After 100 Cruises, Gary Says Scenic Eclipse Changed Everything

TravelPerks President Gary Smith just got back from 10 nights sailing around Iceland on the Scenic Eclipse. We sat him down to get the real scoop on what it's actually like cruising on a luxury expedition ship. Watch above or read below.

What are the benefits of seeing Iceland by luxury yacht?

The biggest thing we noticed, having just finished that trip, is the difference between large ships and a true small ship. A vessel that bills itself as "small" with under a thousand people is still very different than a ship that's only for 250 people. We literally went to places that the big ships—even those with just 700, 800, or 900 people—can't access. We went to Vigur Island and other places where bigger ships simply can't dock.

When you're on an exploration ship, one that carries its own Zodiacs, you have the ability to get to places you can't get elsewhere and to really see the native environment. We went to an island that has only three people living on it year-round. The reason we went, of course, was not to meet the three people (not that they weren't interesting), but to see the millions of birds living and nesting there. To be able to walk the trails right beside where they're hatching their chicks was just absolutely incredible.

How did the small ship size and expedition team make a difference in how you experienced Iceland?

First of all, having an expedition team—what they call a Discovery Team—on board makes a huge difference. You're talking about naturalists, people who understand everything there is to know about nature and the places you're going. They've studied these areas and can point out the birds.

Again, having Zodiacs gives you the ability to go directly off the ship with only 10 people on board and pull up right alongside a cliff. You can go somewhere that others have no opportunity to see. You can see this if you look at the Track My Tour and the photos we'll post along with this. You'll see photos from the early part of the trip where we went to the bigger cities like everyone else, where you have to walk up a cliffside and try to take a picture with a zoom lens, just seeing the top of what's happening.

Then you can see photos from later on where we're literally in the water on a Zodiac, just 20 feet off the side of a cliff, seeing the entire thing. You see the striation of the different hierarchy of the birds: which ones nest at the bottom, which ones nest in the cliff, and then, of course, the puffins, which everyone wants to see. They exist only at the very top of the cliff, burrowing in. The team shares details you wouldn't get elsewhere, like the ecology of the puffin. We learned they actually have two burrows: they lay their eggs in one and use the other as a bathroom to keep their nest clean, which is unlike many other birds.

Those are the kinds of things the naturalists bring to the discovery. They help you understand what you're seeing from a whale perspective or a nature perspective and how the timing of things works. They were so informative. The beautiful thing is you don't have to sit there and read it in a book or Google it. You have somebody right there, while you're enjoying the moment and taking photos, telling you what you're seeing and helping you understand it. That's the best part of any escorted tour and why you should do it.

What surprised you the most about cruising Iceland on the Scenic Eclipse both onboard and onshore?

Onshore, the biggest surprise was the diversity. Originally, the perception is, "Oh, it's Iceland. There's 10 days of going around the island seeing cliffs and birds, and more cliffs and birds." But you get there and realize that's not it at all. It's amazingly diverse and wonderfully interesting. So offshore, it was the diversity and the fact that we could get to so many different places to understand how things were formed from a geological standpoint. It's a country that is still full of volcanic activity, still changing every year—actually growing by two centimeters a year as the tectonic plates move across, which is something I learned from the naturalists.

To see that diversity, understand the ecology, and actually get into a cave was amazing. The Discovery Team took us to a place where we climbed over 175 feet down into a cave. They provided the helmets, and all of that was included at no extra cost. That was the difference of seeing it off the ship.

On the ship, I've done over 100 cruises on just about every cruise line possible. This was on my bucket list: to do a scenic cruise and experience that level of luxury and inclusion. All I can say is, wow. I can't wait to think about my next trip, and I actually already put a deposit down while on board. As a travel agent, I generally wait for good deals, but I could not find anything I wanted to do more. This is exactly what we planned.

From the food and the service to the understanding of the details, it was all incredible. When you talk about what luxury is, people often, especially when considering it for the first time, look at the price and think it's much higher. They might feel there isn't a value proposition. But luxury isn't always about the dollars involved. It is about the little details, the things that make you say to yourself, "This is what life should be like."

One of the greatest examples is the dining on this expedition ship. I've done many galley tours, and on big ships, it's interesting to see the production. Here, every single one of the five restaurants has its own galley. There are no shared galleys. Literally, each one is a micro-restaurant run by dedicated chefs, and everything is made à la minute—to order.

But it's more than that; it's the provisioning. How do you get the freshest food when you're in the middle of nowhere? It was interesting; we were out on the Zodiacs one day when we noticed a flotilla of little fishing boats racing out of the docks. When we got back, the captain told us it was a Friday, not normally a working day for the fishermen. But the year prior, they had managed to acquire fresh fish directly from the fishermen—no middlemen, caught that day. So this time, they asked again. The fishermen said, "It's Friday, we don't have anything to sell." The captain said they'd really like to buy fish, and the fishermen replied, "Give us two hours."

Literally, the fishing boats went out and caught fresh cod—the most beautiful fish you could imagine. They brought it on board, and the ship bought 1,000 kilos, which is about 2,200 pounds. For the rest of the cruise, every meal had some cod dish on it. You can't get it any fresher; it was caught for us that day.

That's provisioning: getting the freshest ingredients. But on a long trip, like 20-plus days in Antarctica, there's no place to get fresh produce. So, as part of the galley tour, they showed us a separate room where they had installed 20 feet of special grow cabinets with hydroponics. They were literally growing their own herbs and microgreens, and learning to grow bigger things like cilantro. No matter where they were, even in the Antarctic with nothing but penguins and ice, they would have fresh herbs.

Those are the little differences. The fact that everyone knew your name, and that for anything you asked for, the only answer was, "Yes, let me see how I can get that done for you." Those are the amazing things that define luxury. If you want the experience of having the best of everything, it's something you really need to invest in. It's an investment that makes your world a better place.

What were some of the onboard highlights on the Scenic Eclipse?

I think you can take one look at me and know it was the food. And despite trying very hard to be smaller, I managed to eat amazingly well and still be healthy.

They have two chef's tables. The first is an actual Chef's Table, which you have to ask for the moment you get on board. You can't make reservations in advance, so the first thing you do is ask your butler to get you a reservation. It's a lottery system because, with only 10 people per seating, they don't have enough time to accommodate everyone. We were fortunate enough to get drawn for it. It was 10 courses of the most innovative, creative food. You can see the photos in the review. To see the creativity, to have the chef sit there and describe what they've done... I mean, one meal came with a toolbox for different courses. Another looked like a giant cigar that was literally smoking. The theatrics were just hard to describe.

The other experience is called Night Market. They cook in front of you for only eight guests per seating. It gives the crew, which in the kitchen is mostly Filipino and Southeast Asian, a chance to share their culture. They took eight street food dishes from the Philippines and elevated them to five-star luxury food in an eight-course tasting menu. It was unbelievably interesting and very cool.

But even the normal stuff, the quality was top-notch. I had just gotten off a mass-market line a week earlier. As a good New Yorker, I love bagels and lox, so I appreciate good smoked salmon. You might think lox is lox, but it's not. There's really good stuff, and then there's just... smoked salmon. On most cruise lines, it's a fairly low-quality product because it's expensive. On this ship, it was just... how I started every single day, indulging with some of the finest ingredients I could hope to have.

And I went to the bar—I'm not a big drinker; I'm the designated driver in our family. But I love mocktails, and it's a nice thing about a beverage package. I can order weird mocktails I'd never pay $15 for at a bar. I told the bartender, "I want something low-cal, flavorful, and fruity. Have a good time." They came up with a lychee drink. I've never had a lychee before! To be honest, I've already ordered the ingredients on Amazon to make it for myself.

I challenge you to go to a bar, especially one on a small ship serving only a couple hundred people, that has an entire jar of fresh lychees at the ready. Using lychee juice, Sprite Zero, and a few other juices, they concocted this wonderful mocktail that I am now utterly addicted to.

That has enriched my life. 

I know it sounds silly, but those are the little details of traveling with the ability to have every ingredient, every luxury, and where the goal of every crew member is only to say yes to you. That will change how you see the world and how you enjoy experiences.

Any plans on expedition cruising again in the future?

As I said, I could not wait, so we actually booked a 22-night Antarctica trip for my 60th birthday next year. That will be a true expedition. Iceland was "expedition light." We used the Zodiacs, but there wasn't polar exploration or anything like that. It was a mixture of a regular cruise with a little bit of an expedition. This will be a true expedition sailing where you are literally going out at any time of day to see whatever there is to see.

The trip includes a full week in Antarctica and then sailing over to the South Georgia Islands. It was interesting; I hadn't thought much about them. I knew the Falklands, but the wildlife didn't necessarily interest me. But South Georgia Island is the place on Earth with the largest per capita wildlife per square foot. The emperor penguin colonies there have millions and millions of them, and we'll have a chance to go during nesting season.

I was talking to the captain at dinner one evening and asked him, "What is one of your favorite places on the planet you get to go?" He said, "Antarctica is okay, but South Georgia Island is the place. It's the most undisturbed, pristine, and remote place you'll probably ever get to in your life, and it's worth spending a couple of days there."

So, I'm going.