Push the boat out

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27 OCTOBER 2004
Taking to the waves in conditions of unadulterated luxury used to be the reserve of movie stars, royalty and the wealthy few. These days, however, it's not just the Queen and the likes of P Diddy who get to ride the high seas on their hols. The only trouble is, the choice of cruises available leaves many potential sailors all at sea - and many trips are oceans apart. To help get you on the right tack, here we pick out some of the best.

The Nelson odyssey on Sea Cloud
Sea Cloud is the prima donna of tall ships, with the biggest of her four masts as high as a 20-storey building. She was built for tycoon EF Hutton as a present for his wife in the late 1920s, and even today the ship is still one of the most luxurious vessels afloat, featuring oak-panelled interiors, Italian marble and sumptuous antique furnishings. Her sister ship Sea Cloud II isn’t bad, either. Launched in 2001, she is fitted out with marble, brass and gold.

The two ships sail the Caribbean following in the wake of Admiral Nelson, who defended the islands against the French and Spanish in the 18th century. There are some fabulous destinations on the voyage, including Antigua and Anguilla, and lesser-known islands such as St Kitts and Nevis, where Nelson married his sweetheart Fanny Nisbet.

Polar bear quest on MS Stockholm
She may not win any beauty contests, but the sturdy MS Stockholm is a great piece of maritime history with gleaming brass fittings and an ice-strengthened hull. And she doesn’t lack creature comforts – her 12 passengers all get outside cabins and private facilities. In the summer she cruises around Spitzbergen, the remote spectacular archipelago just 600 miles from the North Pole.

Here on-board visitors see immense glaciers and icecaps, dramatic fjords, sheer mountain cliffs and stark white landscapes where polar bears, reindeer, seals and puffins outnumber people. Landing craft whisk you ashore for encounters of a closer kind.