Have you been on a cruise holiday? Or do you steer clear from cruises?
The study, conducted by www.bonvoyage.co.uk, polled a total of 2,146 Britons aged 30 and over in order to try and find out more about how Brits feel about cruise holidays and the reasons behind whether or not they choose to go on one.
Respondents were initially asked, “Have you been on a cruise holiday before?” to which 78 per cent said no.
Those that had stated that they had never been on a cruise before were then asked to specify the reasons why this was the case. Two fifths stated that they couldn't afford the combined price of flying to the port as well as the cruise holiday, whilst just over a fifth, said it was because they 'couldn't take enough time off’ to fully enjoy the cruise holiday that they wanted to go on.
I think sometimes people assume that there is no ex-UK cruises available and so give up on the idea of going on a cruise; which is a shame...
A further 12 per cent admitted that they had ‘never considered’ the idea of going on a cruise, whilst over a quarter declared that they weren't planning on going on a cruise until they had retired.
Steph Curtin, Cruise Development Manager of bonvoyage.co.uk, said: “Cruising from a UK port is the ideal situation, but with long-haul destinations this is not always possible. It would take too much time to sail from the UK to the first initial port, meaning people would not only have to take more time off, but it might end up not being as interesting as it should be.”
Those polled were then asked to choose the reasons that would entice them to go on a cruise from a list of possible answers. Respondents were allowed to choose more than one option.
The top five answers were as follows:
1. More UK port departure options - 62%
2. More all-inclusive fly/cruise packages - 49%
3. Have the option to stay in a city overnight - 31%
4. More long-haul destination choices from UK ports - 28%
5. Personalised itineraries - 19%
Of those who said that they would like to see more UK ports admitted they would be more likely to consider cruising if this was the case, whilst just under a fifth said that they would book a cruise for their next holiday if there were a larger variety of UK port options.
Furthermore, when respondents were asked to specify where they would like to see more UK ports available for cruise departures, the East Coast was the most popular, with 38 per cent. This was followed by Scotland with 29 per cent and the North of England came in third with 24 per cent of respondents saying they would like to see a port there.
Steph added: “We have a large variety of ex-UK cruises from Southampton and Harwich sailing to Northern Europe, Western Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Eastern Mediterranean and even North America. I think sometimes people assume that there is no ex-UK cruises available and so give up on the idea of going on a cruise; which is a shame as we, and many other cruise holiday companies, have lots of exciting cruises leaving from the UK!”
Have you been on a cruise holiday? Or do you steer clear from cruises? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @FemaleFirst_UK
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