Cruising among the tall ships

There’s an opportunity to sail among tall ships, and another to cruise on a tall ship in this week’s best cruise deals.
Saga Ruby sails from Dover on August 24 on a seven-night voyage which combines a two-day stopover in Leith – from where passengers can visit the Edinburgh Military Tattoo – with an overnight stay in Bremerhaven, Germany. As the ship leaves to return to Dover, it will be surrounded by billowing sails as competitors in the Tall Ships Race also leave the port. The £1,279 fare includes travel to and from Dover for anyone living within 75 miles, plus travel insurance and gratuities. Go to www.sagacruises.co.uk or call 0800 056 5880.
Or join the elegant four-masted Star Flyer (above) for a three-night mini-cruise which takes in the glamorous yacht regatta Les Voiles de St Tropez. The £899 fare for the September 28 departure includes travel either by Eurostar or scheduled flights from London to Nice and helicopter transfer to Monaco for an overnight stay at David Coulthard’s Columbus Hotel, followed by three nights on the 170-passenger ship. En route to St Tropez, the ship calls at L’lle Rousse and St. Florent on the island of Corsica. Go to www.starclippers.co.uk or call 0845 200 6145.
There are a few unusual destinations on a 10-night cruise around the UK aboard the Marco Polo. The ship leaves London’s Tilbury docks on August 29 and then calls at Cherbourg, the Isles of Scilly, the delightful village of Glengarriff in Ireland’s Bantry Bay; the fishing port of Killybegs in Donegal, Belfast; Douglas on the Isle of Man; Portree on the Isle of Skye and Invergordon in the north-east of Scotland before returning to Tilbury. Fares from £699. Go to www.readeroffers.travel or call 0845 604 7479.
Another Bank Holiday break is available on P&O’s Oceana, sailing from Southampton on August 28 and visiting Dublin, Cork, Bilbao and Brest. Fares for the seven-night cruise from £799. Go to www.cruise118.com or call 0800 280 2614.
A seven-night Mediterranean Renaissance cruise on Thomson Destiny departs from Palma, Majorca, on September 11 and calls at Villeffranche in France, Livorno (for excursions to Flotrence and Pisa), Civitavecchia (for Rome), Propriano in Corsica, and Palamos on the Costa Brava. The fare of £809 includes return flights from Belfast or Gatwick. Go to www.thomson.co.uk/cruise or call 0871 231 3243.
Tour Egypt and the Holy Land during a seven-night cruise on Thomson Celebration leaving Marmaris in Turkey on September 13 and visiting Alexandria in Egypt, Port Said (for excursions to Cairo), Ashdod in Israel for excursions to Jerusalem and Bethlehem; Larnaca in Cyprus and Antalya, Turkey. The £879 fare includes flights from Birmingham or Manchester. Go to www.thomson.co.uk/cruise or call 0871 231 3243.
New to cruising? For advice on ships and destinations, go to www.discovercruises.co.uk