5 of the best cruises
Cruising is the fastest growing area of travel and now accounts for one in 14 of all package holidays sold. No fewer than 1.5million of us are expected to take a cruise this year and that figure is forecast to rise to over 2million by 2012, by which time cruise lines will have at least 44 more ships available. The reason for this rapid growth is the ever-expanding range of cruises, from huge floating vessels rammed with facilities for families to small, intimate yachts for loved up couples. Now whatever type of person you are there is a cruise out there for you. Which will you choose?
Best for Families
Ocean Village has no stuffy dress code, no set meals times, just lots of activities for children of all ages. Staff will entertain your kids from 9am till midnight and there's a soft play area, paddling pool and a games area on deck. Older kids will no doubt gravitate to the wall of computers, but there are lots of other activities to distract them.
Best of all, for a small charge you can leave your offspring onboard while you go ashore, avoiding the cries of “This is sooo boring!” During the summer holidays, there are Great Escapes adventures ashore for 9 to 17-year-olds without their parents. Bliss. A 7-night Mediterranean cruise costs from £449pp (excluding flights); 14-nights in the Caribean costs from £1,259pp with free kids' places.
Best for Wildlife
For a once-in-a-lifetime experience you can't beat a cruise around the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. Daily excursions on to the islands will bring you up close and personal to wild animals which, never having been hunted, are entirely unafraid of humans.
You'll see giant tortoises, waved albatrosses, penguins, flightless cormorants and iguanas, snorkel with turtles and sea lions and watch the hilarious mating dance of the blue-footed boobie.
Celebrity Xpedition offers Galapagos cruises from £1,589pp (excluding flights) for 7 days. Longer cruises including excursions to Machu Picchu in Peru are also available.
Best for Adventure
So you think cruises are for elderly Americans with big wallets and bigger waists? You'd better think again. While a traditional Caribbean or Mediterranean cruise is, it's fair to say, a fairly sedate affair, there are cruises to many more destinations where you'll get a real sense of adventure.
Alaska is one of the most exciting places for a cruise; try white water rafting, dog sledding on a glacier, go trekking, mountain biking or panning for gold or take a floatplane to see the Misty Fjords. Carnival Cruise Lines has a 9-night fly/cruise from £1,499pp.
Best for Couples
What could be more romantic than sailing around the most intimate of the Greek islands on a yacht with luxurious cabins, fine dining and staff to wait on you hand and foot? Windstar Cruises' tall ships with billowing white sails, teak decks and stylish cabins equipped with all the latest high tech gadgets will take you to some of the most legendary ports in the Agean, including Istanbul, Athens, Santorini and Mykonos on a 7-night cruise. Call 020 7940 4488 for prices.
If your idea of hell is being trapped in a floating hotel with other people's children then you'll be relieved to know that Windstar does not encourage youngsters on board and infants under 2 are banned.
Best for Culture
Whatever it is you're into, from music to architecture to ancient civilisations, there is a cruise to suit. Many itineraries include guest speakers on your chosen subject and spend longer than your average cruise in port so you can get a real feel for the places you visit. On Fred.Olsen Cruises you can spot wildlife in the Amazon, listen to Greig in the Norwegian fjords, learn to paint in the Med or taste wine in France. Its 14-night Highlights of the Baltic cruise from Southampton takes in Helsinki, the art and architecture of Tallinn, fishing villages in Denmark, the battlefields of Ypres, the ancient city of Bruges, the gardens of Gdynia in Poland and the ballet in St Petersburg. It costs from £1,448 pp.
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