National Cruise Week

National Cruise Week is just a week away. Running from 20th to 27th September 2009, it promises to be the biggest week for finding a good cruise ever. There are good reasons for this, ten new cruise liners will launch between the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2011, while there are another 29 ships being build for delivery in 2012. Notable vessels include those specially built or planned for the British market like Azura, the new ship for P&O Cruise Lines, Queen Elizabeth, being build for Cunard and the massive Celebrity Eclipse.

More than 1.5 million British people took cruises last year, with many of them preferring to sail from the UK. All the cruise companies have taken note of the burgeoning UK cruise market and many more ships, from many more cruise lines, have begun to ‘home-port’ in the UK for at least part of the year. For example, Carnival Cruises offers Nordic voyages from Southampton, while Royal Caribbean has Independence of the Seas also sailing from Southampton for part of the year, while the traditional British cruise lines like Fred Olsen, P&O and Cunard always have most sailings from British ports like Dover and Southampton.

National Cruise Week is bound to reveal more trends in British cruise travel, and some fantastic offers including free child sailings, free cabin upgrades and up to 25% off family or group trips, so watch out for National Cruise Week events and see if you can bag a bargain!