When luxury travelers board their cruise ship, they often are traveling with multiple generations of their family. In fact, CLIA’s “2024 State of the Cruise Industry” report revealed that a third of families who cruised in 2023 did so with at least two generations. Another 28 percent cruised with three to five generations.
Cruise lines are also seeing more “skip-gen” travelers such as grandma and the grandkids. Growing in popularity, too, are “adult-only” family cruise groups of mature travelers, baby boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials, all with no kids in tow. And beyond the family scope, multigenerational groups of friends and affinity travelers are heading to sea to indulge their special interests in nature, golf, gastronomy and so on. Here’s a sampling of options on the high seas and global rivers for 2025.
Expedition cruises have soared in popularity with multigenerational groups. One hot spot is The Kimberley, a remote region of northwestern Australia, and one of the world’s last frontiers. From May through August 2025, Seabourn will offer multiple departures of its 10-day and 11-day “Kimberley Expedition: Waterfalls & Wandjinas” itineraries. Sailing between Australia’s Broome and Darwin, the 264-passenger, ultra-luxury Seabourn Pursuit will welcome luxury guests for eco-adventures guided by a 24-person expert expedition team.
Travelers will explore via two custom-built submarines, 24 Zodiacs and a fleet of kayaks. They’ll gaze at rugged sandstone peaks, expanses of desert, waterfalls, including King George Falls, and sunken mangrove forests. As the ship is cruising through Montgomery Reef, travelers might spot the bobbing heads of sea turtles, or those touring in an amphibious Mallard aircraft might gaze down at sharks.
Seabourn’s expedition ships welcome younger travelers, but Seabourn Pursuit doesn’t have a supervised kids’ club or young children’s programming. Most importantly, all the ship’s Kimberley shore excursions involve a Zodiac ride, and children must be six years of age or older to board those Zodiacs. Thus, Luxury Travel Advisor suggests a Kimberley expedition for an “all-adult” multigenerational family or affinity group, or families with tweens and teens who enjoy outdoor adventure.
Beyond the eco-exploration, Seabourn’s guests also will mix and mingle with the region’s original land-owning communities to learn about traditional cultural rites and view Gwion Gwion rock artwork. Onboard, guests will enjoy enrichment talks, expedition “recaps” and briefings about the next day’s activities. The ship offers an open-seating restaurant and in-suite dining, plus multiple lounges and bars, some with 270-degree views and a new zero-proof cocktail program.
“Guests can also unwind in a small infinity pool and two whirlpools on the exterior deck. Spa treatments await at Spa & Wellness by Dr. Andrew Weil, and the ship’s ‘Mindful Living Coach,’ a certified yoga and meditation practitioner, will offer holistic-focused seminars and classes.
We’d suggest one person or couple from the multigenerational group book an Owners Suite (OW), Nos. 700 or 701, and then host other family or group members for pre-dinner socializing. Each encompasses 1,023 square feet, including a veranda of 484 square feet. Suites have a comfortable living area, queen bed (convertible to two twins), flat-screen TV, fully stocked bar and refrigerator, writing desk, makeup vanity and a bathroom with double sinks, tub and shower, and more.
For multigenerational groups looking for polar bears in the wild, Svalbard, a Norwegian island archipelago in the High Arctic, is appealing. Family and affinity group members might spot the massive bears on sea ice or ashore, and they’ll also look for walruses, whales (including narwhals), ringed seals and myriad birds, including Atlantic puffins, northern gannets, black-legged kittiwakes, little auks and more. Travelers might also experience the “calving” of glaciers as they crash into Arctic waters, gorgeous tundra wildflowers and the “Midnight Sun” (24 hours of daylight in summer).
Many luxury lines offer voyages here in summer. Swan Hellenic offers a seven-night “Svalbard Explored” journey round-trip from Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, departing June 23, 2025. Longyearbyen, the world’s most northerly town, has a fascinating North Pole Expeditions Museum.
With a PC5 ice-strengthened hull, the 158-passenger Vega, a five-star expedition ship, sports elegant Scandinavian-style design with the latest in cruising technology, including extra-large stabilizers for a smooth ride. Onboard, Vega’s 506-square-foot Premium Suite has a separate living room with a fireplace and a private veranda.
Check with each cruise line regarding their latest approach, any services and policies for kids aboard. At press time, Swan Hellenic was offering children’s fares (10 percent of the adult fare) for kids who will be ages six to 17 at the time of sailing, if they’re taking the third/fourth berths in a stateroom with two adults staying there. No savings are provided if only one adult is in any stateroom with a child.
Small-ship Ponant also will sail a seven-night “Fjords and Glaciers of Spitsbergen” itinerary on July 12, 2025, round-trip from Longyearbyen. Guests will sail on the 244-passenger Le Lyrial, and the line’s fares include round-trip flights from Paris, France, with transfers to/from the Longyearbyen port.
One unique port of call is Texas Bar, Liefefjorden. No, it’s not in Texas nor a bar. It’s a High Arctic former trapper’s hut, nestled in a hilly landscape covered with moss, lichen and flowers. Multigenerational travelers can check out the rudimentary interior with bunkbeds and kitchen utensils. For guests who hike up the slopes, the reward is a view over the Monaco Glacier.
At press time, the 592-square-foot Owner’s Suite and 484-square-foot Grand Deluxe Suite were still available for booking.
Summer in Alaska
Multigenerational groups love the eco-sights, indigenous cultural experiences and Gold Rush heritage of Alaska, America’s last frontier. Here are just a few examples of the many luxurious options. In summer 2025, Regent Seven Seas Cruises will offer diverse Alaska itineraries on the Seven Seas Explorer. That ship’s 14-night “Epic Pacific Passage” will sail round-trip from Vancouver, B.C. on May 28, 2025. Several weeklong itineraries are also available.
During the two-week itinerary, ports of call will include Wrangell, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, Seward, Icy Strait (Hoonah) and Ketchikan, AK, plus Victoria, B.C., Canada. Guests will also admire gorgeous scenic beauty while cruising to the Hubbard Glacier, along Endicott Arm Fjord, and the Inside Passage.
At Wrangell, families with adults and teens or golf affinity groups might book the line’s “Muskeg Meadows Golf” excursion. Golfers can play a nine-hole course carved out of a rainforest and edged by wilderness, as they keep their eyes peeled for possible deer or moose sightings.
When families think about a multigenerational activity in Alaska, though, dog mushing is often top of mind. Back in 1925, a 674-mile emergency sled-dog relay—involving 20 “mushers” and 150 sled dogs—raced from Nenana to remote Nome in just 5.5 days to save lives by delivering 300,000 vials of diphtheria antitoxin. Separately, the annual 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race also celebrates Alaska’s sled dog mushing tradition.
So, during Seven Seas Explorer’s Seward port call, travelers who can handle “moderate activity” might consider the line’s engaging “I-Did-A-Ride” Dog Kennel Visit.” Cruisers will drive (or travel on) a wheeled sled pulled for a two-mile journey by a team of sled dogs, some veteran Iditarod competitors. Next, at a musher’s camp operated by the Seavey family, winners of multiple Iditarod races, cruise guests can play with husky puppies and learn about their training.
Separately in Skagway, an easier Regent Seven Seas excursion is the one-and-a-half-hour “Gold Panning and Sled Dogs Highlights.” Travelers can visit a sled dog camp, interact with the dogs and pan for gold much as the prospectors did during the 19th-century Gold Rush era.
For the first time in 2025, the 1,250-passenger Riviera will operate Oceania Cruises’ summer Alaska voyages. The ship will replace the smaller Regatta, which is sailing in Alaska this summer. Between May and September, Riviera, which was revitalized in 2022, will sail between Whittier, AK, and Vancouver, as well as round-trip from Seattle.
Oceania’s “Gems of the Last Frontier” voyage that departs June 26, 2025, round-trip from Seattle offers an “Alaska Explorer Youth Program.” Experienced youth counselors will oversee activities and Alaska-inspired special events for ages 5 to 12.
This itinerary also allows multigenerational travelers to explore Alaska in depth. Port calls include Ketchikan, Juneau, Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Haines, Sitka, Wrangell and Klawock, as well as Victoria, B.C.
Silversea’s 728-passenger Silver Nova will return to Alaska for Summer 2025, and will be joined there by the 596-passenger Silver Moon, as well.
Windstar Cruises will return to Alaska in 2026 after an absence of several years. The 224-passenger Star Seeker, the first of two new Windstar new builds, will sail seven-, 10-day and 11-day Alaska voyages between May 2026 and August 2026. They’ll operate between Juneau or Seward, AK, and Vancouver B.C.
Windstar welcomes families with teens and children who are eight years of age and older. While there isn’t a dedicated kids club, families can enjoy a pool, two whirlpools and a Watersports Platform with complimentary activities such as kayaking and paddle boarding.
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