Hello. We Love Writing Mini Cruise Reviews!
Welcome to Mini Cruise Reviews. Here you'll find a treasure trove of information about mini cruise sailings on ferries and cruise ships. We have been invited on-board several sailings over the last few years and this website is home to our honest and no-nonsense reviews of both the transportation and the destinations themselves.
Where in the World Have we Mini-Cruised to?
We have enjoyed a range of mini cruise breaks we want to share with you and these can be found below:
- Harwich to LEGOLAND Billund to visit the world famous theme park in Denmark
- Hull to Amsterdam to visit this vibrant and cultured city
- Hull to Bruges to visit this chocolate heaven
- Newcastle to Brussels to see the magical Brussels Christmas Markets
- Newcastle to Cologne to see the famous Cologne Christmas Markets
Read our Reviews of the Vessels we have Sailed Upon
By sailing to a diverse range of European cities we have managed to sail on a fair few different ships. We thought it would be handy reviewing each one and showcasing what it has to offer guests during the sailing. Here are the vessels we've sailed on:
- DFDS Seaways Dana Sirena
- DFDS Seaways King Seaways
- DFDS Seaways Princess Seaways
- P&O Ferries Pride of Bruges
- P&O Ferries Pride of Rotterdam
What is a Mini Cruise?
No question is a stupid question, and if you never asked questions you'd never learn anything. So, let's start at the beginning - what is a mini cruise?
We're pretty sure different people would call them different things but to us a mini cruise is a short break sailing that typically lasts up to four nights. Many ferry operators offer mini cruise short breaks which combine a scheduled ferry crossing with transfers and a hotel in a city for the land-based part of your break. These usually sail to popular destinations like Amsterdam, Bilbao, Cherbourg, Esbjerg, Roscoff, Rotterdam, Santander, St Malo and Zeebrugge. Some sail overnight leaving you with a full day to explore cities which is great for cramming a mini cruise short break into a hectic lifestyle.
Meanwhile, selected cruise lines operate mini cruises out of famous ports like Southampton which tend to sail to ports such as Amsterdam, Guernsey, Hamburg, Le Havre (for Paris), Rotterdam and Zebrugge (for Brussels or Bruges) and are designed to introduce you to the world of cruise ship cruising. Here, your ship is your floating hotel for the duration of the short break and you can explore ports of call typically each day (unless they have scheduled a day at sea to extend the break, in which case you can take advantage of all that the ship has to offer).
Ferry operators who offer mini cruises include DFDS Seaways , P&O Ferries and Brittany Ferries whilst cruise lines that run taster mini cruises from the UK include Cunard, P&O Cruises , Royal Caribbean, Princess, Fred Olsen and Cruise and Maritime Voyages. Cruise ship mini taster cruises can be booked online via Thomas Cook or Cruise.co.uk .
Please remember that most ferry operators and some cruise lines charge a booking fee for reservations made over the telephone - avoid these where levied by booking online. It's often cheaper, far quicker and it is a very secure process. You should also receive an immediate booking confirmation email too which can be handy for late bookings.
More questions?
- On-board DFDS Seaways: What are ferry bar and restaurant prices like?
- On-board DFDS Seaways: What meal options are available on-board a ferry?
All About Us!
My name is David and together with my wife we have been fortunate enough to sail on several mini cruises over the past few years. I studied for a university degree in logistics (the science of moving things from A to B) and always had a passion for road transportation ... until I found my sea legs! After my first mini cruise I was hooked. Previously I saw ferries as the slower and less refined sibling of air travel but this misconception was quashed immediately on-board.
We both love sea travel and have been on several cruises aboard mega cruise lines as well as a few cruises on-board North Sea ferries. We love the excitement of discovering a new destination that cruising offers together with the freedom to do what you want whenever you want.
If you are in a rush to get to a certain destination then take the plane. We've done this too, and know first-hand that unless you are rich and can afford an upgrade it's not fun sitting in cattle class (good old economy class where they cram passengers in like sardines). However, if you've got the time to spare then try a ferry or cruise ship. Besides, as they tend to sail on long journeys in the evening and you travel through the night while you sleep, you might not lose much useable time on your holiday - but you'll gain a very memorable experience on the open seas.
We love to chat about ferries and cruise ships so if you're on Twitter please follow us here and feel free to chat with us. We might be able to help answer any cruising questions you may have.