cruise boats on the Nile River in Egypt
the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary
cruise ship cabin in the Amazon River
tourists viewing elephants from a game-viewing cruise on the Chobe River
the town of Auxerre in Burgundy, France
a cruise boat on the Nile River
the American Queen cruise ship on the Mississippi River
a cruise ship's pool on the Mekong River
the Irrawaddy River and ancient pagodas in Myanmar
the Aranui 5 freighter and cruise ship in the Marquesa Islands, French Polynesia
a tourist snorkeling with a green sea turtle in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
a large sailboat in the Caribbean
the Queen Mary 2 crusie ship's dining room
a cruise ship off the coast of the Seychelles Islands
Chinstrap penguins on a beach with a cruise ship in the South Shetland Islands
people stand-up paddle boarding near a cruise ship in French Polynesia
people on a cruise ship looking at the northern lights in Norwegian fjords
windmills in Mykonos, Greece
a large yacht sailing in the Mediterranean Sea
the lighthouse on Brant Point Nantucket, Massachusetts
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RIVER AND OCEAN CRUISESYou may think of cruises as floating resorts, but plenty of ships help you get more intimately acquainted with ports of call. They focus on specific regions, employ experts to add local insight, and can transport you to places that are otherwise hard to reach. For example, Nour El Nil’s 16-passenger Melouka and 20-passenger Meroë skim Egypt’s Nile River in an elegantly updated version of the classic dahabeah, crowned by can...
Photograph Courtesy Nour El Nil

21 Best Cruises in the World

On rivers or oceans, find the perfect boat vacation for you.

BySherri Eisenberg
March 23, 2017

Sherri Eisenberg is Editorial Director at Shermans Cruise. You can follow her on twitter @sherrinyc.

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