A cruise is a cruise…right? Well, not really. While, to the uninitiated, cruises might all look the same, there are actually quite a few differences between not just cruise ships, but cruise lines and even individual cruise itineraries. Depending on choice of booking, passengers could have vastly different experiences.
So how do you pick the right cruising experience for you and your traveling companions, whether that be a group of your friends, your partner and kids or anyone else? It starts with knowing the different types of cruises that are available to you.
Then, as you become more familiar with which cruise lines are most likely to offer these types of cruises, you can start investigating which ships and itineraries might be your ideal match.
Ready to learn more? Here are 11 of the most common types of cruises you can book.
Luxury Cruises
You might assume that any cruise is luxurious to a degree. With the right booking, you get all-inclusive dining and drinks. You can spend your day lounging by the pool and taking trips to the spa, all while the cruise ship whisks you between sunny, sandy islands.
And while this is the case on many cruise ships, you can have pretty much all of this on a budget. So, when we say “luxury cruises,” forget everything you know about traditional cruising. We’re talking ultra-luxury.
Ultra-luxury cruises often cost in the high five digits per suite (and, yes, notice that we did say “suite,” not “cabin” — many ultra-luxury cruise vessels are suite-only) and can easily exceed $10,000 per trip. However, you get what you pay for.
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Luxury cruises roll out all the stops. Think everything included — everything. Think Michelin star-worthy meals, high-end wines and spirits, and adventure excursions that range from behind-the-scene tours of international landmarks to driving around the ocean floor in a submarine.
Think being greeted with caviar and Champagne upon arrival, and black-tie dress codes at dinner. In some cases, ultra-luxury cruise lines will even bundle your cruise together with your flights and a pre- or post-cruise luxury hotel stay.
Luxury cruises are best for travelers who want it all and aren’t afraid to spend to get it. Do note, though, that these cruises often do appeal most to the older set, given their high price tags. Additionally, it’s not uncommon for luxury cruise lines to either outright ban children, or at least discourage them.
Some of the most popular luxury cruise lines include Regent Seven Seas, EXPLORA Journeys, Silversea, and Seabourn.
River Cruises
River cruises are just what they sound like — cruises that take you down rivers, instead of across the ocean or sea. River cruises allow you to visit spots that aren’t accessible to ocean liners and, in some cases, spots that aren’t really accessible to most travelers at all (such as the case when on a river cruise to one of the more remote, bucket-worthy destinations you could consider, such as the Amazon Rainforest).
Because the ships naturally have to be smaller, you’ll enjoy fewer crowds, but also fewer options. Don’t expect go-kart tracks, roller coasters or waterslides on a river cruise ship.
Read Also: River Cruise vs. Ocean Cruise – What’s the Difference?
For most, the focus isn’t so much on on-ship entertainment, as it is stopping every day in a new places along the river to enjoy immersive shore excursions.
You can find river cruises for all budgets and traveler demographics. Popular river cruise lines include Viking River Cruises, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and Avalon Waterways.
Themed Cruises
If you love a good themed party, you’re going to love a themed cruise. Themed cruises often center around a beloved fandom, musician, movie or pop culture icon that a lot of people love — and then tons of those people come together for a few days of sailing and activities that all celebrate that theme.
Themed cruises are hosted on normal cruise ships, and an event production company often is behind all the organizing and planning.
Recent themed cruises have included a Royal Caribbean Star Trek-themed cruise that hosted Star Trek actors, with shows, parties, activities and even themed shore excursions, and with cruisers highly encouraged to dress in costume.
Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas has hosted a Cleveland Browns fan cruise, featuring team alumni, autograph sessions, parties and other experiences.
In short, if you’re a passionate fan of something — anything! — you can likely find a themed cruise to cater to that passion.
Ocean Cruises
Ocean cruises are your more typical cruises that, yes, sail on the ocean or sea, rather than along a river. All the top cruise lines offer ocean cruises, and you can find ocean cruises anywhere that there’s an ocean.
The large variety of ocean cruises means that you can find an ocean cruise to fit any budget, lifestyle, traveler demographic, etc. In fact, except for the river cruises, every other type of cruise on this list, can also be considered an ocean cruise.
There are some major cruise lines that you’ll find sailing our oceans, including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises. Ships from these operators are often much larger than smaller river and luxury vessels
Expedition Cruises
Not for the faint of heart, expedition cruises are for the adventurous. Expedition cruises are for those travelers who wish that there was still an undiscovered corner of the world that they could claim for their own. They’re for those who wished they could’ve sailed the high seas with the explorers of centuries ago.
Expedition cruises take travelers to the far reaches of the planet, and to the most remote ports and destinations, like Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands or the fjords of Chile. However, you can also find expedition cruises to more standard cruise destinations, like Alaska.
Wherever you go on this adventure vacation, though, you’ll enjoy a bevy of adventurous activities. Think trekking out on a glacier, or kayaking among whales.
Think visiting rare wildlife, led by a world-class naturalist. Expedition cruises often feature an educational component, and while the focus isn’t necessarily on luxury, expedition cruises are often rather luxurious, as they’re often quite pricey.
Popular expedition cruise providers include National Geographic, Lindblad Expeditions and Hurtigruten.
Adults-Only Cruises
If you’re not really a fan of vacationing around screaming children — or maybe you’re trying to get away from your own screaming children for a quick trip — then you likely won’t want to travel on one of the more family-friendly cruise lines.
While there are luxury cruise lines that aren’t really kid-friendly, with no kids programming, there are some cruise lines that take things a step further and just ban the kiddos outright. Virgin Voyages and Viking Ocean Cruises are two of the most well-known.
And while you might not think that you specifically need an adults-only cruise to enjoy your getaway, think about what an adults-only setting offers.
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There’ll be minimal guests shrieking and splashing in the pool. You won’t find yourself bumped and bothered by unaccompanied children who’ve lost their parents and decided to take over the buffet.
Everything is catered to your needs, as an adult, and the cruise line has put all its efforts, money and resources into crafting the perfect adult-friendly getaway — no room for kids’ clubs, character breakfasts or splash pads.
Family-Friendly Cruises
On the flip side, if you think of a cruise as an awesome opportunity to form amazing memories with your children, and you might even want to expand the experience to include your broader family, maybe for a multigenerational trip, then you should pick one of the family-friendlier cruise lines.
Many of the big, more prominent cruise lines brand themselves as very family-friendly, such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean. These cruise lines are a nice option especially for those multi-gen trips, as they offer things for the adults to enjoy (casinos, spas, fine dining, quieter spaces), but really ensure the kids are taken care of with tons to keep them occupied, regardless of age.
Plus, they provide tons of options for the entire family to come together to have a good time, with sports courts, roller coasters, water parks and the like. Meanwhile, they even have family-focused suites, with kid-friendly amenities like bunk beds and gaming consoles.
If your children are Disney fans, Disney’s cruises are also a good choice.
Singles Cruises
Some might find traveling as a single boring or even a little sad, but if you’ve traveled solo before, you know that couldn’t be further from the truth. Traveling on your own provides an amazing amount of freedom.
While singles cruising can sometimes come with a single supplement (or an extra fee because you’re traveling solo in a room built for more than one person), more and more cruise lines are beginning to offer staterooms specifically designed for single travelers, that come with no surcharge and sometimes even access to a singles lounge, such as on Norwegian Cruise Line ships.
However, in some cases, you can find entire cruise itineraries completely geared toward singles. Do note, though, that these are often charter cruises and on smaller ships, as the demand for singles cruises isn’t quite as high as you might think.
Weekend Cruises
You don’t need a week or longer to enjoy a cruise! You can get away with just a weekend! While most cruise itineraries do hover somewhere around the week mark, in terms of length, it is possible to find shorter itineraries.
Plus, if you live near a cruise port (like, in the United States, near Miami, Port Canaveral, Galveston, etc.) then you don’t even need to consider extra time for hopping a flight.
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You can just take a rideshare to the port, hop on the ship and spend a few days sailing around before heading back home. It’s an excellent want to enjoy the cruising experience with both little time and little cash.
As an example of what you can find, Royal Caribbean offers three-night cruises from Orlando and Miami, taking you to the Bahamas, as well as three-night Ensenada cruises from Los Angeles. Similarly, Celebrity Cruises offers three-night Bahama and Key West itineraries from Fort Lauderdale.
Holiday Cruises
Holiday cruises are much like themed cruises, expect the theme is the holidays! The most popular holiday cruises are, of course, centered around Christmas, but you can also find holiday cruises for Halloween, too. Expect the cruise ship to be decked out in all its holiday finery, and lots of holiday-centric activities.
For example, Disney Cruise Line offers Halloween cruises across multiple ships, with Halloween-themed décor, food, events and more. Costumes are, of course, encouraged.
Disney Cruise Line also hosts Christmas-themed cruises with more of the same, including holiday-themed entertainment, visits from Santa and more. (Could you really expect any less from Disney? The brand knows how to do the holidays.)
You can also find themed cruises that are also holiday cruises, as is the case with the Hallmark Channel holiday movie-themed cruises that Norwegian hosts.
If your dream is to live out a Hallmark holiday movie, this is the cruise for you, with cookie decorating, ugly sweaters and plenty of chances to fall in love.
World Cruises
Last, but definitely not least, there are also world cruises that are the epitome of the most amazing cruising experience you could possibly have. World cruises literally take you around the entire world, often stopping in dozens of ports, even dozens of countries, over the course of months.
Of course, world cruises are pricey (don’t be shocked to pay $50,000-plus), but how many times are you really going to have a travel opportunity like this?
Read Also: What Is a Transpacific Cruise?
Many cruise lines offer world cruises, albeit only a few per year. Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise takes place over 274 nights and includes visits to more than 60 countries, with more than 150 destinations on the itinerary. North America, South America, Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe — it’s all covered.
If you don’t have quite that many days off work, you can find shorter itineraries with fewer stops. For example, Viking offers several world cruise itineraries, like one that travels between Florida and London over 138 days, and visits 28 countries.
Conclusion: There’s a Cruise Out There For You
With so many different types of cruises out there, you’re bound to find what matches what you want out of a vacation.
Whether you’re looking to chill and enjoy your time on the ship or have an adventure at every port, most cruise lines offer a variety of options. Do your research to determine the best one for your perfect outing!
