Yet, among my millennial cohort, I often find myself defending my decision to board even one. Despite the fact that adventure-laden “expedition cruises” are the fastest growing segment of the industry, a stubborn notion persists that see the ship is reserved for sedentary pensioners. My experiences suggest otherwise.
During various cruises, I have kayaked across birthing icebergs deep in the fjords of East Greenland, paddled alongside leopard seals in Antarctica and crossed glaciers in the Canadian Arctic. It was all before my 40th birthday. And he was not the youngest guest on any of these occasions.
“While boomers and retirees still dominate the market, the rise of 30-50 year olds joining luxury expedition cruise grows every year,” said Robert Castro, vice president of marketing for Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours, in an email. [pandemic] break, we have seen a pronounced growth in this demographic.”
We have two long weeks travel south of the Antarctic Circlea guest aboard the elegant Scenic eclipse can be expected to touch the ground almost every day. That is, if they are not already engaged in paddling excursions on any particular morning.
But the appeal for me goes well beyond stretching legs in an almost supernatural setting. I’m almost as excited to unpack my bags. As a travel writer, I’m on the road most of the year, live out of a suitcase and who struggle to record the stories crowded airport terminals. Stepping into a private cabin for an extended sea shipment gives me a degree of tranquility and routine that I sorely miss.
I cherish those seemingly mundane moments, carefully placing folded clothes on shelves. My luggage remains alone and unseen for longer than even seems reasonable. I’ve gotten used to my surroundings – even when the landscape through my porthole is in constant flux.
In 2023, a two-week cruise through Greenland’s Scoresby Sound marked the longest consecutive number of nights I’ve spent in a single bed all year. And even though we were sailing thousands of miles away from the nearest traces of civilization, I had uninterrupted WiFi the entire time. So it was also one of the most productive two-week stretches of my year.
Indeed, more and more cruise ships are deploying global satellite-based Internet systems, such as Starlink. Therefore, you never really have to be out of the office, which – for better or worse – is invaluable selling point for my demo age.
I completely understand why some of my peers are hesitant about cruises. I’ll be the first to admit that I see mega cruise ships as a particularly vile form of floating mall. But that’s a completely separate kind of beast.
But the smaller cruises continually allow me to confront my childish fixation with what’s going on there. In my younger years, I probably wouldn’t have been so eager to discover the answer atop the boarding bow of an ocean liner. It is the province of pensioners. But things change. Or maybe I’m just getting old.
Brad Japhe is a travel writer based in London. You can follow him on Instagram: @viaggi_con_japhe.
