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Embrace smaller, luxury ships for exceptional service, dining and amenities. You'll be glad you left the teeming hordes behind.
By
Drew Limsky
published
31 January 2026
in Features
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A splurge cruise is going to mean different things to different people, obviously. Let’s start with the landscape, er, seascape.
Traditionally, January is "wave season" for the cruise industry, when bookings and incentives peak. Lots of desirable cruises are already sold out, so get busy.
In terms of a high-end experience, cruise lines have tended to fall into one of three categories, though the lines are sometimes blurry: value, premium, and luxury. A recent shift is the increased use of "ultra-luxury." Naturally, luxury and ultra-luxury cruises are the priciest, and also typically offer the smallest ships with the least number of staterooms — and high staff-to-guest ratios.
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Sign upIt should be noted that, for some cruisers, having a dozen or more dining venues means "luxury." The downside of that criterion is that it requires a large ship carrying thousands of guests, which means longer lines to board and get off the ship. (Never say "boat.") It also means more ship architecture, so views of the sea can be limited by the infrastructure of restaurants, shops, casinos and theaters.
Not so with a ship that contains a few hundred guests. If you want to feel like you’re a VIP on an Italian yacht, develop a rapport with the staff, and see water on three sides (when on the bow or the stern), go smaller and more expensive. Being on a ship with 150 cabins (300 guests) is a completely different experience from cruising on a ship with 1,500 cabins (3,000 guests). It’s about privacy and intimacy as well as fine décor finishes and stellar cuisine.
That said, here are some of the top cruise lines and itineraries to splurge on.
1. Seabourn
Cruising around Fiji beaches.
(Image credit: Getty Images)Of Carnival Corp.’s roster of cruise lines (which includes Princess and Holland America), Seabourn has long been the gold standard for those seeking an Italian yacht-like voyage.
Several Seabourn ships were constructed at the renowned Fincantieri shipyard, based in Trieste, Italy, while the newest vessels — including the sister ships Venture (2022) and Pursuit (2023) — came from Italy’s T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa.
Seabourn Pursuit, an ultra-luxury expedition ship, accommodates just 264 guests. For those seeking sun and fun in the South Pacific, Pursuit is offering an April itinerary from French Polynesia to Fiji: the 11-Day Polynesia & Melanesia: Island Cultures & Coral Coasts. Veranda Suites start from around $10,000, while a Panorama Penthouse Suite commands more than $14,000.
But if 11 days doesn’t sound splashy enough, you can always stay aboard: the 27-Day Polynesia, Melanesia & Indonesia Explorer cruise (French Polynesia to Darwin, Australia) starts at more than $17,000 per person, based on double occupancy.
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2. Oceania Cruises
The Trieste, Italy waterfront.
(Image credit: Getty Images)You’ve likely heard from friends about this lux cruise line (it’s under the umbrella of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings), primarily because its gastronomy gets top marks. Oceania Sonata will be the first vessel in a brand-new class of ships (the Sonata class).
Set to debut in August 2027, it will be a floating home for 1,390 guests. In the meantime, consider the new Allura, which debuted in 2025 and can accommodate 1,200 guests. Dining options include: The Grand Dining Room, Polo Grill, Tuscan and French restaurants and the pan-Asian Red Ginger dining room.
Priced at $9,849 per guest, Oceania offers a 21-day Mediterranean cruise in July that departs from Trieste, Italy, and concludes in Athens. Ports along the way are stellar and include the gorgeous island of Hvar, Croatia; Istanbul (featuring an overnight stay so you can take in the sights, shops and people-watching at Taksim Square); and the Greek islands of Crete, Rhodes, Santorini, and Mykonos.
3. Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Disembark for ice cream in historic Copenhagen, Denmark.
(Image credit: Getty Images)The Grandeur is the newest Seven Seas ship — the brand is also owned by Norwegian — and can accommodate 744 guests, and every suite boasts a balcony. The brand, formerly known as Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, made a big splash when Norwegian took ownership in 2014.
The Seven Seas Suite, which falls in the middle of the pack of the ship’s cabin categories, sprawls over 800 square feet. It features a customizable in-suite minibar replenished daily with the guests’ preferences, and if you book this suite, you get priority access to online shore excursion reservations.
A Northern European August itinerary begins in Stockholm and ends in Oslo, with overnight stops in Berlin, Copenhagen and Oslo. One must request pricing from the line’s website.
4. Viking
The passenger cruise ship Viking Neptune arrives at the French Mediterranean port of Marseille.
(Image credit: Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)In 2020, "Viking Cruises" was renamed simply "Viking" to signal its new luxury profile. The company began in Russia in 1997 as a river cruise line; now its ships ply the waters of oceans and rivers and offer expedition cruises.
The vessels accommodate up to nearly 1,000 guests. In late November, the Viking Neptune is offering a 15-day, six-country itinerary (starting from around $5,500 — the lowest-priced staterooms are sold out, but keep this benchmark in mind for the future), from Lisbon to Rome, and includes the ports of Seville, Mallorca and Valencia, Spain; Monte Carlo; Livorno, Italy (convenient to Florence and Pisa); Tangier, Morocco; Marseille, France; and an overnight in Barcelona.
The Penthouse Veranda category (around $12,000) still has availability.
If river cruises are your thing, Viking has a 12-day Nile River itinerary in May, starting at $7,500. The pyramids and other antiquity sites in Cairo and Luxor must be seen to be believed. Required reading/watching: Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile; the most recent film adaptation (starring Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer and Annette Bening) was released in 2022.
5. Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
Cherry blossoms line a tranquil river illuminated by warm lanterns in Tokyo.
(Image credit: Getty Images)The current iteration of the Ritz-Carlton hospitality brand dates from 1983, though its lineage can be traced back more than a century to the legendary Swiss hotelier César Ritz, who christened Ritz hotels in Paris and London. It’s safe to say that no cruise line enjoys the prestigious name recognition of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.
In 2022, the line’s first vessel, the Evrima, set sail from Barcelona. Two additional ships were delivered in 2024 and 2025. The latest ship, Luminaria, will sail from Hong Kong to Tokyo in March; fares are from $22,700 (Terrace Suite) for 12 nights.
Guests will be treated to culinary stylings of Chef Paul Lau Ping Lui of Michelin-starred Tin Lung Heen at The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong; and Chef Janice Wong, the brilliant chocolatier behind 2am : dessertbar, which offers refined sweets in Singapore and within the W Hotel Sydney. With 226 suites, the brand refers to the Luminaria as a super-yacht, thus coining a new category in the cruise ship lexicon.
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Read More
- The 10 Best Splurge Destinations for Retirees in 2026
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Drew LimskyContributorDrew Limsky joined Kiplinger Digital as a freelance retirement writer because he believes that every day offers opportunities to make better financial decisions, and that it’s never too late to learn how to enhance your financial position and lifestyle. Drew is the former editor of Lexus magazine, Cadillac magazine, South Florida Business & Wealth, Business Jet Traveler, Interiors South Florida, and Mariner (for Holland America). Drew’s writing credits include The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Yahoo, Worth, AD, Robb Report, Metropolis, Men’s Journal, and Business Insider. An Emory grad, Drew earned his JD and PhD at NYU, and lives in Miami Beach, Brooklyn, and Cape Cod.
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