This Year’s Best Winter Cruises

Escape the North American winter on a cruise designed for sun, wildlife, and adventure. For your 2025–2026 winter vacation, we’ve rounded up the best winter cruise destinations—perfect for travelers looking to swap snow for sand, sun, or tropical waters.

Holiday Cruises 2025

No cooking, no cleanup. Just sunshine, wildlife, and fresh-cooked feasts. Spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s on an active and educational small ship escape. The itineraries and departure dates below make for the perfect last-minute holiday cruise close to home.

• 2025 Baja Holiday Cruises
  • Thanksgiving In Steinbeck’s Wake – Nov 26 – Dec 06, 2025
  • Christmas Baja California Holiday Voyage – Dec 20 – Dec 27, 2025
  • New Years Baja California’s Whales & Sealife – Dec 27, 2025 (Captain’s Cruise hosted by Captain Dan Blanchard)
    
• 2025 Hawaii Holiday Cruises aboard Hawaiian Seascapes Cruise.
  • Thanksgiving Nov 22 – Nov 29, 2025
  • Christmas Dec 20
  • New Years Dec 27, 2025

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Winter Cruises 2025 – 2026

Just like some whales and other wildlife, many small cruise ships also migrate south for the winter. Find a tropical paradise, a remote archipelago, or your very own version of a winter snow globe. Winter cruises can be the perfect remedy to any seasonal blues.

Galapagos Winter Cruises

Located along the equator, the Galapagos Islands’ subtropical climate means the best warm weather cruises all year round. But travel during December–May is especially popular because it coincides with holiday breaks and the Galapagos warm season. The overcast garua fog has disappeared so you can enjoy blue skies and sunshine, the highest air and water temperatures, and calm ocean conditions with excellent underwater visibility for incredible snorkeling.

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This winter’s standout Galapagos cruises:

• National Geographic Fleet: With the addition of Gemini and Delfina, the fleet has doubled, giving you more ways than ever to sail with Nat Geo experts. Ships carry 16, 48, or 96 guests, so there’s a style and size for every traveler.
• Hermes: This newly launched luxury mega-catamaran hosts just 20-guest and is the talk of the Islands. Read our ship review.
• Endemic or Elite Galapagos cruise: Both offer rare and unique 6-day itineraries aboard fresh and newly appointed 16-guest catamarans featuring all suites with private balconies. Read our Expert Aboard.
• Origin, Theory & Evolve: These prestigious sister ships are like floating five-star boutique hotels and the only Relais & Chateaux-affiliated yachts sailing the Galapagos.
• Santa Cruz II Galapagos Cruises: This 90-guest ship was given a beautiful renovation in 2021, and with ample space on five decks, glass-bottom boats, and uniquely low guest-to-guide ratio – it’s a great option for families. Read our Expert Aboard.
  

Baja Winter Cruises

The North American winter is the best time to visit Baja. Pleasant weather for all sorts of activities, thousands of migratory whales, and a third of the planet’s marine mammals all wait to be discovered. Safe to say that all you have to do is get to Baja, then the wildlife will come to you.

• Active & All-Inclusive: Put away your wallet till it’s time to disembark. Baja California’s Whales & Sealife cruise includes all food and snacks; unlimited beer, wine, spirits and mocktails; every excursion; all adventure equipment and expert guides. Plus, it’s the most active cruise you will find in the region.
  
• Smallest: For the most intimate Baja cruise, get aboard the historic 8-guest Westward on her Voyages in the Sea of Cortez. Her cruises walk the perfect line of relaxation and adventure, and are known for the gourmet food cooked fresh from locally sourced ingredients and onboard rooftop garden.
  
• Engaging & Academic: National Geographic’s comprehensive Among the Great Whales cruise explores both Baja coastlines, offers 40+ years of expertise and up-close encounters with migrating gray whales in Magdalena Bay.

Central America & Caribbean Winter Cruises

Think turquoise waters, palm-fringed shores, and vibrant cultures, but without the crowded ports. This season, explore hidden bays, remote islands, and tropical coasts from Costa Rica to Belize to the Caribbean’s quieter gems, all on a small ship that gets you where the big ones can’t.

• Active & Inclusive: Costa Rica’s Pure Life Adventure Cruise is back by popular demand. Starting October 2026, the 66-guest Safari Voyager sails Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, offering the easiest way to explore its wild side.
  
• Smallest:
  • Gather 2–10 friends or family for an exclusive Belize catamaran charter cruise. Read our firsthand expert review.
  • Check out the newest (and smallest) addition to our lineup exploring Costa Rica’s less visited coastline: the 18-guest Kontiki Wayra catamaran cruise. It’s family-friendly, available for charter, and we’ve been aboard.
    
• Luxury:
  • History & Culture: Visiting Caribbean Jewels. New to our lineup, this Relais & Chateaux-affiliated 32-guest, 3-masted Le Ponant motorsailer blends little-known places, remote swim stops and culture.
  • Pearls of the Caribbean Cruise has added a new route: Wonders of the Caribbean. Enjoy white-glove service aboard the 184-guest Le Bougainville, with included excursions at every port, an onboard expert lecturer plus snorkeling and diving.

Indonesia Winter Cruises

October through February is the sailing season for Indonesia’s Raja Ampat and Spice Islands. And you might not need any more reasons to visit Raja Ampat after looking at pictures of the dramatic limestone formations that shoot up from crystal blue waters. Made up of over 1,500 islands, the archipelago is known to harbor one of the richest coral reef ecosystems, a wide array of marine life, and the best dive and snorkel sites on Earth.

Go further off-the-beaten-path to the Spice Islands, a remote and unspoiled hidden gem with friendly villagers, rich culture, and a long, fascinating and turbulent history. Check out our top picks:

• Sailing Indonesia: Jewels of Raja Ampat & Sailing Indonesia: The Spice Islands:
  Passage is aboard the 24-guest sailing vessel Ombak Putih or 12-passenger ketch Katharina; traditional pinisi-style ships that offer romance, Indonesian culture, rustic charm and superior service. Our experts have been aboard- read their firsthand insights.
  
• Aqua Blu Ambon & Spice Islands & Aqua Blu Raja Ampat Cruise:
  Sail aboard the 30-guest, all-suite, luxury yacht Aqua Blu that offers 5-star Indonesian cuisine with menus developed by a world-renowned chef.

Hawaii Winter Cruises

When searching for warm winter getaways in the U.S., Hawaii is an easy choice—but we invite you to see it in a way most travelers never do. Step off the beaten path for a small ship journey that trades crowded resorts for untouched coastlines, hidden coves, and rich cultural encounters far from the tourist trail.

The 4-island Hawaiian Seascapes itinerary was voted #1 Best Hawaii Cruise in the USAToday 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards and nominated again for 2025. We’ve experienced this itinerary firsthand, and our [trip review] and [ship review] share exactly what makes it such an intimate, authentic, and active way to experience Aloha.

Antarctica Winter Cruises

Ok, hear us out… why not embrace the cold? Travel to Antarctica is only possible during North America’s winter, which is Antarctica’s austral summer. From November to March, days are long, temperatures are milder (by Antarctic standards), and wildlife activity is at its peak.

Standout ships for the 2025 – 2026 Antarctic cruise season:

• Le Commandant Charcot: After taking the last few seasons off, this powerful expedition ship returns to Antarctica with unique, more exploratory routes that no other ship can offer. Read our ship review.
  
• Ultramarine: Sleek, modern, and built for adventure. Two onboard helicopters offer included 10–15 minute Antarctica flightseeing (weather permitting), and a new itinerary adds even more helicopter-assisted activities. Read our ship review.
  
• Sister ships Greg Mortimer & Sylvia Earle have long been among our favorites for activity-forward expeditions. Their newest addition, Douglas Mawson, debuts this season with two two rare, 24–34 day voyages. Next season it joins the classic Antarctic Peninsula lineup with more departures so book early for the best availability. Read our ship review.
  

The best way to get the lowest price on this season is to speak with one of our Antarctica experts who can keep tabs on any deals that may pop up in the next few months.