Cruise Deals

There are now fewer than 50 cabins available on Ocean Village's final cruise season in the Caribbean. Book online, and you can grab one of them for as little as £1,299 for a 14-night voyage. Choose from two departure dates next month: fly from the UK to Barbados on either March 3 or March 10 for a cruise to 10 different islands, including Tortola, St Maarten, St Kitts, Dominica, Tobago, St Lucia and Grenada. Ocean Village - the casual-style ship "for people who don't do cruises" will be sailing in the Mediterranean during the summer before being transferred to P&O [...]

Saga Pearl II, the replacement for the much-loved Saga Rose, is nearing the end of a £20 million re-fit in dry-dock at Swansea, and the 450-passenger ship will be named in Southampton next month. There are still some places on her inaugural voyage, to the Norwegian fjords and north of the Arctic Circle, with TV's Judith Chalmers and comedian Tom O'Connor for company. Fares for the 18-night cruise, departing on March 15, start at £2,404 per person and include travel to and from your home to Southampton, insurance, and all meals, entertainment and gartuities on board. Saga cruises are for [...]

I flew back this week from a week in the Red Sea on board the Thomson Celebration. You could go on the same cruise next month for as little as £629. Fly from Gatwick or one of several regional airports on February 11 to join the ship in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh and sail to Aqaba in Jordan for an overnight stay and an excursion to Petra. Then it's off to Port Sokhna, from where it's a two-hour drive to Cairo and the pyramids, followed by a two-day stay at Safaga, for the long drive to Luxor, [...]

Never cruised before? Not sure whether a holiday on board ship is for you? Then find out what life at sea is all about on a short taster cruise. Board Celebrity Eclipse in Southampton on April 29 and sail to Cork in south-west Ireland, from where you could take an excursion to the Jameson Irish Whiskey heritage centre, or to Blarney Castle to kiss the famous stone and get the gift of the gab. Or just stroll off the ship and follow the Titanic trail around the port of Cobh. Fares for this four-day cruise start at £349 per person [...]

Plenty of opportunities this week to snap up a good value cruise on a ship returning to Europe after a winter sailing in the sunny Caribbean. Fly to Barbados on March 19 to board P&O's Oceana, and visit St Lucia, St Maarten, Tortola, Antigua and finally Madeira before arriving in Southampton on April 2. The fare of £1,016 per person for two sharing an inside cabin includes flights, all meals and entertainment, and works out at £73 per day. Go to www.pocruises.co.uk or call 0845 3 555 333. Or fly to Barbados on March 12 to join the family-friendly Ventura, [...]

The New Year hangover is wearing off at last, Christmas memories are fading fast, and within a few days it will be time to take down the tree and consign the cards to the recycling bin. Time to start planning the next holiday, and today's selection of cruises will take you to Africa, South America, and several of the fascinating islands in between. Fly to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil to join the MSC Melody on March 13 for a 14-day cruise calling at the Cape Verde Islands, Tenerife, Casablanca in Morocco, Gibraltar, Malaga and Genoa, for the flight back [...]

Happy Boxing Day to all those who have friends and family who spent yesterday at sea on a cruise ship. Today they could be recovering from too much turkey by toasting their toes in Tortola, or maybe they are stocking up on Port and Madeira in Oporto and, er, Madeira. Want to follow in their wake? The January sales start here, with some great deals for cruises next month. Fly out to Orlando on January 7 for a three-night stay at Universal Studios before setting off from Port Canaveral on a seven-night Caribbean cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the [...]

It's been another good year for cruise holidays, and Cruise118.com, which is frequently featured in this column, is celebrating a record trading day, with sales up 360 per cent on a year ago. Gills Cruises, also a regular, says that despite the economic downturn, bookings for balcony cabins are up by 80 per cent. James Cole of Cruise118 says the launch of Oasis of the Seas last month has helped boost sales generally. "There are many myths that surround cruising, and people often think that it's simply a holiday choice for retired couples, there's little to do on board, with [...]