Top 10 boat rides and cruises of 2024

Do you hate standing in buffet lines and being herded around by flag-toting guides? So do the minds behind Explora Journeys, a new cruise brand from Geneva-based MSC Group. Launched in August 2023, the company has big ambitions to win over non-cruisers. Inspired by luxury hotel brands like Belmond and Ritz-Carlton, the Explora I—the first ship in the fleet—won't have any buffets. Instead, there’s a collection of 18 food and beverage outlets, including the pan-Asian restaurant Sakura and a European-style steak house, Marble & Co. Dining is not all that sets Explora Journeys apart from the competition. All 461 suites, penthouses and residences onboard are oceanfront, with floor-to-ceiling windows and private terraces. That means you can gaze at the Mediterranean, Caribbean or Arabian Sea from the privacy of your room. Or, post up on a daybed by one of the three outdoor pools. More than a third of the nearly 180,000 square feet of public space is outdoors. Shore excursions range from small group tours to, say, dinner cooked by a famous chef on a private island.

There are boat cruises… and then there’s piloting your own sailboat to explore the white beaches and zephyr winds of St. Lucia. With 50 years’ experience and some of the newest vessels at sea, The Moorings provides luxury sail-it-yourself experiences around the world that are about as close to your standard “charter” as a five-star terrace suite is to a roadside motel. Ranging in style from the classic monohull sailboat to the power catamaran, each yacht is functionally its own boutique hotel. Better still, the “bareboat” option allows the more confident sailor to serve as skipper themselves, navigating to whichever destinations they can reach in a five-day to two-week cruise. Easier options are “skippered” by a designated Moorings pro or “crewed” by a captain and chef team. Either way, you're guaranteed a free-wheeling adventure.

There’s a hunter’s ethic to the mariners at Riding Rock Resort & Marina. With them, guests can grapple with deep-water heavyweights—blue marlin, wahoo, tuna. At the same time, they embrace a catch-and-release model that helps sustain deep-sea fishing in the wild region of the Bahamas around San Salvador Island. Charter the 28-foot Odyssey III for either a full or half day. The crew will provide tackle, bait, water and, with advance notice, a meal and snacks. They will not, however, let you spearfish within 200 yards of an island, take coral or sea fans home or use a spear, fish trap, or net without authorization. The guidelines suggest a kind of Zen-warrior discipline: “A person shall fish by the traditional method of angling with a hook or lure attached to a line held in the hand or attached to a pole, rod or reel.”

When Paradero Todos Santos opened in Baja California Sur in 2021, the resort represented a calming oasis away from the party animals in Cabo San Lucas. Now, from mid-November through March, hotel guests can commune with a very different wild bunch with an Ocean Safari. The boat tour zips along the Pacific coastline in search of manta rays and sea lions. Migratory humpback and gray whales also breed and calve here. “Whales are the reason we have tourism in Baja,” says guide Hernando Torres. “This is considered the Mexican last frontier. It’s like the Alaska of Mexico.” Much of the Baja California Peninsula is federally protected, as are the hundreds of islands around it. On the safari, you’ll ride in a panga (skiff), piloted by a local fisherman, to get up close and personal with marine animals. You might bob alongside pelicans, watch flying fish glide over the water or listen to humpbacks perform their beautiful songs. To spend more time on the water, book a multinight experience on Paradero’s luxury catamaran, which includes a private chef and bartender.

There are navigable canals and rivers all over the U.K., continental Europe and Canada. By chartering a houseboat from Le Boat, you can turn these waterways into your own private access to villages, forests and vineyards. Imagine waking up on the Lot River in the south of France with a view of the perfect stone houses of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, then going for a walk on a towpath cut into a steep limestone cliff. A mountain bike ride? Wine tasting? Then board your houseboat once more to motor your way downstream (no captain’s license required). There’s chilled white wine from a local vineyard in the galley. You can even drop a line in the water in the evening to see if you can snag a carp. You will hit no traffic and miss no trains, simply settling into one cozy cabin with a new view every day. It’s just you, your traveling crew, the red kites and river otters, and the church lights in the distance.

More than a millennium ago, Polynesians arrived in Hawaii aboard double-hulled sailing canoes. They navigated the Pacific Ocean by observing the stars, wind, waves and wildlife for weeks on end. Today, visitors can find traces of that experience on several Hawaiian islands, including the Island of Hawai‘i, where Hawaiian Sails offers 90-minute excursions along the Kohala Coast.

Mahealani and Koka Gionson bought their 35-foot sailing canoe, Hahalualele (flying manta ray), in 2016. They then spent a year restoring its koa panels and traditional rope lashings with the help of their five children and extended family. On sailing trips, Koka serves as captain and storyteller, noting landmarks such as Pu‘ukohola Heiau, a massive stone temple built at King Kamehameha’s behest. He'll even point out the mansion of a modern titan, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

January and February are peak months to spot humpback whales migrating from Alaska. Mahealani recalls one memorable sighting near Hapuna Beach. “A baby had just been born, so there was afterbirth in the water, along with the newborn, mama and three escorts,” she says. “We ended up getting amazing videos. Our guests invited us to dinner the next night because they wanted to share their pictures.”

Blue Water Sailing School in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

“The U.S. Virgin Islands are one of the nicest places in the world to sail. That's because it’s a tropical setting. Winds are very consistent, and it’s very beautiful,” says David Pyle of Blue Water Sailing School in St. Thomas. During the school’s six-night and seven-day Bareboat Monohull Skipper Courses ($3,695 per person), you can get your American Sailing Association (ASA) certification. The courses are rigorous, Pyle says, but once you’re moored in a pretty bay for the evening, there are beach bars beckoning you to relax.

Offshore Sailing School in St. Petersburg, Florida

“We like to say we can take you from the couch to the captain’s chair in a week,” says Beth Oliver of Offshore Sailing School. The eight-night Fast Track to Cruising course (starting at $5,845 per person) starts with three nights in a hotel in St. Petersburg’s walkable downtown. During the day, you hone your skills on a 26-foot sailboat, then you move to a larger yacht for the remaining five nights. By the end of the course, you will have earned three U.S. Sailing certifications, allowing you to skipper a yacht up to 50 feet long.

Nautilus Sailing in Baja California Sur, Mexico

With Nautilus Sailing, you can earn ASA certification by taking a weeklong course (starting at $7,175 per person) on the Sea of Cortez. Jacques Cousteau once called it the “world’s aquarium.” Stops to eat fish tacos ashore are woven into an itinerary that includes circumnavigating islands under sail. You even get to chart a course for remote beaches. “Some of the highlights are snorkeling with sea lions, learning to make ceviche in a fisherman’s hut and hiking through an ancient cactus forest,” says lead instructor Tim Geisler.