Fancy a fun short break with friends or bored with the beach and want to see the world in the lap of luxury on the gap year you never had?

How about a cultural cruise, an adventure of a lifetime to some of the far-flung quarters of the globe or simply a two-week family holiday in the Med?

Then one of the many different styles of cruises could be your great escape. You could choose a themed cruise, a cruise-and-stay holiday, a mini break or a round the world voyage.

Cruises are available to suit all pockets, ranging from two-night party specials to transatlantic crossings and exotic sailings where the emphasis is on the destination rather than the cruise itself.

You can even getting married on a cruise ship for weddings at sea, as offered by P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises, are doubling every year.

Luxury cruises

The essence of true luxury cruising includes five essentials – flexibility, space, exclusivity, top quality service and complete pampering.

Such stylish ingredients make up the truly special and unique experiences being offered by a range of classic cruise lines.

Luxury ships offer exquisite, unobtrusive service offered in an exclusive environment with world-class gourmet experiences and a wealth of extras to provide the ultimate in luxury holidaymaking. Sumptuous spas, exceptional on board activities and fascinating shore excursions are all part of the appeal.

Many of these lines pride themselves on the size and spaciousness of their cabins and suites. Your accommodation is designed with every comfort and convenience in mind and can include amenities such as flat screen TVs, DVD players, internet or WiFi access and 24-hour room service.

Nothing is too much trouble with such exceptional levels of personal attention coupled with the ability to access more unusual ports of call larger vessels are unable to reach.

Adventure cruises

There are a range of smaller vessels which give access to off the beaten track ports around the world, enabling passengers to experience everything from whale watching to snorkeling and abseiling.

Such ships reach parts of the world other cruise vessels can’t, to offer highlights such as prime wildlife spotting in territories such as Alaska and the Galapagos islands. Expedition ships often feature specialists on board to give talks and workshops on the region’s animals and birds.

Adventure holidays continue ashore with scuba diving in Mexico to horse riding along deserted Caribbean beaches.

Cultural cruises

If you fancy yourself as a bit of a wine buff, a budding artist or the next Gordon Ramsey, then there are cruises that will suit your favourite hobby and tempt your palate.

Longer stays ashore mean you can get a better feel for your destination, whether it is wine-tasting in France or touring the magnificent palaces in St Petersburg.

While at sea there are any number of classes to join in, with special themed cruises covering many popular pastimes such as golf, cookery, music and modern art with talks, workshops and shore excursions.

Short break cruises

An excellent way to get a taste for cruising is to take one of the increasing number of mini cruises.

You can depart conveniently from the UK or fly to join your ship in the Med, for example.

Overnight, two, three and four night sailings stop at places like Ireland, France, Belgium and Guernsey. Slightly longer duration itineraries will take you to northern Spain and Norway.

Short cruises normally run in the spring and autumn though cruises from Cyprus operate all summer as do other in the Med.

So-called taster cruises are an ideal way to experience all the big ship facilities such as spas and treatments and the numerous bars and restaurants without forgetting all the show-stopping entertainment.

With more ships than ever sailing from UK ports in 2008, there couldn’t be a better opportunity to jump on board.