Planning a cruise itinerary is a complex business; factors to consider include airlift to your embarkation and debarkation points, the local price of fuel, port taxes, shore excursion options and cabotage laws. Yet every year we find that the inventive itinerary planners at our favourite cruise lines surprise us with fresh ways to explore destinations both exotic and familiar, and this year is no different.

Of course, the key to unlocking the dazzling diversity of travel by sea is to choose a smaller ship. This allows you to access those secret coves, idyllic islands and small ports that are off-limits to the big mainstream ships; indeed, it allows you to access places with no travel infrastructure at all. So if you're feeling jaded by the prospect of visiting the same old ports on the same old ships, let us show you some of the myriad ways that an unusual small ship cruise can provide a different perspective...