Adventure Cruises

  These education-oriented cruises to exotic locations on small expedition ships are geared towards adventurous cruisers.  

ACCL is the world's largest small ship cruise line.  It offers year-round cruises from the Northern waters of Labrador and Newfoundland, to the southerly tropics of the Caribbean and Central America.  They will even meet you in Chicago for a seven-day cruise on Lake Michigan.

Small ship cruises to Sea of Cortes, Belize, Costa Rica, California Wine Country and Alaska.

Tour operator specializing in organized cruise tours to the Middle East, Nile River, and Aegean Sea areas.

Luxury cruise tours with a focus on culture and cuisine aboard the tall-ship Sea Cloud II and the River Cloud.

The freighter Aranui is operated by Compagnie Polynesienne de Transporte Maritime and offers cruises among the islands of French Polynesia. The 16-day trip includes stopovers in the Marquesas and Tuamotu islands.

Offer a variety of cruise tours in Baja California, including sea kayaking, whale watching and diving.

British Columbia, Canada, coastal cruises and ferries.

Sail the Galapagos Islands near Ecuador on the all-suite luxury ship the Galapagos Explorer II. The ship has 3, 4 and 7 night soft adventure trips through the Galapagos.

Cruise the Great Barrier Reef, the Murray River or the Fiji Islands with this Australian adventure line.

Emphasis on these small ships is on learning and traveling. Line offers itineraries to seldom seen but exquisite destinations favored by connoisseurs, scholars and archaeologists

The Discovery is a new mid-sized ship carrying 650 passengers that sails to exotic locations around the world.

Specializes in upscale, adventurous, unique voyages around the world.

Agency dedicated to freighter travel around the world. Freighter travel is for those who love the sea and don't want anything scheduled except meals!

The pictures on this site make me want to take a barge cruise. Good information, and map of routes is interesting for trip planning.

Day cruises, weekend trips and multi-day cruises exploring Alaska on a small ship.  Some cruises include the possibility of kayaking in Glacier Bay National Park.

Goddess of the Sea Cruises provides private, custom sailing adventures departing from Tenants Harbor, Maine. Activities include sighting whales, dolphins & seals, dining on lobster and/or steak, and sleeping aboard a sailing yacht.

Great American River Journeys cruises the Columbia, Snake, and Willamette Rivers of the great northwestern United States on the luxurious riverboat the Columbia Queen.

Heritage Expeditions has been offering travelers the opportunity to discover previously inaccessible wilderness areas and islands in New Zealand and the southern ocean since 1985.  Small vessel accommodates 38 passengers.

Hurtigruten has cruised the fjords of Norway for a century. Currently the ships stop at 34 ports along the coast. Itineraries are designed for the seasoned cruiser.

This company has three Amazon River boats that will allow you to see this river basin from the comfort of a ship. Website has some interesting itineraries and good pictures of the world's largest wilderness.

Cruise Europe on the Rhine, Danube, Main, Elbe, and Moselle rivers. A good way to see central Europe and still be cruising.

Small ship exploring and cruising are Lindblad's forte. They have a "daily expeditions" page at this site where photos and travelogues of current expeditions are sent in via satellite each day. Really interesting reading.

Take a 3, 4, or 6 day cruise along the Maine coast on the schooner Ellida.  Enjoy the spectacular views along this rugged coast on a classic ship with only ten other passengers.

The 13 ships in the Maine Windjammer Association operate out of Camden, Rockport and Rockland, located in mid-coast Maine.  These ships were most built around the turn of the twentieth century.

Weekend, 3, 4, or 5 day cruises along the Maine coast.  This windjammer line has three ships and has been sailing since 1936.

Maris offers freighter cruises to worldwide destinations and sells a newsletter on freighter cruising.

This site has some spectacular pictures of its Antarctica expeditions. The slide show of Zodiac boats exploring this last continent is wonderful.

Cruises and tours of Atlantic Canada.

Small group cruises aboard two historic yachts, bringing passengers far from the everyday world and into the hidden and diverse regions of Southeast Alaska, the Inside Passage, and the Pacific Northwest. Eight to twelve guests on private charters or in individual cabins on scheduled trips.

Specializes in river cruises in Myanmar (Burma). If you are looking for a "different" type of cruise, you might want to check this one out.

Adventure cruises and tours around the world.

Specializes in Galapagos cruises and Ecuadorean land tours. Company has been providing small ship cruises to the Galapagos for over 12 years.

True sailing cruises in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, or Orient, along with ocean crossings. Star Clippers owns the Royal Clipper, the world's largest sailing ship.

This line offers a wide variety of cruises, including ocean and river cruises worldwide.

Tour operator offering all kinds of European barge cruises from discount to luxury. They promise to help match your needs and desires to the right barge vacation.

Excellent information on freighter or "non-traditional" cruise travel.

Tui Tai Adventure Cruises offers adventure travel in Fiji, taking guests off the beaten path for diving, kayaking, mountain biking and hiking during a 4-night adventure cruise.

Cruise European waterways on first class 100-250 passenger vessels.  Dutch and Scandinavian consortium operate this line with over 20 ships.

My husband and I love these old sailing ships so much we've been three times!  They sail the Caribbean year-round.

World Explorer offers  9 and 14 night Alaskan cruises aboard the Universe Explorer.  Cruises are packed with learning, discovery, and adventure.