Ocean & River Cruises
Ships We've Sailed. Lines We Recommend.
More than 60 ocean and river cruises across the world's leading lines — and a few we know well enough to send you on without us.
Ocean Cruises
We have sailed more than 55 ocean cruises across virtually every major line. What follows is an honest account of what we found — which ships earn a return visit, which lines suit which travelers, and what the brochure doesn't tell you.
Star of the Seas
The newest and largest ship in the fleet. For now. A floating city that somehow manages to feel like a cruise. Read our full review.
Read the ReviewCarnival Mardi Gras
Carnival's most ambitious ship, and proof that mass market cruising keeps raising the bar. Six themed zones for dining, drinking, and entertainment, an Emeril Lagasse restaurant, the line's largest WaterWorks aqua park, and the world's first roller coaster at sea. For families and thrill-seekers, this is the ship to beat.
Read the ReviewScarlet Lady
Adults-only, design-forward, and genuinely different. Virgin reimagined what a cruise ship should feel like — and mostly got it right.
Read the ReviewMSC Divina
European in sensibility, strong on style, and a compelling value. A different cruise culture worth experiencing.
Read the ReviewNorwegian Breakaway
A workhorse of the NCL fleet. The entertainment package is hard to beat; the food is a step behind the best in class.
Read the ReviewDisney Dream
If you're traveling with children, this is the benchmark. Disney does things on this ship that no one else in the industry attempts.
Read the ReviewCelebrity Edge
Edge-class ships set a new standard for ocean cruising. The Magic Carpet alone signals that someone at Celebrity was thinking seriously about design.
Read the ReviewQueen Mary 2
The transatlantic crossing is a category of its own. The QM2 is the only way to cross the Atlantic — everything else is just getting there.
Read the ReviewOosterdam
Classic, unhurried, and genuinely good at what it does. HAL is the right answer for travelers who want a ship that feels like a ship.
Read the ReviewRoyal Princess
Princess carries more passengers to Alaska than any other cruise line, and they've done so for decades. Princess holds one of the coveted limited permits to sail into Glacier Bay National Park, as if you needed another reason to make your cruise to Alaska a Princess cruise to Alaska.
Read the ReviewOceania Sirena
Oceania markets itself as the foodie's cruise line, and Sirena earned that on our January 2019 Cuba sailing. Small ship — 690 passengers — with a shallow draft that let us call ports the big ships can't reach. Havana, Cienfuegos, Santiago de Cuba. The dining? Genuinely exceptional.
Destination Review Ship ReviewCrystal Serenity
Ultra-luxury the way it's supposed to work. We sailed Serenity through the Panama Canal in November 2018 — an unhurried, elegant experience with a passenger-to-crew ratio that means someone actually knows your name by day two. The only Nobu restaurant at sea, butler service, and itineraries that don't follow the crowd.
Silver Shadow
382 passengers. Butler service in every suite. One of the best space-to-guest ratios at sea. We sailed the fall foliage itinerary from Montreal to New York in October 2025 — Quebec City, Charlottetown, Halifax, Portland, Newport. Canada and New England as good as it gets.
Ship ReviewAccessible Ocean Cruising
A mobility limitation, an oxygen requirement, a hearing impairment — none of these should keep you off a ship. Ocean cruising is by far the most accessible form of cruise travel: modern ocean ships are built to ADA standards, with wide corridors, elevators to every deck, and accessible staterooms designed for real use. We are certified by Special Needs Group as an Accessible Travel Advocate, and we work directly with their team to arrange the mobility equipment, medical devices, and accessibility accommodations your ocean cruise requires.
Special Needs Group delivers scooters, wheelchairs, powerchairs, oxygen equipment, and specialty medical items directly to ocean ships in ports worldwide — so you don't have to travel with your own equipment or navigate the logistics alone. The equipment is waiting when you board. We handle the coordination on our end; they handle the delivery on theirs. River ships, by contrast, are small vessels with narrow passageways, gangways over uneven cobblestones, and shore excursions that involve significant walking on uneven terrain — they are generally not a good fit for travelers with meaningful mobility limitations. If accessible ocean cruising is something you've been putting off because the planning seemed too complicated, contact us. It's more manageable than you think.
River Cruises
River cruising is a different kind of travel — slower, more intimate, and closer to the places you came to see. We stay current on the full range of river cruise operators — Viking, Scenic, AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Uniworld, and others — because matching the right brand to the right traveler requires knowing what you're comparing. These are the routes and ships we recommend.
The Lower Danube
The road less traveled. Five countries, ten days, from the Black Sea to Budapest through Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia. Not the Danube of Vienna and the Wachau Valley — this is Iron Curtain history, medieval fortresses, a Mesolithic dig site, and a Bohemian Quarter dinner that opened with 120-proof Serbian plum brandy.
Read the ReviewTransylvania: A Survivor's Guide
We added two days in Transylvania before embarking on the Lower Danube cruise. Dracula is real — or was. The castle is actually no more sinister than a medieval toll booth with excellent marketing. The scenery is genuinely spectacular. A tongue-in-cheek guide to the region that separates the legend from the history, and explains why you should go anyway.
Read the ReviewThe Mekong River
Suite-class expedition on the Mekong. Pair river days with optional pre- and post-cruise extensions to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. One of the most rewarding itineraries we plan.
Inquire About This RouteEurope's Christmas Markets
Janet wanted to see Europe's Christmas markets for years. The Danube delivered. Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic across one week — a different market, a different city, every day. Prague's Old Town Square in December is as good as advertised. Tips for doing it right are in the full post.
Read the Full StoryThe Netherlands in Bloom
Nobody tells you before you go: the tulip fields exist for the bulb, not the flower. And to get the bulb, they kill the blooms. We engineered our timing around the narrow window before the nipping machines come through — and found the fields, a tulip factory, and a virus-infected variety that produces the most extraordinary petals you've ever seen.
Read the Full StoryGermany: The Mosel Valley
Castle country. The Mosel winds through some of the most scenic — and most undervisited — river scenery in Europe. Read our destination review.
Read the ReviewEurope's Classic Rivers: Why Avalon
We've evaluated the major river cruise lines and consistently recommend Avalon for most of our clients. It isn't the only good answer — Viking, Scenic, Uniworld, and AmaWaterways each have their place — but Avalon's Suite Ships, their service model, and their overall value proposition put them at the top of our list. Janet knows this product in depth, which means she also knows exactly what to compare it against. If another line is the better fit for you, she'll tell you that too.
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A note on cruise planning
Every cruise line is different — in culture, in passenger mix, in what they do well and where they cut corners. Matching the right ship to the right traveler is the work, and it's work the internet cannot do for you. When you contact us, we'll ask about your travel style, your priorities, and trips you've taken before. What we build from there is an experience, not just a booking.
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