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| Cunard's Queen Elizabeth |
UK Contributor - Cruising Squared
There are now more Cruising opportunities –
Everything seems to be possible!
Cruising is big business in the UK.
The British economy benefited from $3.8 billion of expenditure from the Cruising industry in 2012, according to a report from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
This reflected money spent in the UK by cruise passengers as well as by companies, on staff salaries, ship maintenance and other areas to support their operations.
Expenditure in the UK was up 3.7% on 2011, while the number of British jobs supported by the industry last year rose by 2,000, or 3.5%, to 66,059.
Britain is the second biggest employment market for the cruise industry in Europe after Italy, where it supports 99,556 jobs. Among the UK jobs were 14,677 crew and administrative staff.
The UK is also the biggest market in Europe for cruise passengers, with more than 1.7 million Britons taking to the seas last year.
More than 1.5 million holidaymakers joined or left their cruise in Southampton, making it the busiest cruise port in Europe.
Let’s look at some of the cruise options you can find here in the UK.
First of all – you do not have to live in the UK to take advantage of these offers – everyone can get involved!
The cruising market is always developing – and today you can find many innovative offers tempting people like you and I – such as: -
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| River cruising on the Rhine River |
In the UK our rivers will only accommodate small ships – but in mainland Europe things are different. Rivers such as the Rhine, Rhone, Danube and others stretch miles inland – and they can accommodate larger boats.
You can book trips from the North Sea Ports such as Amsterdam to travel majestically up stream to such places as Budapest in Hungary – or to Nuremburg and take in all the fantastic sights and cultural opportunities on the way.
If you are Francophile then why not take a trip on the Seine with Paris as your base. Or travel the mighty Rhone including Lyon, Avignon and Arles.
The more adventurous may want to cruise the Mekong river in Vietnam or the Yangtze in China!!
Trains and boats and planes
It used to be that cruisers would just want to travel around an area, stopping off for guided tours of a wide range of sights – but not today!
We have noticed the increase in innovative tours based on a cruise that now include specialist rail journeys and more energetic opportunities.
From the UK you can fly to Vancouver, cruise the clear waters off Alaska (a fantastic holiday in it’s own right) then transfer to the Rocky Mountaineer – a train that takes you through the majestic Rockies and the National Park. There are stop overs where you can take in the sights or even challenge the mighty rivers by white water rafting!! Others may just want to walk and explore the beautiful countryside
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| The Orient Express can whisk you across Europe |
Over here in the UK you can stay in a luxury London Hotel, then take the prestigious Orient Express that moves through mainland Europe ending up in Venice. Readers should note that a murder cannot be guaranteed and Hercule Poirot has now retired!!
You will stay 2 days in this most wonderful of Cities before boarding your ship for one of many cruises around the Mediterranean.
Where can I get details?
There is so much choice from so many companies that any list would be endless. The best option is to use Google.
But over here in the UK we have noticed that, almost every day, Newspapers such as The Times, The Telegraph and The Daily Mail have holiday offers based on a cruise.
Try to Google the following: -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/holidaytypeshub/cruises.html
http://www.readeroffers.travel
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/
And finally--
Has anyone come across any interesting offers that involves cruising and other forms of transport? Just let us know at Cruising Squared.
© B. Wilson 2013
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