Cruises can be a great way to see the world at a more leisurely pace – but as with all holidays, cruise holidays can easily turn from dream to nightmare. We want to hear your cruise holiday experiences.
Love them or loathe them, cruises make up a massive part of the holiday industry worldwide – and their popularity is growing.
A record 1.96m Brits took a cruise lat year – up from 1.79m in 2016 – according to the industry body, the Cruise Lines International Association.
And the Mediterranean is the most popular destination for British cruise holidays, holding 37% of the market last year.
Part of the growth in numbers comes from the fact that cruise holidays are becoming more popular with younger travellers – the average age of cruise passengers has fallen to its lowest in 20 years, according to the BBC.
Cool cruise
Cruise holidays, it seems, are becoming cool – and nothing shows this more than the recent announcement from Virgin that it’s launching a cruise line.
Need a dose of vitamin sea? We’re putting well-being first onboard @VirginVoyages – it will be a cruise experience like no other https://t.co/8WnYNXkfCw pic.twitter.com/jhBdyhPi15
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) 21 July 2018
Equipped with a ‘tattoo studio’ and ‘Gym and Tonic Bar’, its first ship ‘Scarlet Lady’ will take to the seas in 2020.
According to company founder Richard Branson, the ships will cater to “young at heart people that want a good time.”
In an apparent move to attract a younger, less traditional audience, Virgin Voyages will be an ‘adult-only’ cruise line.
Oceanic feeling
But what makes a good cruise generally? Our research earlier this year suggested the biggest marker of satisfaction on cruise holidays was simple: the size of the cruise ship.
Read all our cruise line reviews here
And the smaller the better: all four companies at the top of our rankings run ships carrying fewer than 1,350 passengers.
Compare that with the 4,266 passengers on board Escape, a ship from last year’s poorest-scoring operator Norwegian Cruise Line. the results of this year’s survey will be available in the January issue of Which? Travel.
But what’s your experience of cruise holidays? Do you love them or loathe them? Would an on-board tattoo parlour appeal, or are you happy with a more traditional family-orientated cruise? Let us know your thoughts ahead of our next Which? Travel cruise survey.