If 2025 was the year cruising remembered how to be interesting again, 2026 looks positively eccentric. From fan sailings and tennis tie-ins to solar-powered expeditions and chess at sea, next year’s most intriguing voyages are very rarely “fly to Barcelona, do the usual loop, go home”.

We have picked ten very specific sailings and styles that actually exist in 2026, rather than hypothetical “imagine if” cruises. Some are genuinely bookable on a normal salary, some are very much for the “if my numbers come up” folder, but all of them do something different with time at sea.

Where exact dates and ships are mentioned below, they are correct at time of writing, but always check with the operator before you start practising your deckchair victory lap.

1. Chase a total solar eclipse in the Arctic

If you like your holidays with a side of celestial drama, 12 August 2026 should already be circled in red. A total solar eclipse will sweep across the Arctic and North Atlantic, and several lines are quietly building whole voyages around being in the path of totality.

HX Expeditions is positioning one of its hybrid powered ships around Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard, combining zodiac landings, glaciology talks and a day in the “zone” with specialist astronomers on board.

Other lines, including more mainstream names, are planning Iceland and northern Spain itineraries whose selling point is essentially “you will be at sea when the sun disappears”. If you have ever wanted to justify buying a frankly unnecessary telescope, this is the year.

2. Try a Swiftie fan cruise that is very much not on the Eras Tour

Taylor Swift is not doing a residency at sea, but that has not stopped fans chartering an entire ship. In February 2026, an unofficial “Karma is a Cruise” sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas will run four nights from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay, built entirely around the Swift universe.

Think friendship bracelets, trivia, themed parties, outfit nights and a lot of hoarse singing in the corridors. It is not an official Taylor event, there is no promise she will appear, and you do still have to pass muster with Royal Caribbean’s usual booking rules. But as a very specific way to turn a short Bahamas cruise into an extended in-joke with thousands of strangers, it is hard to beat.

3. Or lean fully into glitter on a JoJo Siwa sailing

If your cultural references skew more rainbow bow than cardigans, there is the JoJo Siwa Cruise in June 2026, three nights on Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas from Port Canaveral to Nassau and CocoCay.

Official programming includes live performances, meet-and-greet sessions, dance parties and a general sense that subtle neutrals are not the vibe. For multi-generational families where the adults quite like the idea of a brand new mega-ship with lots of dining choice and the kids just want to be on TikTok with JoJo, it is a very on-the-nose solution.

4. Play serious chess in the middle of the Caribbean

At the opposite end of the nightlife spectrum sits an entire festival of chess at sea. In January 2026, Norwegian Encore will host Captain Vigil’s Chess Festival at Sea, a week round trip from Miami with coaching from international masters, daily tournaments and analysis sessions in between ports.

You get the usual Caribbean calls, pool deck and shows, but also structured training, blitz sessions and the chance to lose gallantly to someone who brought their own notation pens. For anyone whose idea of a perfect sea day involves a quiet corner, a strong coffee and a Sicilian Defence, it makes a refreshing change from karaoke contests.

5. Combine the Miami Open with a Caribbean cruise

Sport tie-ins are nothing new, but 2026’s Miami Open cruises feel particularly neat. Several packages sold through UK agents pair tournament tickets with sailings from Florida on ships such as Icon of the Seas, MSC World America and Celebrity’s newest hardware.

The idea is simple. Fly out once. Watch a couple of sessions of top-tier tennis in Miami. Then walk onto a ship and recover in the Bahamas or Eastern Caribbean rather than at your desk. For fans who like the idea of a tennis “city break” but would rather their hotel room came with a balcony and a waterslide, it is a very civilised workaround.

6. Sip whisky between Scottish sea lochs and Icelandic lava fields

If your happy place is somewhere between a tasting room and a rugged coastline, Scenic Eclipse’s “Whisky, Fire and Ice” style itineraries are worth a look. In 2026 the line is again running small ship voyages that link Scottish island distilleries, the Faroes and Iceland, with helicopter tours and zodiac landings for good measure.

You might be nosing an Islay single malt one day and hiking beside a geothermal field the next, all from a 228 guest yacht with a spa, multiple restaurants and a submarine in the garage. It is not cheap, but as a way of combining connoisseurship and proper expedition scenery, it is unusually efficient.

7. Trade Bordeaux city breaks for a fully wine-soaked river week

River lines have been refining wine cruises for years, but 2026’s Bordeaux season looks particularly indulgent. AmaWaterways continues to run its “Taste of Bordeaux” departures on the Garonne and Dordogne, with château visits, blending workshops and guest winemakers on selected weeks.

Some specialist departures bring on board producers from estates such as Ridge Vineyards, whose fans are willing to cross an ocean to talk cabernet with the winemaker in person. The result feels less like a standard river cruise with a bit of wine on top, and more like a rolling wine festival that happens to sleep in one place and move in the night.

8. Join a quietly serious cultural circuit across the Pacific

If the usual “Polynesian highlights” brochure copy leaves you cold, Swan Hellenic’s 2026 programme is worth a second glance. SH Minerva spends part of the year on intricate Asia Pacific routes, tying together places like Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines and Japan, with guest lecturers and a strong focus on local culture and science.

These are not party ships. They are small expedition vessels with a proper observation lounge, a decent library and the sort of shore programme where you are just as likely to visit a community project or archaeological site as a beach bar. For travellers who have done the classic Med and Caribbean loops and want their next sailing to feel like a field trip in comfort, this is very much the point.

9. Test drive the future on a solar sailing ship in the Arctic

Selar’s Captain Arctic may be the most quietly radical ship scheduled for 2026. The 70 metre vessel is being built with five rigid wing sails wrapped in solar panels, designed to provide most of the energy for near emission free voyages around northern Norway, Svalbard and Greenland.

The concept is as much philosophy as hardware. There is room for around three dozen guests, no fixed itinerary, and a deliberate lack of Wi Fi to nudge people into actually looking at the scenery. Days are shaped around wildlife sightings, snowshoe walks, cold water dips and citizen science projects, with a French Polar Institute partnership to support research bases along the way. It is still cruising, but it is cruising written in very small, very conscientious letters.

10. Treat a yacht like a hotel on Four Seasons I

At the extremely glossy end of the spectrum is Four Seasons I, the hotel brand’s first proper yacht, entering service in early 2026 with around 95 suites, a one to one guest to staff ratio and eleven dining and bar venues.

It will start its year in the Caribbean and Bahamas before moving to the Mediterranean, with itineraries that are closer to high-end resort weeks than traditional cruises. Think large terrace suites, a transverse marina that turns into a waterfront club for the day, and a long list of à la carte extras rather than a classic all inclusive approach.

For most of us this sits firmly in the category of “nice to daydream about”. But as a sign of where the top of the market is heading, and how far the gap has widened between mainstream mega-ships and ultra-luxury yachts, it is fascinating.

There are plenty of sensible, good value cruises sailing in 2026 that look nothing like these. Most people will quite rightly book something that fits their budget, their calendar and their tolerance for fancy dress. But if part of you likes the idea of doing something a bit odd at sea next year, the options are very much there.