Most popular international cruise destination in the world revealed

The USA was shown to be the cruise destination Britons are most eager to sail to.

The finding was unveiled by cruise specialist cruise.co.uk, based on bookings taken during the past six months.

America has always been hugely popular with UK cruise guests, both as a holiday hotspot in itself and as the gateway to the Caribbean.

Its position has recently been bolstered, with bookings growing by 12 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The research comes as America relaxes its travel restrictions and announces it will open up to vaccinated UK travellers from November 2021 in a huge boost to the travel industry.

The second most popular cruise destination was revealed to be the Mediterranean.

- READ MORE: USA opens up travel to fully-jabbed holidaymakers -

In third place was the Caribbean. The region was also found to be on the wish list of many in the UK according to a survey carried out by cruise line Royal Caribbean during the summer.

Meanwhile, Canada was shown to be the fourth most popular cruise destination.

The research also examined how people are holidaying - how long they are going away for and when.

It noted there has been an increase in the length of time that people are booking cruises overseas.

The proportion of guests sailing 14-20 nights has risen from 32 percent to 35 percent compared to 2019, while the proportion of guests sailing 21 nights or more going up from 6 percent to 9 percent.

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What's more, a greater number of holidaymakers are taking no-fly cruises.

The percentage of travellers booking their sailing from the UK to their overseas destination has increased, from 27 percent to 37 percent.

Accordingly, those flying from the UK has reduced from 73 percent to 63 percent.

As for the time of year travellers are most likely to cruise, the start of the year remains the most favoured.

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January and February are the most popular months for UK holidaymakers to travel on an international cruise, which has been the case across the past few years, proved the findings.

“The US has always been a go-to port of call for overseas cruise guests; it’s clear that, as international travel further opens up, it remains as popular as ever," said Tony Andrews, deputy managing director of cruise.co.uk.

Tony continued: "The fantastic variety of holiday options on offer, including a wide range of ships and itineraries, means the US continues to appeal to both seasoned cruisers and first-time passengers alike."

“The Mediterranean and Caribbean similarly have so much choice, plus plenty of sunshine to help guests make the most of their time away.

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“It’s also interesting to see a slight shift in the proportion of people booking extended sailings.

"This may well be a sign they’re looking to get away for longer, to help make up for the holidays they’ve missed during the past 18 months.”