Best At Cruises from UK – Research and Book Cruises from UK

You are here » Home » Specialist Cruises » Cruises from the UK

Cruises from the UK

There has never been a greater choice of cruise ships offering departures from UK ports than this year (2008).

As the number of British cruise passengers is expected to reach record 1.55 million – a 14% rise on 2007 - one of the main drivers of growth will be the addition of new ships operating from British ports.

Following a summer of chaos at UK airports last year with increased security measures and appalling numbers of lost bags, cruising from the UK now has an added attraction.

The convenience of driving to the port with as much luggage as you require for a late afternoon sailing beats queuing at airports hands down, particularly if you are travelling with young children.

Many cruise companies offer free car parking or coach transfers to the port in addition to other value-added offers, particularly for early bookers.

New ships sailing from the UK in 2008 including P&O Cruises’ Ventura, the largest vessel built specifically for the UK market; Royal Caribbean International's Independence of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship; Cunard Line's new Queen Victoria, Balmoral from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, two ships by Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises and Carnival Cruise Lines.

The main cruise ports are Southampton, Dover and Harwich although there are departures from across the country, ranging from Greenock and Leith in Scotland to Belfast, Liverpool, Newcastle, Tilbury, and Falmouth.

Southampton alone will be handling almost 20 different cruise ships throughout the summer offering an astonishing 366 departures, while over 10 vessels will sail from Dover on more than 90 departures.

Itineraries from the UK range from two to four-night taster cruises across the Channel or to Cork and Guernsey to 10 and 14-night sailings around the Mediterranean or the Canary Islands in the south to the Baltic and Norwegian fjords in the north. There are also longer duration round the world cruises and transatlantic crossings from Southampton with P&O Cruises and Cunard respectively.

The variety of voyages is immense with ships of all sizes, ranging from 3,600-passenger Independence of the Seas with its vast range of on board facilities, through to more intimate and traditional vessels such as Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Black Watch.

What is certain, you will be spoilt for choice when cruising from the UK this year.

Cruise Search

Destination