The Travel & Leisure Magazine Cruising From Uk Ports+news

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all ABOARD CRUISING FROM THE UK

Home waters Forget the hassles of flying off for the start of your cruise holiday and join the growing numbers of passengers setting sail from Britain. The choice of departure ports and cruise itineraries is surprisingly large, as Sara Macefield explains

■ Queen Victoria at Southampton

ow do you fancy starting your next holiday from Southampton, Dover, Harwich or even Tower Bridge? Not only will you miss out on the stress and hassles of flying and battling through airport security queues, but you’ll be joining the growing band of British holidaymakers who have discovered the benefits of taking a cruise from the UK. After all, what could be easier than loading up the car, driving to, say, Southampton and simply stepping aboard? It really is as simple as that. All you need to do is drive up to the port terminal, hand over the car keys to a parking attendant and check in. Don’t worry about struggling on with suitcases as they get sent to the cabin separately, leaving passengers free to go aboard, settle in and explore. The holiday starts immediately, and there’s

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no escaping the buzz and anticipation as the departure time nears and the ship’s band strikes up for the traditional “sailaway” party on deck. The excitement grows as the funnel blasts and the ship starts to move away from the quayside. Passengers waving flags and drinking brightly-coloured cocktails add to the party atmosphere as they celebrate the start of a journey which, in some cases, will take them from UK shores around the world.

Where can you go? There’s never been a bigger choice of cruises from the UK. Holidaymakers who don’t want to fly can now choose from a huge variety of different cruise lines and sailings that start at various points around the country. These can range from a two-night minicruise to Bruges or Amsterdam right up to a three-month world cruise or a transatlantic crossing to New York. But the most popular sailings are to the

Cruise tips ● You can take as much luggage as you want on ex-UK sailings because there’s no baggage limit, but remember that it’s got to fit in your cabin. ● Beware the Bay of Biscay. Cruises from the UK to the Mediterranean have to pass through this, so if you’re at all prone to sea-sickness, take precautions. ● On Med cruises, pick a ship which has plenty of onboard facilities so you won’t get bored on the sea days spent sailing to and from the UK. ● If you’re sailing south to the sun, remember to take some warm clothes as it can still be chilly in the English Channel.

Cunard

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Ex-UK cruise facts Sample ex-UK cruises: Fred Olsen Cruise Lines (01473 746175, www.fredolsencruises.com) is offering a one-week Norwegian Vistas sailing from Newcastle on September 12 from £647 on its ship Boudicca. It calls at several ports in Norway including Alesund, Olden, Flam and Bergen. Specialist website Sail From UK (0808 202 6104, www.sailfromuk.com) which only sells cruises that sail from UK shores, features a 12-night sailing to Europe with P&O Cruises on October 5.The voyage, on Oceana, departs Southampton and sails to the Canary Islands with calls including Madeira, Gran Canaria, Lisbon and Vigo. Prices start at £1,099 and include a £50 onboard credit. Other useful cruise contacts: Celebrity Cruises (0845 456 1520, www.celebritycruises.co.uk) Cunard Line (0845 678 0013, www.cunard.co.uk) Crystal Cruises (020 7287 9040, www.crystalcruises.co.uk) Holland America Line (0845 351 0557, www.hollandamerica.co.uk) Hebridean Island Cruises (01756 704700, www.hebridean.co.uk) Hurtigruten (0845 225 6640, www.hurtigruten.co.uk) MSC Cruises (0844 561 7412, www.msccruises.co.uk) Norwegian Cruise Line (0845 658 8010, www.ncl.co.uk) Oceania Cruises (01344 772344, www.oceaniacruises.co.uk) P&O Cruises (0845 678 0014, www.pocruises.com) Princess Cruises (0845 3555 800, www.princess.com) Royal Caribbean International (0844 493 4005, www.royalcaribbean.co.uk) Swan Hellenic (0845 246 9700, www.swanhellenic.com) Silversea Cruises (0844 770 9030, www.silversea.com) St Helena Line (020 7575 6480, www.rms-st-helena.com) Thomson Cruises (0871 231 4691, www.thomson.co.uk/cruise) Transocean Tours (0845 430 0274, www.transoceancruises.co.uk) Voyages of Discovery (0845 018 1808, www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk) Make sure you check out the website of the Passenger Shipping Association, which represents all the main cruise lines, at www.discover-cruises.co.uk

Fred Olsen

Mediterranean or around northern Europe. Voyages that go south to the Mediterranean generally last for at least 12 days – they have to as they need to include the two days it takes to sail between Britain and the Med at both ends of the cruise. Most cruises tend to be for 14 nights and concentrate on the western Mediterranean as time simply doesn’t allow for the ships to sail any farther east. Thus ships will generally get as far as Italy, calling at ports

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such as Civitavecchia (for Rome) or Naples before having to turn back. Cruises of 16 nights have time to go a little farther east, and will sail as far as Greece. Other popular ports of call that pop up on itineraries include Malaga, Alicante, Cannes, Marseilles and Barcelona. Some ships stay in northern Europe and sail northwards to the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, sometimes continuing on to St Petersburg. Alternative destinations include Iceland, Norway and its spectacular fjords and Spitsbergen in the Arctic Circle, famous for spotting polar bears. These more northerly ports are particularly popular around midsummer when the long daylight hours lend themselves to Land of the Midnight Sun cruises. Some ships stay closer to home, offering sailings around northern Europe that stop along the northern coast at Spanish ports

■ Deck quoits is a fun way to pass the time

Fred Olsen

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P&O Cruises

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■ Artemis in the fjords

■ Hebridean Princess in London

such as La Coruna or Bilbao, or French towns including St Malo, the pretty town of Honfleur and the port town of Le Havre. In Germany, stops include Hamburg or Bremerhaven, while the Dutch ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam are popular ports. Scandinavian cities such as Copenhagen or Bergen also feature in cruise itineraries, as do the Shetland Isles, and the Channel Islands in the south. In the west, Irish ports such as Cork and Dublin add plenty of craic. Then there’s good old Blighty itself, where ships may call at Tilbury, Greenwich or (if the ship is small enough to get right up the Thames) Tower Bridge for London. Liverpool and Newcastle also feature on cruise ship itineraries. Cruise passengers wanting to go farther afield can take their pick from the regular six-day transatlantic crossings by Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 or, if they want to escape for longer, round-the-world voyages offered by P&O Cruises and Cunard.

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Hebridean Island Cruises

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UK cruise departure ports and cruise lines (2009)

Fred Olsen

Peter Ellegard

■ Norwegian Gem at Dover

■ Boudicca at Valletta, Malta

As several ships are based in the UK for the summer, there’s always the chance to jump aboard when they reposition themselves to the Caribbean or elsewhere across the Atlantic for the winter – as long as you don’t mind having to fly back. Cruisers looking for a different experience altogether can cruise on the RMS St Helena, the last working Royal Mail Ship that offers trips from Portland in Dorset to the Atlantic island of St Helena, Namibia and South Africa. Some cruise lines offer British-focused itineraries. The small, upmarket company, Hebridean Island Cruises, operates a South Coast cruise with calls including Cowes on the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Dover, while Cunard’s QM2 is sailing a special Round Britain voyage this autumn, calling at ports such as Greenock and Liverpool. During winter, the number of cruises sailing from the UK drops rapidly, leaving Cunard and P&O Cruises offering round-the-world

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sailings or long voyages; and Fred Olsen, which offers Christmas markets sailings and northern Europe and Canary Island sailings.

Southampton – Cunard Line, Celebrity Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International,Thomson Cruises Dover – Crystal Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Swan Hellenic. Harwich – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Thomson Cruises,Voyages of Discovery London (Tower Bridge) – Silversea Cruises, Hurtigruten London (Tilbury) – Transocean Tours London (Greenwich) – Holland America Line Portland – St Helena Line, Hebridean Island Cruises Portsmouth – Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Port of Tyne (Newcastle) – Fred Olsen Cruise Lines,Thomson Cruises Liverpool – Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Greenock – Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Rosyth – Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Oban – Hebridean Island Cruises Scrabster – Hebridean Island Cruises

ports to appear this year is Portsmouth, which is being offered by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines.

Who are the main cruise lines? Where can you cruise from? Southampton is the granddaddy of them all when it comes to cruising from the UK. The South Coast port is easily the most established and the biggest and this is where most cruise ships are based during the year; some are here year-round. This is where most Mediterranean cruises depart from, along with transatlantic voyages. Dover is the second-most popular, having grown rapidly over the last few years, and it’s from here that lines tend to depart for northern Europe, Baltic and Arctic sailings. Harwich is probably the third-busiest, with a mix of cruises offered from here. Some ports are served by just one cruise line which may only depart on a handful of occasions during the year. One of the new

Riding the waves of the ex-UK cruise market is P&O Cruises, which has six ships that are all based at Southampton, while Cunard Lines has two ships – the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria – based there. Several American cruise lines, such as Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises, also have ships in Southampton during the summer. The biggest ship in the world, Independence of the Seas, owned by American line Royal Caribbean International, is based at Southampton. Other major players offering several voyages from UK ports include Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, Thomson Cruises, MSC Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Voyages of Discovery and Hebridean Island Cruises. TL The Travel & Leisure Magazine

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CRUISE news 20/7/09

NCL

Have you ever fancied going behind the scenes to see how cruise ships function? Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Lines are now offering special ship tours that

Research in Motion

promise to take passengers to areas normally off-limits, such as back-stage in the theatre, the galley (kitchen), engine control room, the bridge, medical centre and even the funnel. Prices start at $55 for a two-hour tour with NCL and $150 for a three-hour tour with Princess. Crystal Cruises has come up with the perfect solution for people who are bamboozled by the latest hitech gadgets. It is introducing “technology concierges” on its ships to train and educate guests on everything from Apple iPods and BlackBerry smart phones to wireless devices and navigational aides.

Bargain-hunters looking for a last-minute deal should go to MSC Cruises’ website at www.msccruises.co.uk where it has launched a Deal of the Day offering special offers on specific voyages.

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UK cruises make a

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ruises from the UK have never been so popular. The latest market figures show that more British cruisers than ever before are taking voyages which sail from local ports. According to industry body, the Passenger Shipping Association, the number of passengers opting for a cruise that starts from the UK increased by 23% last year compared with 2007. This means that four out of every 10 cruises now booked by Brits sails from a UK port. A record number of cruise lines, ships and passengers also visited UK ports last year, calling at points such as Dover, Tower Bridge and Newcastle as part of longer sailings around northern Europe. The popularity of cruising holidays generally seems unstoppable with nearly 1.5 million travellers opting to spend their holidays on a cruise ship last year. Overall, one in every 12 foreign package holidays booked in the UK is now a cruise – 10 years ago this figure was just one in every 26. The Mediterranean remains the favourite cruise destination, but voyages to northern Europe and the western edge of Europe have become more popular and risen to second place, overtaking the Caribbean. The good news is that the credit crunch and fierce competition between cruise lines means

Peter Ellegard

CRUISE CLIPS

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■ CL’s Norwegian Gem at Dover

prices have also fallen. More than one-third of all cruises cost less than £1,000 in 2008 and this year there were expected to be more cheap deals. “The inclusive nature of cruises with meals, accommodation, entertainment and, of course, multiple destinations, means they are great value,” said PSA director Bill Gibbons.

Scottish launch for Cosmos

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oliday company Cosmos Tourama is dipping its toe into unfamiliar waters with the launch of its first-ever UK cruise to meet demand from customers wanting to stay closer to home this summer. It is offering four-night Autumn in the Scottish Highlands sailings this October on the MV Lord of the Glens, a vessel built in the style of a classic, luxury yacht. It will sail between Fort Augustus and Oban in the heart of Argyllshire, travelling past the dramatic loch landscapes of the Great Glen and the picturesque coast of the Isle of Mull. Cruise highlights include Loch

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Cosmos Tourama

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■ MV Lord of the Glens

Ness, Loch Linhe, Tobermory and Neptune’s Staircase, an eightstage ship lock. The cruise costs from £609 and includes full board and refreshments plus transfers to

and from Glasgow Central Station. For more information contact Cosmos Tourama on 0871 423 8695 or visit the website: www.cosmostourama.co.uk

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