Which cruise will float YOUR boat?
There’s a cruise for everyone — and the ships can show the world’s top hotels a thing or two about friendly service, five-star accommodation and delicious food.
Better still, no-fly cruises make airport queues a thing of the past and the only luggage limit is the size of your cabin.
Whether you want to sail to far-flung islands or take the family on an action-packed megaship, if you choose the right cruise, you will be hooked for ever . . . BEST FOR FIRST-TIMERS
Bring on the Bahamas
NOT sure if a cruise is for you? A short sail is the best way to test the water, and it doesn’t have to be a jaunt across the english Channel.
set off for the sunny Bahamas on 2,974-passenger Carnival Liberty’s four-nighter from Florida and enjoy the pools, Twister waterslide, BuildA-Bear workshops, rum-slinging bar and Punchliner Comedy Club.
DON’T MISS: reef snorkelling on arrival in Freeport.
DETAILS: Four nights from £259 pp (cruise only) departing Port Canaveral on selected departures from January 2020 ( carnival.com, 0808 234 0680).
Over-50s exclusive
SORRY, you have to be aged 50-plus for this offer. saga Cruises is so confident first-timers will enjoy life on board that it is offering a ‘love it or your money back’ guarantee on sailings such as the all- inclusive Norwegian Fjords from Dover.
The 720-passenger sapphire will cruise along hardangerfjord to rosendal, home to Norway’s smallest palace with gardens ablaze with colour.
DON’T MISS: Views of Lifjell mountain, Lysefjord and the 1,982 ft Pulpit rock on an optional helicopter tour.
DETAILS: Nine-night sailing on saga sapphire ( saga.co.uk/ocean-cruises, 0800 50 50 30), from £1,399 pp. Departs April 16, 2019, and includes chauffeur to and from the port within 250 miles. BEST FOR FOODIES
Mix it with Mary Berry
There’LL be no soggy bottoms on emerald radiance when the queen of baking, Mary Berry, joins a river cruise along Portugal’s Douro Valley. You can take afternoon tea with Mary and join a Q&A session on the round-trip sailing from Porto.
DON’T MISS: Dressing to impress at a gala dinner featuring Mary’s recipes.
DETAILS: The eight-day Delights Of The Douro With Mary Berry on emerald radiance departs on June 22, from £2,545 pp. Includes flights ( emerald
waterways.co.uk, 0808 115 8568).
Rule Britannia!
WHISK up a treat with master patissier eric ‘Cake Boy’ Lanlard on board P&O’s cruise ship Britannia.
The celebrity chef with an A-list clientele is a P&O Cruises Food hero and he will be on the 3,647passenger ship’s Norwegian Fjords cruise for a series of classes in The Cookery Club. You can also join his foodie tour in stavanger, Norway’s gastronomic capital.
DON’T MISS: eric’s signature afternoon tea in The epicurean restaurant.
DETAILS: seven- night Norwegian Fjords round- trip sailing from southampton on Britannia departs on April 27, 2019, from £ 799 pp ( pocruises.com, 0345 355 5111). BEST FOR FAMILIES
Explore another planet
GO INTERGALACTIC in the Battle For Planet Z laser tag studio on the megaship Independence Of The seas. Children and adults alike can race about in the new glow-in-thedark arena, before heading to sky Pad for bungee trampolining.
DON’T MISS: sing along in the theatre, where Grease is the word.
DETAILS: The seven-night Northern european Cityscapes cruise from southampton starts from £699 pp, based on May 18 sailing, with departures throughout the summer ( royal
caribbean.co.uk, 0844 493 4005).
Bask in Alaska
WHAT better way to celebrate Princess Cruises’ 50th year in Alaska than by whizzing along the 5,000 ftlong zip line over Icy strait Point?
With sailings from May to september, and seven of the Princess fleet sailing into America’s Last Frontier, there’s never been a better time to bag a deal and go ‘ flightseeing’ over the Misty Fjords or whale-watching on a yacht.
DON’T MISS: spot brown bears on the Chichagof Island river valley tour.
DETAILS: The seven- day Voyage Of The Glaciers scenic cruise on royal Princess departs June 22, from £699 pp. Calls at Ketchikan, Juneau and skagway ( princess.com, 0344 338 8663).
BEST FOR GOING SOLO Adults only
FreD Olsen Cruise Lines’ selection of sailings for 2019 includes the no-fly scenic scottish Islands cruise.
Climb aboard the 804-passenger Black Watch for the adults- only sailing, featuring plenty of entertainment, without paying the earth.
DON’T MISS: Tobermory Distillery tour. DETAILS: The nine- night scenic scottish Islands cruise on Black Watch departs from Liverpool on May 29, 2019, with solo prices from £2,299 ( fredolsencruises.com, 0800 0355 242).
No single supplements
WAVE goodbye to single supplements on all top-category cabins on Tauck’s
2019 european river cruises, such as the Blue Danube sailing calling at Vienna, salzburg and Bratislava, among other places.
DON’T MISS: tauck’s exclusive dinner and cocktails in Vienna’s Palais Pallavicini.
DETAILS: the 12-day Blue Danube cruise features seven nights on Ms Joy or Ms savor plus two-night hotel stays in Prague and Budapest, from april to October, from £4,460 pp ( tauck.
co.uk, 0800 810 8020).
BEST FOR DANCING Ballet on board
PRACTISE your pirouettes as you join the expert dancers of the english national Ballet on Cunard’s flagship Queen Mary 2 for the Dance the atlantic transatlantic Crossing.
Performances include extracts from swan lake and le Corsaire, and wannabe ballerinas can drop in on rehearsals and take part in workshops to learn from the professionals.
DON’T MISS: the spectacular early-morning skyline as you arrive in new York.
DETAILS: seven- night cruise departs southampton for new York on august 11, with prices from £1,649 pp ( cunard.co.uk, 0344 338 8650).
What a scorcher!
RED-HOT Burn the Floor has to be the sexiest dance show at sea. the steamy embraces and high- octane tempos from norwegian’s ballroom and latin dance company leave tV’s dance shows strictly in the slow lane . . .
DON’T MISS: Yet more music in syd norman’s Pour house dance club with live rock ’n’ roll.
DETAILS: Cruises on the 3,963passenger norwegian Breakaway include the seven- day Canada & new england From new York round-trip departing august 30, 2020, from £1,139 pp ( ncl.com, 0333 2412319).
BEST FOR LUXURY Champagne celebration
PERFECT for a special family-and-friends celebration, the 12-guest hotel barge la Belle epoque sails through Burgundy with stops for private tastings of Chablis wines and Champagne.
Book early for a 20 per cent discount on an all- inclusive gourmet cruise — and let the party begin.
DON’T MISS: the chance to dine with Baroness segolene de taisne at her home, Château de Ricey-Bas, during the sailing.
DETAILS: six-night cruise from Venarey-les-laumes to tanlay departs on april 28. the total price of £35,100 (from £46,800) includes transfers from Paris to la Belle epoque ( european
waterways.com, 01753 598555).
Just won the lottery?
IF MONEY’s no object, take up to 53 lucky friends and family with you on a private Boeing 737-700 for an all-inclusive deluxe cruise- and- stay holiday to some of the most spectacular destinations on earth.
Priced from £39,950 pp, the trip includes sailing across halong Bay, viewing the taj Mahal and staying on a private island resort in the Maldives.
there are also tours in laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, plus the chance to gaze in wonder at Petra in Jordan, one of the new seven wonders of the world, before flying home via abu Dhabi. all of this in 17 days!
DON’T MISS: early-morning tai chi on your privately chartered ship, au Co, in Vietnam.
DETAILS: the 16-night Pearls Of the Orient expedition departs london Gatwick on november 1, 2020, from £39,950 pp( air cruise collection.
com, 00 31 88 130 7380).
BEST FOR NEW SHIPS High-tech cabin
THERE’s no need to worry about leaving your amazon virtual assistant alexa at home on MSC Bellissima, as it comes equipped with Zoe, a voiceenabled artificial intelligence device in your cabin.
the 4,500- passenger ship’s inaugural cruise sets off on Monday, with stunning entertainment including the daring theatre of Cirque du soleil.
DON’T MISS: a ride in the F1 racing car simulator.
DETAILS: MSC Bellissima’s eightnight maiden voyage departs southampton for Barcelona on March 4, 2019 (£699, cruise only), with further dates and destinations available throughout the summer ( msccruises.
co.uk, 0203 426 3010).
Cutting edge
DESIGNER Kelly hoppen’s contemporary interiors, 29 restaurants and rooftop garden for live music gigs make Celebrity edge the most talkedabout new ship on the seas.
Book the Italy, France, Monaco & spain fly-cruise to see the ship for yourself and take in some of europe’s historic destinations along the way.
DON’T MISS: the Magic Carpet dining venue, which moves up and down the side of the ship and doubles as a boarding area.
DETAILS: the seven-night flycruise from Rome to Barcelona departs July 27, from £1,926 pp, including flights ( celebrity
cruises.co.uk, 0800 441 4054).
BEST FOR WILDLIFE Watch out for crocs
CRUISE on africa’s lake Kariba, which straddles Zambia and Zimbabwe, but don’t swim — it’s full of crocodiles.
Instead, watch the crocs, as well as hippos and fish eagles, from your wraparound sundeck on the 16-guest riverboat african Dream and enjoy daily boat safaris.
Combine Croisieurope’s sailing with a luxury lodge stay in namibia, near Chobe national Park, where cheetahs, lions, leopards and elephants roam.
DON’T MISS: stays in Victoria Falls and Johannesburg.
DETAILS: twelve nights from £6,007 pp, includes overnight and internal flights. International flights not included croisieurope.
co.uk, 0800 768 7232).
In Darwin’s footsteps
JOURNEY from ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city, and follow in the path of naturalist Charles Darwin along the Beagle Channel on the new expedition ship Ventus australis.
australis is the only cruise line with a licence to sail through the maze of islands to glistening glaciers on a journey to Punta arenas, in Chile. so, while you are thinking yourself lucky, keep looking up and you may even spot an albatross.
DON’T MISS: the boisterous penguin colony on the Isla Magdalena excursion.
DETAILS: Five- day Patagonian explorer departs weekly until april 2020, from £1,089 cruise only, ( australis. com, 00 34 93 497 0484).