Beat these cruise fares for value

If you still think cruising is expensive or exclusive, think again. Look at these prices per night for voyages early next year, and see if you could match them at a land-based hotel, resort, or apartment complex. And don’t forget the figures include all-inclusive accommodation with as many meals per day as you can eat, entertainment, and flights (where necessary).
£50
No-fly cruise from Southampton to the Mediterranean on board Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, the largest cruise ship sailing from the UK. Itinerary includes Portugal, Mallorca, Barcelona, Florence, Rome, Naples, Cagliari, Gibraltar and Seville. Fares for the January 8 departure from £899 per person for two sharing, and from £1,249 for solo passengers. Go to www.readeroffers/travel or call 0845 604 7479.
Same ship, different date, same price. Independence sails from Southampton on February 13 on an 18-night cruise visiting Lisbon, Mallorca, Barcelona, Livorno (for Florence and Pisa), Civitavecchia (for Rome), Naples, Cagliari, Gibraltar and Cadiz. From £899. Go to www.gillscruise.com or call 0845 6582323.
£67
Sail from the UK to South America on Fred Olsen’s Black Watch. The 24-night holiday leaves Southampton on January 5 and calls at Madeira and the Cape Verde islands before landfall at Recife in Brazil. Then it’s on to Salvador before an overnight stay in Rio de Janeiro, a day in Montevideo, and another overnight in Buenos Aires before the flight home. Fares from £1,599. Go to www.readeroffers.travel or call 0845 604 7479.
£68
P&O’s Ventura sets off from Barbados on March 11 to return to Europe for the summer. The 14-night Transatlantic cruise includes stops at St Lucia, Antigua, St Kitts, and Tenerife, and reaches Southampton on March 25. Fares from £949. Go to www.gillscruise.com or call 0845 6582323.
£72
P&O sister ship Azura is enjoying her first winter season in the Caribbean. Fly to Barbados on January 7 for a 14-night cruise to Curacao, Aruba, St Maarten, Tortola, St Kitts, Dominica, Grenada and St Lucia. Fares from £999 per person (two sharing). Go to www.pocruises.com or call 0845 3 555 333.
£75
Join Thomson Destiny for 14 nights sailing from La Romana in the Dominican Republic, Grenada, St Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten, Tortola, St Vincent, Barbados, Dominica and St Kitts. Fares for the January 9 departure start at £1,049 and include flights from various regional UK airports. Go to www.virginholidayscruises.co.uk or call 0871 781 9893.
£76
P&O’s Oceana transits the Panama Canal on a 15-night cruise leaving Barbados on January 3. Ports of call include St Lucia, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba, Panama, Punta Arenas, Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa and Acapulco. Fares from £1,149. Go to www.gillscruise.com or call 0845 6582323.
New to cruising? For advice on choosing ships and destinations, go to www.discovercruises.co.uk