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The best no-fly cruises

Easy and hassle-free, cruising roundtrip from Britain has never been more popular, which means more options in every price bracket, says Jane Archer

Just five years ago, sailing from the UK meant a very traditional British-style cruise with P&O Cruises, Cunard or Fred Olsen. But, in 2010, how things have changed. As more Brits take to the open seas, more cruise lines are basing ships in UK ports, attracting travellers who want choice without the hassle and cost of flying. There are now American and European-style cruises with Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Italy’s MSC Cruises, deluxe cruises with Celebrity and Holland America Line, even edu-cruises with Swan Hellenic or Voyages of Discovery.

Cruising from the UK is so easy. Just drive to your departure port, check in, and within a couple of hours you are onboard and enjoying the first drink of the cruise. There’s no hanging around at airports, no luggage weight restrictions and, with so much choice, there are cruises to suit every budget. Don’t believe me? Then read on. Prices are per person based on two sharing an inside cabin.

Under £750

Yes, there really are cruises from the UK for under £750 – with no flights to pay for.

Princess Cruises has a couple of great itineraries from Southampton on Grand Princess. There’s a seven-night cruise to the Iberian Peninsula on 29 May and 18 September and a one-week voyage to Scandinavia on 22 May and 3 July.

Choose the Iberian one and you’ll spend a day in Lisbon, a fabulous city built on a series of hills but with a useful network of buses and trams to help you get around. Don’t miss Alfama, where tiny houses are jammed together in a maze of small streets and alleys. It’s easy to get lost, but that’s all part of the fun.

The Scandinavian cruise calls at Zeebrugge, so you can nip into Bruges and stock up on Belgian chocolate, and Copenhagen, where you can be a kid again on the rides at Tivoli Gardens amusement park (see Port Guide, page 32).

If the budget is really tight, Cunard has a two-night hop to France for just £349. The cruise, on Queen Mary 2, departs Southampton on 8 November and has a day in Cherbourg, from where you can visit the Normandy landing beaches.

Or how about a Paris city break with Royal Caribbean? It is offering a three-night cruise from Southampton to Le Havre on 2 June. You’ll be in port two days, so there’s plenty of time to visit the French capital, two hours’ drive away.

Under £1,500

If you can up the ante a bit, there’s more choice and you can cruise further afield. You could join the high rollers in Monte Carlo on a two-week Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, departing 5 June, or become part of the jet set in Cannes on a Princess Cruises Mediterranean Medley on Grand Princess departing 24 July – two weeks from £1,298, which is less than £93 a day! Or immerse yourself in Norwegian scenery and culture on an 11-night MSC Cruises’ voyage to the fjords on MSC Opera on 6 and 28 July.

You could take a return transatlantic voyage – Southampton to New York and back with nothing to do all day but relax – on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 (see Liz Dawn’s transatlantic cruise, page 64), or cruise to the North Cape, the most northerly part of the European mainland, with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. This 13-night cruise on Braemar from Dover on 18 June mixes wildlife spotting – whales, seals and reindeer – with stunning scenery, and also has an ArtsClub programme of talks by experts in Nordic legends and wildlife.

Or you could tour the First and Second World War battlefields with Saga. The one-week cruise, on new ship Saga Pearl II, departs Dover on 29 May, to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuations, and includes visits to the Somme battlefields, Ypres and Arnhem.

If palaces and picturesque cities appeal more, Voyages of Discovery has a 12-night cruise from Harwich to the Baltic departing 31 May, from just £1,299. The jewel in the cruise is two days to explore St Petersburg, but there are some other great ports of call, including Stockholm, Sweden’s beautiful capital, built on 40 islands connected by 40 bridges. Take a canal ride and visit the Vasa Museum, housing a wonderful 17th-century warship dredged from the harbour.

Holland America Line also has a great Baltic deal – 11 nights from Dover, departing 29 May, from £1,131. You’ll have two days in St Petersburg and also visit Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Tallinn’s gorgeous old city.

Over £2,000

OK, we are now talking serious money – and seriously exciting cruises to Greenland and Iceland, as well as voyages for lovers of France or Spain.

If you’ve always wanted to see the Midnight Sun, when the sun never quite goes to bed, P&O Cruises’ Aurora voyage from Southampton on 18 June, priced from £1,713, is just the ticket. You’ll visit Greenland, making calls at Qaqortoq and the tiny capital of Nuuk, from where you can take helicopter trips to the ice cap that covers 80% of the country, and also Iceland, calling at Reykjavik – famous for the warm mineral waters at the Blue Lagoon – and Akureyri, which has stunning volcanic scenery and bubbling sulphur pools.

Voyages of Discovery has a leisurely cruise to Greenland and Iceland from Harwich on 29 July, with nine days at sea and three days in Reykjavik. In Greenland, you’ll cruise into the Arctic Circle to visit Ilulissat, which means ‘iceberg’ in Greenlandic. Can you guess what the main attraction is?

Francophiles will love Swan Hellenic’s 14-night French Vintage cruise from Dover on 29 June, calling at Honfleur, St Malo, La Rochelle, Brest and Belle Ile, and overnighting in Bordeaux after a cruise up the Gironde River. As excursions are included in the price with Swan, there’s no excuse for missing anything on this trip.

Celebrity Eclipse, meanwhile, is offering a Spanish overdose on a 14-night Mediterranean voyage from Southampton on 7 August. You’ll be able to spend, spend, spend in the duty-free shops in Gibraltar and have a day in Toulon, but this cruise is really all about Spain: Barcelona (tapas on Las Ramblas anyone?), Palma de Majorca, Cadiz and Vigo, from where you can visit Santiago de Compostela, on the ninth-century medieval pilgrimage route, which boasts a magnificent 10th-century cathedral.

For more, call 0800 916 3233, visit www.cruisethomascook.com, your local Thomas Cook or Going Places strore, or see Thomas Cook TV, Sky channel 655

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