Cheaper flights, no queues: Why cruisers are doing Europe in winter

Fancy cruising Europe in winter? Once, you’d have been considered a crank, and have found no ship to sail on. In the last decade, however, the number of winter cruises has grown steadily, and is set to become mainstream.

Why? The rising expense of travel, and increased awareness of tourism overcrowding. While monuments and museums may have shortened winter hours, they also have shortened queues, which is a big plus in busy tourist cities such as Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Istanbul.

Off-season cruises are generally cheaper. When Windstar Cruises operated Star Legend in the Mediterranean between December 2023 and April 2024, for example, prices were up to 65 per cent lower than for a comparable high-season cruise.

Off-season bargains won’t last as customer demand grows, but travellers will still benefit from lower prices for flights and hotels, except over Christmas.

Other incentives may include the opportunity to see familiar places in a new way, the avoidance of the Mediterranean’s recently super-hot summers, and the lure of seasonal events such as a European Christmas or the Venice carnival.

Meanwhile, cruise lines are happy. Ships can avoid relocating to another continent, during which days at sea burn fuel and stall lucrative revenue from shore excursions.

Cruise lines have steadily lengthened their Mediterranean seasons, with ships from the likes of Crystal Cruises and Explora Journeys now lingering into November. Among other companies that now remain there all or part of the winter are Celebrity, Costa, Emerald, MSC, Princess, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, Silversea and Viking.

Most itineraries take you to Greece, Turkey, Malta, Croatia and Italy. Some do, however, take in coastlines further north in the western Mediterranean. Seabourn Cruise Line, for example, has Riviera sailings in France and northern Italy.