Triporama Blog

The allure of the mighty, glistening cruise ship is obvious. Ever since the Love Boat sailed its way into our living rooms, the idea of walking up the giant gangplank, getting a drink in a pineapple by the pool, meeting lots of sexy passengers while enjoying the famous ports of call on the Mexican Rivera are as legendary as Charo herself (“coochie, coochie”).

But check this out, there really is a deeper, more intimate way to experience the amazing sights, culture, and scenery of the world’s oceans. If you’re good with forgoing some bells and whistles like ice sculptures and musical reviews, a small ship cruise is something every traveler should put onto their travel bucket list. Here’s the top 5 reasons why:

1. Be part of a community – we’re fervent believers here that the best travel is shared travel. By taking a small ship you are going to see and get to know just about everyone onboard. By experiencing new places together you are very likely to discover even more about your trip through shared experiences. On a huge ship you can sometimes feel alone with so many people.

2. Education focused – If you love to learn when traveling, the guides and crew onboard are standing by to help. This simply doesn’t happen on a big ship. More that “passing through,” on a small ship you’ll be experiencing your new environment deeply with guides trained for the local sites and terrain.

3. Better chance of a great culinary experience – This one may seem counter intuitive but trust us, it’s true. We recently heard a story of a family who took a Carnival ship where the waiter didn’t know what Olive Oil was… that is a huge red flag. You are much more likely to have your gastronomic needs met and specifically catered to on a small ship. Remember that a gigantic buffet is not a choice, it’s a troth. Also, you can take advantage of a new type of small ship cruse the wine and culinary cruises.

4. Get in closer to the shore – Again, you’ll probably have to forego the usual tourist trinkets that are sold on the cruise ship docs and then find their way into junk drawers after a few months. But on a small ship you will go into the small coves and inlets of your destination and getting unique access to the world’s less trafficked ports.

5. No cheesy musical or comedy review – You will probably not get to have a night with a ventriloquist or Broadway on Ice and no movie theater or 3 story slide into the pool, but you will get intimate, romantic tall-masted sailing yachts, which offer a relaxed, graceful atmosphere. And for us here, that is a very good thing.

Link-O-rama: Baja Small Ship Cruise article on Triporama