On Saturday night Grand Princes slowly sailed down Southampton Water. As soon as she came out of the Solent, the cruise ship’s captain steered her in a south-south-west direction.

During this particular cruise her 2,500 passengers were not on their way to Rio de Janeiro or the Bahamas – in fact they got no closer to the tropics than Guernsey. They spent the next day in the port of St Peter and exploring the rest of the island. After that the ship headed for an overnight stay not in Venice, but Le Havre – from where passengers had the option to visit Paris on a day trip.

The cruise industry loves weekend cruises and the odd short midweek cruise. They help to fill the voids between long cruises and they provide an excellent way for non-cruisers to acquaint themselves with the world of cruising.

The joint Managing Director of Bath Travel, Stephen Bath, says “We encourage people to invest two or three days and three or four hundred pounds to see if they like cruising.”

The President of Cunard, Peter Shanks, agrees. “A short voyage gives them a flavour of what cruising is all about.”

He mentioned his company’s “Taste of France” cruise on board Queen Mary 2 in this regard. It leaves Southampton for Cherbourg on the 14th October and costs only £450 for an inside cabin.

Short cruises have become particularly popular for special events such as anniversaries, birthdays and hen and stag parties. They, therefore, tend to attract a somewhat younger crowd than longer cruises.