Cruise to the Mediterranean in 2012

Covering 965,000 square miles, lapping the shores of some of the world’s greatest cities and boasting some of Europe’s most beautiful beaches, the Mediterranean is a hugely popular holiday destination.

Because of the sheer variety and amount of destinations, one of the best ways to see as much as possible is on a Mediterranean cruise. Another benefit of a Mediterranean Cruise is that a lot of the Cruise Lines operate ships directly from the UK so if the idea of flying out to meet your ship sounds a little daunting you can always opt for the UK departure. Not all lines operate this but ships through Lines like P&O, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have a huge UK audience and an array of UK departures from Southampton, most of which also sail directly back to the UK again avoiding the hassle of flying. Cruise Lines like Fred Olsen also operate no fly cruises, most of which depart from and return to Dover. You Cruise choices really are endless.

You can island hop between the Balearics and the Ionian Islands, city hop from Barcelona to Rome via Cannes and Monaco or you can divide your time between the white sands of the North African coast or the azure waters of the French and Italian Riviera’s. There really is so much to see that Mediterranean cruises offer the best value for money and a chance to see a little bit of a lot of places. The French Riviera is definitely a place of absolute beauty, you tend to also find a lot of the calls here are land by tender, taking away from the norm of trekking down the gangway you can have the experience of being ferried between port and ship via the Ships life boats. This is something that always seems exciting. I would also like to add that places along the coast like Cannes, Monaco and Nice are all within short train journeys of each other and are easily accessible.

22 countries border the Mediterranean, including Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. This means there are numerous languages being spoken, a massive variety of food on offer – most of which is fresh, lush and sumptuous – and a rich cultural diversity that means you simply won’t get bored as each day on your Mediterranean cruise will be filled with something and somewhere new. The Cruise lines today offer some fantastic excursion options taking you to some of the most fantastic places on earth, you can also choose to do your own thing if you prefer but the lines do operate a brilliant sightseeing service. Be sure to always check what’s on offer before you sail as places for some excursions can sell quite fast.

Most of the cruise liners operate in the Mediterranean meaning you can choose your style of cruising as well as specific ports of call. Because Mediterranean cruises tend to be some of the cheapest and are usually just seven days in length, they appeal to a family audience. They also tend to make the most of the fantastic warm, dry and sunny climate of the Mediterranean summer and operate largely during the school holidays in July and August. Although a seven day Mediterranean cruise sounds fantastic always check into prices for a fourteen night holiday, you often find that the initial holiday cost is only a few hundred pounds more for fourteen nights than it is for seven, something to consider if a seven night cruise just doesn’t seem long enough.

By utilising the user reviews and impartial information provided by CruiseCompare you should be able to narrow down your Mediterranean cruise choices, you can browse the Cruise Lines, Ships and their price offers in one place.