Volcanic Ash Victims Choose No-Flight Cruises

UK cruise operators have reported a surge in bookings, in some cases by 50%, after recent flight cancellations and airport closures. It seems holidaymakers are choosing to stay away from airports as they travel abroad.

Some of those holidaymakers deciding to cruise rather than fly are the social group known by the acronym "VAVs", standing for Volcanic Ash Victims - air travellers whose travel plans have been disrupted by Iceland's eruptions.

One cruise line currently experiencing "unprecedented demand", including bookings from "Vavs", is Cruise and Maritime Voyages, based in Dartford, Kent, that sails from eight British ports. Mike Hall, the company's marketing manager, commented, "The ash cloud situation and BA strikes have affected, and will continue to affect, many people’s travel plans. We have seen an unprecedented demand for last-minute availability on our no-fly cruises. One couple who had their holiday cancelled due to the ash cloud, booked one of our cruises to the Norwegian Fjords and became cruise converts."

Caroline Brown from Shearings Holidays, based in Lancashire, said "Bookings for Shearings’ ex-UK cruises have increased by as much as 50 per cent over the last month as customers take advantage of the chance to experience a cruising holiday with out having to fly. People are uncertain about the ash cloud and air travel in general at the moment."

Virgin Holidays Cruises’ commercial director, Ashley Royston, added, “In the month following the disruption caused by the volcanic ash, Virgin Holidays Cruises has seen a 50 per cent increase in bookings for cruise holidays sailing from the UK."

And MSC Cruises, one of the world's fastest-growing cruise lines with a fleet of 10 ships, also reported an increase in bookings for cruises leaving UK ports, attributing this current trend to "passengers showing a lack of confidence in flying".