Cruise holidays can be excellent value. Even reluctant passengers might be tempted on their first sailing when they begin calculating the cost per day of some ocean voyages.
High-end, two-week trips, shorter, taster itineraries in the Caribbean and an escape on a traditional Turkish gulet are among the enticing options. All the suggestions below start from less than £100 per person, per day. Cruise fares typically include onboard meals, some drinks, use of amenities and entertainment. Shore excursions, luxury dining and spa treatments will usually be at an additional cost.
Cunard’s ships are seen as the ultimate in cruising comfort. They also bring a taste of retro glamour to transatlantic crossings. These US–UK voyages can often be costly. However, prices start from £809 per person on a 14 March sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Southhampton, UK on Queen Victoria. That works out at an average of just £75pp, per day. Guests sailing at the cut price will be in an inside cabin.
After setting off from Florida, there are stops in Freeport in the Bahamas (expect white-sand beaches, snorkelling and seafood restaurants), Hamilton, Bermuda (for candy-floss-pink tinged Horseshoe Bay beach, a hilltop, 19th-century fort and people watching on Front Street) and Ponta Delgada in the Azores (a medieval town with black-and-white tiled pavements).
There is plenty to keep you occupied during days at sea. Dining options include the two-tier Britannia restaurant with a domed ceiling and gold detailing, the Steakhouse at The Veranda, The Lido for buffets, afternoon tea in the Queens Room and pub-style dishes in The Golden Lion. Order some fizz to accompany sea views at the Commodore Club or Grills Lounge. Cunard.com
To reach Fort Lauderdale, catch a Norse Atlantic Airways flight from Gatwick to Miami from £244pp one-way.
British brand P&O Cruises has a 14-night, round-trip cruise from Southampton departing on 30 March with prices starting from £999pp for an inside cabin. The cost works out at £71pp, per day. The first call is La Coruna in Galicia, Spain. If time allows, walk to the Roman lighthouse, The Tower of Hercules, for views of the city and the region’s serrated coastline (book entry tickets in advance). Other stops include sunshine-blessed Malaga and Alicante, the naval base of Toulon on the French riviera and white-washed Cadiz.
You’ll be sailing on the line’s newest ship, the 5,200-passenger Ariva. The vessel has a Skydome (a retractable glass roof over a swimming pool and dining area) evening entertainment, children’s clubs and daytime activities such as the Skywalk, a walkway 54 metres above the sea. Pocruises.com
Low-cost cruise line Ambassador is known for its appealing price points. Among the best in the coming month is its “Norway’s Land of Northern Lights” sailing, which starts from £799pp for 17 nights, or £47pp per day, and departs on 20 March. Setting sail from Tilbury on Ambience, there’s one day at sea before several stops in Norway’s towns and cities and in the Arctic Circle. Highlights include strolling along Bergen’s harbour with its uniform buildings painted in autumnal colours, keeping watch for the aurora in Alta’s wilderness and tucking into a Koldtbord (Norwegian smörgåsbord) in the town of Leknes in the Lofoten Islands while surrounded by mountains dusted with snow.
En route back to England, there’s a full day’s stop in Aberdeen allowing time to visit its museums and art galleries or to take a bracing walk on the beach. Ambassadorcruiseline.com
If you’re short on time, Princess has a five-day, round-trip cruise, departing 10 April, from Civitavecchia (the port for Rome). Prices start from £329pp for an interior cabin. There are two sea days in which to make the most of the ship – Enchanted Princess – and two stops, the fort town of Kotor in Montenegro and the Greek island of Corfu. Kotor has medieval architecture, narrow cobbled streets in which to get lost and it is on a bay of the same name that is surrounded by the Orjen and Lovćen mountains. Corfu, meanwhile, has a Unesco-listed old town, part of which is from its Venetian period, dozens of beaches and hiking trails. Princess.com
Return flights to Rome are available with several airlines, with prices starting from around £90.
Travellers under 35 who like the idea of sailing on a small ship, without the usually higher price compared to cruises on 1,000-plus passenger vessels, might try Contiki. The company has a sailing boat cruise in Turkey (operated through a third party) that starts from £740 for eight days, round trip from Fethiye.
It meanders along the Turquoise coast, with stops at Ölüdeniz, known for its blue lagoon, tiny St Nicholas island, the ruins of the Lycian city of Myra and seaside towns such as Kalkan and Kas. The ship is a traditional Turkish gullet that holds a maximum of 16 passengers. contiki.com
Those looking to extend a holiday that centres around Walt Disney World in Florida might consider this five-night sailing from Orlando, which departs on 10 January, 2026. The starting price for an interior cabin on Royal Caribbean’s Western Caribbean cruise is £400pp, or £80pp, per day. There are two stops in Mexico. The first is Cozumel, an island with dive sites, Maya history and white-sand beaches. Afterwards, you’ll call at Puerto Costa Maya, where attractions include the Kohunlich and Chacchoben Maya ruins, Cenote Azul (a sinkhole popular for snorkelling and swimming) and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef that is just off the coast and stretches around 700 miles providing a habitat for coral, hundreds of fish species, turtles and sharks.
The ship, Explorer of the Seas, has a capacity of more than 3,000 passengers. Distractions on board include a surf simulator, a rock climbing wall and a waterslide. Royalcaribbean.com
Return flights from the UK to Orlando start from around £260.
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