AdventureSmith Explorations

06/05/2026

What’s it like to explore the world’s largest national park aboard a small ship expedition cruise? Travel + Leisure wrote a piece featuring Northeast Greenland National Park with insights from Adventure Specialist Taylor Cranney.

Read her expert advice on what to expect:

Northeast Greenland National Park is the world’s largest national park, with polar bears, vast fjords, Arctic wildlife, and dramatic glacier-carved landscapes.

05/29/2026

Epic back-to-school summer vacation story loading…

Select small-ship expedition cruises feature kid-friendly itineraries and flexible cabin configurations, including connecting rooms, so your whole family goes home with a deeper connection and more curiosity about the world beyond their own.

Explore our guide to the best family-friendly cruise cabins here:

Our top picks for the best cruise cabins for family travel. See triple, quad & unique amenities aboard global options.

05/22/2026

Turn your sound on for Baja’s unofficial popcorn machine. 🍿

Visit the Sea of Cortez from late November through January or April through August for your best chance at seeing thousands of mobula rays leaping from the water, creating a distinctive popping sound as they splash back down.

05/20/2026

JAPAN & NEW ZEALAND Have Arrived!

Two highly requested destinations are officially joining our small ship cruise lineup.

From colorful festivals, temples and cherry blossoms in Japan to New Zealand’s soaring fiords, cascading waterfalls and remote coastlines, these new voyages offer wildly different ways to explore by sea.

Browse Japan cruises: https://tinyurl.com/cruises-japan
Browse New Zealand cruises: https://tinyurl.com/new-zeland-cruises

05/19/2026

Your kids are going to be reminiscing about “the Costa Rica Thanksgiving cruise of 2026” for years.

Paddle through one of the only tropical fjords in the world, hike colorful rainforests, and search for exotic wildlife found nowhere else in North America.

Departing November 21, this “Kids in Nature” themed family-friendly departure is limited to just 66 guests.

Cruise details: https://bit.ly/pure-life-adventure

05/15/2026

This bird can’t fly, but that’s intentional. For National Endangered Species Day, celebrate the flightless cormorant’s conservation success story.

With few predators, evolution favored cormorants that could dive for fish over those that needed flight to escape danger.

1994: Formally labeled “endangered” ➡️ invasive predators + shifting ocean conditions
Action: Invasive species controlled at nesting sites & population stabilized
2011: IUCN reclassified to “vulnerable”
Now: Galapagos Conservation Trust monitoring marine plastic impacts on food supply

Spot these Galapagonian treasures on the northwestern coast of Isabela and the east coast of Fernandina.

05/01/2026

VOTING IS LIVE: https://tinyurl.com/bestofnorthlaketahoe

We’re back as finalists for Best in Travel & Tour Services in the Best of North Lake Tahoe & Truckee Awards—and after two wins, we’re going for the hat trick!

From the first trip ideas to hearing your stories when you return, we love being part of your adventures. Thanks for supporting our small, family-owned, team of travel specialists.

You can vote once a day, now through May 15.

05/01/2026

Excited to see three ships we know and love make Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Hot List. Check it out!

Aqua Lares (Arctic), Douglas Mawson (Antarctica, the Mediterranean & beyond) and National Geographic Gemini (Galápagos).

This year's curated collection of the world’s best new cruises.

04/28/2026

Walruses are highly social, and females—identified here by their shorter tusks—are known to be more curious than males.

Sound on: a large shoreline herd is just behind them.

Witness these guys this summer. 2026 Arctic sailings begin next month! 🔗 in bio for itineraries.

04/22/2026

This Earth Day, we’re excited to think about what’s next.

A new generation of sustainable expedition ships is on the horizon as operators across the small-ship industry continue to push toward greener solutions.

This year, the Galápagos will welcome its first hybrid-electric vessel. And in the Arctic, Selar’s 36-guest Captain Arctic will become the region’s first solar-powered sailing yacht, using solar sails and biofuel to dramatically cut CO₂ emissions.

By 2030, Oceanwide Expeditions plans to introduce two new eco-sailing ships—146-guest polar vessels that will incorporate hybrid sail propulsion to reduce fuel use. And then there’s Ponant’s Swap2Zero, aiming to become the world’s first zero-emission, ocean-going cruise vessel, powered by a combination of battery, solar and wind energy, with support from the European Union.