Budapest, during a Danube cruise
Planning your first cruise and not
sure where to start? Sue Bryant has
the best trips for everyone from
solo adventurers to nervous sailors
sailings from Barcelona on the new
Valiant Lady call at Olbia, Cannes and
Marseilles, with an overnight in Ibiza
for the full clubbing experience.
Details Seven nights’ full board from
£2,147pp, including tips, departing
on May 22 (virginvoyages.com).
Fly to BarcelonaFOR FITNESS FANATICS
The old story about piling on a pound
a day on a cruise is, well, an old story.
On today’s newest ships you’ll usually
find a gym that’s better than the one at
home. Celebrity Beyond, launching in
April, is a case in point, with Peloton
bikes, HIIT and bungee-fit classes, as
well as cardio-boxing, spinning and barre
workouts. There’s a juice bar and you’ll
have access to a healthy-eating restaurant,
Blu, if you book one of the AquaClass spa
suites. Don’t forget to go ashore, though,
as this cruise from Rome to Barcelona
sails the French and Italian rivieras.
Details Nine nights’ all-inclusive from
£1,435pp, including flights, departing
on May 26 (planetcruise.com)FOR WILDLIFE LOVERS
Bald eagles, bears, humpbacks and orcas
— the wildlife viewing in Alaska is superb,geology and fascinating history of this
starkly beautiful region.
Details Ten nights’ all-inclusive from
£9,500pp, including flights, drinks,
tips and activities, departing on
February 16 (silversea.com)FOR TRADITIONALISTS
You won’t find water slides or tattoo
parlours on Ambience, the first ship
from the start-up Ambassador Cruise
Line, which launches in March. This
traditional 1,400-passenger ship is
aimed at a mainly British market
looking for affordable comfort. Also
there’s no flying involved because you
sail from Tilbury in Essex. This spring
you can explore the Norwegian fjords
via Flam, Olden, Geiranger and Bergen,
with glaciers and snowy mountains
providing the scenery.
Details Eight nights’ full board from
£669pp, departing on April 16
(ambassadorcruiseline.com)FOR SOLO
ADVENTURERS
As many as a third of the passengers
on board the venerable G Expedition
will be travelling solo, and with a
cabin-share scheme, communal dining
and activity-packed days, you won’t
have a chance to feel lonely. You’ll have
unforgettable shared experiences on
this expedition from Longyearbyen,
the capital of Norway’s remote Svalbard
archipelago, as you set out into the icy
landscape in search of walruses, Arctic
foxes and, of course, polar bears.
Conditions will determine the itinerary,
but you’ll explore by Zodiac or hike
with the experienced expedition leaders
every day.
Details Seven nights’ full board
from £3,299pp, based on three
sharing, departing on June 19
(gadventures.com). Fly to
LongyearbyenFOR CULTURE LOVERS
This Danube cruise is satisfyingly
cerebral, stringing together three
European capitals: Budapest, Bratislava
and Vienna. You’ll also visit Melk for
the magnificent baroque abbey, and
Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart. The
five-star MS William Wordsworth is
a comfortable floating base from which
to explore, while taking in the vineyards,
villages and meadows along the
riverbanks in between stops. It’s
affordable too, when you bear in
mind how much is included.
Details Seven nights’ full board
from £1,759pp, including flights
and excursions, departing on
April 1 (rivieratravel.co.uk)FOR GOURMANDS
You won’t compromise on fine dining
on Oceania Cruises’ smart Riviera,
which sails the Caribbean this winter
from Miami. The food is exceptionally
good, with everything from sunset tapas
at the Terrace Café to Italian classics in
Toscana, and Thai curry in Red Ginger
to the magnificent cheese trolley in
Jacques. There’s also a gourmet menu
in the Grand Dining Room for vegetarians.
In between meals you’ll visit Costa Maya
and Cozumel in Mexico, as well as Roatan
in Honduras and Harvest Caye in Belize.
The fare includes a choice of a drinks
package plus four excursions or £290
spending credit per cabin.
Details Seven nights’ full board from
£2,949pp, including flights, departing
on February 18 (oceaniacruises.com)CONFESSIONS OF A YOUNG CRUISE ADDICT
I was in my early
twenties when I
discovered cruising.
I sailed through the
Mediterranean with
my nan and grandad
on Marella Discovery,
and the next year we
booked a voyage in the
Adriatic. I love going
to bed in one city and
waking up in another.
Most days I get up at
sunrise to watch the
sail-in to a new port.
After the Adriatic
I cruised with Marella
on my own in the
Canaries. I was the
youngest at the solo
travellers’ coffee
morning, but it didn’t
bother me. My evening
routine usually involves
catching an early show
in the theatre before
visiting the buffet. I
might also go to a
last-night disco.Then I saw a YouTube
video by Emma about
Virgin Voyages and
tried one of its cruises.
Once on board I found
my Solo Insider cabin
a bit like Harry Potter’s
cupboard, but this
doesn’t bother me as
I’m rarely in the cabin
anyway; I’ve booked
Valiant Lady, Virgin’s
new ship, for next year.
Cruising used to
be seen as something
for older generations,
but voyages are
getting cheaper, and
more in my age group
are booking trips. The
interest among young
people has also been
driven by television
programmes such as
Cruising with Jane
McDonald. And
thanks to the rise of
influencers, young
people can easily go
on YouTube and find
a tour of a ship. It
won’t be long before
more think: “Maybe
I should give it a go.”I’ve made some good
friends on cruises. I was
on Marella’s 1990s-
themed Electric
Sunsets cruise and
went as Austin Powers.
I met Emma Le Teace,
a blogger and YouTuber
also in her twenties,
and we’ve been friends
since. We’ve booked the
same sailing next year.
When cruising came
back last summer, I
was straight back on
Marella. I was blown
away at how organised
they were with all the
Covid protocols. I felt
really safe on board.Keith Armstrong, 29, who lives in Liverpool, explains
why cruising — long the preserve of more mature
travellers — is now attracting the millennial crowd
and a small ship is the best way to take
it all in. Sailings on the Regent Seven
Seas Mariner are certainly pricey, but
everything is included on this voyage
between Vancouver and Seward, from
gourmet dining to drinks and tips and,
most important, excursions. That
means you can kayak from Ketchikan,
whale-watch at Icy Strait Point and hike
next to a glacier from Juneau, all against
a backdrop of pristine forest and snowy
mountain peaks.
Details Seven nights’ all-inclusive
from £6,039pp, including flights,
departing on June 1 (rssc.com)FOR WANNABE
EXPLORERS
You’ll want to be in experienced hands
for any trip to Antarctica, and Silversea’s
ships come with some of the best
expedition leaders in the business.
This journey on the 144-passenger
Silver Explorer takes you from Puerto
Williams in Chile to the icy bays, glaciers
and jagged mountains of the Antarctic
peninsula. The team will lead you on
guided hikes, kayak trips and Zodiac
tours, always on the lookout for
penguins, seals and whales, and
delivering lectures on the wildlife,Main: see
Croatia from
the decks of
the MV Lady
EleganzaMINT, DOR DOROTTYA, MLHARING/GETTY IMAGES; DANITA DELIMONT/ALAMYKayak in Alaska from the Regent Seven Seas Mariner. Below, Keith Armstrong