Winter cruises from short to long

If you only have a couple of days to enjoy a cruise before Christmas, then the 19th December sailing from Dover on Fred Olsen’s Balmoral could be just the ting for you. It arrives in Amsterdam early on 20th December and gets you back home to Dover early on 21st, so you get a full day’s shopping at the Amsterdam Christmas markets – prices start at £176 per person.

Or if you have longer to devote, the 8th December sailing on P&O’s child-free Aurora offers a serene ten day trip from Southampton to Hamburg, Oslo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Bruges – all famous for Christmas markets and delightful winter scenes. Prices start at £899 per person.

If it’s a post-Christmas break you’re after, Hurtigruten’s offering is unusual to say the least. Sailing on 2nd February, 2010, their seven day cruise starts with a two day shore trip to the Reindeer Racing championships before sailing Midnatsol (that’s Midnight Sun in English) to travel over the Arctic Circle to Bergen, calling at many small ports where Midnatsol delivers post and other goods to the residents. You get to see the fjords and maybe the Northern Lights and prices begin at £975 per person.