Small ships

[lenquixote66]

A friend and his wife gave up conventional cruising for small ships.There most recent cruise was a ship that left from Florida to a Caribbean island .The ship had 32 passengers and 16 crew members.I believe it was 3 nights in port .

Has anyone ever done a cruise like this ?

[clo]

Not that small but we're booked for late next year on Silversea's Origin to the Galapagos. 100 pax and 90 crew on a 7 day cruise hitting IIRC two "ports" a day. I put that in quote because we'll be going ashore on zodiaks.

[cruisemom42]

That sounds more like a yacht than a small ship.

[mom says]

Sounds more like a yacht than a cruise ship.

2 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

That sounds more like a yacht than a small ship.

You just posted the exact same thing as I was typing. I'd think something that small would be more of a boat trip than a  cruise. 

Edited July 30, 2020 by mom says

[cruisemom42]

For years my favorite cruise outfit had a single 350-pax ship - I loved that size. The only smaller "cruise" I've done was on a Nile river cruiser.

 

I've toyed with the idea of taking a gulet along the Turkish coast. Only thing is that most of them seem to include long stops where they moor in an inlet and everyone swims, which doesn't appeal to me much; I'd want to spend time ashore visiting all the wonderful ruins.

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

FWIW:

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/small-cruise-ships-prepare-to-cruise-again?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=cnt&utm_mailing=CNT_Intel_073020&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5cb4e2632ddf9c2f6a165e3b&cndid=29512118&hasha=26f5fdd1b1f766a4e841f7aea3886510&hashb=83ae8ab1e4f519d6e5f8262a41dc27013809a2d2&hashc=4d56ff7525aecf5349fb7a28e25f6a2e6f16c807fa498722707debbeb1d6f401&esrc=AUTO_PRINT&utm_term=CNT_Intel

 

As for yacht experiences, I highly recommend a crewed yacht charter arranged through a reputable broker like Ed Hamilton Co in Maine (they represent yachts worldwide).

Note, for example, that a group of eight could do a medium to upper end 60 foot catamaran with skipper, cook and provisioning for about the same per person cabin price as a premium cruise line would charge.

[lenquixote66]

18 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

That sounds more like a yacht than a small ship.

It may have been but I know they did Windstar cruises with a maximum of 148 people.

I cannot recall the name of the ship or “cruise line” but only that it was 32 passengers,16 crew and quite expensive.

[cruisemom42]

37 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

FWIW:

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/small-cruise-ships-prepare-to-cruise-again?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=cnt&utm_mailing=CNT_Intel_073020&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5cb4e2632ddf9c2f6a165e3b&cndid=29512118&hasha=26f5fdd1b1f766a4e841f7aea3886510&hashb=83ae8ab1e4f519d6e5f8262a41dc27013809a2d2&hashc=4d56ff7525aecf5349fb7a28e25f6a2e6f16c807fa498722707debbeb1d6f401&esrc=AUTO_PRINT&utm_term=CNT_Intel

 

As for yacht experiences, I highly recommend a crewed yacht charter arranged through a reputable broker like Ed Hamilton Co in Maine (they represent yachts worldwide).

Note, for example, that a group of eight could do a medium to upper end 60 foot catamaran with skipper, cook and provisioning for about the same per person cabin price as a premium cruise line would charge.

 

A charter such as this strikes me as a very different thing from 'cruising' however....  

[SelectSys]

While not a small ship, freighter cruises offer low passenger counts and some very unique experiences.  Lot's of links to various sites to explore.  One of my desired cruises would be on Aranui-5 in French Polynesia although this is more of a cruise ship than most freighters.

[ColeThornton]

25 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

While not a small ship, freighter cruises offer low passenger counts and some very unique experiences.  Lot's of links to various sites to explore.  One of my desired cruises would be on Aranui-5 in French Polynesia although this is more of a cruise ship than most freighters.

 

Although it's not very busy, this site does have a Freighter Forum.  I was just reading through it earlier.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/378-freighter-and-other-non-traditional-cruise-travel/

[Roger88]

25 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

While not a small ship, freighter cruises offer low passenger counts and some very unique experiences.  Lot's of links to various sites to explore.  One of my desired cruises would be on Aranui-5 in French Polynesia although this is more of a cruise ship than most freighters.

I wonder what is that "very unique experience" lol. I mean those who has traveled with big ships once, less likely to go with smaller ships. They would rather wait and take a normal cruise with a big cruiser. On the other hand, smaller cruises might be more cozy and less crowded but it will all depend on your personal preferences 

[clo]

14 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

I wonder what is that "very unique experience" lol. I mean those who has traveled with big ships once, less likely to go with smaller ships. They would rather wait and take a normal cruise with a big cruiser. On the other hand, smaller cruises might be more cozy and less crowded but it will all depend on your personal preferences 

We did an Antarctica trip with 400 pax and a Norwegian coastal cruise with 100 pax. And have a Galapagos trip scheduled for late next year with 100 pax. Did an Oceania one last year with 1000 pax. I honestly can't imagine any more than 1000 and the others were perfect. For us.

[whogo]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

The ship had 32 passengers and 16 crew members.I believe it was 3 nights in port .

Has anyone ever done a cruise like this ?

There were just twelve passengers on our Galapagos cruise, three or four crew plus the required naturalist. I would not call the boat a yacht, it looked like a fishing boat. Definitely not deluxe, it was a great way to visit the islands. I'd do it again.

[clo]

2 hours ago, Roger88 said:

They would rather wait and take a normal cruise with a big cruiser.

NORMAL??? 🙂 One thing I know we'd never do is a "big cruiser."

[SelectSys]

2 hours ago, Roger88 said:

I wonder what is that "very unique experience" lol. I mean those who has traveled with big ships once, less likely to go with smaller ships. They would rather wait and take a normal cruise with a big cruiser. On the other hand, smaller cruises might be more cozy and less crowded but it will all depend on your personal preferences 

 

For true freighters, I can image the uniqueness would come from the ports visited, the level of service, depth of interaction with the crew, extensive sea days, etc.  I personally don't have much interest in this style of travel.  I do like the idea of a cruise/freighter hybrid like the Aranui-5 as it isn't too long a trip and maintains more of the cruise ship trappings.

[donaldsc]

2 hours ago, Roger88 said:

I wonder what is that "very unique experience" lol. I mean those who has traveled with big ships once, less likely to go with smaller ships. They would rather wait and take a normal cruise with a big cruiser. On the other hand, smaller cruises might be more cozy and less crowded but it will all depend on your personal preferences 

 

I once did a cruise on the Lewis R French - 22 passengers - https://schoonerfrench.com/life-aboard-a-maine-windjammer.  One of the best cruises I ever did.

 

I would question your use of the word "normal" to describe the oversized ships that most people cruise on today.  "Popular" maybe; definitely  not "normal"  in my opinion.  I have been doing most of my recent cruising on R-class ships.  A passenger capacity of 650 people is plenty big enough for me.  

 

I do recognize however the "different strokes for different folks" concept applies to cruise ships as with other things in life however.

 

DON

[Flatbush Flyer]

36 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

........I have been doing most of my recent cruising on R-class ships.  A passenger capacity of 650 people is plenty big enough for me......

And in the new normal, that purposefully reduced R ship capacity will probably be closer to 400.

Sounds good to me!

[cruisemom42]

18 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

And in the new normal, that purposefully reduced R ship capacity will probably be closer to 400.

Sounds good to me!

 

....and to me as well.

[Joebucks]

There's pros and cons to every type. A small ship of friends and family sounds like it would be an amazing trip.

 

For me, I like the big crowds. No, not every scenario is it perfect. I do like being where the action is at though

[Cruzaholic41]

5 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

A friend and his wife gave up conventional cruising for small ships.There most recent cruise was a ship that left from Florida to a Caribbean island .The ship had 32 passengers and 16 crew members.I believe it was 3 nights in port .

Has anyone ever done a cruise like this ?

One of my most recent cruises was on Celebrity Flora. We had about 90 passengers and 80 crew. It was the best cruise I’ve ever taken. Everything was superb - even better than luxury lives I’ve sailed. 

[SelectSys]

1 minute ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

One of my most recent cruises was on Celebrity Flora. We had about 90 passengers and 80 crew. It was the best cruise I’ve ever taken. Everything was superb - even better than luxury lives I’ve sailed. 

 

I hope so.  The current advertised prices today start at $1000 per day assuming double occupancy.  Of course I don't have any idea what you paid, but at those rates one should expect a very high standard of service.

 

[GUT2407]

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

And in the new normal, that purposefully reduced R ship capacity will probably be closer to 400.

Sounds good to me!

Perfect to me. But I started my cruising on Pacific Princess, an R class, and fell in love, pity we don’t get her down under much anymore.

[Flatbush Flyer]

14 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Perfect to me. But I started my cruising on Pacific Princess, an R class, and fell in love, pity we don’t get her down under much anymore.

Though it has not yet been cancelled, Oceania Regatta (an R ship) will be down under at the beginning 2021. We're booked on her in January (Auckland-Sydney). 

 

[neverbeenhere]

Very small “ships” always seem to have the guy or gal who think they own the place. Now, I know this is also true on large ships, but on smaller ships, you have a lot harder time avoiding them. 
 

 

[Hlitner]

8 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

A friend and his wife gave up conventional cruising for small ships.There most recent cruise was a ship that left from Florida to a Caribbean island .The ship had 32 passengers and 16 crew members.I believe it was 3 nights in port .

Has anyone ever done a cruise like this ?

We once did a week cruise (out of Corfu) on a 20 passenger yacht called the Sea Crown.  She had been chartered by a Greek company called Zeus Cruises (long gone) for a 7 day cruise around the Ionian Islands.  We had 10 Germans, 8 Dutch, and 2 Americans (DW and me) with a 7 person Greek crew (only 2 of which spoke English).  It was one of the most wonderful weeks we have ever spent on a vessel.   Although this cruise happened many years ago we still can remember lots of interesting stories about that voyage.  Although we are now in our 70s we would still consider doing this type of cruise.  Consider pulling up to a deserted island after breakfast, dropping anchor and then diving/jumping off the bow to swim into the empty beach.  or imagine docking at a small Greek Island for lunch where all the passengers hike to a nearby village (of about 100 souls) and sit in the lone cafe for lunch.  The lady who owned that cafe had to run all around town to gather enough ingrediants to make us lunch and it was terrific :).  A totally different world then being on a huge cruise ship.

 

By the way, Zeus Cruises was eventually bought-out by Variety Cruises (there is a recent CC story about this company in the News section).

 

Hank

P.S.  If anyone is really interested in this post here is a link to info about that "yacht."

https://www.charterworld.com/index.html?sub=yacht-charter&charter=sea-crown-3155