Bucket List Cruises Worth the Splurge: 13 We’d Book Again (& 3 Popular Cruises We’d Skip)

We’ve sailed more than 100 cruises, on everything from small expedition ships at the bottom of the world to the biggest megaships afloat, across six continents. That’s a lot of sea days and a lot of ports in various regions of the world, but a few standout as bucket list cruises we’d book again in a heartbeat.

Say “bucket list cruise” and most people picture the far-flung ones first, like Antarctica, the Galapagos, or French Polynesia. Those absolutely count, and they’re on this list. But after 20 years cruising the high seas, we’ve learned that a bucket list cruise, the kind you’d sail again without question, doesn’t necessarily mean the hardest places to reach.

So, if we could return to any of our favorite cruises, how would we rank them? These are the 13 cruises we think are absolutely worth your time and the splurge, plus the three popular cruises we’d skip and why.

13. Bermuda

Bermuda is known for its pink sand beaches, turquoise waters, and rum swizzles. Yet, it’s a destination not usually found on most bucket list cruise lists. And we’re not sure why because the locals are extremely friendly, it’s clean and safe, and it’s easily reachable on a sailing from the East Coast homeports of Boston, New York, or Cape Liberty, NJ. You don’t even need a passport to cruise here (though we’d still recommend one).

Most cruises dock at King’s Wharf for two or three days, so it acts less like a port stop and more like a floating hotel parked next to some of the best beaches in the Atlantic. This multi-day docking gives you plenty of time to enjoy all that Bermuda has to offer, from Horseshoe Bay Beach and the Crystal & Fantasy Caves to historic St. George’s and Hamilton.

12. Hawaii

Visit up to four islands in one trip and only unpack once? That’s a win for us. While visiting Hawaii on a land trip is definitely possible, it requires coordination of hotel stays, inter-island flights, meals, and all those other logistics that a cruise eliminates. You cover Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, and sometimes Kauai in a week, which is close to impossible to do that smoothly on land.

A helicopter ride over the Big Island’s active volcanoes or a visit to Haleakala Crater are the experiences you’ll remember forever and are worth every penny.

Norwegian Cruise Line‘s Pride of America is the sole ship that cruises the Hawaiian islands year-round, but other cruise lines do visit Hawaii usually as part of longer voyages or repositioning sailings.

11. A European river cruise

A cruise with 24/7 views, visits to quaint small towns, and zero sea days. A sailing on a European river is an easy bucket list cruise for someone who thinks they don’t like cruising, because it feels more like a moving boutique hotel than a cruise ship.

A river cruise is the opposite of the megaship stereotype. It’s intimate, you’re never far from land, and you wake up in the middle of a different town most mornings. The Danube and Rhine deliver storybook Europe, one riverside village and hilltop castle after another. Think picturesque stops in Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, and beyond. The Douro in Portugal trades all that for terraced wine country and the Seine puts you in reach of Normandy and Paris. Pair visits to places larger ships can’t reach with the all-inclusive nature of river cruises, and what’s not to love?

10. Iceland

Iceland packs a lot of dramatic landscapes into a compact region. Imagine thundering waterfalls, volcanoes, black sand beaches, steaming geothermal fields, and glaciers, often within an hour of each other. Cruising around Iceland means you can sample the highlights without renting a car for the full Ring Road. Plus, many sailings pair it with the British Isles or Greenland for an even bigger trip.

If soaking in a geothermal spa like the famous Blue Lagoon on a cool day, standing between two tectonic plates at Thingvellir National Park, walking a volcanic black sand beach, or photographing puffins sound like your idea of an adventure, add a cruise to Iceland to your bucket list immediately.

9. The ancient world by sea

What could be more rewarding than actually standing inside the ruins you learned all about in school years ago? If combining some of Europe’s top sites of the ancient world into one trip is your idea of a dream come true, a Mediterranean cruise that pairs Eastern and Western ports should be on the top of your list.

From the Eastern Med you reach Ephesus in Turkey, one of the best-preserved Roman cities anywhere, and the Acropolis above Athens. Swing to the Western Med and you’re walking through Rome‘s famous Colosseum & Roman Forum and stepping into Pompeii, frozen mid-day by Vesuvius.

In fact, we visited all four of these ancient sites on the same cruise, combined with many other culturally significant landmarks like the Vatican, the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosques, and the blue-domed rooftops of Oia, among others.

8. Medieval Europe by sea

If exploring historical landmarks and ancient ruins in Italy, Turkey, and Greece is your type of vacation, then you’ll probably also love exploring medieval Europe by sea. We did! Dubrovnik’s defensive walls and Kotor’s fortress climbing the mountainside anchor the Adriatic side, with Croatia and Montenegro often paired with other ports in Italy or Greece on cruise itineraries.

Equally impressive is Tallinn’s fairy-tale old town up in the Baltic, where you can walk the fully intact medieval walls. Estonia is often paired with visits to other ports with medieval architecture like Stockholm, Sweden; Riga, Latvia; Bornholm, Denmark; and Gdansk, Poland to name a few.

7. The Norwegian Fjords

For an entirely different but just as stunning landscape, add a Norwegian fjords cruise to your bucket list. Picture sailing deep into narrow inlets like Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO site walled by cliffs with waterfalls streaming down both sides, where the views from your balcony are just as good as any excursion you could book.

Add the Flam Railway climbing into the mountains, the picturesque red cottages of the Lofoten islands, a visit to the North Cape (the farthest north point in continental Europe accessible by road), and the Bergen harbor coupled with the pastel timber buildings, and it’s one of the most concentrated doses of natural beauty you can reach by ship.

While some itineraries cross the Arctic Circle, not all of them do. So, be sure to research where you want to visit most before booking.

6. Tahiti & French Polynesia

French Polynesia is more than just overwater bungalows; it really is a postcard brought to life with lush landscapes, dramatic peaks, and turquoise lagoons. While we think there’s similarity between Hawaii and French Polynesia, the latter is certainly quieter and less crowded. Every stop along the way is breathtaking from the better known Tahiti and Bora Bora to Moorea, Raiatea, and beyond.

Part of why this region lands on so many peoples’ bucket lists is because of its remoteness and relaxed vibe. Given the size of these islands, large cruise ships can’t reach most of them. The two most popular cruise lines that sail the region are Windstar and Paul Gauguin, both with less than 350 passengers. Both sail intimate vessels with unique features like a watersports platform where you can snorkel or kayak right off the back of the ship.

5. The Galapagos

The Galapagos is a place where the usual rules of wildlife don’t apply. The animals evolved without predators, so giant tortoises, marine iguanas, boobies, and sea lions barely register your presence. This means you end up sharing a beach or nature path with amazing creatures you can’t find anywhere else in the world. This is Darwin’s research at its finest, and a visit here changes how you think of the natural world.

The entire experience is unique from beginning to end, and it’s one of the most family-friendly on this list. You sail these untouched islands on small expedition ships (such as HX Expeditions) with naturalist guides, and have multiple active adventures a day. Picture snorkeling alongside a curious sea lion for twenty minutes, now repeat amazing moments like this everyday! This is definitely a trip we won’t forget.

4. Antarctica

A visit to the seventh continent is the one trip that tops almost everyone’s bucket list. Think traveling to the end of the earth to see massive penguin colonies, towering icebergs, and walking the black sand beaches of Deception Island. There’s truly nothing like it anywhere else in the world.

While some larger cruise ships claim to visit Antarctica, you should definitely experience it on a small expedition ship, like we did on Atlas Ocean Voyages. Crossing the Drake is a rite of passage, and stepping foot on the White Continent is the reward. From ashore landings and hikes up snowy hills, to zodiac cruising through floating sea ice, and even braving the polar plunge, you won’t be disappointed. But you do have to be flexible and play by Mother Nature’s rules when visiting somewhere as remote as Antarctica.

3. Alaska (do the cruisetour)

Alaska is one of the more accessible bucket list cruises, but it’s one we keep returning to over and over again. No two trips are the same; the ports, the wildlife, the glaciers, the scenic sailing, all are just as mesmerizing on the eighth cruise to the region as they were on the first cruise.

Visiting Glacier Bay National Park and Hubbard Glacier are a must, as are seeing whales, bears, and bald eagles. Many of the shore excursions are bucket list adventures in themselves like a helicopter ride and dog sledding on Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau or a journey on the White Pass Rail in Skagway.

But the reason it ranks this high on our list is the cruisetour, where you can add a land portion onto your sailing and head inland to Denali, to swap coastal views for tundra, more wildlife, and North America’s tallest peak. Princess Cruises and Holland America Line even have their own wilderness lodges.

2. Japan

Yes, Antarctica is impressive but Japan is just one of those destinations that hooks you. There’s so much to see and do that one visit is never enough. The people are extremely hospitable, the cherry blossoms alone are worth the trip, and there’s so much history and culture to explore.

We visited Japan for the first time this year on a circle Japan cruise and got to experience everything from bustling Tokyo and the stylish port city of Yokohama, to the snow-capped Mt. Fuji, ancient temples, shrines, and gardens. We got to try our hand at gold leaf application, take a taiko drum lesson, and even watch a geisha performance.

Many mainstream cruise lines offer a variety of itineraries in Japan, but if you’re looking for something truly unique we suggest a Japanet cruise. What’s better than a Japanese itinerary curated by locals with immersive experiences you won’t find on other lines?

1. Australia & New Zealand

Much like Japan, our cruise to Australia and New Zealand last year left us wanting more. Yes, it’s a long-haul trip, but it delivers two bucket list destinations in one.

If we could only take one of these bucket list cruises again, it’d be a tough decision but this is the one we’d choose. A single sailing can pair Sydney, Melbourne, and Australia’s wildlife (yes, kangaroos and koalas!) with popular ports in New Zealand like Dunedin, Wellington, and Christchurch, along with scenic cruising through New Zealand’s Milford Sound, where waterfalls abound. Or, you could choose to head north along the Queensland coast to the Great Barrier Reef.

Because the flight is so long, a cruise to this region lets you unpack once and visit several places that would otherwise mean stringing together multiple domestic flights.

3 popular cruises we’d skip

While we would return to many destinations across the globe, there are a few cruise itineraries we’d probably skip if given an alternative. It’s not to say that the ports are overrated or that they’re not the perfect cruise for someone else, they’re just not our favorites.

A basic Caribbean cruise

A standard island-hopping loop in the eastern or western Caribbean is easy, affordable, and fun. But we personally don’t think any of the ports are all that memorable. The exception: when the ship itself is the destination. We would absolutely book one of the newest megaships in the Caribbean and possibly never step foot off the vessel. After all, Royal Caribbean’s Icon-class ships feature more than enough to fill seven days.

The Mexican Riviera

In our opinion, the Mexican Riviera is basically the West Coast’s Caribbean, with sun, beaches, and a familiar lineup of ports. And for us on the East Coast, it also means a cross-country flight just to reach the ship. Of course, if you live out West, the math changes. This isn’t to say that places like Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas aren’t worth visiting, they just don’t scream bucket list to us.

New England & Canada

This is a beautiful cruise: the fall foliage, the lighthouses, the seafood, Acadia National Park. We’d actually recommend it to plenty of people. It just doesn’t make our bucket list for one simple reason: it’s our backyard. When the scenery on the itinerary is a drive away from home, and we can leaf peep from our windows, it’s hard to justify. For cruisers coming from farther away, this one may rank higher.

Comments

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