What You Need to Know About Luxury Cruising with Dana Freeman

We are exploring the world of luxury cruising with expert Dana Freeman! She shares her journey, inspired by her grandmother's love of cruising, so you can understand what makes different cruise lines unique in the niche.

Learn about Galapagos with Ecoventura, Riverside Luxury Cruises, Seabourn and Emerald cruises, plus the intimate nature of small ship cruising for varied adventures. Dana shares luxurious experiences highlighting special culinary offerings, unique amenities, and adventurous excursions - from cooking with a Duchess in Sicily to a helicopter ride from a luxury yacht ship that pushed her comfort zone.

Follow Dana & read some of her articles here: 

• IG: @danahfreeman 
• Threads: @danahfreeman
•  Visit Dana's website for more of her amazing small ship cruise adventures
• Crystal Symphony Ship Review on Fodor’s
• Ponant Bougainville Ship Review on Fodor’s  
• Windstar Star Breeze Ship Review on Fodor’s 
• Seabourn Ovation Ship Review on Fodor’s
• Small Ship Big Thrills, including sections about Emerald Azzurra, Seabourn Ovation, & Ponant Bougainville
• Bon Voyage, Provence on a small ship during lavender time

Want to grab our complimentary Essential River Cruise Budgeting Guide? Head over to Small Ship Cruise Talk, scroll halfway down the page to a blue box where you'll find the signup form, and claim your copy!

Chapters

• 3:05 Dana's Journey into Small Ship Cruising
• 6:07 What Luxury Cruise Experiences You'll Learn About in This Episode
• 7:08 Unique Experiences in the Galapagos
• 10:53 Luxury on Europe's Rivers
• 15:21 A Luxurious Small Ship with a Ship-Within-a-Ship Class
• 19:06 Unique Luxury Yacht Cruise Experiences
• 22:32 What’s it Like to Experience a Luxury Tour Operator on a Small Ship Cruise?
• 27:41 Adventure on an Expedition Yacht
• 31:05 Exploring Luxurious, Lesser-Visited Ports
• 33:59 Follow Dana's Adventures

Transcript

Mikkel (00:35)

Hello and welcome to Small Ship Cruise Talk. Today is an extra special episode because I'm so excited. My friend, my travel buddy from afar, even though we've actually never traveled together. Amazing. My travel role model in so many ways, Dana Freeman is here as...

Dana Freeman (00:50)

Amazing.

Mikkel (01:00)

our guest. I am solo today - Dan is off doing other things while the girls catch up. So I hope that you get so much from this episode listening in today because Dana is going to talk about luxury small ship cruise experiences. And if anybody has amazing luxury experience in the small ship cruise world, it is Dana. So welcome Dana.

Dana Freeman (01:29)

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here with you and we need to rectify the not traveling together clearly and go on a small cruise together.

Mikkel (01:37)

We really do. We would have the best time. God help anybody else that's there that like feels our bond together, including Dan.

Dana Freeman (01:44)

True. I feel like we are literally the adage of the two ships that pass in the night. We're very often on cruises, but not on the same one, on the same river at the same time. yes.

Mikkel (01:55)

That is the perfect adage for us. So if you don't mind, can you please introduce yourself in your own words to everyone?

Dana Freeman (02:05)

Absolutely. So I'm Dana Freeman. I've been a travel writer for...

gosh, almost 15 years. I started in the family space and then once my children grew and left, I decided to move more into things that appeal to just myself and were appropriate for myself and my husband. And that led me to luxury travel and in particular, small ship cruising. The way that I fell in love with small ship cruising is probably unique, if you could say.

My grandmother was a solo traveler starting in the 50s. She got divorced and there were no all these women's sisterhood type travel opportunities and so the best way to travel, for her, was on a cruise. It was the most comfortable. She always had companions, they weren't her companions, had somebody to eat with at the table or go on an excursion with. And she, in her lifetime, went on 50 cruises. She had a true love of small ship cruising.

I traveled with her during her life on other things, but in her 90s, she wanted to get back out there and travel, and she couldn't really do it alone. So she asked me if I would go with her with my children who were eight and eleven at the time and my husband. And I was like, of course, what an opportunity. And she's like, I want to go on a small ship cruise, which was an interesting choice because there's no kids club.

There's no, typically, any other children on that kind of cruise and people are like, what are you doing? Why aren't you going on Disney? And I was like, it's not really about that. It's about the experience of seeing the world with my grandmother in an easy one that she loves. And, you know, cruising is the best. You pack your bag once, unpack, see a bunch of countries. It just is an easy way for a multi-generational group like ours to travel around. And so at the age of 92, we cruised the…I think that trip was Barcelona, maybe to Nice. And we got back and I thought, ⁓ this is it. You know, like we did it. Check that box. She'll feel good. She got back out there. And sure enough, we hadn't even unpacked our bags and she's like, where are we going next year? And so.

Mikkel (04:12)

I love grandma.

Dana Freeman (04:13)

For the next four years, we sailed on Windstar or Seabourn every year with my kids. So her great-grandchildren, my husband. We went through the Panama Canal, we did the Med again. And as a matter of fact, we sailed out of Venice on Windstar to circumvent Italy on her 96th birthday. And yeah, and that was her last.

Mikkel (04:32)

Amazing.

Dana Freeman (04:34)

But 96 and traveling the world is pretty amazing.

And I just continued it. I fell in love. I saw it. I understood the beauty of small ship cruising. You know everybody, but you don't know everybody. But everybody feels like they're familiar. And more importantly, it's about the destinations and the cruise. Sometimes on the larger ships, it's about the ship. People never even leave the ship - they love it. But these small ships are really about the destinations, and small ships go into ports that big ships can't go to. And that kicked it off for me. Yes.

Mikkel (05:09)

Yeah, that's amazing.

What a way to go out of your travel with that 96 circumventing the boot of Italy.

Dana Freeman (05:18)

Yes, 100%. That's the I want to go. Yeah, exactly.

Mikkel (05:20)

I was going to say, may we all be that lucky, right?

Well, thank you for that great introduction. You definitely, touched on Windstar, so a little tip of the iceberg.

But for everyone listening, you are also going to get insight into Dana's wildlife encounters in the Galapagos on a 20-passenger Relais and Chateau yacht to helicopter adventure off of the Scenic Eclipse in Baja, Mexico, and also Dana's firsthand impressions of Ecoventura, Riverside Luxury Cruises, Seabourn, which you just briefly mentioned, and Windstar, course, Crystal, Emerald and Ponant. 

So if you have been curious about how these specific luxury small ships compare and what makes each itinerary and the ships and the cruise lines special, Dana's insider perspective is going to help you determine which of these exclusive experiences might be your perfect fit. So let's continue diving into your experiences. I'm going to let you take it away and continue how you want on your own journey here with all of your amazing experiences.

Dana Freeman (06:33)

So you touched on one of the most unique ones that I've ever done, small ship, aside from barge cruising, which is super small and on a canal on a river for anybody who hasn't done it - it's sort of interior. But one of the most unique small ships I've ever been on was with Ecoventura. I think they have three of them now, but there's the Origin, Theory and something else. They are 20-passenger Relais and Chateau yachts that sail two different itineraries in the Galapagos Islands.

You typically fly to Ecuador to one of two countries and then another flight out to the Galapagos and start your adventure. And not only are the ships outstanding, but the food is phenomenal. I mean, it's 20 people. So you just get that really hands-on luxury touch of being on a ship that small, but has all of the toys and bells and whistles that you could ever want. 

I mean the top deck for sunning is stunning. They do a barbecue up there. They have a bar. They have a gorgeous hot tub off the back of the yacht which is key because you go you spend a lot of time snorkeling. A lot of people go to the Galapagos to snorkel. I personally am not a snorkeler but I'm willing to do anything ⁓ at least once and I I so enjoyed it and one of most interesting things is you do deep water snorkeling. Which, yeah.

Mikkel (07:59)

⁓ wait, is that like going under like your little snorkel that has the lifeline to the air is underneath?

Dana Freeman (08:05)

No, it's more like they put you on a Zodiac. They take you way out into the ocean. So you're not like against the coral of a beach. They take you out into the ocean and drop you off the side. So you drift with the current, but it's cold. Even when the weather outside is, you know, 75 or 80, the water out there is not all that warm. So that hot tub comes in

Mikkel (08:14)

Mm-hmm.

Dana Freeman (08:28)

It’s really nicely when you get back, you always get back on in typical Relais and Chateau luxury style. You get back on the boat, they hand you a cocktail, a little bite to eat, and then you can get in the hot tub or go up to the sun deck.

Mikkel (08:29)

Yeah.

Dana Freeman (08:43)

Out there you snorkel like literally with the sea lions. They come right up to your face. Yeah, it's super.

Mikkel (08:48)

Oh my gosh. And it's not scary?

Dana Freeman (08:52)

It's not scary until somebody's like, "Oh, I saw a shark," and then I, of course, did the universal signal. I'm like, I'm out. Pick me up. Like, me. Yep. Yep. Yep. I was looking for the orange flag and I was like, I'm getting out. And you know, you're supposed to snorkel with a buddy. And my poor husband was like, where's my buddy? I'm like, over here in the boat. Yep. Yeah.

Mikkel (08:56)

Arms crossed, we're done. I'm having a cocktail, bye. I am like halfway back to the ship.

Dana Freeman (09:15)

So that's a really, I mean, you can't sail on any large boats in the Galapagos. I believe the rule is with 20, is really just ultra luxurious way to go. I mean, even the cabins, the bathrooms have windows in the shower, so you're always looking outside. You have everything you could ever need, know, incredible binoculars and access to a whole library of books about the Galapagos, et cetera. So I really, know we only have a few minutes on each, so I won't spend too much time there, but I've written in our...

Mikkel (09:45)

Yeah, I could talk to you about this forever. Yes.

Dana Freeman (09:48)

I've written an article about it so people can check it out. But it's really, if you want to immerse yourself in a biology class for a week, that is the way to go. The guides are amazing and you just learn all about the floral and the fauna and the animals and it's great. Real nature trip, yes. Great.

Mikkel (09:51)

Yes. I love that. And we'll have links to everything Dana's referencing, including her social in the show notes. So don't forget to check that out. OK, well, that was an awesome way to kick off or continue from Windstar to Ecoventura.

Dana Freeman (10:18)

Next we were going to talk about Riverside cruising and actually here's a perfect example of us passing in the night. We've both been on the same ship but not at the same time. ⁓ I don't know about you but I think that the most luxurious river cruise right now, Riverside Luxury Cruises.

Mikkel (10:34)

I agree, and it's one of the lesser-known because it's only been around a few years. So I can't wait 'til it blows up and we could say we knew it back when. But what I love about this is if you're listening you're with us, you know about it now. So yeah, I just love that we are able to share the info here. So I'm excited for you to talk about Riverside. I agree with you.

Dana Freeman (10:44)

Exactly.

Dana Freeman (10:56)

Amazing. My first experience was on the Mozart. I did a really interesting itinerary from Budapest into Romania, which I never thought of cruising that direction. Everybody's been on the Danube and typically goes to Budapest the other way, towards Vienna. So that in itself was exciting to go to all sorts of new cities I've never been to Eastern European side of things. But I just felt from the minute I stepped on Mozart,the lushness of it. The velvet cushions and chairs and like dining in the Vintage Room, which is a private dining space for just 12 people. And it's very elevated. It's a wine pairing dinner. To their suites. 

And I think what's most special, I mean, their suites are stunning and very over the top, but what's most special is their rooftop deck, which is just... I mean that's why you go on a river cruise, is to spend time watching the world go by and all the beautiful towns from the roof. But theirs is over the top. They just have this incredible bar, which if you ever see it, that pops up, that pops down... It's sort of hidden when you need to go under the bridges. But they've got gorgeous furniture. A lot of river cruises just have lounge chairs or tables. They have what feels like you're sitting in a luxurious lounge with comfy, couches and teak furniture and they do that gorgeous barbecue on deck. They even have a Green Egg.

Dana Freeman (12:11)

And the Mozart as you know is a double-wide ship so there's even more space. They even have an indoor pool and jacuzzi in their spa. I mean a lot of spas on a river cruise are small. You can't help it. Their space is limited but these guys really... they did it right. They gave a lot of space to their spa which is a really nice treat especially those days where the weather might not cooperate, which happens. The Mozart has, you know, an extra restaurant compared to the other, but I know you're about to cruise on one of the ships. I'm going on the Ravel in France on the lavender cruise. I know by days I feel like…

Mikkel (12:43)

That's true. Yeah, we are. And once again, we're missing each other on Riverside.

Yeah, we're going on Debussy. So all of Riverside's ships are named after composers. Mozart's an easy one to realize that with. But we are going on the Debussy, and you are going on

At least the saving grace is that we won't be right near each other.

Dana Freeman (13:17)

I right? Otherwise we could wave. Yeah, I'm really excited. I'm going from Avignon to Lyon, which is just, I mean, the south of France, you can't beat it. And doing it with Riverside is such a treat because they just elevate excursions and the entertainment and the things. They just blend that in so nicely. It's just such an experience. And then you feel so glorious when you get back on the ship, like you're wrapped in a blanket of luxury.

Mikkel (13:43)

Yeah.

We'll have to have you back on so we can talk about the two different itineraries, but with the same cruise line. That would be really cool. Yeah.

Dana Freeman (13:51)

Totally. And I think this, the lavender one they do this itinerary, but there's special excursions that take you to the lavender field and that. So if you ever want to go the end of June, beginning of July is the time to do that.

Mikkel (14:03)

That's amazing. And also going back to what you said about the interiors on Riverside: One of the things that makes it ultra luxurious to me is those finishes. And when you said velvet, I just was taken back because I love they have these green velvet chairs in their lounge that are so good. And The marble finishes, like...but so tasteful. Nothing's gaudy. It's just so tasteful, the interiors.

Dana Freeman (14:21)

I know, they're stunning. And how about the fireplace in the suite? I mean, come on. If you ever wanted to feel super spoiled, this is the line for you if you want to do a river cruise.

Mikkel (14:35)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

⁓

I love that. That's a perfect place to end our Riverside conversation for now.

Dana Freeman (14:46)

And so moving on to Seabourn, which I touched on, I actually sailed on my first Seabourn trip was when Windstar owned some of those ships, I think. They own some of the yacht style. But I've recently been on the Seabourn Ovation, which is gorgeous. I felt like that's for people who...don't really like, I can't go on such a small ship. This is like your small, happy medium ship, right? 690 feet long. It's 300 passengers. So a little bit bigger, so it offers more spaces, more dining options, a little bit more entertainment. I hear that a lot. People are like, I don't want to go on a small ship because I won't have all of those choices. Seabourn blends this perfectly, I think, as an option. 

I will tell you, one of my favorite hidden gems on Ovation: There's the main pool in the center, right, that everybody always congregates around. You could see it from the whole ship, depending on either side you're on, but there is a pool in back. I think it's level five that most people don't go to. So you always know that there are spots for you. The other favorite spot of mine is the front, up top. Always a good place to sneak off and find a lounge chair when everybody's congregating. But I love little touches like Seabourn Square.

Mikkel (15:53)

Hmm. I love that.

Dana Freeman (16:07)

Right on the Ovation is where you'll find it's like a hub, but it doesn't feel too much activity. It's where the concierges are. There's a coffee shop there. You get a little bite to eat. The shops are sort of around the edges, but it elevates and makes you feel like you're somebody special on board. There's always four different concierge desks and you can always chat with them and they can help you with everything. It doesn't feel like the lobby of a gigantic resort. and so I appreciate that.

Mikkel (16:41)

Mm-hmm.

Dana Freeman (16:44)

I really enjoy that some of their have hot tubs that face the outdoors if you stay in an elevated suite. And I think one of the things that if you're traveling for the luxury aspect is is a rooftop with with canopies and its own hot tubs and you have sort of your own service for the day. You pay a little bit extra for that or I believe it might come with some of your plans with some of your suites. But again if you want to make your small ship even smaller that's a nice way to do it.

Mikkel (17:15)

We love the ship within a ship concepts, especially on bigger ships. So even knowing that it's an option on a ship with, you know, around 300 passengers to even make it small is great to know and very helpful. Where did you go with Seabourn? I know you said you went with grandma. What is your grandmother's name? Mildred. I know, but you know, I feel like she's here in spirit.

Dana Freeman (17:17)

Yes.

Dana Freeman (17:28)

Yeah. Yes.

Well, Mildred. And she's since passed away. It's been a decade, a decade. But yeah, I think she is. ⁓ You know, that one was with her when it was a Windstar ship. I think was probably The Med. But this one on Ovation was Spain and Italy.

Mikkel (17:47)

Okay.

Dana Freeman (17:52)

I have a thing, I know you can cruise the whole world, but I have a thing for the Med in the summer. I mean, you can't beat it in the small ships. They all go into these tiny ports. So, or you you tender in if you can't get into the port.

Mikkel (17:52)

Okay. Yes.

Yeah, yeah. And we've talked about this too. Dan and I have talked about that tendering on a small ship is way different than a big ship. On a big ship, it could take you over an hour. And if you're not right at the port on a small ship and you need to tender in, even that feels like a luxury experience because it's very quick.

Dana Freeman (18:22)

Yes, and they run them back and forth. It's almost like no schedule. They're just continually doing it so you can go back and forth whenever you want. Yeah, on some of them, on some of the lines.

Mikkel (18:28)

Great, yeah.

Speaking of Italy, let's talk about your Emerald Azzurra experience and also your Ponant experience in Italy.

Dana Freeman (18:33)

Yeah.

Okay, so Emerald was my intro into yacht-style cruising. It was new a few years ago. I think I don't know if you would agree, but that was like a new buzzword, "yacht-style" cruising. Yeah.

Mikkel (18:50)

Yes, I think it still is. I think people are still learning about it.

Dana Freeman (18:54)

And clearly it's a success because Emerald now has three of these ships. When I cruised with them it was just the first two. It's 50 staterooms, 100 passengers, and they don't skimp on anything. The pool is off the back deck on this with its glass waterfall so you can see out from from being in the pool to the Missoni robes and the little cafe... it's just perfect. There's seven decks. The hot tub is on the top deck. But every little touch felt elegant to me and high level. I really enjoyed it.

Mikkel (19:22)

Mm-hmm.

Dana Freeman (19:30)

We stayed in a regular size suite and it still felt large. There was room for an Eames-style chair and a beautiful bathroom with heated towel bar and all, you know, tiled in and stunning. We had a little balcony, which in cruise world could be considered oversized. Sometimes balconies aren't. They just have to give you a Julian balcony or a French balcony.

They have Nespresso machines. I mean, every little touch I felt was fantastic. There's a restaurant, one main restaurant that has open style seating. You can sit in inside or it spills over into the back, which is lovely because in Europe who doesn't want to sit outside? And then there's an actual, for a small ship that had the extra restaurant, there's something called the Aqua Cafe around the pool. So if you want to mix it up and not eat every meal in the one restaurant. But I felt like they did a great job with the main restaurant.

changing it up so every morning for breakfast or dinner it felt different. The way they did the service or the style of the food. really tried to incorporate local into their food, which I really like. So depending on what port you were in if that port was known for - we were in Italy, so lemons - you know, the lemon trees, there were a lot of lemon dishes throughout, even down to the dessert and the decor on the table. So that's really a thoughtful touch, I think.

Mikkel (20:48)

I think another thing about Emerald yachts like Emerald Azzura, is that when you're in a port, you feel like a rock star. Because everybody looks at the ship like, whoa, that is gorgeous. And you're like, I get to go back on that ship.

Dana Freeman (21:03)

100 % and the back that comes down - the water platform. What a treat. I love, you know, ships that have that. Big ships don't have that at all. Windstar has it. This ship does. A couple of others. But that's a super treat after touring a city all day to come back and have that gorgeous water platform to just swim or go on the trampoline or take out a SEABOB or whatever it is. Yes.

Mikkel (21:26)

The SEABOBS...

Yes, all of the above. Those are like those fun little motorized. They're almost like, I was trying to describe this to somebody at a pool party this week. They're like a kickboard, like when you hold it and you like kicking your feet when you're a child. But it's like that, but the advanced adult version.

Dana Freeman (21:41)

It's like an electric bike, but a kickboard version. You just get a little umph if you just can't continue on yourself.

Mikkel (21:44)

I love that. True. Right. And you will not find those on non-luxury ships because they're a big investment for the ships. Yeah, very lux.

Dana Freeman (21:55)

Yes, agreed. Agreed. So you mentioned Ponant.

Ponant: I was on the Bouganville. It was another European, and you can tell my theme, I did that around Italy. It was 12 days because I did it with Abercrombie and Kent. And I had never done a cruise with a tour company, a luxury tour company, and I wanted to experience: what's the difference? I mean, why wouldn't I just book a night on the front end or the back end myself? What do I need the tour?

Mikkel (22:10)

Yes, so unique. Mm-hmm.

Dana Freeman (22:24)

It is a lot of hand-holding in a great way. The A&K team is called the Blue Shirts, or at least on this trip, so you can always find them because they're in their casual blue

Mikkel (22:33)

Okay.

Dana Freeman (22:33)

And they follow you around or they segue you from place to place in a very non-intrusive way. And they always have the water that you need. They always have the directions if you're like, you know what, you don't want to go on this tour. You want to go off and see the Uffizi by yourself, meet us back here. Very, just you felt like your hand was held in just the right luxury way.

Ponant ship is French so you can definitely feel the French touches on board in the decor and in the service and in some of the things that you have a theater. And so every night the port talk was in there by an expert, an A&K expert about where you're going. I'm sure you know the port talk really important for those who are going on a small ship for the educational aspect, they're not just sailing into a port and want to feel like, "Oh,⁓ okay, we're going to go on a walking tour of Florence. They give you more of the in-depth part of things so that you go into it knowing more about what you're which I find is the extra luxury part of taking a trip like this.

Mikkel (23:30)

Yeah. Absolutely, and access to those people that are giving the talks.

Dana Freeman (24:16)

Yes. 100%. So they have a beautiful theater to have those talks in post and pre. There's always a debrief at the end of the day. Their spa, it's worth mentioning, is a Southeast Paris spa. They use all Kerastase products. They have hair care and nail care, which is not always available on a small ship. They just don't have room for it. So if you're a spa girl like me, they have those things. They also have a water

platform. A unique thing about their pool is they have the, what do call it, the concurrent, the countercurrent system. So for those who like to exercise and swim, that's a really nice touch as well. You can get in the pool and just countercurrent swim. Yeah. No, you don't.

Mikkel (24:12)

⁓ yeah. Yeah, you don't hear about that a lot on other ships. No.

Dana Freeman (24:24)

No, mostly the pools are just small for a dip off, but this is one. There's 92 cabins and suites on this ship and they're all done by a French designer architect. So they're just stunning. Lots of floor-to-ceiling windows, lots of modern velvet touches. have a bed rather than just a table and two chairs for eating. They have like a full banquet, that gives it a little elevated feeling.

Mikkel (24:31)

Great size.

Dana Freeman (24:49)

And then their dining is fabulous. They have a grill and then they have the Nautilus for indoor/outdoor dining. I felt myself eating outdoors obviously a lot as an option because again, you're in Italy, why not? So yes,

Mikkel (25:04)

Right? Why not? I like that. Why not?

Dana Freeman (25:07)

and the last eye popping I think dining thing for them was a lot of champagne and caviar. Yes.

Mikkel (25:11)

Okay.

Dana Freeman (25:13)

Yep, so

Mikkel (25:13)

Sign me up.

Dana Freeman (25:17)

There's a lot of that. I felt like we had a lot of coming back in the afternoon to some caviar and rather than just your typical come back and have a little snack on board. And then the other thing worth mentioning is they have a very James Bond-ish underwater lounge. It's called the Blue Eye bar.

So after dinner that's open and it's just like a 1960s vibe and there's a window that looks out to the sea but from underground so a little... Yes lower deck. Yes.

Mikkel (25:44)

So is it like a lower deck and it's literally underground?

Why don't more ships do that?

Dana Freeman (25:51)

I don't know, because at night you can't see anything anyway, right? But to be like up against the window with the water coming by, if I recall correctly, quote me on this, I think it was piped in some of the sound from outside, but I could be wrong.

Mikkel (25:54)

Right. Look, it could be fake, piped in, it's fine. It's all about

Dana Freeman (26:07)

Yeah, true. This ship does have two formal nights, which I kind of feel like has gone by the wayside, but that elevates things a bit. They have a captain's welcome and a gala dinner. So if you like that luxury, get dressed up feeling, that's nice on this cruise. Yeah.

Mikkel (26:16)

Yeah. Right. A lot of people do like that, and it's hard to find these days. And it is part of what makes it different from your everyday. Even if you live a luxury life, it makes it different. So that's a really nice thing to know. For people listening unfamiliar with Ponant, because you mentioned that it's French: just to clarify, is English the language spoken on the ship? OK.

Dana Freeman (26:32)

Yes. 100 % yes, yes. I've yet to find a ship, I mean maybe I haven't cruised on them all, but

would be uncomfortable if English was your first language that you weren't spoken to in English or had somebody speaking to you in English to find.

And that was, you know, another, a little bit bigger than the Azzurra but yacht-style. I think one of my most exciting small ship out of my comfort zone, aside from the deep water snorkeling, which was in itself just a treat, but new for sailing on the Scenic Eclipse.

I did the itinerary in Baja, Mexico. I'm not sure they're still doing that, but that's one of the, I was there and I'm sure other cruise lines go to Baja if you're interested in that sort of arid desert. Kind of like the Galapagos vibe. ⁓ Yeah.

Mikkel (27:32)

Yeah, it did look like that. Of course, I follow all your travels as you're doing them.

Dana Freeman (27:36)

But more importantly about the ship, they have two very special things you can choose between or I suppose you could do both. They have an underwater submarine or they have a helicopter that launches off the back of the ship. I did the helicopter.

And to this day, everybody is like, "Really, Dana? I just never saw you doing that. Why would you do that?" The whole thing. But unbelievable. It's a pilot and five passengers. I was front and center right next to the pilot. And you're like in a big globe. You take off from the ship and you go out and around. I mean, although seeing all the landscape was super cool, coming back in like a rock star and landing right on the ship on the helipad, unbelievable. Very James Bond moment. So that's just a super cool, think having those two things on this ship is pretty

Mikkel (28:19)

Yes.

Mm-hmm. Speaking of James Bond.

Dana Freeman (28:34)

They have something called the Chef's Table, which is a little bit different. I know a few ships have this where you eat in the kitchen at the chef's table. It's sort of hidden behind the main dining room - you go into the main dining room and you eat at the chef's table. They have the Night Market, which is another small intimate dining experience that's different from everybody else. It's like seven or eight people with the chefs in a small back room.

Mikkel (28:41)

Cool.

Dana Freeman (28:57)

I think for me, one of the standout things was the spa on this because they got the infrared sauna and the cold and hot plunge pool Nordic circle thing or Nordics circle Nordic. What do call it? Like, you know, you go through the circuit. That's the word I'm looking for.

Which I think is pretty unique. Again, they've given over a lot of space to their spa and I gotta tell you, the cold plunge pool and then into the sauna or into the steam room... and not to mention the massages if you book those. But every guest can use, whether you book a massage or not, you can use the circuit, the hot/cold.

Mikkel (29:31)

I was going to ask, is that open to all guests? And that's included in the cruise fare. Yeah. You reminded me on Azzurra they have that infrared room as well that is open to all guests.

Dana Freeman (29:35)

Yeah, included in the cruise fare.

Yes, I think that was the first time I was in an infrared sauna. I think it's a new thing. It's fabulous. I I gotta tell you, I felt different.

Mikkel (29:45)

Mm-hmm.

Dana Freeman (29:51)

great. So yeah, so I really enjoyed Scenic as well. It has that yacht profile, that yacht-style profile, but just a little bigger. It's not a 50 cabin. I believe it's double the size.

Mikkel (29:58)

Yes.

Yeah, yeah, it's definitely another sexy ship. Beautiful. And I love that you touched on the submarine and the helicopter, because it's an interesting way that these luxury yachts can bring adventure on board to take you off board. Haha!

Dana Freeman (30:06)

Yes, very.

Right, it's date, right, absolutely. It’s a little different than just landing on a beach and then taking a tour with a guide or anything like that. It's a different way to see nature and get up close and personal with the terrain.

Mikkel (30:30)

Yeah. So those were all your amazing experiences. And you had mentioned the ports that these ships can go to because they're smaller. And that's something that I really value about small ships. 

Dana Freeman (30:39)

Mm-hmm.

Mikkel (30:42)

Part of the luxury is that you're not one of thousands in these ports. So if anything comes to mind, putting you on the spot here, are there two ports of all these adventures

Dana Freeman (30:47)

Absolutely.

Mmm.

Mikkel (30:55)

That really stood out as luxurious because of the ships that were able to take you there that nobody else could get to?

Dana Freeman (31:02)

Well, it's pretty well known, but on Azzura I went to Portofino. And you know, that's just luxury, luxury, luxury. You have to anchor and come in and that is you know boutique shopping and the pinnacle of Italian I think. The luxury ports, if you will. I actually, we didn't even stay in Portofino because a lot of other cruise ships go there.

They scheduled a tour for us to take us out of Portofino and around Rapallo I believe is the port. And so you get to drive along the stunning emerald blue coast and see the water and you're sort of like right on the edge looking down all time and you get to a town. And we did an amazing wine tour there.

I would say that's quite a luxurious port. I'm trying to think. I'm so fortunate I've been to so many places.

Mikkel (31:51)

I know.

Dana Freeman (31:53)

I wouldn't say it was a luxury port, but it was a luxury experience. With Crystal, I was in Sicily and we went to Palermo and we did an excursion called Cooking with a Duchess. And so we met her. We went shopping in the market to "her vendors," picked up everything for a meal. And then we went back to her...

Mikkel (32:10)

Okay.

Dana Freeman (32:13)

They don't call it a castle, they call it...

Mikkel (32:15)

…like whatever her chateau was.

Dana Freeman (32:17)

Yes, exactly. Went back to - she's a true duchess - went back to her home and - sprawling, gorgeous. You know, overlooking the sea, lots of terraces and decks. And then we all crammed into her tiny Italian kitchen and made lunch together. Like we did all the cooking. And then we went into her ginormous dining room, which was set with crystal and China and ate the food that we prepared, but served to us by a staff. White gloves and tuxedos and all. So.

Mikkel (32:44)

Yeah, that's amazing.

I love that the kitchen was so small and the dining room was so big.

Dana Freeman (32:48)

⁓ 100%. We all couldn't even get

in there like at the same time. Like you had to almost step back and take turns, but it was, it was a treat. That was a super experience. That was with Crystal. Mhmm. You do.

Mikkel (32:59)

Do you call her Duchess?

Dana Freeman (33:06)

Yes. Ha ha ha.

Mikkel (33:15)

I love it. That's amazing. Well, I'm already planning trips in my head, hopefully ones we can go on together. But this was wonderful to hear about your luxurious experiences. I could talk to you forever about these. So we're definitely going to have you back!

You can follow Dana on Instagram. She is @danahfreeman

So D-A-N-A-H as in Harry, F-R-E-E-M-A-N and she is the same on Threads. It is in the show notes.

So follow along because a picture is worth 1,000 words to go with this podcast. So please follow Dana. Threads is great.

Threads is replacing X for many people, but that's another conversation. Different podcast, not this one, but different podcast. 

Dana Freeman (33:50)

Yes, different podcast.

Mikkel (34:01)

And do you have any final words about the articles we're going to put in the show notes or any other thing that you'd like to share about luxury small ship cruising?

Dana Freeman (34:08)

Most of the ships that I've talked about I've written about and I shared all those articles. I also have a portfolio on my website that lists it all. But I would say I am about to go on Riverside Luxury Cruises the last week in June. That's a good time to follow me on Instagram on my stories because I do a lot of behind the scenes showing you what it's really like, not staged. I just go with the flow and I'll just show you what it's going on as you board a ship, what it's like during check-in, what the bathrooms really look like, how many towels you have, et cetera.

Mikkel (34:43)

Also, because stories disappear, do you do highlights of your stories for anyone listening after June 2025?

Dana Freeman (34:49)

I do, and actually if you look at my highlights right now, I have most of the cruises that I've been on. I have the entire story from that cruise on there. Yes.

Mikkel (34:59)

Fantastic. I love it. OK, so everybody check Dana out, whether you do it now or if you're driving, please do it later. Come back to the show notes and look her up because you are just going to be in awe of all her adventures. And I promise you are going to start planning your own trip. Also check our show notes because we have somebody who can help you do that. We are not travel agents, but we have a recommendation for great travel agents.

Travel the world, see it more. And Dana, thank you for helping us do that today.

Dana Freeman (35:28)

Thank you so much for having me. I really am honored that you had me on.

Mikkel (35:32)

Likewise, I'm honored you're on. And we will have you back on. Talk soon.

Dana Freeman (35:36)

Talk soon. Bon voyage.