P and O’s Oceana has almost finished her summer tour of The Mediterranean and is heading to the West Indies for the winter. Board at Southampton on 25th October and you can join her on the transatlantic crossing and explore several Caribbean islands when you get there. Don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll get bored spending days at sea; the popular Oceana features (amongst other things) four swimming pools, six whirlpools, a casino, a nightclub, a theatre, a spa, an ocean view gym and a Marco Pierre White bistro. You won’t feel hemmed-in at all, more like you’re in a floating resort.

Keen to kick their tired old image, cruises lines are going to great efforts to ensure that their ships and itineraries are action-packed and exciting. We think they’re a great choice if you want to explore lots of different places in one trip. On this cruise, you’ll spend a day on the gorgeous Portuguese island of Madeira before crossing the Atlantic and calling at Antigua and Barbuda, St Maarten, Dominica, St Lucia and finally, Barbados for your flight home. This is island-hopping in style and the full board basis means it’s great value-for-money too.

The total cruise takes 14 nights and flights back to the Uk are overnight. From £999, based on two sharing with London flight, from Hays Travel. Click here for more information, or call 0800 408 4131.

Hays Travel have a great range of deals and inspiration on their dedicated cruise site, so if this one isn’t for you, take a look at their offers on cruises in everywhere from the Med to the Red Sea.

Barbados is one of Oceana's Carribean ports of call

If your flight was grounded by the volcanic eruption in Iceland, you’re probably looking at an alternative holiday. Most UK airspace reopened today but there is still a huge backlog of passengers. The Eurostar, ferries and coaches to the continent are packed and we haven’t quite got beach weather here in the UK yet. We say be travel savvy and sail out of the UK on a cruise. Visit multiple ports, relax on board and enjoy good food: a true departure from the hassle and chaos of the airports. We’ve compiled a list of the best cruise deals departing the UK over the next few days. Whether you’re looking for a small, traditional ship or a staggering floating city complete with cinema and shopping mall, there’s something for you. There are cruise holidays to suit beach addicts, nature lovers, sun worshippers and culture vultures. Even if you haven’t been grounded by the volcano, maybe you’ll consider a relaxing UK cruise for your next holiday. Imagine the calm of gliding out of a home port, enjoying a magnificent holiday and simply gliding home again.  Availability and prices are correct right now, but subject to change.  Savvy travellers are latching on to the no-fly cruise trend fast, so hurry and grab yourself a cabin…

Mediterranean

Depart Southampton on 1st May and spend 14 nights cruising the Western Mediterranean on board P & O’s Oceana. This luxury ship has a sociable atmosphere and boasts four swimming pools, a Marco Pierre White restaurant, an in-funnel sports court and an ocean-view gym. The itinerary takes in seven ports in four different countries: Gibraltar, Cartagena, Rome, Pisa . Florence,  Cannes, Barcelona and Cadiz. Two adults can share an outside cabin with balcony from only £1099 each – equating to £78.50 each per night, full board.

The Norwegian Fjords

Sail out of Hull on 26th April and spend 6 nights on board Cruise & Maritime’s Ocean Countess. Glide through the breathtaking Fjordland and take in high snow-tipped mountains, blossoming fruit orchards and quaint coastal villages. Ocean Countess is a relatively small, recently-refurbished ship with good facilities including a gym, sauna and heated swimming pool. Two share an inside cabin from just £399 each. 

The Canary Islands

Sail from Dover to the sun on 3rd May on board Fred. Olsen’s Balmoral. Call in at Madeira and view stunning spring gardens, visit unspoilt La Palma, the surprisingly cosmopolitan Santa Cruz on Tenerife, and feel hot sand between your toes in Gran Canaria. On your way back to Dover, stop off in Lisbon and enjoy the vibrancy of the Portuguese capital . Between ports, bask on the large sun deck or cool off in one of the outdoor pools. This is a 12 night cruise and two adults share an inside cabin from £699 each.

At the poolside on board the indulgent Arcadia.

Baltic Cities

Board the lavish P & O Arcadia at Southampton on 9th May for a packed 14 night itinerary docking at seven ports in six countries. Explore the fascinating cities of Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Oslo and Kristiansand. The enormous, child-free Arcadia boasts luxury staterooms, fine dining and modern facilities: with so much space and so much to do, it’s easy to forget you’re at sea. Two adults share an inside stateroom from £1099 each.

To check availability or book any of these cruises, or for a quote on a no-fly cruise to suit your dates, call the experts at Hays Travel Cruise on 0800 408 4229

If you’re an adventurous traveller, you probably like to take in as many different destinations as possible in one trip. We can’t all take a year out of work to amble around the world at a leisurely pace though. One very good way of packing lots of exciting destinations into one holiday is to go on a cruise (Crete, Venice, Dubrovnik, Korcula, Corfu and Olympia in one week, anyone?) The trouble with holidaying at sea though is that free-spirited types don’t like rules and traditionally, cruise culture is full of them. It’s difficult to relax when you’re expected to wear a ballgown every evening and eat your dinner when you are told. Then there’s the shore excursions; it’s alright being delivered into the ports of some of the world’s most exciting destinations but what if you want to do something active when you get there?

When Ocean Village launched in 2003, it broke the cruise rules. Ocean Village offers a uniquely informal cruising experience: you eat whenever you want to eat in a choice of restaurants and you wear whatever you like. There are no long days at sea: you’ll visit six different ports in a seven day itinerary. When you are on board the ship though, you’ll never be bored with a choice of bars and relaxed entertainment, sun decks, pools and even trapeze classes. Step ashore and you’ll be offered an elclectic range of excursions including biking, wine tasting hiking and jeep safaris. Of course, if you want to explore ancient ruins and landmarks, there’s nothing to stop you.

Ocean Village might be lacking in the dazzle and grandeur of the larger, more formal liners but it certainly doesn’t cut corners on quality: the on-board Bistro is owned by celebrity chef James Martin, who makes an appearance on certain itineraries. All of the cabins are of equal, generous size and the on board spa facilities offer indulgent treatments. In short, you get the comfort and convenience of a good hotel but you’ll be visiting somewhere different every day. From islands in azure seas to iconic cities to fascinating ruins, an Ocean Village cruise is a world away from sunbathing on the same beach for a week. They even thought of the children with age-specific kid’ clubs and parent-free shore excursions for 9-17 year olds.

It’s no wonder that at Be Travel Savvy, we’re more than a little disappointed that Ocean Village will sail for the last time in October 2010. Ocean Village Two has already gone to Australia to become a part of the P&O Australia fleet and the original Ocean Village ship will follow in autumn. There’s still time to enjoy a holiday on this unique trip this summer though.  For a true adventure, consider the Ocean Village Farewell Voyage. This magnificent 23 day journey takes the ship on her final sailing from Crete all the way to Singapore. On the way, you have the opportunity to discover Cairo, The Suez Canal, the Temples of Karnak, The Valley of The Kings, Muscat, Dubai, the southern tip of India, the beautiful beaches and rainforest of Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur before finally arriving at the colourful destination with the option to stay a few nights and explore. The specialists at Hays Travel Cruise have a range of offers for the final few sailings with prices from as little as £759 for a 7 night Mediterranean fly cruise. Click here to find out more or call 0800 408 4131.

Bike tours and more on a relaxed Ocean Village cruise.