While colossal mega-ships – with their water slides and rock-climbing walls – often steal the spotlight, a quieter revolution has been unfolding in the world of luxury cruising.
Combining exquisite dining, elegantly designed suites, impeccable service and sophisticated surroundings, these stylish vessels transport guests to some of the world’s most breathtaking destinations in effortless comfort and style.
Just as varied as the itineraries themselves are the ships, with options ranging from sleek superyachts carrying only 100 guests to vessels inspired by the elegance of grand hotels and the great ocean liners of the past.
Sure, luxury cruises can cost considerably more than mainstream sailings. However, with almost everything included – from free-flowing drinks to fine dining, tips, high-speed internet and, in some cases, butler service, valet laundry and extraordinary excursions – you won’t have to worry about sticker shock at the end of your cruise.
Read on for our pick of the best luxury cruises for 2027 and 2028.
Best for: Intuitive service
Japan’s Cherry Blossoms & Kobe Nights
Seabourn
Key stops: Kochi, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Kobe (all Japan)
Departure point: Tokyo (Japan)
Duration: 13 nights
Ship name: Seabourn Encore
Japan is at its most enchanting during sakura season, when parks, castle grounds and temple gardens are dusted in delicate pink blossom. Having visited the Land of the Rising Sun in spring, I can vouch for the almost dreamlike quality it brings to familiar landscapes.
Seabourn’s Japan’s Cherry Blossoms & Kobe Nights itinerary is perfectly timed to capture this fleeting spectacle. Departing from Tokyo, Encore visits some of Japan’s most fascinating ports, including Kōchi, with its feudal castle and gardens, volcanic Kagoshima, and historic Nagasaki, before calling into Busan, South Korea.
The journey continues to Fukuoka and Hiroshima, where the poignant Peace Memorial Park offers a reminder of the past. For me, the highlight is the overnight stay in Kobe, giving guests time to discover its culinary scene or venture inland to Kyoto’s temples and gardens.
Back on board, the 600-guest-holding Encore offers all-suite accommodation complete with attendants. Staff greet you with chilled Champagne, assist with unpacking, and keep your in-suite bar stocked. You’ll also enjoy all-inclusive fare and drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities and gourmet dining.
How to do it
A 13-night Japan’s Cherry Blossoms & Kobe Nights cruise departing March 25, 2028 costs from £9,179pp for a veranda cabin. Includes all meals, drinks, tips, and Wi-Fi. Excludes excursions and flights.
Best for: Unconventional luxury
A Journey of Natural Sanctuaries and Shoreline Serenity
Explora Journeys
Key stops: Wrangell, Icy Strait Point, Tracy Arm Fjord (all Alaska), Victoria (British Columbia)
Departure point: Vancouver (Canada)
Duration: Nine nights
Ship name: Explora III
The Great Land came to the world’s attention during the gold rush when, between 1897 and 1904, more than one million prospectors flooded into Alaska in search of precious metal, making the journey by homemade boat in treacherous conditions. These days, Telegraph readers can make the same journey in considerably more comfort and style.
Explora Journeys arrives in Alaska for the first time in 2027 with its newest ship, Explora III, and while stepping aboard I was struck by how little it resembled a conventional cruise ship. With its soaring double-height lobby and contemporary art, it’s more akin to checking into a stylish hotel than a floating vessel. Aim to end each day at the Sky Bar on deck 14. It’s the perfect place to watch Alaska’s wilderness drift by.
In Wrangell, guests can explore LeConte Glacier Bay by jet boat or follow the Stikine River through forests and waterfalls, while Icy Strait Point is a highlight for whale-watching adventures. However, the passage through Tracy Arm fjord is the showstopper, with granite cliffs, cascading waterfalls and glaciers filling the horizon before your journey concludes in Victoria, British Columbia.
How to do it
A nine-night Journey of Natural Sanctuaries & Shoreline Serenity sailing departing Aug 24, 2027 costs from £4,835pp for an ocean suite. Includes drinks, nine dining experiences, Wi-Fi, tips, and access to the thermal spa area. Excludes shore excursions, flights, and speciality dining at Anthology.
Best for: All-inclusive opulence
Harvest Tides
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Key stops: Boston, Bar Harbor (both USA), Halifax, Charlottetown, Québec (all Canada)
Departure point: New York (USA)
Duration: 11 nights
Ship name: Seven Seas Grandeur
Home to the first Fabergé egg to permanently reside at sea, Seven Seas Grandeur is a ship that certainly lives up to its name, offering a luxurious base from which to explore New England and eastern Canada at their seasonal best, when forests turn fiery shades of red and gold.
The first port of call for guests is Boston, where the American Revolution ignited, before Grandeur continues to Bar Harbor, gateway to Acadia National Park. In Halifax, maritime heritage and world-class seafood await, while Charlottetown offers the chance to discover the landscapes that inspired Anne of Green Gables, in which the heroine famously describes the island as “the prettiest place in the world”.
From there, Grandeur sails on to Québec City, with its stone houses and cobbled streets, before concluding in Montréal.
Two sea days provide the perfect opportunity to enjoy Grandeur itself, from its art collection, to dining in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, where I was greeted by a hand-cast bonsai cherry tree sculpture. The icing on the cake? Dining, wines and spirits, plus shore excursions are all included.
How to do it
An 11-night Harvest Tides itinerary departing Sept 21, 2027 costs from £6,400pp for a veranda suite. Includes shore excursions, all dining and drinks, tips, Wi-Fi and laundry.
Best for: Transatlantic glamour
Theatre at Sea with the Olivier Awards
Cunard
Key stops: Southampton (UK)
Departure point: New York (USA)
Duration: Seven nights
Ship name: Queen Mary 2
Return to the golden age of cruising on a transatlantic voyage aboard Queen Mary 2, Cunard’s classic ocean liner. The quintessentially British line has been sailing this route since 1840, so if anyone knows how to fill sea days in style on a 2,683-passenger flagship shuttling between New York and Southampton, it’s Cunard.
Expect dance lessons, black-tie gala evenings, a library, stargazing in the only planetarium at sea, spa treatments and lectures from guest speakers. There’s also Cunard’s celebrated afternoon tea, where white-gloved waiters serve warm scones and finger sandwiches to the accompaniment of a pianist or harpist.
This theatrical-themed crossing, created in partnership with the Olivier Awards, delivers showbiz glamour, too, with performances, sing-alongs and workshops led by West End stars.
For the ultimate QM2 experience, book the Princess Grill or Queens Grill suites. I’ve found the Grill experience transforms the voyage, with priority embarkation and spacious accommodation at sea.
You can even bring your pet (Queen Mary 2 is the world’s only ocean liner to welcome dogs and cats), although kennel spaces are sought after.
How to do it
A seven-night Theatre at Sea with the Olivier Awards voyage departing Oct 20, 2027 costs from £4,249pp for a Queens Grill suite. Excludes outbound flight.
Best for: Plush river cruising
Vineyards and Palaces of the Danube with Prague
Uniworld
Key stops: Spitz (Austria), Passau, Nuremberg (both Germany), Prague (Czech Republic)
Departure point: Vienna (Austria)
Duration: Nine nights
Ship name: SS Emilie
I’ve stepped aboard my fair share of river ships, but few have stopped me in my tracks quite like SS Emilie. Named after Gustav Klimt’s muse, Emilie Flöge, this new Uniworld vessel is dripping in Art Nouveau glamour: think custom-made carpets, silk curtains, stained-glass doors, velvet upholstery, white marble floors, and a two-storey portrait of Flöge presiding over the lobby.
The itinerary I’ve chosen matches the drama. After two nights in Vienna – time enough to take in Schönbrunn Palace or admire St Stephen’s Cathedral’s razzle-dazzle tile roof – you’ll head to Spitz for a vineyard hike above the Danube, and a personal welcome into Clam Castle from its resident count.
Passau brings cycling and a Bavarian Forest schnapps tasting, before cruisers take in Nuremberg. From there, it’s on to Prague for a two-night hotel stay to explore its Gothic spires and cobbled lanes.
True to Uniworld form, everything is included: dining, drinks, Wi-Fi, excursions, even the bikes – making this a properly indulgent way to do the Danube.
How to do it
A nine-night Vineyards and Palaces of the Danube with Prague itinerary departing Oct 22, 2027 costs from £3,899pp for a French balcony cabin. Includes return flights, airport transfers, and two nights B&B in a luxury hotel in Prague.
Best for: A taste of the superyacht lifestyle
Best of the Virgin Islands and St Barths
SeaDream Yacht Club
Key stops: Vieques (Puerto Rico), St John (US Virgin Islands), Gustavia (St Barths), Jost van Dyke, Virgin Gorda (both British Virgin Islands)
Departure point: San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Duration: Seven nights
Ship name: SeaDream II
Luxury hotel groups including the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Aman may all be launching vessels they term “yachts” – owing to their emphasis on personalised service and space – but SeaDream Yacht Club was one of the first to embrace the concept.
SeaDream II, one of the line’s two near-identical ships, carries just 112 guests. It shows in the attentiveness of the crew, who seem to magically offer a chilled glass of something delicious the moment you need it.
My evenings mostly ended up on the open-air deck at the Topside Restaurant, while the Top of the Yacht bar became my default spot for a sundowner.
The itinerary reads like a greatest hits of the eastern Caribbean: night swimming through the glowing waters of Vieques’s bioluminescent bay, a snorkel off St John’s reefs, then a full day and night moored at Gustavia for boutique-browsing and beach time.
The undisputed highlight, though, is SeaDream’s own Champagne & Caviar Splash event – held on the sand at Jost van Dyke – before the trip winds up at The Baths on Virgin Gorda, where giant granite boulders form natural sea pools.
How to do it
A seven-night Best of the Virgin Islands and St Barths cruise departing Nov 13, 2027 costs from £3,375 for a deck four Yacht Club cabin. Includes all meals, most drinks (selected premium offerings cost extra) and tips. Excludes flights.