Top cruise deals for summer

//Top cruise deals for summer

The school holidays are upon us. Which means that the world is suddenly divided into two groups of people: those who have to find somewhere to take their children, and those who want to get as far away from kids as possible.
Naturally enough, there are cruises to suit both types, and still some bargains to be found.
Cruise and Maritime Voyages are specifically targeting teachers in their offer of a child-free environment on board Marco Polo which sails from the London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury on August 19, heading for Edinburgh and then on to Bergen, Geiranger, Nordfjord and Sognefjord in Norway, before returning via Lerwick in the Shetland Isles. I’m sure non-teachers will be welcome too; they should just remember to wear leather patches on their jacket sleeves. Fares for the 10-night cruise start at £599. Go to www,cruiseandmaritime.com or call 0845 833 9798.
P&O’s Arcadia is an adults-only ship, with a luxurious spa, a Gary Rhodes restaurant and a sliding glass roof over one of its two swimming pools. Hopefully that won’t be needed on the 14-night cruise to the Mediterranean leaving Southampton on July 18. Ports of call include Cadiz, Barcelona, Marseille, Santa Margherita, Civitavecchia (for Rome) and Gibraltar. Fares start at £1,099. Go to www.pocruises.com or call 0845 678 00 14.
Saga cruise ships are another child-free zone – passengers must be over 50. The newly-refurbished ship sails from Dover on August 10 to the fjords, mountains and glaciers of Norway, visiting Stavanger, Floro, Trondheim, Bronnoysund, Bodo, Narvik, Leknes, Tromso, Molde, Skjolden and Bergen. Fares for the 15-night cruise from £1,968. Go to www.sagacruises.com or call 0800 056 5880.
Fred Olsen’s Balmoral does not actually ban children, but I can’t imagine there will be many on the July 26 sailing from Dover to the Baltic, calling at Warnemunde in Germany; Ronne, Denmark; Gdynia, Poland; St Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; and Copenhagen, Denmark. Fares for the 12-night voyage start at £1,029. Go to visit www.cruise118.com or call 0800 280 2614.
Some of the same ports of call are included on a family-friendly cruise on board Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas, sailing from Harwich on July 6 and visiting Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg and Tallinn. Fares for the 12-night holiday start at £1,099. Go to www.readeroffers.travel or call 0845 604 7479
Plenty of fun for all the family (and an opportunity for the kids to learn a bit of Italian) on board Costa Allegra which departs from Civitavecchia on July 26 and sails to Messina, Sicily, and Rhodes, Mykonos and Katakolon in Greece. Fares for the seven-night cruise, including flights from Gatwick, start at £1,029. Go to www.cruise118.com or call 0800 280 2614.
Children can discover a new life under sail on the four-masted tall ship Star Clipper, sailing through the Greek islands and along the Turkish coast. Fares for a seven-night cruise departing from Athens on August 14 start at £879, excluding flights. Go to www.starclippers.co.uk or call 0845 200 6145.
Alternatively, sail on the 148-passenger Wind Star from Istanbul to Kusadasi, Rhodes, Bodrum, Santorini, Mykonos and Athens. The seven-night cruise departs on July 31 and fares, including flights, are from £1,540. Go to www.windstarcruises.co.uk or call 020 7292 2369.
New to cruising? There’s helpful advice for singles, couples and families at www.discover-cruises.co.uk

By | 2010-07-10T00:01:00+00:00 10 July 2010|Cruise Deals|0 Comments

About the Author:

John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.

Leave A Comment