Why small ship cruising is my new favorite way to travel

As ships get bigger and bigger, cruisers have boarded floating cities on the seas, each adorned with the latest and greatest activities, shows, attractions and restaurants. With that, of course, comes awe and grandeur, but it also means that the ship itself turns into the destination. I, myself, have greatly enjoyed sailing on a mega-ship—but there's also something to be said for letting the destination do the “wowing.”

There’s beauty in simplicity, and in an age where ostentatious travel is all the rage, my recent cruise with Zantium Travel reminded me of that. While a 38-person yacht sounds flashy and “in your face,” it was anything but.

Yes, there are multi-course lunches and dinners with hand-crafted cocktails and a whirlpool on the sun deck, but there’s also one restaurant onboard and no evening acrobatic performances. Just a modern ship with all the creature comforts and a crew focused on showing their guests the allure and culture of Croatia.

The freedom of an independent trip with the ease of a guided trip

In the last three years, I’ve cruised on 5 different lines, including Zantium, and this weeklong sailing from Dubrovnik to Split was unlike anything I’ve experienced.  It offered more freedom and time for authentic encounters than the “typical” larger-ship experience. To start, there weren’t specific times we needed to be back on the ship and there was no lining up to scan ourselves on and off the vessel.

Plus, traveling with Zantium means spending each night in port. No afternoon call times here! Once you’re docked, you’re there until morning.  I read this on the itinerary before the trip and thought “oh cool, that will be something different” but I didn’t expect it to change the entire experience.

Instead of indulging at the dinner buffet like I would on a larger ship (and trust me, I do love a buffet) we got to explore local eateries and see the nightlife. Personally, these nights out—where we were free to explore and tuck into whichever restaurant was calling our name—helped me feel woven into the local fabric. I sat seaside in Croatia, feasting on food that was no doubt made from generations of recipe-sharing. It’s no secret that food connects people, and the opportunity to share it with folks beyond the ship was such a highlight.

Case in point: We even stumbled upon a summertime festival in the village of Slano. There, we dined alfresco with visitors from all over the world and saw families gather together for meals.

Plus, it was all delicious!  I was struck by how many Greek and Italian influences I noticed in Croatian cuisine. In the mood for wood-fired pizza and truffle pasta? No problem! How about grilled octopus and cucumber feta salad? Check! Freshly caught oysters and flaky bread dipped in golden olive oils? Easy peasy.

In other tourist-focused destinations, waterfront eateries along the main stretch of Old Town often cater to tourists and offer uninspired dishes at inflated prices but these small islands showed us the exact opposite. We dined on freshly caught mussels, hand-made pasta in a white-wine sauce with capers picked straight from the vine, and silky-smooth duck pate. This freedom to explore made me feel like I got to experience the real Croatia, not just the parts you can reach before your ocean-liner leaves you behind.

Unexpected delights

While independence was certainly a highlight, Zantium also incorporated tours by local guides to help us orient ourselves and understand the history surrounding us. In nearly every port, we had the option of taking a walking tour led by a local guide. On our 90-minute tour, we learned about local lore, prominent architecture, prolific explorers and what life is like for the Croatian people who inhabit these stunning hideaways.

But it wasn’t just tours that were included. We also took a small boat into a vibrant blue cave in Biševo and had an incredible oyster tasting experience. For no additional charge, all 38 guests took a scenic ride from the ship to Mali Ston, a quaint fishing village, and boarded a ferry to a floating platform in the middle of a lake.

Our destination was outfitted with picnic tables, swings and a small-but-mighty kitchen. There, we learned about the oyster-harvesting process and tasted them straight from the sea. We also sampled anchovies and mussels, both of which are native to the Adriatic Sea. Add in a few glasses of Grk, the local white wine, and it was an unexpected highlight of the trip.

Another unexpected highlight—and not just mine, all the other passengers agreed—were the daily swim stops. Every day after a delicious 3-course lunch, the captain found a piece of picturesque shoreline and tied up the ship so that everyone could take a dip in the salty sea waters. We could borrow a noodle, swim laps around the ship or take the stand-up paddle boards for a whirl and enjoy soaking in the mineral-rich waters of the Adriatic Sea. This type of restorative, disconnected rest is a type of effortless relaxation that I’ve only ever experienced on a cruise. 

Small-ship cruising is everything they say it is

No shuttles or timetables here. Because the Antaris (like each ship in Zantium's fleet) holds up to 38 people, it’s quite a limber vessel. That meant  we got to dock at the ports closest to the Old City.  On our way into Split, we sailed past the huge ships and anchored right to the sidewalk, just a 10-minute walk to Diocletian's palace. In Hvar, we were steps from the nightlife for which the island is known. This felt much less “touristy” than being dropped off by a bus and waiting in line for a shuttle back to the ship. We had unfettered access to it all.

Because we were on a small ship, we got to visit quaint islands we otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach on a large ship. Had we sailed on a larger vessel, we would have missed out on two of my favorite ports of our trip—Korcula and Vis. Korcula has the most beautiful tree-lined promenade, flanked by mom-and-pop eateries and white-stone cliffs overlooking the water. We spent hours popping into jewelry shops and hidden art galleries, stopping to chat with locals who press their own olive oils and make their own wines.

As soon as I stepped foot on the island of Vis, I felt the homey spirit. The u-shaped walk along the waterfront had second-hand book shops, family-owned gelaterias, bulletin boards tacked with advertisements for weeknight yoga classes and after-school activities.  The scenery is so stunning that it was used as a filming site for the movie Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, which I enjoyed an outdoor showing of beneath twinkle lights at an open-air, waterfront movie theater. Talk about idyllic.

Authentic experiences. That’s what we’re all after. As travelers, we want to go places and feel as though we’ve soaked in everything that was offered to us—the culture, the cuisine, the history, the quirks of a daily commute, all of it. That sometimes feels difficult when there’s so much to see, places to check off the list and not nearly enough time to do it all. Before my cruise with Zantium, I would have said cruising is a great way to make a dent in that ever-growing must-visit list, but not necessarily the best way to immerse yourself in the culture. After a week onboard the Antaris, I’d say there’s a way to do both. You just have to know where to look.