Cruising from the UK – More choice than you thought.

Many British cruisers have avoided the stress of air travel by cruising from the UK. The vast majority of us will have departed from Southampton, undoubtedly the biggest cruise port in Britain & home port to the biggest cruise ships sailing from our shores.

But did you know that there are actually 21 cruise ports currently servicing passengers who join ships in the UK & Ireland? And were you aware that there are 26 different cruise lines that are scheduled to sail from UK ports in 2015?

You can choose from short 2 night sailings over to France or Belgium right up to 120 night Voyages that take you literally to the other side of our planet.

Many of the shorter cruises for a week or less tend to be either sailing around the British Isles or up to the stunning Fjords in Norway., so possibly not the most ideal itineraries for those who worship the sun & like to return bronzed & beautiful from their hols, but definitely a must for those who like picturesque scenery.

There are niche cruise lines such as Hebridean Island & Noble Caledonia who specialise in discovering the stunning coastline of Scotland her islands which are not accessible to the big ships, but perfect for the smaller vessels that they operate & for those guests who want a closer look at the lesser known areas of the British Isles.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines certainly have the biggest presence sailing from  regional UK ports, offering many cruises with varied itineraries from 10 different ports, including Greenock, Bristol, Belfast, Newcastle & Liverpool. Their sailings include Winter sun in the Canary Islands, the Baltics & Russia, Caribbean cruises and World cruises too.

The ‘big boy’s such as P&O, Cunard, Royal Caribbean & Celebrity, who have a stronger presence during the Summer months tend to start their UK departures from Southampton & Harwich, offering similar destinations to Fred Olsen, just on much bigger ships.

For the perfect family holiday Disney Cruise Lines also have sailings from Dover calling at Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Talinn & Warnemunde.

Other cruise lines that have UK departures include Swan Hellenic, Holland America, Cruise & Maritime Voyages, Crystal Cruises, Voyages of Discovery, Windstar & Silversea, using ports such as London, Dover, Rosyth, Tilbury, Edinburgh & Bristol.

From a personal point of view I would love to see more cruise lines basing ships at Liverpool & Newcastle as they are  more central for the folks that live in the more Northerly parts of the country. Liverpool has invested heavily in the facilities at its port & is a beautiful city to sail in to or out of with the  Liver Buildings dominating the skyline. Let’s hope that this is something on the horizon for some of the cruise lines.

Which port would you like to see more sailings from? Leave a comment below.