13 of the best budget cruises in the Mediterranean for under £1,200
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MSC stands for Mediterranean Shipping Company, so it's no surprise this line knows what it's doing in the Med. If you want to dip your toe into the proverbial water and try a cruise for the first time, there are various one or two-night taster breaks from less than £150. Or you can sail away for a week for less than £450, which includes all meals and entertainment. What sets MSC apart from other lines is that you can join a circular cruise from a port of your choice, such as Genoa, Palma or Barcelona, making it easy to plan and budget for convenient flights.
Not all Mediterranean cruise ships are made the same, and Star Clippers' romantic tall ships turn heads wherever they go. Replicating the swashbuckling vessels of yesteryear, they use warm Med winds as much as they can and it's an impressive sight to watch sailors raising the sails by hand. Passengers can channel their inner Captain Jack Sparrow and climb the rigging to the crow's nest on sailings that start from around £1,140 for four nights. Alternatively, the springy bowsprit nets at the front of the ship are great look-out points for dolphins. The onboard vibe is very friendly and the captain and officers mingle with passengers.
Despite the name, this line has an array of Mediterranean sailings on its fun-packed ship for less than £1,000. Spend a week in Greece and the Adriatic with a fly-cruise on Explorer of the Seas, for example, and you'll visit contrasting ports such as the volcanic island of Santorini and the fortified town of Kotor. Fill the rest of the time trying out the ships' many attractions; the Perfect Storm twin racing slides, FlowRider surf simulator and rock climbing walls to name just a few.
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Richard Branson shook up the cruise world in 2021 when he launched his unconventional line Virgin Voyages. You'll find Mediterranean sailings on the adult-only Scarlet Lady and Resilient Lady, which resemble hip hotels rather than cruise ships. There's a DJ in the foyer along with a tattoo parlour for any guests (or sailors as they're called by Virgin) looking for a lasting souvenir. You'll find week-long sailings for around £1,000, and can add shore excursions such as a pizza-making workshop in Naples or wine tasting on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.
This two-ship line offers port-intensive sailings focusing on the eastern Mediterranean and Greece from around £1,000, often with two port stops a day. Celestyal operates the comfortable refurbished vessels Celestyal Journey, which joined the fleet in 2023 and Celestyal Discovery for 2024. Families are given a warm Mediterranean welcome, with waiters making a big fuss of young sailors and remembering their favourite foods. Mediterranean flavours come to the fore in Celestyal Journey's Smoked Olive restaurant with dishes such as risotto flavoured with fresh black truffle.Ambassador provides affordable premium holidays at sea with 12-night Med cruises for less than £800. Sailings are aimed squarely at mature Brits looking for a traditional experience, such as a choice of two sittings in the main dining room and formal nights. That said, it's certainly not old-fashioned and there's a lively bar and entertainment scene including silent discos. Ambassador's two ships, Ambience and Ambition, have been updated to a high standard, with spacious and contemporary cabins. No-hassle, no-fly cruises out of Tilbury, include winter sailings in search of welcome Mediterranean sunshine.
Sailing on one of the world's most recognisable cruise lines isn't as expensive as you might think: you can experience life onboard the Queen Victoria for less than £1,000 for a 14-night sailing. Mediterranean voyages include days at sea to savour the Cunard lifestyle, such as the highlight afternoon tea served by white-gloved waiters and glittering black-tie balls. The 2024 flagship Queen Anne — the line's first new vessel in 12 years — also offers selected itineraries in the region, with a ten-night cruise starting from a little over £1,200.
Live in Liverpool and don't want to fly down south to join a cruise? Then take a look at Fred Olsen Cruise Lines' Mediterranean round-trip itineraries from the maritime city. You'll sail to destinations such as Portugal, Spain, France and Morocco on the line's 1,338-passenger flagship Bolette. Ports of call include Tangier on the northern tip of Morocco and the coastal city of Cadiz in Spain. Back on Bolette, expect a full daily programme of entertainment and classes, including the chance to paint your very own masterpiece in the art studio. Week-long sailings with Fred Olsen start from just over £900.
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Another cruise line that's a firm favourite with Brits is P&O. It has a big choice of Mediterranean cruises from home shores, or from Southampton. Sailings include seven-night fly-cruises from under £1,000 with stops at Valletta, Ajaccio, Livorno, Civitavecchia and Naples, on family-friendly Azura. Med-themed dining venues include the Beach House, serving stone-baked pizzas by the pool, and tapas and wine pairings in the Glass House, founded by the wine expert Olly Smith. If you're after a romantic break, look at round-trip Southampton cruises to Spain and France on the adults-only Arcadia.
Sick of being charged a hefty penalty because you need to travel in the kids' school holidays? Princess Cruises has reasonably priced Med itineraries available throughout the long summer break, from around £800. Its regular seven-night itinerary around France and Italy is one of its best bargains and means the family can hit the beach in Barcelona, sample bouillabaisse in Marseilles and throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Just bear in mind that air fare is extra so it's worth booking in advance to find the best deals.
If formal dining and reading by the pool aren't your thing, Norwegian Cruise Line specialises in casual, action-packed days at sea. Activities on board include an aqua park with several multi-storey waterslides, a casino, a video arcade and a sports complex featuring a basketball court and ropes course. Entertainment is top-notch and includes shows such as the Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet, a rock'n'roll duelling piano show and an interactive Deal or No Deal quiz. Seven-night itineraries around the Greek islands or the Adriatic sea start from around £800.
Costs can soon spiral when you factor in travel to a London airport, perhaps including an overnight stay. Itineraries with Tui's Marella Cruises include flights from a huge choice of regional UK airports including Exeter, Southampton, Bristol, Bournemouth and Southampton. Fares (under £1,000) also include meals, snacks, transfers, tips and selected alcoholic drinks so you'll know exactly what you're getting on board and won't need to splash out in spendy spots like Barcelona, Valencia, Naples and Palma.
A strict budget doesn't necessarily mean cutting time on board. Carnival Cruise Line has a range of itineraries longer than seven nights, all starting at under £1,000. These include nine and 12-day voyages around the Greek Islands and Turkey with a stop in the picturesque Greek port of Katakolon to visit nearby ancient Olympia. You'll have no problem filling sea days on board either as Carnival offers a packed schedule of complimentary entertainment including comedy shows, poolside movies under the stars, karaoke, Eighties-themed parties, pickleball and mini golf.
Additional reporting by Siobhan Grogan and Qin Xie
• Best Mediterranean cruises• Best round-the-world cruises
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
The perfect European holiday destination for padel fans
'Our philosophy is friendship,' declares leading coach Labisa Palmera as he hands me a weird-looking solid racket with perforated holes for my first foray into padel. The sport, reportedly the biggest growing in the UK, and also expanding in key holiday resorts due to demand from travellers. While youngsters are picking up tennis rackets to play on public courts in the wake of the Wimbledon fortnight, more savvy sporting stars are planning to spend at least some of their summer break on the padel courts. Spain is king in this upcoming game, a cross between tennis and squash invented in Mexico, but nearby Portugal is also recognising padel's popularity. So I've come to Pine Cliffs Luxury Collection Resort, an immense 72-hectare cliffside family-friendly enclave in the Algarve, awash with Moorish touches and Portuguese tiles and an architectural gem of an inner courtyard in the main hotel. It offers everything from the prestigious Annabel Croft Tennis & Padel Academy, to a nine-hole golf course, state-of-the-art gym, award-winning spa, yoga, Pilates and, more importantly, a recently expanded padel facility. This year, due to demand, one of the tennis courts has been adapted into three padel courts to bring its total to four, complete with glass back wall and metal fencing enclosures, perfect for trying this sport out with my Gen-Z daughter, Grace, to see how inter-generational it is. Palmera, co-founder of the first padel club in Albufeira, recalls: 'It's been a huge phenomenon in Spain and 12 years ago it went crazy in Lisbon. Now, so many people, aged eight to 80, are playing padel and you don't need many lessons.' Not only is it good exercise, but padel is known for its sociability, given that so many generations play together. Ideal, then, for a family holiday. Reported to be the fastest-growing racket sport in the world with more than 25 million active players in 110 countries, the Lawn Tennis Association recently revealed that participation on home turf more than trebled last year, with more than 400,000 players in Great Britain alone. Former Wimbledon champion Andre Agassi was seen last year playing padel with David Beckham, while sporting superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and singer Shakira have all reportedly caught the bug. The premise is simple – you only play doubles, it is scored like tennis, you serve underarm and receivers can return the ball either as they would in tennis or off the wall after it has bounced. 'The thing is about padel is that it's great for the whole family,' says Palmera. 'People need fewer lessons than tennis to know how to play. At the end of an hour they have learned how to play doubles. 'We have found that 40-55-year-olds who have done no sport in life found that they could do padel. The difference is that it's a really sociable game, not too competitive, easy to learn and the whole family can do it,' he enthuses. Well, he might not think it's competitive, but that rather depends who you play. Yes, a family game can be just a bit of fun but we also see more experienced players who are slamming that ball as if their life depended on it. There are weekly tournaments and the academy can pair up solo players with others of similar abilities and organise fun clinics for all levels. Certainly, padel requires less court coverage than tennis, being a third of the size of a tennis court, and beginners can quickly pick up the techniques – the all-important lob, the volley, the 'chiquita' (placing the ball at the opponent's feet) and the position and timing needed to hit a ball off the glass wall. I hadn't played tennis or squash for years and by a certain age I felt I was done with these high-intensity sports, so I'd taken up pickleball, an easier padel relative, with a group of like-minded mid-lifers. But I was keen to enter a new multi-generational pastime which might engage my grown-up children. On a holiday where I didn't want to spend my time pounding the treadmill in a sweaty gym alongside my much fitter daughter and wanted to enjoy exercise on holiday without it feeling arduous, padel seemed a good choice. Playing as partners, Grace was told she had a great volley. I, as the more experienced racket-sport enthusiast, was informed my backhand was a killer. So far so good. On the second session, Palmera teamed us up with Irish sisters Isabella, 14, and Molly, 12, who he said were good at tennis and would make suitable opponents. Indeed, despite our age difference, the games went to deuce and we had a fun-filled match, as lobs were practised and volleys smashed. Finding a sport you love doesn't make exercise a chore on holiday, and the same goes for healthy eating, as we discovered in many of Pine Cliff's 15 restaurants, each of which has a unique setting which makes you feel you're in a different resort. We dine under the trees in a beautiful lemon grove, enjoy freshly-caught sea bream and other catches of the day looking out on to the Atlantic Ocean at the resort and feast on 'art on a plate' sushi and other Japanese delicacies at Yakuza, a restaurant in partnership with Olivier da Costa, one of Portugal 's most recognised chefs. 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Here, thrill-seekers can pound the waves on jet skis or try their hand at paddleboarding, while families have fun with bodyboards riding the surf of the refreshing Atlantic. We try other sports during the week – tennis with head coach Brunno Cappelletti Rocha, whose patience with us is admirable; golf, where we hit (and miss) a few balls on the driving range, and yoga of the gentler kind, thanks to our teacher, stretching my many unused muscles. It can be done in a studio or on the beach. A sports massage at the sumptuous Serenity – The Art of Well Being spa, housing 13 treatment rooms, hydrotherapy pool, various sauna and steam rooms and other wellbeing delights, irons out my aching limbs and prepares me for the next sporting challenge. But for me padel is the star. Back in the UK, we're looking for a court nearby where we can practise our volleys, perfect our timing when the ball bounces off the glass wall, and nail that chiquita. Two adults can stay in Pine Cliffs Hotel Deluxe Room with Resort View from £326 per night (based on September 2025 stay). Adult tennis or padel weekly coaching courses at Pine Cliffs start from £300 in off-peak season (Nov-March) and £326 in peak season (April-Oct). Junior tennis and padel camps start from £265 off-peak season and £291 peak season.
Daily Mail
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I travelled the world as a cruise ship captain for 20 years - my favourite destination is a European hidden gem
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The incredible honour I received after travelling with the same train company since 1999
When British rail travel fan Steve Calladine got the call to say that his decades of criss-crossing the globe via rail had earned him an unusual accolade, he assumed it was a scam. The 67-year-old Liverpudlian, who now lives in Teignmouth, Devon, is digital booking platform Trainline's most faithful customer - having made his first trip with the company in 1999, 'when you had to ring up and tickets were sent in the post'. After enduring a spate of frustrating junk emails, he assumed the news that he'd had a room named after him at the company's London HQ - thanks to booking thousands of trips over 26 years - was a wind-up. He explained to the Daily Mail: 'I'd had a whole series of scam emails. When this one came in, I just assumed it was another. And then I thought, "hang on, I have been with them a long time, there might be something in this!"' The travel brand certainly wasn't pulling the retired business studies teacher's leg though. In a bid to put passengers front and centre of the business, Trainline decided that Steve's name should take pride of place in a meeting room. It's an honour he's worthy of. In his most prolific Trainline era, Steve, who travels with his wife Shirley, booked 400 rail tickets - including some more pedestrian journeys - in 2002. He could certainly persuade anyone who's fed up with airport stress that trains are the superior transport mode, having tried-and-tested almost every kind of holiday by rail - from Japan 's 200mph Shinkansen bullet train to the London to Edinburgh sleeper and Swiss connections that marry efficiency with scenic drama. The latter, Switzerland, has ended up being one of his favourite rail destinations - he says he's often in awe of the landscapes flicking past the window. 'The first time I travelled through the Alps, I went from Basel across Switzerland and then I found myself in Innsbruck, in Austria, and then I went all the way through to Vienna. That was a stunning journey.' Has he had any major disasters? He's never missed a connection in Europe, he says proudly, but he did almost watch his leg almost embark on a journey without him, after his lower limb got stuck in the door en route to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. 'I lifted my case on, stepped on - and the doors closed. I managed to pull my case out but my ankle was still trapped. 'I was left thinking "This is going to move off any second". People were trying to alert the guard - thankfully, eventually the doors opened.' He concedes that sometimes things go wrong - he once got stuck on a train, without a seat, for 24 hours, in Serbia, which sounds hellish, and might have pushed less resilient travellers over the he's never strayed from the idea that a journey is just as exciting as an arrival. How does he pass the hours? 'You have conversations, you talk about things that you've seen. You read a book, you have a snooze, something to about relishing the journey.' There's fun too, he says, in plotting trips; he loves working out connections and price cuts - including how fare prices can be shaved via some canny split ticketing. And Steve says he's always surprised by how far you can get in just one day of rail travel, saying the idea that he can step off the platform in Devon in the morning and be somewhere in the balmy South of France at the day's end never gets old. His passion for rail travel stems back to his childhood in Liverpool he says - 'I'm old enough to remember steam trains', which was then further cemented with trips across the Pennines while he was a student in Sheffield. The avid rail passenger, who travels with his wife, Shirley says booking three months in advance to get the cheapest deals is his top tip (Pictured at his local station in Devon) Say my name! The newly minted Steve Calladine room at Trainline's HQ in London He remembers the night too in 2014, when the railway tracks in Dawlish, 12 miles south of Exeter, were hit by violent storms, leaving a section suspended in mid-air. Huge waves whipped up by high winds smashed a 100ft section of the sea wall causing the collapse of the main coastal railway line linking London and Cornwall. He says: 'I went through that in the morning by train but I had to come home on the bus - and then the following morning the rail wasn't there at all.' Who makes the worst passengers? He's pretty tolerant of his fellow carriage-sharers but admits he's wished for ear plugs at times. 'I'm a family guy but wailing babies on trains aren't great. When you're traveling, it can sometimes be annoying, particularly when they're not yours...' When it comes to his top tips for saving money on rail fares, he says his mantra is 'book early'. 'If I can book three months in advance, that's what I prefer to do. And I accept that sometimes, if we want to go at the nicest times of day, you do have to pay more for it.' It still beats airport travel hands down when it comes to stress, he maintains, saying: 'I just walk down the road to my local station and the holiday starts there.' Where's next? 'Next year, we're hoping to travel up to Scandinavia on the train.
