25 incredible experiences you can only have on a ship

You can sail your own yacht across the Pacific, or parachute into the remote Philippines. And yes, you can hike through 150 kilometres of wilderness from the nearest Alaskan road to get to Glacier Bay – or row a boat.

Train yourself as a communications technician and work with Australia’s polar team, and you could possibly even get yourself to Antarctica.

Some destinations don’t have roads.

For the less than intrepid, however, there really are places you can’t get to other than on an expedition cruise.

Besides, even places easy to reach, such as Hong Kong or Istanbul, simply aren’t the same when approached on a regular cruise.

It’s no coincidence cities are at their most impressive and intimidating from the sea.Credit: Adobe Stock

What cruise doubters overlook is that cruising, whatever its faults (and, yes, we’re aware of them), is an altogether different experience.

It showcases cities and coastlines from a different angle, fires up the imagination from a different perspective, and gets you to places you otherwise wouldn’t consider.

The cruise-ship experience itself also offers many differences to that of land-based touring, or a stay at a permanently anchored beach resort. Here are 25 ways it does so.

Admire great cities from the sea

Few cities present their best side from an airport. Most were designed to impress or intimidate from the sea, and harbour approaches remain exhilarating.

Rio’s voluptuous contours, Valletta’s Renaissance fortifications and squeezed-up Hong Kong are prime examples.

You’ll connect with maritime history, not least in Halifax, whose harbour – one of the world’s largest – is crowned with an 18th-century citadel. Later, a million Canadian immigrants arrived through this port, brilliantly outlined at the Pier 21 museum.

Seabourn’s “Canada and New England Fall Foliage” cruise from Montreal to Quebec City overnights in Halifax, with several departures August-October 2024. From $10,637 a person. See seabourn.com

Visit uninhabited islands

Access near-empty islands by ship. Pictured: Bora Bora, French Polynesia.Credit: iStock

What traveller doesn’t have Robinson Crusoe syndrome: the desire to set foot on unsullied sand in Indonesia, Polynesia or the Caribbean?

Cruises are the only way to get to such ocean outcrops. Patagonia, Greenland and Japan have empty islands, too.

Closer to home, there’s no other way (unless you’re a research scientist) to get to Australia and New Zealand’s Subantarctic islands, which feature battered landscapes, old whaling stations, sea-lion colonies and some of the world’s most abundant seabird life.

Ponant’s “Expedition to New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands” round-trip from Dunedin departs January 6, 2024. From $16,540 a person. See au.ponant.com

Channel your inner explorer on a Ponant sailing of the Milford Sound.

Unwind your mind

Let’s admit it: travel has hassles not often talked about, from working out the logistics of getting from A to B to hauling suitcases, queuing for tickets and finding somewhere decent to dine after a tiring day of sightseeing.

Nothing beats casting off on a cruise and knowing you don’t have to plan or even think about anything for another week or two, all while visiting multiple destinations in style.

APT’s 15-day “Adriatic & Aegean Seas” cruise from Istanbul to Venice departs August 22, 2024, and gets you to five countries and 15 destinations. From $13,295 a person. See aptouring.com.au

Join the supply chain gang

While cruising can insulate you from local life, not all cruise itineraries are built entirely around the needs of tourists.

Aranui Cruises operates a passenger-freighter ship that provides cargo services to remote French Polynesian islands and visits the smallest of communities.

Elsewhere, Norway’s Hurtigruten still runs its original Coastal Express route to 34 coastal communities, as it has done for 130 years, delivering and loading vital goods and supplies along the way – even in winter, when you may even spot the Northern Lights.

Hurtigruten’s 17-day “Follow the Lights Northbound” cruise from Oslo to Helsinki has several departures September 2024-March 2025. From $8986 a person. See hurtigruten.com.au

Crunch through the ice pack

Thoughts of the planet’s far extremes titillates travellers and, while icebergs are the main game, you’ll feel you’ve reached Earth’s end as your ship navigates in an ice pack.

The ocean has an undulating skin of ice that heaves and clanks. Air released from melting ice hisses, multiplied a hundredfold into a waterfall roar.

In grey weather under a lid of cloud, it feels as if you’re in limbo; on a sunny day everything sparkles like champagne.

Abercrombie & Kent’s “Arctic Cruise Adventure” from Longyearbyen to Reykjavik departs July 29, 2024 and navigates the Austfonna Icecap. From $32,445 a person. See abercrombiekent.com.au 

Feel like a bygone days seafarer

Sail into certain ports and you’ll feel like an old sea dog or Hollywood extra, especially in the Caribbean, where destinations such as Port Royal in Jamaica and St Thomas in the US Virgin Island were once famous pirate lairs.

The approaches to fortified Havana and Santiago in Cuba are marvellously atmospheric. In Europe, you’ll capture the pirate spirit in Cadiz in Spain and Saint-Malo in France, with their magnificent sea-gazing ramparts and salt breezes.

Oceania’s 10-day “Iberia to Hibernia” cruise between Seville and Dublin departs June 4, 2024, and takes in Saint-Malo. From $5030 a person. See oceaniacruises.com

Meet the famous and famously informed

AFL legend Adama Goodes is among Cunard’s high-profile hosts.

Okay, you’re unlikely to encounter big movie and music stars – unless at ship launches – but special themed cruises do provide the opportunity to meet, listen to or be coached by notable experts in their field, which is something unlikely to happen on land.

Examples of past guests on cruises range from literary legend Thomas Keneally to ballet dancer Darcey Bussell, actor Warwick Davis and former prime minister Julia Gillard.

Cunard’s seven-night “Sporting Greats” cruise round-trip from Sydney departs February 13, 2024, and hosts Brett Lee, Adam Goodes, Karrie Webb and sports presenter Mark Beretta. From $1649 a person. See cunard.com

Dive right in

Love snorkelling or diving? Getting to reefs from land can be a long chore, and popular spots overcrowded.

Expedition cruises get you to a bedazzlement of remote lagoons, reefs and atolls in world-class dive destinations where you’ll only have to share with a few fellow passengers.

The Maldives, Belize, Caribbean islands and French Polynesia are outstanding but, closer to home, the Philippines and Indonesia are unsung stars.

Lindblad Expeditions’ “Jewels of the Java Sea” journey between Singapore and Bali departs August 1 and September1, 2024, with snorkelling in the Badas, Bangka-Belitung and Kerimun Jawa islands. From $17,950 a person. See au.expeditions.com

Coast right along

Forget flying: opt for a picturesque sail by Palawan’s aqua shoreline in the Philippines.Credit: iStock

You haven’t seen the best of Norway, the Philippines or New Zealand unless, pinned to the deck in astonishment, you’ve sailed their coastline and islands. They’re beautiful from any viewpoint, but utterly gorgeous from the perspective of the sea.

And sure, you can fly to Greek islands in a tedious hopscotch of flights, but sailing towards them is a magnificent experience. Santorini’s colour-striped caldera, topped by whitewashed houses and blue-dome chapels, is unforgettable.

Regent Seven Seas’ seven-night “Santorini Sunset” cruise from Athens to Istanbul departs August 15, 2024,to several Greek islands and Bozcaada in Turkey. From $9570 a person. See rssc.com

Retrace history’s greatest and darkest moments

Landlubbers can overlook maritime history, but on a ship you’re reminded of it, whether sailing like 12 million immigrants into New York past the Statue of Liberty, or into Elbe in Italy, where Napoleon lurked in island exile. Imagine you’re on a Spanish galleon in Havana, a Viking longship in Oslo, or a spice lugger in Zanzibar.

Rivers can suggest alternative narratives too: follow the mighty Columbia River for Native American, settler and Cold War bomb-making history.

American Cruise Line’s eight-day “Columbia & Snake River Cruise” from Portland to Clarkston has multiple departures April-December 2024. From $5800 a person. See americancruiselines.com

Reach the world’s remotest places

It doesn’t get more far-flung than Antarctica’s Paradise Bay.Credit: Silver Seas Cruises

Expedition cruising provides a treasure chart of tantalising places for those excited about adding obscure places to their feathered cap.

Barely a cranny of the world goes unvisited by one ship or another, and you can tick off famously remote places such as St Helena, Tristan de Cunha, Pitcairn Island and Easter Island. Here at home there are remote places to explore off Western Australia and even well-cruised Queensland.

Coral Expeditions’ “Outer-known Adventures on the Great Barrier Reef” cruise round-trip from Cairns has several departures in November 2023 and 2024 and visits Osprey and Ribbon Reefs and Sudbury Cay. From $5240 a person. See coralexpeditions.com

Enjoy an insider’s look

Queue-free in Rome? It’s possible, on sailings like Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Spotlight on Faberge.

Do-it-yourself isn’t always easy, especially at the world’s most-visited museums and cultural sights. Cruise lines often have fast-tracked entry into places such as the Vatican Museums, and access to special events such as the Edinburgh Tattoo or Monaco Grand Prix.

They also host exclusive events such as after-hours visits to cathedrals or museums, concerts amid ancient ruins, and tours hosted by insiders.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 10-night “Spotlight on Faberge” cruise from Rome to Monte Carlo departs July 1, 2024, and hosts Sarah Faberge; a special pre-cruise land program visits the Faberge headquarters in London. From $14,640 a person. See rssc.com

Voyage to the White Continent

The bucket-list bounty hunter simply has to tick off the seventh continent, but how? Well, you could join the Chilean military – or, more agreeably, hop aboard a luxury expedition ship.

Accompanied by an expert team of naturalists, you’ll land at scientific bases or among penguin colonies, and maybe even kayak among icebergs, all without sacrificing fillet steaks or Frette linen. The ice-encrusted landscapes are awe-inspiring, so too, the abundant and unconcerned wildlife.

Silversea’s 10-day “Puerto Williams to Puerto Williams” expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetlands has several departures November 2024-February 2025. From $13,650 a person. See silversea.com

Keep the whole family happy

Family zone: Norwegian Bliss’s The Splash Academy play space.

The advantage of larger cruise ships is that they offer a safe and contained space, yet with a variety of distractions to entertain an entire multi-generational family, whether they’re enjoying shared activities or temporarily enjoying some me time.

Many larger ships have both kids’ clubs and adult-only spaces, flexible dining times, and interconnected or multi-bed cabins. The Pacific and Caribbean are particularly family-friendly destinations.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s 14-day “Australia & New Zealand” cruise from Melbourne to Auckland departs December 21, 2024, on Norwegian Sun, which has a spa, kids’ club, swimming pools, sports facilities and live entertainment. From $4724 a person. See ncl.com

Travel to places that can’t be reached by road

The Kimberley, the Amazon River, Patagonia, Greenland, northern Canada: some of the world’s most staggering destinations are almost (or completely) road-less.

Unless you have Bear Grylls’ stamina and survival skills, your only transport option is a cruise ship.

The only way to see the King George River is by sea or air.Credit: Nick Rains

Most classic example? Alaska, where even state capital Juneau is unconnected to a transport network. The outsized wilderness will wow you with snow peaks, glaciers and, in the Inside Passage, endless islands and forests where bears and eagles lurk.

Celebrity Cruises’ seven-night “Alaska Dawes Glacier” cruise round-trip from Vancouver has several departures May-September 2024. From $1424 a person. See celebritycruises.com

Launch into legendary journeys

Sometimes the thought and subsequent sense of achievement counts as much as the destination.

Who wouldn’t like to say they’ve crossed the Atlantic or Pacific, sailed through the Suez and Panama canals or survived the rounding of Cape Horn?

The much sought-after Northwest Passage is now a cruise regular across the Canadian High Arctic, and the Northeast Passage above Russia enables expedition cruises to conclude a full circumnavigation of the Arctic. Boasting rights? You bet.

Silversea’s “Kangerlussuaq to Nome” expedition through the Northwest Passage crosses from Greenland to Alaska and departs August 23, 2024. From $59,650 a person. See silversea.com

Journey to challenging destinations with ease

A traditional PNG coastal tribe perform at the Mount Hagen Show.Credit: iStock

If some destinations seem intimidating – too uncertain, rugged, complicated or crowded – that doesn’t mean you should rule them out.

Cruising makes travel easy, and will allow you to dip into places such as India, Madagascar, Myanmar or Colombia that you might otherwise not have considered. The ship – organised, relaxed, predictable – is your happy retreat at day’s end.

Case in point: Papua New Guinea, our near neighbour and yet sorely under-visited despite its wealth of scenery, snorkelling, vivid festivals and extraordinary cultures.

Ponant’s 13-day “Cultures & Nature in PNG” expedition round-trip from Cairns departs March 7, 2024. From $13,000 a person, au.ponant.com

Put some wind in your sails

Cruising doesn’t have to insulate you from salt and sea. Companies such as Sea Cloud, Star Clipper, Ponant and Windstar operate sailing ships on which you can thrill to the crack of the sails, watch crew at work in the rigging, and enjoy a more visceral cruise experience.

There’s perhaps no better place to sail than the Caribbean, with its tumultuous maritime history of treasure ships, buccaneers and naval battles.

Lindblad’s eight-day “Caribbean Aboard Sea Cloud” cruise return from Barbados sails to island such as Guadeloupe, Dominica and St Lucia, with several departures January-February 2024. From $13,540 a person. See au.expeditions.com

Explore remote archipelagos

Cruising gets you in style around multiple islands that would be a time-consuming tribulation – and in some places impossible – to link any other way. Indonesia’s Spice Islands, Scotland’s Western Isles, Japan’s Ryuku Archipelago and Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands are among many examples.

Top spot? Far-flung French Polynesia which has 14 main islands scattered across 1590 square kilometres of Pacific Ocean. They range from low-lying atoll Fakarava to the jagged peaks of Nuku Hiva and ridiculously gorgeous Moorea, Bora Bora and Huahine.

Oceania’s 10-day “Papeete to Papeete” cruise around French Polynesia has several departures January-February 2024. From $5010 a person. See oceaniacruises.com

Experience a completely different kind of safari

South Georgia king penguins and elephant seals.Credit: iStock

You can, of course, do a safari on land, but swap a Jeep for a Zodiac and you’ll encounter alternative wildlife, from polar bears to bald eagles, whales to walruses.

The numbers of wildlife on the southern Atlantic island of South Georgia are stunning: elephant seals, fur seals, penguins and seabirds congregate in hundreds of thousands and, since they have no fear of humans, can be admired up close. Your obligation will be to keep a polite distance.

Aurora Expeditions’ “South Georgia & Antarctic Odyssey” round-trip from Ushuaia has several departures November 2023-February 2024. From $34,670 a person. See auroraexpeditions.com.au

Enjoy life on an ocean wave

A holiday at sea is a different experience. The passing ocean induces meditative calm, striding breeze-blown decks is exhilarating and you get elevated views of splendid harbours over afternoon tea in observation lounges.

Cruising is the most laid-back way to travel short of chilling at a beach resort. Bonus: you’ll wake up next morning to find a new destination beyond your window.

Seabourn’s 14-day “Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam” cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong departs March 2, 2024, and includes four days at sea for relaxation between bouts of wonderful but crowded Asia. From $7199 a person. See seabourn.com

Put the gorgeous into gorges

Sunrise on Crown Point at Columbia River Gorge in Oregon.Credit: iStock

River cruising enables you to admire gorges from a unique perspective in places such as America’s Columbia River, the Danube’s Iron Gates between Serbia and Romania, or the splendid 250-kilometre length of the Three Gorges on China’s Yangtze River.

And while you can travel Germany’s Rhine Gorges by road or rail, it’s best from the deck of a ship as steep vineyards, crumbling castles and pepper-pot old towns pass by on both banks that can be admired from mid-river.

Uniworld’s eight-day “Castles Along the Rhine” cruise between Basel and Amsterdam has multiple departures March-November 2024. From $3999 a person. See uniworld.com

View extraordinary and precious art

The Kimberley of north-west Australia hides the world’s most extensive and varied collection of rock art in the world, and some of the oldest. Many of the best rock-art sites are inaccessible except from the water.

Disembark from Zodiacs, scramble up to galleries of ancient Wandjina and Gwion Gwion art, and you’ll feel the back of your neck prickle at this evidence of millennia-old human soul in such a remote and hostile landscape.

Coral Expeditions’ 10-night “Kimberley Cruise” between Broome and Darwin has multiple departures April-September, 2024. From $11,850 a person. See coralexpeditions.com

Follow the explorers

Antarctica’s Paradise Bay with Silver Seas Cruises.

Antarctica was the last continent to be explored, and relatively recently. The compelling 19th and early 20th-century narratives of explorers such as Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Australian Douglas Mawson are an inspiration in this vast and intimidating landscape.

Some cruise itineraries provide links to such legends by visiting polar bases, commemorative crosses and a museum in places such as the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia Islands and, more unusually, Eastern Antarctica due south of Tasmania.

Scenic’s 25-day “Mawson’s Antarctica” expedition from Queenstown to Hobart departs December 15, 2024. From $42,270 a person. See scenic.com.au

Visit multiple destinations stress-free

It’s rare on a land tour, or while travelling as an individual, to visit multiple countries or disparate destinations and certainly not without considerable time sucked away in simply getting around.

But cruises routinely glide to a half-dozen ports while you’re sleeping, giving you a taste of different destinations almost daily without you having to commit to just one. Sometimes a short affair is enough; no need for a long romance.

Azamara Cruises’ “Astounding Australia/Asia Voyage” from Sydney to Hong Kong departs March 1, 2024, and visits Queensland, PNG, Palau and the Philippines. From $3734 a person. See azamara.com

Five more classic ‘only on a cruise ship’ advantages

One-time unpacking

Oh the joy, not only of unpacking the contents of your suitcase onto civilised shelves and hangers, but knowing you won’t have to do it again for a week or more. No daily repacking, no creased jumble of clothes, no digging around to find something, and no smelly shoes next to clean shirts. Nice.

Reliable dining

Eating is travel’s great pleasure. But the dining experience in touristy places is often disappointing. And who hasn’t had that sinking feeling at the thought of hauling your tired self from a hotel room into the dark to find a suitable restaurant? On a ship, reliably good, if not fine, dining is a relaxed stroll away.

Enhancement programs

Rare is the hotel that allows you to join a bridge club, learn Spanish or water-colouring or attend lectures by diplomats and scientists. But you can on a cruise ship, whose enhancement programs offer daily diversions to entertain, educate or further your understanding of the destinations you visit.

Ubiquitous service

We’ve all been frustrated at attracting the attention of receptionists, waiters or housekeeping staff in hotels and restaurants, but on luxury-end ships friendly crew are at your (hopefully considerate) call, no matter when you want another cocktail, fresh pool towel, plate cleared or problem solved.

Doing absolutely nothing

All holidays are about time out from chores, but on a cruise you can truly do nothing at all. Sit by the pool. Stare at the ocean. Eat well. Attend a show. And do it all without planning, effort or complication. Live in the moment. Sometimes the biggest luxury of modern life is simply switching off.