Mini Cruises
If you’ve never taken the plunge but are curious about what life is like on board ship, then why not try a short cruise?
Mini-cruises of two, three or four nights in duration are the perfect opportunity to find out first hand what all the fuss is about cruise holidays at a bargain price, often from less than £200.
These trips, often over a long weekend, sell for a bargain price as cruise lines are anxious to show off the benefits of cruising to first-timers who they hope will come back and take longer holidays afloat.
Don’t think that just because you are hopping across the English Channel for a couple of nights that the on board experience will be in any way different from taking a longer cruise.
You will benefit from all the ship has to offer, the only problem being not having enough time to take everything in.
Mini-cruises are also ideal for celebrations, as there’s always a party atmosphere to be found around the bars and night clubs. Hen parties, special birthdays and anniversaries can all be catered for.
Options can range from two-nights with P&O Cruises to the port of Zeebrugge, which allows a full day in historic Antwerp or Bruges.
Sure to be in demand is a four-night cruise from Southampton to Cork on the world’s largest cruise ship – Royal Caribbean International’s 3,600-passenger Independence of the Seas, which makes its debut sailing from the UK in May.
The American big ship experience is also being offered by Carnival Cruise Lines which is running a three-night taster cruise from Dover to Amsterdam on its new 3,006-passenger superliner Carnival Splendor on July 13.
Three nights from Liverpool to Cork and Dublin on Thomson Celebration is a regional option, while Travelscope is running five Dublin mini-cruises throughout 2008.
The operator also has a four-day summer gardens cruise departing from Harwich in September calling at Le Harve for Monet’s Water Garden, Tresco Abbey Gardens and St Mary’s in the Scilly Isles and Falmouth for the Eden Project.
Norwegian Cruise Line is running a series of two-night mini-cruises this summer from Southampton to Le Harve and Southampton to Zeebrugge as well as Dover to Amsterdam. NCL is also offering a two-nighter from Barcelona to Nice.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is offering a range of short cruises throughout the year or three or four-night durations. Sailings are from Dover and Southampton with a single Edinburgh departure calling at Lerwick, Bergen and Newcastle.
Destinations covered from the south coast ports include Cherbourg, Cork, Rouen, Rotterdam, Guernsey, Zeebrugge and Honfleur.
Call me back »
Or call us now on:
0871 282 4300
Specialist Cruise Offers
Far East Cruise
06 Jul 2008
21 nights
£2092
Mediterranean Cruise
07 Jul 2008
7 nights
£599
Northern Europe Cruise
07 Jul 2008
10 nights
£799
