Mini-cruise on Maxi-ships a new trend

Credit-crunching mini-cruises have become big business. Holland America’s Eurodam has been visiting Dover on a regular basis, and this brand-new, vast cruise vessel is offering four-day cruises with short port calls in Zebrugge, Cherbourg and Guernsey for only £380 per person.

These mini-trips are selling like hot cakes because they allow holidaymakers to enjoy a new ship, or even take their first cruise, without committing to a fortnight at sea, they are easy for travel agents to sell and those who are worried about job security and don’t want to take two weeks off can still get a quality break and be back at their desk before the week is over. British cruise lines like such as P&O, Fred Olsen and Saga, have always offered such short, low-cost breaks, but the market for them is so buoyant that Celebrity and Holland America are joining them in offering such cruises from UK ports.