Over the last decade cruising has shown the biggest increase in growth in the UK travel sector. As recently as only ten years ago there were only in the region of 800,000 British cruisers and by the end of 2010 it is predicted this will have doubled and be around 1.6 million.
It's interesting to consider what has instigated this success where many other travel sectors have struggled There's the obvious and much raved about benefit to cruising which is the attraction of seeing many destinations and only unpacking once, as well as the amazing food and service which can be found onboard all of the main cruise ships and the outstanding value for money. In addition to these reasons, one massive boost has been the growing choice of itineraries available from UK departure ports.
The main cruise lines have simply responded to British demand of more choice, a demand that has come about for a variety of reasons, the greatest of which has to be convenience. Flying nowadays is becoming increasingly more difficult and expensive and as the government has increased the APD departure tax, security to get through has now becoming even more stringent. You also have the worry what happens if the airline goes out of business which we have seen happen on a handful of occasions. Examples so far this year would be Kiss and Goldtrail so another factor in why people are choosing to cruise from the UK rather than fly cruise or go on conventional types of holidays.
A further benefit is that when cruising going from the UK you can take as much luggage on as you want to and you don't run the risk of losing your life savings at check in for being 1kg over weight. And as all of the major cruise lines now offering a variety of cruise itineraries to a whole wealth of exciting destinations, it's no surprise cruising from the UK has assisted greatly the 'boom' experienced by this sector of the travel market.
The main port in the UK is Southampton on the central south coast - and is the home port for P&O Cruises, Cunard and Fred Olsen. Royal Caribbean have the Uk's largest cruise ship, Independence of the Seas berthed here as well. Other cruise lines to recently berth ships include the Celebrity Eclipse which famously hit the headlines in April when she rescued stranded people in Bilbao due to the Volcano before her maiden voyage.
The other main ports are Dover and Harwich. The advantage of Dover is it's proximity for northern destinations such as the Fjords and the Baltic. Some of the smaller cruise lines will use Dover for one off cruise itineraries. Examples would be Costa, Holland America who have 2 ships berthed here and Fred Olsen who have 2 ships here during the summer months.
Harwich is the home of Royal Caribbean's beautiful Brilliance Class ship, Jewel of the Seas. This ship has been here for the last 5 years and sails popular 12 night Baltic and Fjord cruises. Another lesser used port is Newcastle from where Thomson Cruises base a ship during the summer months. This is very popular decision and Thomson ships generally sail at maximum capacity every week due, filled by cruisers from the north east who enjoy the the added convenience of not coming down to Southampton. And last but not least, there are also cruise options from embarkation port of Tilbury. This port on the Thames is the home port for cruise and maritime who run a small ship every year to places around the med and north Europe.
As cruising from the UK becomes easier, with more choice this boom looks set to continue so let's hope the port agencies are organised and planning for even larger passenger traffic numbers in the future.