A cruise around the British Isles is a fantastic way to visit places which you might never normally get to see. These include ports such as Tobermory on Mull, Scrabster at the top of Scotland, Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides, Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, Milford Haven in Wales, Falmouth in Cornwall, Douglas in the Isle of Man or Belfast in Northern Ireland. Hebridean Island Cruises operates luxury all inclusive cruises which just visit the small lesser known Scottish Islands.

A British Isles cruise can also include ports for larger towns and cities, such as Leith for Edinburgh, Greenock for Glasgow, Portsmouth, Newcastle or Harwich.

These cruises often call at one or two extra ports such as Cobh or Dublin in Southern Ireland, the Isles of Scilly, or Honfleur in France.

The summer months from May to September are when these cruises generally operate, and there is generally a good selection of embarkation ports, including Southampton, Portsmouth, Tilbury, Liverpool and Newcastle. They typically last between 9 and 12 nights.

The main cruise lines offering British Isles cruises, from a UK port, include: –

• P&O Cruises
• Cunard
• Cruise & Maritime Voyages
• Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
• Celebrity Cruises
• Princess Cruises
• Holland America Line
• Royal Caribbean International
• Swan Hellenic
• Voyages of Discovery

(Page updated June 2013)