Coastal Cruises
There are a variety of coastal cruises available worldwide. Usually on very small ships with limited facilities, these cruises travel close to the coastline and often in the shelter of offshore islands or reefs. They are able to visit ports and places that other cruise ships cannot reach and offer an up close and personal exposure to wildlife, scenery and small communities.
In Northern Europe the options are:
- Norwegian Coastal Voyages who have a fleet of working coastal ships cruising the spectacular Norwegian coastline and fjords from Bergen right round to the Russian border within the Arctic Circle carrying passengers and cargo to over 30 ports, most never visited by cruise liners.
- Hebridean Island Cruises carries passengers on various itineraries around the spectacular coastline and islands of Scotland on a very comfortable small ship.
- Norwegian Coastal Voyages also handle bookings for the Lord of the Glens, a very small ship the visits the islands and then takes the Caledonian canal across the Highlands of Scotland into Loch Ness.
North America has a variety of coastal cruising options on the west coast with Cruise West and NobleCaledonia (Lindblad Expeditions) sailing with very small vessels:
- the coast of Costa Rica and Gulf of California
- San Francisco Bay and the California wine country
- Alaska's Inside Passage
Elsewhere in the USA and Canada Clipper Cruises has itineraries on small ships that cuise:
- the Great Lakes
- St Lawrence and New England
- Intra Coastal Waterway along the east coast of USA
In Australia
- The Great Barrier Reef is explored from Cairns by Captain Cook cruises.
In the Pacific
- Cruise West cruises the coast of Japan and Korea
- Cruise West and Orient Express (Bora Bora Cruises) cruises the islands and lagoons of French Polynesia (Tahiti)
- Captain Cook Cruises operates very small coastal cruise boats in the spectacular waters of the Fijiian Islands.
In South America:
- Explore the Galapagos Islands with Noble Caledonia (Lindblad Expeditions).