Snorkel with sea lions, walk across lava fields, drift amongst penguins and marvel at the uniquely fearless wildlife of the Galapagos on a seven-night luxury cruise with Pura Aventura. The cruise takes in the highlights of the archipelago and allows you to discover the Galapagos on land and in the water, while exploring incredible wildlife and landscapes in depth. After two days of exploring the Ecuadorian capital of Quito with a local guide, you will fly out to the Galapagos and board a first-class yacht to see giant tortoises in the wild, go snorkelling in Devil��s Crown crater and visit a colony of the tiny and rare Galapagos penguins. The cruise costs from £4,350 per person, including internal flights.
- In August 2017, Crystal Cruises' Crystal Serenity will sail a 32-night expedition-style voyage, traversing the Arctic Ocean from Anchorage/Seward, Alaska to New York City via the legendary Northwest Passage, located 500 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It was first completed successfully by Roald Amundsen more than 100 years ago and now you can follow in the footsteps of intrepid explorers on the journey through once un-passable waterways. Ports of call include the hamlet of Ulukhaktok, home to just a few hundred people on the shores of the Amundsen Gulf, as well as Nome in Alaska and Sisimiut in Greenland. Prices for the voyage, which combines intrepid adventure, the great outdoors and immersive cultural experiences, start from £15,591 per person.
- Explore Tasmania’s World Heritage wilderness on a wildlife cruise along the southern shore, where you can discover fine national parks and two World Heritage areas. Wildlife Worldwide's 12-day cruise aboard the expedition-style Coral Expeditions I has a maximum of 46 passengers and provides spectacular access to some of the most remote and unspoilt regions in Southern Tasmania. Highlights include kayaking in the crystal clear waters of Bathurst harbour, a scenic cruise along the southern coast of Bruny Island and a guided walk through sub-tropical rainforest. The cruise costs from £3,995 per person, including return flights from the UK and departs weekly between November and February.
For the perfect way to explore the Chobe River, which divides Namibia’s Caprivi Strip from Botswana’s Chobe National Park and is bordered by a huge amount of wildlife, embark on a safari cruise on a luxury houseboat with The Luxury Safari Company. The boat has 14 suites, each with their own balcony and air-conditioning, and days can be spent enjoying a water-based safari, a village tour or trying to catch a tiger fish, one of the greatest fighting fish in the world, before returning to the Zambezi Queen to indulge in sundowners on deck. The African cruise costs from £3,557 per person for four nights on an all-inclusive basis and including flights from UK.
- Sail among the longstanding cultures of Canada's west coast by classic ship on an eight-day cruise in the Great Bear Rainforest, which takes you on a cruise to one of the leading grizzly bear havens in fjordland and to explore the coastal river, enjoying nature hikes, hot springs and whale watching. Highlights include close-up experiences of the rare white spirit bear, hands-on steering of the ship and collecting food the chef will prepare for you. The cruise, between May and October, starts at $5690 (£3,320) per person on a classic sailing ship with Maple Leaf Adventures.
The Peruvian side of the Amazon River is little-known, with so few operators on this stretch of water that you are unlikely to meet another boat on your wild Amazon adventure. Aqua Expeditions offers a luxury cruise along the Amazon on the stylish Aria Amazon, which allows you to soak up the isolation and stunning scenery while enjoying the luxury of a small river boat. Under the expert guidance of local guides, you can go on jungle treks to spot the bountiful wildlife, flora and fauna, venturing deep into the rainforest to immerse yourself among an extraordinary array of mammals and birds, from Amazon kingfishers to pink dolphins. Each morning affords a new view of the Amazon from your cabin’s floor-to-ceiling windows and no two days on the river are the same. A three-night cruise on the Aria Amazon starts from £2,629 per person.
For the ultimate cruise holiday and bucket list adventure, head to the white continent of Antarctica to experience the extremes and an extraordinary voyage like no other. Swoop Antarctica offers a 12-day Basecamp Adventurer holiday specifically for the adventurous cruise traveller, with a 116-passenger expeditionary ship that acts as your floating 'basecamp'. Travellers spend around six days kayaking, hiking, camping bivouac-style under the stars, mountaineering and snowshoeing with perhaps the widest selection of activities of any Antarctic voyage out there. Prices for the 12-day cruise start at £5,720 per person for a twin porthole cabin and include activities.
Adventure cruisers can visit one of the world’s last wild horse populations on an amazing Sable Island Experience holiday with Discover the World. The nine-day voyage aboard the Ocean Endeavour departs from St John's in Newfoundland, giving you the opportunity to explore a windswept island of sand off the coast of Nova Scotia. Covering just 34 square kilometres, Sable Island is home to just five permanent human residents, one of the world’s last wild horse populations, the world’s largest grey seal colony, the rare Ipswich sparrow and many rare and beautiful plant species. The trip features three days moored just off the coast and offers ample opportunities for you to go ashore. The cruise departs on 5 July 2017 and is available from £3,419 per person on an all-inclusive basis.
Cruise to the breathtaking landscapes and wildlife of Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia on a holiday that gives you the best of South America's gauchos, penguins and glaciers. Australis' five-night expedition is the first tour of its kind aboard the Stella Australis, departing and ending in Punta Arenas, Chile. The trip travels by land and sea, with highlights including a King Penguin colony, an authentic gaucho experience in Ushuaia, Argentina and the charming town of Punta Arenas. The cruise visits Wulaia Bay, Alberto de Agostini National Park and Magdalena Island, home to the Magellanic penguin colony and also sails through Glacier Alley, the Beagle Channel where Darwin famously travelled on his journey to the Galapagos Islands. The Gauchos, Penguins and Glaciers cruise costs from $3,657 (£2,762) and runs from September to April.
Explore the little-visited region of Burma's coastline on a unique cruise with TransIndus, which takes in a pristine stretch of tropical, coral-edged shoreline in the southeast of the country, the wilderness of the Myeik Archipelago and the vestiges of a colonial past, plus spectacular Buddhist shrines. During the 11-day cruise, you can swim off wild shell-sand beaches, snorkel in translucent water off uninhabited islets and visit settlements of Moken 'Sea Nomads'. Excursions on shore include trips to war graves related to the infamous Burma Railway, the limestone stacks of Hpa-an and Burmese market town, Mawlamyine. The cruise costs from £3,200 per person on a full-board basis, with local transport, guides and entrance fees included.
- See the wild scenery of Alaska when you depart on an eight-day cruise from Vancouver, passing along the beautiful Inside Passage with The Luxury Cruise Company. The cruise visits the Icy Strait Point, a privately owned tourist destination just outside the small village of Hoonah, as well as Juneau the capital of Alaska, located at the foot of grand mountain peaks on the Gastineau Channel. Here, you can take in spectacular views of the Mendenhall Glacier. Along the way, look out for an array of wildlife in the area including porpoise, seals, sea lions, eagles, herons and whales. The full-board cruise aboard Celebrity Millennium costs from £664 per person, based on a 26 May 2017 departure.