How to choose your ideal cruise

If you've decided to give cruising a try for the first time, it is a must to try and narrow down your options. If you are concerned about seasickness, a Transatlantic crossing during hurricane season is probably not the best choice! A more gentle cruise around the Med in summer would be a much safer, warmer cruise holiday. Another great itinerary for those inexperienced cruisers is one visiting the Canary Islands as the distance covered is not huge plus the weather is guaranteed to be nice throughout the year! Cruise lines sailing to these destinations include Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and P&O Cruises.

If flying is not your thing, sailing from the UK is the ideal choice. There are cruises from ports all over the UK, including Rosyth, Newcastle and Dundee but the main port is Southampton. As Britain is a fair distance from the classic cruise areas, there may be a couple of days at sea involved but this gives the perfect opportunity to explore everything onboard your cruise ship.

Cruisers are all looking for different things from their cruise holiday. Some people want to sit back, relax and not lift a finger the entire trip. Others are looking for action packed itineraries visiting as many ports of call as possible. It is important to check when your ship arrives in port and leaves – if there are certain places you want to explore, avoid a cruise that only spends half a day there. River cruises offer the chance to explore ports for longer and as the ships are much smaller, you can access ports more easily.

It is also good to remember that you won't always be able to walk off the ship and start exploring. In Rome, for example, the dock is in Civitavecchia, a hour's drive from Rome city centre, so it might be better to organise an excursion – it'll be worth the air-conditioned coach alone!