Luxury cruises, from someone who's actually sailed them

Seabourn: All-inclusive. Dining, drinks, Wi-Fi and tips.

Silversea: All-inclusive. Dining, wine and spirits, Wi-Fi, tips, and a butler.

Explora Journeys: All-inclusive. Dining, drinks, Wi-Fi and tips.

Regent Seven Seas: All-inclusive, plus most shore excursions.

Crystal: All-inclusive. Dining (including Nobu), drinks and tips.

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection: All-inclusive.

Atlas Ocean Voyages: All-inclusive. Dining, drinks and tips.

Aman at Sea: All-inclusive. Dining, drinks and tips.

Windstar: Meals included. Drinks, Wi-Fi and tips are included with the All-Inclusive Fare (and Windstar often runs promotions that include it free, so ask me).

Viking Ocean: Meals, Wi-Fi, and beer and wine with lunch and dinner, plus a shore excursion in every port. Tips and bar drinks are extra.

Four Seasons Yachts: Breakfast and non-alcoholic drinks included. Most lunches, dinners and cocktails are extra, but booking with us as a Virtuoso agency gets you a food and beverage credit.

Orient Express Corinthian: Brand new in 2026. Ask me for current inclusions.

SeaDream Yacht Club: All-inclusive. Dining, open bar, tips and watersports.

Sea Cloud Cruises: Meals, wine and beer with meals, and tips. Bar drinks, spa and shore excursions are extra.

Scenic Eclipse: All-inclusive. Dining, drinks, tips, Wi-Fi, a butler, and most excursions. Helicopter flights and submarine dives are extra.

Seabourn is probably my favorite line. I've sailed Seabourn Ovation to Norway, Seabourn Quest to Canada and Alaska, and Seabourn Encore to Greece and the Caribbean.

What keeps me coming back is the crew. By the second day, they greet me by name. When you walk out of a show, they line up to say goodnight (and yes, there are hugs). I'm Instagram friends with a bunch of them now, and when I come back on board, they remember me.

The ships are small enough that people know who you are, and big enough to have all the good stuff.

Here's a detail my clients love: Seabourn's ocean ships are all laid out the same way. Once you've sailed one, you can walk onto any of the others and feel right at home.

I've sailed Explora I around the Caribbean and Explora II from Colombia to Barbados. The ships are gorgeous. The dark hull makes them look like a giant private yacht, and inside it feels like the lobby of a very high-end hotel.

And the food! It's probably the best I've ever had on a cruise ship, from the Marketplace to every restaurant we tried.

Explora is the luxury brand from MSC. Explora III joined the fleet in summer 2026 and heads to Alaska in 2027, with 3 more ships coming in 2027 and 2028.

I'm sailing Silver Whisper around Tahiti in October 2026, and I'll update this page when I'm back.

My clients love Silversea, and I think it's the closest competition to Seabourn. Silversea has 12 ships (8 ocean ships and 4 expedition ships) carrying anywhere from 100 to 728 guests. That range means there's a Silversea ship for almost any trip.

Every suite gets a butler, including the entry-level ones. Food is a big focus too. Their S.A.L.T. program (Sea And Land Taste) builds menus around the places you're visiting, on Silver Dawn, Silver Nova and Silver Ray. And 24-hour room service is included, like the other lines on this page.

Regent is one of the few luxury lines that still includes shore excursions in the fare. (The really fancy ones, like helicopter tours, cost extra.) So you book it, and the trip is pretty much handled. My clients come back from Regent and absolutely love it.

Regent's ships are on the bigger side for luxury. The Explorer-class ships carry about 750 guests, and the new Seven Seas Prestige, arriving in late 2026, carries 850.

I've sold Crystal, and my clients come back raving about it. The ships are stunning, a little bigger than some on this page, and the food is fantastic.

Crystal has 2 ships: Crystal Serenity carries 740 guests and Crystal Symphony carries 606. Dining is included in the fare, and that includes Umi Uma, the only restaurant at sea from chef Nobu Matsuhisa. A brand-new ship, Crystal Grace, is due in 2028. Crystal Serenity sails a 2027 World Cruise from San Diego, if you've ever wanted to do the big one.

Traveling solo? Crystal has offered reduced single supplements on select sailings. Ask me which ones.

I've sold Viking, and the thing my clients love most is that a shore excursion is included in every port. You step off the ship and your tour is already handled.

Viking's ocean ships carry 930 guests, every stateroom has a veranda, and it's adults only (18 and up). There's no casino. Wi-Fi and beer and wine with lunch and dinner are included too.

I haven't sold Four Seasons yet, but I'm watching it closely. What I like most: the yacht stays longer in port, with lots of late nights and overnights, so you can actually have dinner ashore.

Four Seasons I has just 95 suites for up to 222 guests, with about 1 crew member per guest. Every suite has a terrace, and some can connect into multi-bedroom spaces, which is great for families traveling together.

My clients love Windstar. They go once, then they go again, and again. They love the vibe and getting to know the other guests. If that sounds like you, you'll fit right in.

Because the ships are small, they get into little ports the big ships can't reach. I sailed Star Breeze around Tahiti.

Windstar has 2 new yachts, Star Seeker and Star Explorer, each carrying 224 guests, and nearly every suite has a private balcony or a floor-to-ceiling window. I have clients sailing Star Seeker in Japan in 2027, and I can't wait to hear about it.

In February 2026, Ritz-Carlton's yacht Ilma became the first cruise ship to earn a Five-Star rating from Forbes Travel Guide.

I just sat down with my Ritz-Carlton rep, and she puts these yachts in the same class as Aman and Orient Express Corinthian: smaller ships, a step up in luxury, and all-inclusive.

I haven't sailed it yet, but I'm working on it, and everyone tells me it's amazing. I'll share my own take as soon as I'm on board.

Aman's first yacht, Amangati, starts sailing May 7, 2027, from Palma de Mallorca to Nice. It carries just 94 guests in 47 suites, and every suite has its own terrace.

I've sat in on 2 Virtuoso sessions about Aman, and from what I heard, the top suite runs around $160,000. This is as high-end as cruising gets.

We're a Virtuoso agency, so yes, we can book it. Call me.

I haven't sailed it yet, and honestly it's one of the ships I'm most curious about. Orient Express Corinthian set sail in June 2026 and is billed as the world's largest sailing yacht: 220 meters long, with 3 giant rigid sails.

It carries up to 110 guests in 54 suites, with about 1 crew member per guest. The food is led by Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno, and there's a cabaret, 2 pools and a marina. It sails the Caribbean from October 2026 through March 2027, with stops like St. Barts, the Exumas and the Tobago Cays.

I haven't sailed SeaDream yet, but it's one of the most unique small ships out there. SeaDream I and II carry just 112 guests with 95 crew.

People book it for the fun stuff: the famous Champagne and Caviar Splash, and Balinese Dream Beds on deck where you can sleep under the stars. Kayaks, paddleboards and water skis launch right off the back of the yacht. It's all-inclusive (dining, open bar, tips and watersports), and it's resort casual every night with no formal nights. Winters are in the Caribbean, summers in the Mediterranean.

I haven't sailed Sea Cloud yet, but if you've ever dreamed of a real tall ship, this is the one. The ships sail on wind power whenever the weather allows, and guests can learn the rigging and even help set the sails.

The original Sea Cloud was built in 1931 as a private yacht for heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. The newest ship, Sea Cloud Spirit, launched in 2021 with a spa and an elevator. The ships carry 64 to 136 guests, and meals, wine and beer with meals, and tips are included.

Atlas sails small expedition yachts with fewer than 200 guests. That's small enough to reach places like Svalbard that bigger ships can't. A larger 400-guest sailing yacht, Atlas Adventurer, is due in late 2028.

I haven't sailed Atlas yet. I know advisors who sell it, and I'm working on getting on board myself.

I haven't sailed Scenic yet, but it's the line I think of when a client says they want expedition travel without giving up any comfort. Scenic calls its ships discovery yachts, and they carry about 200 guests in 114 suites, every one with a veranda and a butler.

The big draw: each yacht has 2 helicopters and a submarine on board. It sails Antarctica, the Arctic, the Mediterranean and South America. Drinks, tips, Wi-Fi and most excursions are included, and there are up to 10 places to eat.