers, great lecturers, interesting and often physically-challenging hikes, walks and climbs, etc. We will get to both within the next eight years or so and are looking forward to it! We like cruising Windstar for the small numbers of savvy passengers. It really makes a huge difference on your cruise experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandwoman Posted October 10, 2019 Author #18 Share Posted October 10, 2019 We cruised the Galapagos on Celebrity XP recently. One of my favorite cruises! Please explain what you mean by "savvy passengers". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted October 10, 2019 #19 Share Posted October 10, 2019 On 10/8/2019 at 4:11 AM, Bookish Angel said: Small numbers of quiet, savvy passengers, Thanks for this comment. We've sailed Hurtigruten twice. A 400 pax ship to Antarctica and 100 pax for a RT Norwegian coastal cruise. Your description really nailed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookish Angel Posted October 13, 2019 #20 Share Posted October 13, 2019 (edited) On 10/10/2019 at 5:01 PM, islandwoman said: Please explain what you mean by "savvy passengers". Very well-traveled, well-informed about the world, curious, intelligent, practical and with realistic expectations. Light packers, too. Edited October 13, 2019 by Bookish Angel 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted October 14, 2019 #21 Share Posted October 14, 2019 This is a gross oversimplification but in general, none of the major cruise lines have unique itineraries. You have to go on the small expedition ships to get really unique itineraries. DON 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandwoman Posted October 14, 2019 Author #22 Share Posted October 14, 2019 10 hours ago, donaldsc said: This is a gross oversimplification but in general, none of the major cruise lines have unique itineraries. You have to go on the small expedition ships to get really unique itineraries. DON A useful generalization, even if a "gross oversimplification". We sailed down the Amazon on Princess, but she doesn't do that anymore. This year we're doing 2 itineraries on Princess that are different for us - Search for the Northern Lights and a sail-by of Antarctica. But I can't find anything new on Princess for 2021. We have reached the age where we need comfort (not luxury), safety, and special food in our travels. Do any of the small expedition ships that you have in mind meet those requirements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted October 15, 2019 #23 Share Posted October 15, 2019 10 hours ago, islandwoman said: A useful generalization, even if a "gross oversimplification". We sailed down the Amazon on Princess, but she doesn't do that anymore. This year we're doing 2 itineraries on Princess that are different for us - Search for the Northern Lights and a sail-by of Antarctica. But I can't find anything new on Princess for 2021. We have reached the age where we need comfort (not luxury), safety, and special food in our travels. Do any of the small expedition ships that you have in mind meet those requirements? Crystal has a 200 passenger expedition ship. I have never been able to afford one of those crystal expedition cruises. DON 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted October 15, 2019 #24 Share Posted October 15, 2019 On 10/13/2019 at 8:26 PM, donaldsc said: This is a gross oversimplification but in general, none of the major cruise lines have unique itineraries. You have to go on the small expedition ships to get really unique itineraries. DON There's a space between. How about this? https://www.oceaniacruises.com/baltic-cruises/stockholm-to-amsterdam-MNA200908/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquahound Posted October 15, 2019 #25 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I've seen some very unique itineraries with American Cruise Lines and Pearl Seas. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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