One of my favorite places to be is on a boat. Sailboat. Cruise ship. Pontoon boat. Kayak. Whatever the type of boat, I just love being on the water. What’s my favorite thing to do on a boat? Read while listening to the waves crash against the boat. There’s nothing more calming and peaceful.
Since I’m currently on a cruise, I figured this would be the best time to share some of my favorites! Below, I’ve curated a list of books that I enjoyed which all take place on a cruise ship. These books range from romance to nonfiction, adult fiction to children’s fiction.
The very brief synopsis that is posted for each book comes from Goodreads, and for some books I’ve added another section with some thoughts I have about the book. And each link will take you to the Goodreads page for that book. I’ll probably post another list of cruise ship based books in the future because there are a few releasing soon that I’m dying to read!
These books are in no particular order and I would recommend every single one of them, whether you’re on a cruise or just want to get away through your book!
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Setting: Alaska Cruise
Genre: Children’s
This book will forever and ever be included on favorite books of mine. It’s a children’s novel but it’s one of my absolute favorites of all time.
Goodreads Synopsis
The story of a deaf girl’s connection to a whale whose song can’t be heard by his species, and the journey she takes to help him.
From fixing the class computer to repairing old radios, twelve-year-old Iris is a tech genius. But she’s the only deaf person in her school, so people often treat her like she’s not very smart. If you’ve ever felt like no one was listening to you, then you know how hard that can be.
When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Iris understands how he must feel. Then she has an idea: she should invent a way to “sing” to him! But he’s three thousand miles away. How will she play her song for him?
The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith
Setting: Alaska Cruise
Genre: Women’s Fiction
I loved the idea of this book bringing together family at a time needed most. The family dynamics made for an interesting read, and the love interest that Greta encouraged helped to spice things up a bit. This was a solid four star read for me and if you love cruise ship stories this is a good one to try.
Goodreads Synopsis
Greta James’s meteoric rise to indie stardom was hard-won. Before she graced magazine covers and sold out venues, she spent her girlhood strumming her guitar in the family garage. Her first fan was her mother, Helen, whose face shone bright in the dusty downtown bars where she got her start—but not everyone encouraged Greta to follow her dreams. While many daydream about a crowd chanting their name, her father, Conrad, saw only a precarious life ahead for his daughter.
Greta has spent her life trying to prove him wrong, but three months after Helen’s sudden death, and weeks before the launch of her high-stakes sophomore album, Greta has an onstage meltdown that goes viral. Attempting to outrun the humiliation and heartbreak, she reluctantly agrees to accompany her father on a week-long Alaskan cruise, the very one that her parents had booked to celebrate their fortieth anniversary.
This could be the James family’s last chance to heal old wounds and will prove to be a voyage of discovery for them, as well as for Ben Wilder, a historian also struggling with a major upheaval in his life. Ben is on board to lecture about Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, the adventure story Greta’s mother adored, and he captures Greta’s attention after her streak of dating hanger-ons. As Greta works to build up her confidence and heal, and Ben confronts his uncertain future, they must rely on one another to make sense of life’s difficult choices. In the end, Greta must make the most challenging decision of all: to listen to the song within her or make peace with those who love her.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Setting: Norwegian Fjords Cruise
Genre: Thriller
This is an early Ruth Ware book that I really enjoyed. The opinions on this are kind of polarizing, but I think this is one of her best stories. It’s one I’m dying to reread!
Goodreads Synopsis
In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong
Starboard Secrets by Hope Callaghan
Setting: Caribbean Cruise
Genre: Cozy Mystery
This is book one of Hope Callaghan’s Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery series. I have read them all and have really enjoyed them. In this series, we follow Mille, an older lady who has just taken a job on a cruise ship and constantly finds herself – and her ship – in the middle of many a crime/mystery.
Goodreads Synopsis
Millie Sanders’ husband of 35 years suddenly leaves her for her “friend” and hairdresser. After months of mourning and moping, Millie is surprisingly hired on a cruise ship as assistant director, where she investigates how a dead body ended up near the atrium bar. The deceased had more enemies than friends. Will Millie delve too deeply and risk losing her job – and possibly her life?
The Summer Sail by Wendy Francis
Setting: Bermuda Cruise
Genre: Women’s Fiction
This was such a fun escapist read! I really wish there were more books like this out there!
Goodreads Synopsis
Three college roommates are celebrating a twentieth wedding anniversary by taking a cruise to Bermuda. As the ship pulls away from the pier, everyone is looking forward to lounging by the pool, sipping sunset cocktails, and reminiscing. Abby, the mother hen of the group, will be celebrating her wedding anniversary in style, even as she and her husband keep a secret from the group. Ambitious career woman Caroline happily anticipates several stress-free days away from her magazine job with her boyfriend, Javier, who may or may not be finally inspired to propose. And single mom Lee (annoyingly gorgeous and irresistibly popular in college) hopes she’ll win back the affections of her formerly sweet daughter Lacey, who after her first year in college, has inexplicably become a little bit of a monster.
As the balmy pink shores of Bermuda come into view, tensions simmer, and old jealousies flare, sending the temperature from soothing to scorching in this engrossing tale of three best friends on a vacation they won’t soon forget—but not for the reasons they expect.
The Cruise Ship Lost My Daughter
Setting: British Isles Cruise
Genre: Cozy Mystery
I didn’t know what to expect when I read this book. But it was hilarious! I loved the older couple who are on the cruise to find their missing daughter! I’m still holding out hope that Morgan Mayer will write another book about this family!
Goodreads Synopsis
Never underestimate a sleuthing octogenarian…
After weeks of no answers from the authorities, Sheila and Shane McShane, a spry and tenacious octogenarian couple from New Hampshire, board the magnificent Celestial of the Seas to look for their daughter on the same British Isles cruise she went missing from six weeks before.
Guided by Sheila’s intuition and Shane’s logic, they uncover clues about Shanna’s disappearance, but the closer they come to the truth, the greater the danger, including from a mysterious stranger.
Drawn from a British Isles cruise with the author’s parents, “The Cruise Ship Lost My Daughter” is a cozy mystery full of humor and heart, one that takes the reader on a spirited caper from Scotland to Belgium and sails into the real-life world of art.
For Vacation Only by Mila Nicks
Setting: Mediterranean Cruise
Genre: Romance
This is exactly the book that the world of books needs! I have found it difficult to find romances set on cruise ships and this one fit the bill perfectly! I also loved the fact that Jubilee is a singer on the cruise ship!
Goodreads Synopsis
When wealthy Blake Mulligan gets jilted at the altar, he breaks free of his ‘predictable’ reputation by going on the honeymoon cruise anyway—without his snobby, socialite fiancée. For the next fourteen days he hopes to escape reality and pretend he hasn’t suffered the humiliation of a lifetime. The last thing he expects is to meet beautiful songstress Jubilee Collazo with her honey-sweet voice.
Jubilee is talented and passionate and doesn’t just march to the beat of her own drum—she dances to it. While she longs to do more than croon cover songs from a cruise ship stage, she enjoys seeing the world. Her love of travel makes her the perfect person to show Blake around each exotic stop of the Mediterranean cruise.
What starts out as a simple tour guide arrangement, quickly grows into something more. Despite their different backgrounds, Blake and Jubilee discover an incredible connection they never imagined possible. But as their final destination approaches, so does reality. Like points on a compass, their lives seem to be charted in opposite directions—his to the Hamptons and high-society, and hers back out across the rolling seas. Can anything short of a perfect storm keep these two lovebirds together?
Shipped by Angie Hockman
Setting: Galapagos Islands Cruise
Genre: Romance
This is another great romance set on a cruise ship! Angie Hockman is becoming a favorite author of mine! I loved the plot and setting of this book!
Goodreads Synopsis
Between taking night classes for her MBA and her demanding day job at a cruise line, marketing manager Henley Evans barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating. But when she’s shortlisted for the promotion of her dreams, all her sacrifices finally seem worth it.
The only problem? Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence, is also up for the position. Although they’ve never met in person, their epic email battles are the stuff of office legend.
Their boss tasks each of them with drafting a proposal on how to boost bookings in the Galápagos—best proposal wins the promotion. There’s just one catch: they have to go on a company cruise to the Galápagos Islands…together. But when the two meet on the ship, Henley is shocked to discover that the real Graeme is nothing like she imagined. As they explore the Islands together, she soon finds the line between loathing and liking thinner than a postcard.
With her career dreams in her sights and a growing attraction to the competition, Henley begins questioning her life choices. Because what’s the point of working all the time if you never actually live?
I hope you found a book or two that are of interest to you. Do you have any favorite books set on a cruise ship? I’m dying to read more romances and women’s fiction set on cruise ships!