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Travel + Leisure Readers' 5 Favorite Small-ship Ocean Cruise Lines of 2024

A spirit of exploration was a key factor of small ships for readers in our annual "World’s Best Awards" survey for 2024.

By

Fran Golden

Published on July 9, 2024

Small ships, which Travel + Leisure defines as those with 150 to 299 cabins, have proven especially popular with readers who have a spirit of adventure. Without the razzmatazz of larger ships, these comfortable ships deliver choice when it comes to food, accommodations, activities (including intellectual pursuits), and experiences. There has been an overall increase in interest in cruises that go deep in terms of destination, and these small ships fit the bill. Both new and established small ships are attracting experienced cruisers looking for something different as well as travelers who have never before explored by sea.

How Voting Works

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Over 186,000 T+L readers completed the 2024 survey. A total of more than 700,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).

For the cruise category, respondents were asked to rate individual ships; the results were combined to generate scores for cruise lines in different categories based on number of cabins.

Ships were specifically rated on the criteria below:

Cabins/facilities
Food
Service
Itineraries/destinations
Excursions/activities
Value

For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.

The deck view on a Viking ship. — Courtesy of Viking

What Readers Loved

Hurtigruten Expeditions (No. 2), newly named HX, was not on the World’s Best Awards list at all last year, but makes a strong showing in 2024 in the runner-up spot, bumping perennially popular small-ship line Windstar Cruises, with its upscale sailing and motor yachts, to No. 3.

Of HX, voters rave about the destination exploration experience. “Hurtigruten is ALWAYS exciting!” wrote one reader. “This is NOT your typical cruise. If you want to be pampered and see Broadway shows, Hurtigruten is not for you. BUT, if you want amazing sights and interactions with locals as well as exciting expeditions, Hurtigruten is for you!”

With Windstar Cruises, voters applauded the food, crew, and destinations, which include the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Tahiti. “I enjoyed the small intimate cruise setting,” said one reader. “With the small ship's ability to get in and out of ports, we were able to see destinations we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.” Filling out the top five were Tahiti-focused Paul Gauguin Cruises (No. 4) and Silversea (No. 5).

Viking splashed onto the scene in 2022 with two new expedition ships that are so popular they top the small-ship list for a second year.

This Is Part Of

The World's Best Awards

See All Winners

The Winner

Viking

Topping the World’s Best Awards in the small-ship category for a second year in a row, Viking’s pair of 189-cabin expedition ships deliver expedition-style cruising with the comforts found on traditional ships. The ships winter in Antarctica, summer in the Great Lakes, and also explore South America, Greenland, and the Northwest Passage. They also do multi-month itineraries such as longitudinal world cruises. Off-ship exploration opportunities caught readers’ attention as did a science focus. “The talks by the science team were fantastic,” raved one reader. “Particularly enjoyed all the science-related lectures/movies, etc., discussions on wildlife, plastics in the ocean and other relevant science topics,” said another.