Steve reviews MS Aqua Lares

MS AQUA LARES

By Steve Newman

As the popularity of expedition cruising grows ever larger two things appear to be happening. Firstly more experienced travellers are seeking out new destinations such as the Peruvian Amazon that only a few years ago would have seemed impossible to visit and there is a definite market emerging for much smaller numbers on board.

Of course there have been many ships and companies around for some time who offer cruises with less than forty people on board which provide an intimacy not found on the larger ships. However this side of things is now being coupled with a desire for luxury and let's be frank here, pampering. A feeling that you are getting some thing extra special in terms of service, attention and value for money.

When we are talking about small ships then we should look at Aqua Expeditions 15 cabin MS Aqua Lares.

What you have here is a compact piece of superyacht luxury that joined the five other ships of the Aqua fleet in February this year. She offers voyages between East Africa and the Seychelles including Aldabra, Zanzibar and The African Banks before repositioning to Svalbard the land of The Polar Bear and The Arctic each summer.

With only 30 passengers and a 1:1 crew ratio you know you are going to get an intimate luxurious experience with all the appearance of being in a cosy, snug 5 star hotel space. I guess in many ways this is a form of soft adventure cruising with 5 star luxury but with a much greater feeling of an intimate premium. You get an outdoor exercise area, an indoor and an outdoor lounge, a small spa, cinema on the main deck, elegant communal dining room with the option of shady outdoor dining, an infinity plunge pool with panoramic views and a Jacuzzi.

All the cabins are outside facing with wooden veneers and reek of elegance and sophisticated Italian design. There are five categories with three Owner’s Suites which are both special and at the same time palatial.

In my experience most people choose a destination first and the ship second. There’s nothing wrong with that but if you get the ship wrong it might just take the edge of an other wise perfect cruise. One thing that has surprsied me is the number of times the word stunning comes up in conversations with people who know Aqua Lares. Before you choose which ship you want to book go on to the web and look at the online reviews very carefully. It’s a maxim that can only benefit you in the long run.