Once a preserve of the rich, today cruising is more affordable and accessible than ever before – in 2015, 23 million people worldwide sailed the high seas. They’re profitable too; according to stastiticbrain.com vacationers spend on average $500 (£405) more a week on a cruise than on any other trips. Whether you’re a seasoned cruiser or you're simply curious about an ocean voyage, take a look at some of the best cruises available in 2017.

Silversea Cruises is an Italian family-owned company that specializes in luxury boutique ships. It has a World Cruise departing from San Francisco in January 2017 that incorporates a mammoth 62 ports in 25 countries over 116 days.

Travelers will sail on the Silver Whisper, a small ship carrying just 382 guests but decked out with a pool, fitness center, spa, library and show lounge. All suites have an ocean view and a personal concierge, and business class flights and exclusive shore trips are included in the price.

Prices per person for this three-month trip start at $54,784 (£44,357) for a Vista Suite (pictured). For this you get a comfortable and tasteful room but no balcony – outside space costs more.

In January, best-selling soprano Sarah Brightman will christen Seabourn’s new ship, the Seabourn Encore, which begins its maiden season in Australasia for the winter. Encore’s fourth cruise, which sails on 2 February 2017, is a 16-day trip around Australia and New Zealand, starting in Sydney and taking in sections of stunning coastline before arriving in Auckland. In summer the ship will head to the Med.

Seabourn Encore is the fourth in a fleet of small, luxurious ships that evoke the sumptuousness of a private yacht. Carrying 600 passengers in 300 suites with private verandas, Encore offers top-notch cuisine, including signature restaurant The Grill by three Michelin star chef Thomas Keller and cocktails from world-renowned mixologist Brian Van Flandern. The evening's entertainment pays homage to lyricist Tim Rice, while the spa offers Dr Andrew Weil mindful living programs.

A Veranda Suite on the 16-day Australia and New Zealand cruise starts from £9,999 ($12,351) per person.

Silversea’s new flagship, Silver Muse, is the first new vessel in the fleet since 2009 and its biggest, with a passenger capacity of 596. Silver Muse’s maiden voyage is an eight-night Mediterranean cruise that departs Monte Carlo on 10 April 2017. The ship will visit Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Porto Mahon, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Livorno (Florence) and Portofino.

Although the ship has less than 600 passengers it has 411 crew – that’s a passenger-staff ratio of 1:5. Eating in all but one of the eight dining venues is included in the cruise price – the exception being La Dame, an exclusive Relais & Châteaux restaurant (pictured). Each luxuriously appointed cabin is a suite with an ocean view and a butler – even the smallest cabins are a generous 387 square feet.

It’s waiting list only for the first two Silver Muse cruises though there’s space on the ship’s third voyage – a 13-day trip beginning in Nice and visiting Italian, Turkish and Greek ports before disembarkation at Piraeus, Athens. Prices start from £6,525 ($8,062) per person for a Classic Veranda Suite or £7,065 ($8,707) for a Deluxe Veranda Suite (pictured).

Meaning ‘wonder’ in Italian, the Meraviglia will be the world’s largest ship by passenger capacity when it sets sail from Barcelona on 9 June 2017 for seven nights, taking in Marseille, Genoa, Naples, Messina and Valletta. The ship then offers short cruises around the Mediterranean throughout the summer months.

Holding 5,700 passengers and 1,536 crew, MSC Meraviglia is the biggest ship ever built by a European-based cruise line – and an even larger ship from the same company is being built. Guests will wear ‘smart’ wristbands to make payments, bookings and geo-locate each other, and families can book connected ‘cluster cabins’. Facilities include 12 restaurants, the Polar Aquapark, F1 simulators and an ever-changing ‘digital sky'. Cirque du Soleil (pictured) will perform in the Carousel Lounge.

Prices start from £859 ($1,061) per person for an Inside Cabin, not including flights, on the ship’s inaugural voyage. A Balcony Suite (pictured) costs from £1,069 ($1,321).

Known for its transatlantic journeys – usually between Southampton and New York – the Queen Mary 2 also sails further afield. One such trip is the 22-night Grand Norwegian Explorer cruise, which sails on 6 July 2017 from New York via the UK and takes in Norway’s breathtaking coast and fjords.

The iconic Queen Mary 2 was relaunched in 2016 after a £90 million ($110 million) refurb. Although modernized, the classic ship still retains its sense of heritage, and the sumptuous and elegant surrounds are contemporary but comfortable. It has the largest library and ballroom at sea, a planetarium, a spa, and – for animal lovers crossing the Atlantic – the only kennels on a cruise ship.

An Inside Cabin starts from $4,076 (£3,299) per person and a Balcony Cabin from $4,978 (£4,029). If you’ve got the cash a Queens Suite Stateroom is available from $14,827 (£11,999) per person.

National Geographic offers a 24-day cruise around the High Arctic in August 2017. Beginning and finishing in Iceland, the trip follows the little-explored northwest Greenland coast and the beauty of Ellesmere Island and Baffin Island before entering Lancaster Sound – the gateway to the legendary Northwest Passage. Instead of tourist-clogged ports, passengers will observe enormous icebergs and polar bears, walruses and whales.

Just 148 guests will stay on an expedition ship – the National Geographic Explorer. The vessel is smaller and ice-class to cope with challenging weather and topography.

Seeing wild flora and fauna up close and personal doesn’t come cheap. The cruise starts from $25,990 (£21,033) per person (more for single occupancy) and goes up to $49,640 (£40,173) for superior cabins, not including airfares.

Due to launch on 23 December 2017, MSC Seaside will be based in Miami and operate in and around the Caribbean. Described by MSC Cruises as “the ship that follows the sun”, its first voyage will take two weeks to head from its home port to St Maarten, incorporating Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico.

MSC Seaside is going to be big – it’s capable of holding 5,179 passengers. Boasting one of the largest aquaparks on a ship, it will also have the longest zip line at sea and three glass catwalks (pictured) that teeter over the ocean. A family-friendly ship offering connecting cabins, there are also 14 ‘beach condos’ which offer the best views.

Expect to pay around $1,919 (£1,553) for an Inside Cabin; $2,589 (£2,094) for a Balcony Cabin and $3,899 (£3,153) for a Suite on the inaugural trip.

For cruises with a difference there's Star Clippers, beautiful sailing ships that offer “informal elegance” and seafaring adventures around the Far East, Med and the Caribbean. Passengers sail in style and reach places bigger ships can’t reach. The latest addition to this fleet will be the Flying Clipper (similar to the Royal Clipper, pictured) in late 2017.

Modeled on the iconic France II, which was launched in 1912, the Flying Clipper will be the largest ship of its kind in the world today. Although traditional, modern facilities haven’t been overlooked – up to 300 guests will stay in 24 compact but classy suites with balconies and four suites; there’s a two-tier restaurant (pictured), a library and spa; a bowsprit net; a dive pool and three plunge pools – one of which will have a glass bottom to filter light into the communal rooms below.

This ship may not come with room service or a theater but it does offer an opportunity to climb the masts, learn about navigation and sailing, and enjoy watersports, making it a fascinating alternative to modern cruising for adults and older children. There are no prices as yet.

Viking Cruises has garnered a reputation for boutique low-key, culture-oriented ships – there are no casinos or young kids – that hold a relatively low number of passengers. And because they’re smaller vessels they can enter more ports. In 2017 the company will launch two new ships: Viking Sky and Viking Sun – the latter of which will be the first in the fleet to offer a world cruise (the ship pictured is Viking Sea).

Viking Sun will sail from Miami to London, leaving on 15 December 2017 and taking 141 days (120 if you join in LA). En route it will stop at 66 ports in five continents. It will host a larger fitness center than other Viking ships, has eight eateries, two pools and a Scandinavian-inspired spa featuring a snow grotto. Accommodation ranges in size from 270 square foot Veranda Suites to 757+ square foot Explorer Suites.

It's been quoted at coming in at nearly £31,000 ($38,332) per person – this includes business class flights, shore excursions, most dining, laundry and other benefits. If you fancy the Owner’s Suite it will set you back £91,340 ($73,866) per person.