Ways to cruise
Two to four hundred guests, a marina at the stern and harbours the big ships sail past. The yacht lines are the closest thing to a private charter without the charter.
Free initial consultation · Personally planned · No obligation
A yacht-style ship changes what a cruise is. You tie up in Saint-Tropez or Bonifacio rather than anchoring off, you swim from the stern, and the dining room feels like a very good restaurant that happens to move. Staff learn names in a day.
The trade-off is choice. There are two or three places to eat, not nine; there is no children's club worth the name; and the atmosphere is adult and unhurried. For a couple, an anniversary, or a party of six friends, that is exactly the point. For a family of twelve with toddlers, we would steer you elsewhere and say so.
Is this your kind of ship?
Tell us who's travelling. We'll say whether yacht-style is the right way to cruise for your party, and if it isn't, what is.
Ask a Cruise SpecialistCouples and small parties who want a private-club feel, small harbours and the least 'cruise' of any cruise. Few children's facilities.
Families with young children, or anyone who wants a choice of ten restaurants and a theatre.
Cruise lines
Honest ratings on every line page, including who each one isn't for.
Hotel-style luxury on yachts of roughly 300 to 450 guests, with a surprisingly warm welcome for children.
The newest entrant at the very top of the market: hotel-brand luxury on a yacht of around 200 guests.
All-inclusive discovery yachts with helicopters and a submersible, plus a well-regarded river fleet.
Luxury doesn't mean every ship suits every traveller. We'll tell you if we think a cruise isn't a good fit, even if that means recommending something else.
Where we'd sail
The easiest great cruise there is: short flights, famous ports, and a ship for every kind of family.
Venice, Dubrovnik and Kotor in a week, on ships small enough for the old harbours.
Small ships, island overnights, and a late season that runs into October.
Winter sun for the whole family, on ships that make Christmas and half-term easy.
Bora Bora, Moorea and the Society Islands from a yacht that stays a while.
Cruise ideas
Planning figures per person, not quotes. Final price depends on sailing date, suite and availability.
Nice to Rome by yacht, with a marina off the stern and a children's programme that makes it work for families.
How it works
No obligation. No pressure. Just a conversation about what would work for your party.
Two to five minutes online, or a call. Who's travelling, roughly when, and what matters most.
A cruise specialist talks it through: the party, the occasion, the budget, and anything that worries you.
Not forty options. Two or three we'd actually recommend, with the reasons, and the ones we'd avoid for you.
Cruise, suites, flights, hotels before and after, transfers, excursions, dining and any celebration on board.
Nothing is booked until you're happy with the plan and the price.
Documents, confirmations, requests to the ship, and one person to call before and during the voyage.
Good to know
Typically 200 to 450 guests. Small enough to use harbours and marinas the larger luxury ships cannot, large enough for a spa, a pool and more than one place to eat.
Rarely. There is little or no children's programme and the atmosphere is adult. For a family with children we would normally recommend a larger luxury ship and tell you why.
For very large parties a full or partial charter can make sense. Tell us the numbers and dates and we will tell you honestly whether it is realistic and what it would involve.
Why Blackbury
Hundreds of sailings, a handful worth your party's time. We do the narrowing down.
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Not all luxury cruises are alike. We know the difference between the lines and find the ship that actually suits your party, travel style and budget.
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Flights, suites, hotels before and after, transfers, excursions, dining and special requests, handled together as one plan.
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One specialist owns your trip from the first conversation to the day you get home. You are never passed around a call centre.
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Travelling with three generations? We plan around different ages, interests, energy levels and mobility needs.
Cruise guides and inspiration
Our own planning notes on the lines in this style.
Crowds, buffets, seasickness, feeling trapped, dressing for dinner, children underfoot and the price. What is true of a 3,000-guest ship is mostly untrue of a 300-guest one. Here is what we tell first-time guests.
Warm sea, emptier ports, lower planning figures and the ships we would choose for a late-summer Mediterranean sailing, whether or not you are tied to school terms.
Why a ship is one of the easiest places to gather a family for an occasion, what we can arrange on board, and the ships that do celebrations with grace rather than a cake and a song.
Other ways to cruise
Grandparents, couples and adult families: calm, polished, ports the big ships cannot reach. Limited provision for younger children.
Three generations at once: real children's spaces, more restaurants, connecting suites and room to disappear. Still all-suite and quiet by design.
First-timers and anyone who dislikes open sea: a new town every morning, no tenders, and the whole boat small enough to feel like a house party.
Antarctica, the Arctic and the far north with a luxury ship under you: zodiacs and naturalists by day, a proper dinner by night. Best for active grandparents and older teenagers.
Don't spend thirty hours comparing forty ships, cabins, dates, flights and hotels. Give us five minutes and we'll narrow it down to what is worth considering.