![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ship_597_rci_symphony_aerial_1024x416_mobhdr.jpg?fit=900%2C366&ssl=1\")
XS ships carry dozens, or maybe up to 200 people and typically offer maximum service to their exclusive clientele. Such was our seven-day cruise of the Caribbean on the five-masted sailing ship – Royal Clipper. Fabulous food served in intimate surroundings and yet a staff large enough to handle every request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to get away from the crowd for your vacation, we’d suggest you start with the smallest ships and work your way up. If people watching is one of your favorite pastimes, then, by all means, check out the XXL variety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more about our ship<\/a> – the Royal Clipper – largest full sail ship on the seas. Read more about our adventures<\/a> with seven days and seven separate ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visit CruiseCompete to begin selecting your ocean or river-based trip<\/a>. They also include a specialty class of cruising known as cruise touring, where the ship arranges for special land-based journies before or after your sail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More about CruiseCompete – taken from their press release:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like selecting the right sized automobile for a road trip, you need to select the right sized ship for your next cruise. Luckily there’s help available right here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[318,534,190,532,3644,20],"class_list":["post-33245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-cruise","tag-cruising","tag-sailing","tag-ships","tag-travel","tag-travel-tips"],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=1440%2C956&ssl=1",1440,956,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1",150,100,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1",300,199,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=768%2C510&ssl=1",768,510,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=900%2C598&ssl=1",900,598,true],"rpg_gallery_admin_thumb":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"rpg_gallery_thumb":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=1440%2C956&ssl=1",1440,956,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=1440%2C956&ssl=1",1440,956,true],"gb-block-post-grid-landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1",600,400,true],"gb-block-post-grid-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1",600,600,true],"et-pb-post-main-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1",400,250,true],"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=1080%2C675&ssl=1",1080,675,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=400%2C284&ssl=1",400,284,true],"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=510%2C382&ssl=1",510,382,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image-single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=1080%2C717&ssl=1",1080,717,true],"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=400%2C516&ssl=1",400,516,true],"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=1440%2C956&ssl=1",1440,956,true],"et-pb-image--responsive--desktop":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=1280%2C720&ssl=1",1280,720,true],"et-pb-image--responsive--tablet":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=980%2C551&ssl=1",980,551,true],"et-pb-image--responsive--phone":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=480%2C270&ssl=1",480,270,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":" Just like selecting the right sized automobile for a road trip, you need to select the right sized ship for your next cruise. Luckily there’s help available right here.<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Travel<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Doug","url":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/author\/admindoug\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","author_meta":{"display_name":"Doug","author_link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/author\/admindoug\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Doug","author_link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/author\/admindoug\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/110209-0027-1.jpeg?fit=1440%2C956&ssl=1","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Travel<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Travel<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["cruise<\/a>","cruising<\/a>","Sailing<\/a>","ships<\/a>","Travel<\/a>","Travel Tips<\/a>"],"unlinked":["cruise<\/span>","cruising<\/span>","Sailing<\/span>","ships<\/span>","Travel<\/span>","Travel Tips<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 7 years ago","modified":"Updated 7 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 25, 2019","modified":"Updated on April 26, 2019"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 25, 2019 11:52 pm","modified":"Updated on April 26, 2019 10:02 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p21Ejy-8Ed","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":108886,"url":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/on-the-ventus-australis-my-luxury-cruise-adventure-sailing-patagonia-in-style\/","url_meta":{"origin":33245,"position":0},"title":"On the Ventus Australis – My Luxury Cruise Adventure Sailing Patagonia in Style","author":"Doug","date":"November 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Join me aboard the Ventus Australis for a luxury Patagonia cruise filled with glaciers, Zodiac landings, fine dining and breathtaking adventure - ideal for scenic travel lovers.","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/category\/travel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/251109-Z9-083208135-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/251109-Z9-083208135-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/251109-Z9-083208135-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/251109-Z9-083208135-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/251109-Z9-083208135-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":248,"url":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/royal-clipper-perfect-sails-on-perfect-seas\/","url_meta":{"origin":33245,"position":1},"title":"Royal Clipper – perfect sails on perfect seas","author":"Doug","date":"March 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Star Clipper is a boutique line with only three vessels, but they are renowned as best-in-class when it comes to sailing ships. Service is top-notch. Food is phenomenal. Activities and amenities rival those offered only on private yachts. Cabins are exquisite. Ports of call are unique and delightful. Passenger count\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/category\/latest-news-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-1syO-SNlK64\/TXBM_ZgsLeI\/AAAAAAAAAXU\/hkCXI5bBFko\/s400\/110209DSC_2544_CF-_1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30633,"url":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/clevelanders-catch-a-cruise-right-downtown\/","url_meta":{"origin":33245,"position":2},"title":"Clevelanders – catch a cruise – right downtown","author":"Doug","date":"July 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Great news for the Great Lakes - Cleveland is now a destination stop for Victory Cruise Lines. On June 20th, The Port of Cleveland welcomed the Victory 1 cruise ship to its docks \u2013 marking the addition of Cleveland to Victory Cruise Lines Great Lakes Grand Discovery tour of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/category\/travel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/victory-I1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C969&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/victory-I1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C969&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/victory-I1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C969&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/victory-I1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C969&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/victory-I1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C969&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6368,"url":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/battle-lake-erie-another-win-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":33245,"position":3},"title":"Battle of Lake Erie \u2013 another win for the US","author":"Doug","date":"September 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"History repeated itself yesterday as the American fleet of tall ships once again defeated the British naval squadron in a re-enactment of the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie. Almost 200 years ago, a 28-year old Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry took on the British Navy which had never before been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/category\/travel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Battle-of-Lake-Erie-0441.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Battle-of-Lake-Erie-0441.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Battle-of-Lake-Erie-0441.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":343,"url":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/they-do-luxury-best\/","url_meta":{"origin":33245,"position":4},"title":"They do luxury best","author":"Doug","date":"December 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Viceroy Hotel Group - winners in the Hotel categoryDuring the 2011 Luxury Travel Expo in Las Vegas, four travelprofessionals were selected as leaders in their respective travel segments andreceived the \u201cLeaders in Luxury\u201d awards from show presenters Travel Agent andTravel Advisor magazines.\u00a0 RuthanneTerrero, vice-president and editorial director for Questex Hospitality\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/category\/latest-news-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-v-Jvle774jM\/TuFIflTANSI\/AAAAAAAAA3Y\/bIEb2egQxnE\/s320\/111208_DBX5571.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":165,"url":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/tall-ships-coming-to-cleveland\/","url_meta":{"origin":33245,"position":5},"title":"Tall ships coming to Cleveland","author":"Doug","date":"June 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Article about the sailing ships and their crews along with a slideshow. \u00a0http:\/\/ping.fm\/UMhn0","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/category\/latest-news-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_-lDfC-5y5Zk\/TB-ezPbGrdI\/AAAAAAAAAOU\/eQXpZc9w4Qg\/s640\/575100616_3CS4474.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_-lDfC-5y5Zk\/TB-ezPbGrdI\/AAAAAAAAAOU\/eQXpZc9w4Qg\/s640\/575100616_3CS4474.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_-lDfC-5y5Zk\/TB-ezPbGrdI\/AAAAAAAAAOU\/eQXpZc9w4Qg\/s640\/575100616_3CS4474.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Royal-Clipper-1280.jpg?fit=900%2C491&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Consumers come to CruiseCompete to research and book cruise vacations. More than 1.5 million users have generated close to 4 million requests from consumers, and agents have delivered almost 17 million quotes since 2003. They can compare offers from trusted travel agents, see consumer reviews of agents and agencies responding, then contact travel agents directly for more information and to book cruises.
CruiseCompete <\/em>CruiseTrends\u2122<\/em><\/strong> offers monthly stats for an inside look at <\/em>consumer trends<\/em><\/a> and what consumers want in cruise vacations.
<\/em>CruiseCompete takes top honors<\/em><\/strong> in Travel + Leisure’s \u201cTop 60 Best Apps and Websites for Travelers\u201d with an honorable mention. The Wall Street Journal praised CruiseCompete as \u201cBest Cruise Travel Site,\u201d <\/em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a> says, \u201c\u2026 independent travel agents compete to offer you the best deal,” and follows <\/em>similar praise <\/em><\/a>from Travel + Leisure, Kiplinger and The Washington Post. The Street says, \u201cScore luxury cruises at bargain prices.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"