Small, domestic ships are plying the bays, sounds and islands in New England, Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound and the Canadian Maritimes and docking in fresh, less-visited ports of call.

Coastal ships appeal to an older, well-traveled group of passengers seeking a small-ship experience that doesn't require distant travel and affords easy access to places they haven't yet seen.

New entrants, such as Haimark Line and Pearl Seas Cruises, are bringing different and larger vessels to the market. And new destinations are cropping up, particularly Cuba, which coastal cruise firms say is ideally suited to their scale and style of cruising.

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