Our collection of the best small luxury ships at sea, each accommodating around 300 guests or fewer, emphasise just why luxury small ship cruising is an entirely different mode of travel to regular cruising, and one in which we have specialised for over 50 years.

A luxury small cruise ship affords you more privacy, yet allows you to be sociable when you want to, and you will receive a level of personal service that you just wouldn't get on a larger vessel. You can be really private and self-contained but it is also effortlessly easy to get to know your fellow guests, as well as having access to the captain and senior members of the crew, and a delightful interaction with the select band who are your fellow passengers on board your small ship. And of course you are literally closer to the waves, so you actually feel like you're at sea, rather than on some lavish floating hotel.

What's more, these small luxury ships can go into the tiny ports and harbours that a big ship couldn't even approach, so you are much closer to the action, and much further from the crowds. The places you can visit might be way off the tourist trail - locations you can only easily reach by sea - or the ultimate in style and elegance, as you bob in tiny bays in the company of super yachts and speedboats.

Small ships fall into a range of different categories and it is our job to help you select the right one for you. There is a huge amount of choice when it comes to a small luxury cruise, from tiny yacht-like vessels in the Med to romantic sailing ships in the Caribbean and beyond.