What are the different types of cruises?

There are a large number of late cruise deals available today, ranging from mini-cruises of a few days, to transatlantic voyages lasting several weeks. The three main cruise types are: no-fly, fly/cruise and cruise-and-stay holidays. Each offers a particular type of cruising experience.

Fly/cruise holidays involve flying out to meet your ship and then cruising the area from there, flying back from the same or a different airport. Many late cruise deals to the Caribbean are of this kind, allowing passengers to have maximum time in the tropics without a lengthy voyage to get there. Another option is to cruise out and fly back (or vice versa). Transatlantic cruises from Southampton, where ships are berthed at different locations in winter and summer, are often booked on this basis.

A growing number of UK travellers, particularly those with young families, are choosing no-fly (sometimes called ex-UK) cruise options, which involve no flying at all. Instead, the ship cruises from Southampton (or another British port) on a “round robin tour”, before returning to the port she left from. Cunard, P & O, Royal Caribbean International and Princess all offer no-fly cruises from Southampton. The Mediterranean, Canaries, Baltic, Scandinavia and Egypt are just some of the destinations. P & O and Cunard also offer luxurious world cruises from Southampton, taking passengers to Australia, the Caribbean, Asia, America and many other fabulous destinations.

Cruise-and-stay vacations combine a conventional beach holiday with a cruise experience, giving you the best of both worlds. For example, there are late cruise deals to Egypt which combine a stay in a Red Sea resort with a cruise down the Nile. Other options include Alaska, the US and the Far East.

If you’re not sure if cruising is for you, there are mini-cruises from Southampton which allow you to “dip your toes in the water”. Alternatively, there are late cruise deals on river cruise vessels, for those who like to be within sight of land.