Maritime historians often cite the Prohibition era as the origin of Americans' passion for escaping to sea. Short "booze cruises", when ships headed out to sea from New York in order to serve liquor, were all the rage in the 1920s. Today the rise in popularity of these "taster" trips reflects the trend for curious cruisers putting a proverbial toe in the water for the first time. Short break cruises are also ideal if you're tight on time or don't want to blow a fortune on a holiday at sea.
Cruise lines pack short-break cruises with many elements of a longer voyage distilled into a few days. Increasingly, these cruises are proving popular with multi-generational family groups as there are activities to suit every age.
Not all are bargain-basement priced -- that depends on the ship and the sail date -- but some start from around £50 a night. P&O Cruises have scheduled an unprecedented 34 short cruises in 2017, and many other Brit-popular companies such as Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Saga Cruises, Cruise and Maritime Voyages, Hebridean Island Cruises, Voyages of Discovery and Royal Caribbean have a mini-voyage with your name on it -- and sailing from more U.K. ports than ever before. The following selection includes a range of the most popular and Cruise Critic reader-approved ships sailing from ports across the U.K. So whether you want to sail from Southampton, Dover, Tilbury, Portsmouth, Greenock or Oban, there's one for you.
Source:.cruisecritic.co.uk
