Inside The World Of Luxury Expedition Cruises

The jet set are flocking to the water as luxury expedition cruising becomes the hottest trend in luxury travel—cruising that involves intimate groups on elegant ships with fine wine, butlers, gastronomic meals, and plenty of space to spread out. According to Virtuoso, the luxury travel advisor network, cruise and tour bookings are projected to see a steady rise, with future travel bookings in the $50,000-and-above category up 35 percent compared to 2024. Indeed, just recently Abercrombie & Kent, one of the world’s leading experiential travel companies, debuted Pure Amazon, a luxury river vessel for exploring the Peruvian Amazon, and the venerated railway brand Orient Express announced a new sailing yacht for 2026.

But luxury travelers want more than a fancy boat with a butler, unlimited fine wine, and elegant surroundings—they want to tour in intimate small groups with access to unique and unusual experiences designed by experts. This is where travel experts like Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) come in. Legendary for creating impossibly complex travel experiences in some of the world’s most remote locations (read: an African safari across four countries), A&K partners with some of the most elegant ships in the business to create luxury cruise excursions above and beyond a typical ship’s offerings.

On a recent Baltic and Scandinavian cruise, A&K partnered with French luxury brand Ponant, a cruise line that lives up to its reputation for French-inflected luxury with perks such as complimentary Charles Heidsieck Champagne and decadent three-course dinners.

Ponant manages the ship, service, and dining, but everything else is A&K—right down to the notably reduced capacity (they intentionally book each cruise below capacity, which means plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the elegant spaces on board, and no waiting for seating at dinner). They also manage the shore excursions, VIP experiences, guest lectures, and local guides.

What is it like on an A&K Expedition Cruise?

The Baltic offering is an 11-day journey across six nations. A&K does the legwork recruiting local guides, bringing expert lecturers on board, and adding the little touches that make it exceptional luxury. Touches such as pre-stamped postcards at each stop, insider list’s of the best restaurants in Stockholm, pop-up birding on deck with the staff member who is also a certified naturalist, or bringing a local composer on board for an evening performance.

Ports of call feature four or five different excursion options with enough variety to appeal to every level of interest and ability—some might opt for a guided kayaking trip, while others prefer a slower-paced walking tour with a coffee stop. Visits to WWII remembrance sites, ocean kayaking and Nordic culinary experiences are just a few of the excursions offered. A&K also recruits a varsity line-up of relevant experts for expedition cruises. Almost daily lectures in the ship’s theater prime the intellectual pump for the next day’s tours and experiences. For the Baltic trip, guests heard from a prominent Viking scholars and an expert in Art Nouveau and design. This particular cruise is a cultural adventure with stops in several nations that were once behind the Iron Curtain—Latvia, Estonia, and Poland—as well as a grand tour of Scandinavian destinations including Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Bornholm, and the Åland Islands. Indeed, the food (it is a French ship) and the drinks (Champagne, thank you) are fabulous, and the lectures are fascinating, but it’s the fellow guests with A&K that make the ultimate difference. You’ll meet a cast of adventure-minded, well-traveled characters who’ve led interesting lives, and the reduced capacity on board makes it easy to connect with fellow travelers if you choose.

Inside a Ponant small cruise ship

Elegant and sleek with contemporary interiors, Ponant ships offer very cool features such as the underwater Blue Eye Lounge in the ship’s hull—with oversized glass windows that look into the water—or the top-floor sauna with a large picture window overlooking the sea.

While A&K continues to work in partnership with Ponant, they are also building their own expedition ships. Just recently, A&K debuted a newly built river ship that operates in Peru, and a new Nile cruiser will debut in 2026. Demand is on the rise for more cruises, so beginning in 2026 A&K will partner with Crystal Cruises’ Serenity, a ship that just underwent a major overhaul in 2023. For the expedition cruises that take place on Crystal’s larger ships, the A&K expedition cruise guests will stay in Crystal Serenity’s Sapphire or Aquamarine Veranda Suites, each with its own private ocean-view veranda, and outfitted with fine linens by Jesurum of Venice and robes by Etro of Milan. The jet set has landed and it seems the best in luxury expedition cruising is only getting started.