Port Cruising

Environmental concerns, airport queues and the effects of fog or controllers’ strikes on booked flights have all led to people thinking that a cruise from their nearest local port is a much simpler option.

In 2008 you can travel by cruise liner from: Southampton, Dover, Newcastle, Harwich and Liverpool. Thomson cruises will sail from Liverpool for a Taste of Ireland trip sails across the Irish Sea on a three-night mini-break - visit www.thomson.co.uk for more information. Azamara Cruises, the new luxury option cruise line from Royal Caribbean will sail right up the Thames to pick up passengers as part of an itinerary that includes a two-night stopover in the capital city as one stop on a sixteen night trip around Western Europe, travelling on the Azamara Journey. The voyage leaves Copenhagen on August 14 and calls at Kiel in Germany, Amsterdam, London, Cherbourg, the Channel Islands, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Bilbao, Lisbon, Almeria, Valencia and Barcelona. Learn more at www.azamaracruises.co.uk

If you’re going to be taking a cruise that visits Barbados in the next few months, you might find yourself being targeted! More than 600,000 cruise passengers will be ‘hit’ by the Freestay Caribbean Cruise Conversion Programme. The idea is to convince a cruise passenger to return to the island as a long-term guest and involves shipping companies, the local cruise association, hotel and tourism bodies and the tourism ministry. One charming aspect of the programme is the silver doubloon which each passenger will be given. When they get home, the coins allow the cruise passenger to log into a website to obtain special holiday offers, a lottery and the chance to receive an email newsletter. And of course the doubloon also serves as a souvenir and a reminder of a wonderful holiday destination, and a thank you to the tourist for visiting Barbados.