You may have taken Disney vacations before, but you’ve probably never been on a trip quite like the National Geographic Expedition Cruises!

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National Geographic Expeditions visits a number of locations all around the globe, focusing your experience on nature, culture, and history. But if you’re the type who loves a cruise, then you might want to consider one of their cruises — smaller and more intimate than a Disney cruise, these sailings allow you to see some of the world’s most beautiful places. And we recently got to take one to Croatia! So what did we wish we’d known sooner? Let’s dive in.

The Meal Experience Is SO Different

Starting out this list, we’ve got to talk about the food and the meal experience as a whole. There’s a main dining room on the ship, but it’s really only used for dinner. You have open seating during that meal, and you can even choose to sit with some of the Nat Geo specialists onboard — that provided us with some incredible conversations and learning opportunities.

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Breakfast and lunch are served buffet-style outdoors, and the buffets are only open for an hour. As compared to other cruises we’ve taken, the voyage was much less focused on food as part of your sailing (although the food was delicious). You can find snacks throughout the day, but it’s not quite the all-day meal experience you would get on, say, a Disney cruise.

You Need to Be Prepared for Adventure

As far as vacations go, this was a fairly active one! Before doing one of these trips, we’d recommend checking the itinerary to make sure it’s physically doable for your party. There was a lot of walking and moving in general, and you might need to be a fairly active person to handle some of the excursions.

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You also need to be able to go with the flow a bit. Things aren’t as rigid in the schedule as some other trips, and plans can change last minute to accommodate circumstances. Think of it like a true adventure!

It’s a Very Intimate Experience

Overall, this is much more intimate than most cruises. You’re on a small boat with less than 100 passengers, and the crew members will learn your names and preferences very quickly. The tours are small groups with local guides and Nat Geo experts, so you can get a very personal experience.

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This was definitely a vacation geared more towards teens and older, likely adults. Our particular cruise had mostly retirement-aged folks on board. You can get to know your fellow passengers during the trip, and that adds a great level of interest.

There’s an Open Door Policy

One thing that was particularly shocking to us was that there’s an open-door policy for staterooms. You can lock your door while you’re inside your room, but other than that, it’s usually open. You can program your door to be lockable, but pretty much no one on the ship does that. Wild, right?!

Our Stateroom

There’s a safe in the room for your valuables, but this vibe really makes it feel more like your bedroom in a giant house that everyone shares for the week. It took a bit of getting used to, and it might not be for some people, but we definitely thought it was interesting.

You Can Learn a Lot From the Crew

Aside from sitting with Nat Geo specialists at dinnertime, there are plenty of ways to learn from the crew on the ship. The ship’s bridge had an open-door policy, so you could walk in at different times of day and speak to the captain and learn how the boat operates.

National Geographic Cruise dining

There were also several opportunities for “surprise and delight” moments with some crew members. We got to take a last-minute photography walk with an actual Nat Geo photographer — he gave us an excellent lesson! The crew does a lot to make sure the guests are all happy and having a great time, and it worked wonders for the overall mood of the ship.

The bathroom!

This was overall an absolutely incredible experience. If you’re willing to pay the price tag and looking for adventure, you should add this to your bucket list!

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Would you ever take one of these cruises? Tell us in the comments!