Travelling from the UK is really easy, you can either set of from one of many UK ports or you can fly to a European destination and start there, depending on what itinerary you choose. Stay and cruise holidays are also popular, leaving you the opportunity to stay a time at a port either before you embark on your cruise holiday or after.  A Mediterranean cruise will be a huge draw for history buffs; you can explore Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Rome’s grand Trevi Fountain, and Ancient Greece with the ruins of Olympia, and many UNESCO World Heritage sites.

You can either embark on an Eastern Mediterranean cruise which will take you around Venice, Kotor in Montenegro and recent tourist draws such as Dubrovnik and Split on Croatia’s Adriatic coast. Plus you can hit other popular tourist destinations such as Greece and Turkey. A Western Mediterranean cruise will see you dock at Europe’s chicest hotspots like the holiday islands of Majorca, Menorca, as well as Crete, Corsica and Scilly. Then there is also the opportunity to get out and explore Monte Carlo, Nice, St Tropez, Villefranche and Portofino. Some continental cities you can also stop off at include Barcelona, Pisa, Rome and Palma in Majorca.

Cruise holidays aren’t just for the rich or retired as people have always thought, there are some great offers out there for families, couples or solo travellers and you can easily find some last minute cruises. There are many different itinerary’s to choose from the hard thing will be choosing which one to go for to start with, after all once you have taken one cruise holiday you will want to go and take more to explore the rest of the world!

Tips for keeping safe on board

•    Attend all ship safety briefings.
•    Heed all precautions, warnings and signs.
•    Familiarise yourself with emergency routes from your cabin.
•    Leave expensive jewellery at home.
•    Lock your cabin door and never allow strangers into your cabin.

Tips for keeping safe on land

•    Familiarise yourself with local customs, attire and laws.
•    Do not overindulge in alcoholic beverages.
•    Travel in a group.
•    Avoid isolated beaches or streets especially at night.
•    Make sure any tour guides you hire are from a reputable company.
•    Leave a copy of your passport in the ship’s safe.
•    Carry your embassy and travel agency information with you.
•    Use travellers cheques whenever possible.  Keep a copy of the serial numbers in the ship’s safe.

Sports and wellness

Many cruise lines provide guests with golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, spas and gyms on the vessels. This way you can stick to your keeping fit schedule while away from home. On the other hand, if you would rather play mind games while making some money, casinos are at your disposal.

Staterooms

Spacious suites are available with king or queen size beds. The cabins also have bathrooms with bathtubs and spacious washrooms beside them. Similarly, the cabins have refrigerators with supplies of your favourite drinks and resting areas where you can get comfortable with a drink or a good book. Air conditioning and ambient lighting are also included. The cabins have DVDs and televisions for entertainment within the room.

Entertainment and communication

If you cannot do without alcohol while voyaging, upgraded pubs and bars in the vessels provide you with these drinks in variety. Dance halls or ballrooms also give you the opportunity to dance to your favourite music. Further still, you can enjoy shopping for souvenirs from the duty free shops on the ships. Numerous theatre shows and cinema films make its way on the vessels too. In addition, internet connection and telephones are readily available on the ships should you want to communicate with friends and family.

Food and drinks

Intimate dining settings are accessible for you to taste exquisite meals and fine wine away from the crowd.

Grooming

You have the choice of grooming with the luxurious toiletries provided or having your clothes laundered. Likewise, your hair should not be a problem as there are on board salons to cater to you. You can choose the best way to pamper yourself and remain comfortable throughout the trip.

Choice

With many major cruise operators, and nearly 40 sailings per day, passengers have a large choice of cruises from Southampton.  Passengers can book luxury cruises, cruise and stay voyages or transatlantic cruises.  Cruises from Southampton allow passengers to trade the cold of winter for the warmer climates of Spain, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean or the Mediterranean.  Transatlantic cruises aboard the Queen Mary 2 or the Queen Victoria are the epitome of luxury travel.

Convenience

No-fly cruises from Southampton eliminate the hassle of crowded airports, flight delays or cancellations.  In addition, the Port of Southampton offers convenient car parks for passengers of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Fred. Olson, NCL, Saga, MSC, Thomson and Silver Seas.  Cruise lines Fred. Olsen and Saga offer meet-and-greet valet parking for their passengers.  For those who must fly, the Port of Southampton has easily accessible transport links from London, the South West and the Midlands.

Value

Passengers living within driving distance of Southampton will save flight expenses that some cruise deals do not include in their prices.  This makes cheap cruise deals from Southampton especially good value for those travelling with multiple family members.

Choice, convenience and value have properly earned the Port of Southampton its title as the “Cruise Capital of Northern Europe”.

Whatever makes the perfect holiday for you, a cruise will certainly be able to meet your needs.  From family excursions to historical trails and architectural tours, you will find that your courteous crew will be delighted to arrange local tours through a reputable tour company, either individually or in a group setting. The crew will ensure your comfort and safety at all times.

If you choose to remain on the ship during a destination stop, all the amenities will still be available. As long as there is a guest on board the ship is open!

A cruise holiday really does put the guest first and that is apparent every step of the way.  With so many trips, sports and activities to take part in, cruising has a wonderful social aspect and is the ideal way to make some new – and lifelong– friends.

Many cruise companies focus on distinctive lifestyle niches. For example, there are some that cater for passengers who wish to experience entertainment and nightlife, while others pamper the gourmet traveller with numerous spas. Some ships are famous for couple passengers in search of a little romance, while others are well known for their recreational options such as boxing rings, miniature golf, ice skating rinks and surf parks.

There are some simple tricks to use when choosing the perfect cruise ship. The best place to begin is by reading ship reviews and forums from other passengers. Not only will you find inside tips on how to score great cruise deals, you will also be able to read what other passengers liked about specific ships.

Once you have chosen a cruise company, keep in mind that each company has an enormous fleet of ships. Each of these ships offers potential passengers a distinct set of amenities. These amenities will vary greatly from one ship to another, in much the same way as the personalities of people are different. The amenities are meant to match the needs or personalities of the ship’s passengers.

It’s also helpful to match the ship with your destination. Taking a family friendly cruise to the Mediterranean on a European-based cruise line, for example, will have more young children for passengers than the same ship taking a different course such as Asia, which will attract more mature travellers.

If you are the action and adventure type of person, a larger cruise line may be a great choice for you. Larger cruise lines offer ships from their fleet that cater to the active type of passenger. Many of these ships will have numerous activities onboard to keep passengers busy until the next port.

Check out some of their things to do. These often include rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, volleyball and basketball courts, mini golf, virtual reality toys, in-line skating as well as onboard surfing, zip lines and boxing rings. The ships are normally fully equipped with great dining choices and state of the art fitness and spa facilities; these are sure to keep the active and adventurous passenger fully entertained while at sea.

Boats can generally be hired for a long weekend, a week, a fortnight or even more if you have some spare time and fancy getting further afield.

The Fens, in the east of England, are a popular boating spot.  Crossing several counties including Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, the Fens are a unique landscape.  Created around 200 years ago by the draining of low-lying marshlands and wetlands, the area is lush in wildlife and plant life, with summers seeing a riot of wild flowers.  Over 150 bird species can be found in various habitats, and keen fishermen can try their hand at catching a variety of species including pike, rudd and bream.

Many miles of waterways are accessible, with a number of fine historic cities and towns along the way – for example, visit Oliver Cromwell’s house in Ely in Cambridgeshire, and continue on to the ancient Saxon town of Downham Market.  The Fens are also within easy walking distance to many local pubs and restaurants so, self-catering is not compulsory.

Most boats are centrally heated and come with fridges, gas cookers and power supplies, as well as comfortable beds, so roughing it is not necessary.  Children are usually very welcome – just make sure they (and any pets) wear a flotation device at all times.

Cruising has come such a long way, which is why its popularity continues to grow year upon year.  One of the many great advantages of cruising is its flexibility and cruising the Mediterranean is no different.  You can extend your Mediterranean cruise to include the Middle East and visit Israel, Jordan and Egypt or extend it further south, visiting the North African destinations of Marrakesh, Casablanca and Tunis.

A Mediterranean cruise on board a luxurious cruise ship and visiting a wealth of destinations is now, in real terms, no more expensive than a traditional holiday and yet, with the Mediterranean cruise, you get so much more.  A wealth of experience and pleasure awaits you on board.  Allow the professional crew to make your holiday experience extra special with gourmet cuisine, fine wines and great nightly entertainment, theatre shows and movies under the stars.  People of all ages – children, teenagers, singles, couples and families – enjoy Mediterranean cruising. There is something for everyone on a Mediterranean cruise.

Whether you are looking for that last minute holiday bargain or are looking at 2012 cruises, check out the current cruise deals and snap up a bargain for you and your family for the cruising holiday of a lifetime. 

Cruise lines sometimes offer special prices to those of a certain age or of a certain profession. You may not know that from time to time some cruise lines offer discounts to customers who are over 55 years of age. They also offer special discounts for people in certain professions, such as health workers, firefighters, military personnel, police and teachers. Cruise discounts can also be had for those who are singles – yes, singles can get discounts as well, and so can past guests. Cruise ships do appreciate the loyalty of their clients and will often offer a discount or a cruise ship credit. There are many cruise companies that offer past guests’ discounts, two of which are Princess and Carnival cruises.

If you are 55 or over on the day of departure you may be able to receive an age-related discount. To get the discount, only one person from the cabin is required to be at least 55. This will allow everyone staying in the cabin to benefit from the discount. Carnival, Costa Cruises and Celebrity are the lines that offer these cheap cruises.

With an official ID badge and driver’s licence or passport, other discounts can be applied to those of certain professions. For health workers; Pullmantur, Costa Cruises, Holland America, MSC and Royal Caribbean will honour a discount. Teachers will need to book with Costa Cruises, MSC, Holland America or Pulmantur. 

Cheap cruises can also be found on Holland America, Pullmantur, Celebrity, Costa, MSC and Royal Caribbean for firefighters, while military personnel can enjoy discounts with a large variety of cruise lines. To qualify you must provide proof via relevant documentation at the time of booking. In some instances military veterans may also be eligible, as well as spouses of actively deployed or deceased military personnel.

To see if you qualify for cheap cruises through a professional discount, check with your travel agent before you book.