Winter cruise sales

Well that’s Christmas over for another year. We won’t be singing along to any carols for a while, Her Majesty has said her piece, the turkey carcass looks like a Jurassic Park leftover, and a plink-plink fizz of Alka Seltzer is the loudest noise most of us can bear. Our televisions have hardly paused for breath in recent weeks bringing us the winners of ‘X-Factor’ and ‘Strictly’, while the most hyped show to look forward to is ‘Dancing on Ice’. But there’s a silver lining - our screens are about to burst into life with a seasonal bounty of travel adverts.

Images of sun-kissed beaches and fun-filled days on deck are certainly preferably to permafrost pavements and bouts of flu, but should we believe the hype on our screens? Boxing Day kicks off the traditional peak booking season for holidays – and cruises get top billing. Too-good-to-refuse incentives appear as regularly as meerkats advertising insurance, but it would be festive folly to book your next trip on a doldrums-induced whim.

Peak-time cruises, including school holidays, Christmas and Easter are always going to be more expensive, so if you’re keeping a keen eye on the price-tag there are bargains galore in the ‘shoulder seasons’ - February and late October. You can often score additional perks during this booking frenzy such as all-inclusive drinks packages and an attractive credit to spend on board. But you need to do your research thoroughly and not make a rash decision regardless of a good deal.

Without doubt this is a great time to book a cruise, but savvy travellers prefer to do their homework first. There’s a wealth of information to ensure you select a voyage that’s right for you. At this time of year there are sneaky deals around that are often too good to be true with nasty surprises hidden in the small print or which only apply to cabins below the disco that cruise lines just cannot shift. It’s important to bear in mind the offers you see on the slick TV adverts might not necessarily the best ones for you. These ‘steals’ are undoubtedly tactical ploys by cruise companies to fill their ships, but you need to make sure you get a cracker not a turkey.

That humdrum time before and after Hogmanay is a perfect opportunity to discover which cruises catch your eye, and there’s no better time to discuss your options with our specialist advisors on 0808 256 6742.