UK cruises: the domestic market still has wind in its sails

After an unexpected boom in domestic cruising last summer, we take a look at how the market is looking for 2022 and beyond

Who could have guessed that UK waters would become cruise central as we started to emerge from the pandemic last summer? After months of talks, the UK government finally gave cruise lines the green light to sail again, but only in British waters and for UK residents only.

After watching their ships sit at anchor, banned from sailing as Covid spread, lines didn’t need telling twice. Viking and MSC Cruises got in first, offering voyages from Portsmouth and Southampton, respectively; soon Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and a host of others had joined them.

Virgin Voyages even brought Scarlet Lady back from the US for summer mini cruises without any ports of call, to finally get passengers on board to experience the brand’s first ship. P&O Cruises and Cunard also opted for cruises to nowhere while others called at ports initially in England and Northern Ireland, and finally Scotland, when first minister Nicola Sturgeon allowed ships to visit.

The cruises were deemed a huge success, showing the best of Britain to the British, whether they were avid cruisers or first-timers, who were desperate for a holiday.

Repeat visits

So logic says many lines will be back cruising Britain again this summer, right? Not quite. Royal Caribbean vice-president EMEA and Clia UK & Ireland chair Ben Bouldin says they all owe a “massive thanks” to the ports that welcomed them and made UK seacations possible, but adds that Royal Caribbean passengers want to go abroad. “It’s unlikely we will return [to domestic cruising] but never say never. If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that we just don’t know.”

That doesn’t mean UK waters and ports will be devoid of ships this summer, though. Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and Saga Cruises will be sailing around England, Scotland and Ireland. Ambassador Cruise Line, a new company also targeted at Brits, has five voyages in the UK, including a 12-night royal-themed voyage that coincides with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Carnival Cruise Line is sailing the British Isles for the first time on two nine-day round-trip voyages from Dover – one departing on July 22, the other on August 12. They will call at ports in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Iain Baillie, vice-president of international sales, expects the cruises, added to give passengers a variety of new itineraries and ports to visit, will appeal to US and UK clients.

Viking is ticking off all four nations on its nine 15-day British Isles Explorer cruises, but as they are between Greenwich or Tilbury and Bergen in Norway clients will have to fly.

For those feeling adventurous, Hurtigruten has expedition-style cruises around the UK that start and end in Dover or Glasgow, seeking out wildlife, and visiting small villages and remote Scottish islands. The company introduced these sailings to the UK during Covid, to appeal to guests wanting to travel closer to home.

“With the rise in demand for no-fly cruising and a greater appreciation for the incredible destinations on our doorstep, we anticipate British Isles sailings to continue to perform strongly over the coming years,” says Mark Walter, head of UK sales at Hurtigruten.

Britain made easy

As about 100,000 Brits discovered last summer, a cruise is a brilliant way to explore the UK. Instead of expensive hotels and traffic jams, cruisers enjoy tip-top service as their floating hotel takes them to some of our great cities.

Newcastle and Edinburgh are favourites for trips to Durham Cathedral, Balmoral and the Royal Yacht Britannia. Then there is Portland, unexpected star of UK seacations, thanks to ample docking for two big ships at a time and a wealth of nearby attractions, including a world-beating tank museum, beach and swannery.

In Belfast, passengers can immerse themselves in the history of the world’s most famous (for all the wrong reasons) ship, which was built in the city, or enjoy light relief at the spectacular Giant’s Causeway, made up of 60,000 hexagonal lava columns.

Cruise Britain chair Kate O’Hara admits last summer’s UK domestic season, hailed as ‘undoubtedly’ one of the success stories of the restart of global cruising, won’t be repeated. She is “confident vessels visiting multiple countries will regain their place in call schedules this year and next”.

But O’Hara sees no reason why the growth UK ports have seen in passenger day calls since 2007 won’t continue going forward – numbers hit 1.74 million in 2019. Given all the satisfied customers last summer, that seems a good bet.

PICTURES: Shutterstock/Ulmus Media, Stocker1970, S-F

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