Christmas Cruises 2026: Prices and What's Left from the UK

Christmas Cruises 2026: Prices and What's Left from the UK

On 26 October 2026 there were 14 Christmas cruises 2026 sailing from UK ports that were still on sale, starting at £619 per person for six nights on MSC Preziosa. Expect to pay noticeably more per night than for the weeks either side, because the festive dates carry a clear premium.

I checked every sailing we track that is at sea over Christmas or New Year, across all twelve lines. The full list runs to 434 sailings worldwide, but most of those leave from Florida, the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. If you want to sail from home, the choice is much smaller.

Christmas and New Year cruises from the UK still on sale

These are the UK departures over Christmas or New Year 2026 that were not sold out when I checked. The fare is the cheapest cabin on sale for that sailing, per person, and prices can change daily.

Most of the longer sailings head south to the Canary Islands, Madeira, Spain and Portugal, which is where the winter sun is. Aurora's 15 December sailing goes the other way, to Scandinavia, and the two Ambassador ships leave from London Tilbury rather than Southampton. Borealis is the only one going all the way to the Caribbean without a flight.

Some sailings have already gone. Fred Olsen's Balmoral Christmas sailing to the Canaries and Madeira is sold out, and so is Queen Mary 2's 30-night Christmas crossing to the Caribbean. On both Fred Olsen ships that are still on sale, the only cabins I could see were ocean view and suites, which is why their fares look so high. Across every line, 57 of the 486 sailings departing between 18 and 31 December are now marked sold out.

What the festive premium costs

Christmas dates cost more. Across all the lines we track, sailings that leave between 18 and 31 December and are at sea on Christmas Day have a median of £131 per person per night. Sailings that leave between mid-November and 10 December come in at £77 a night, and those leaving between 8 January and 20 February are £89.

From UK ports the gap is smaller but still there. The UK Christmas sailings above have a median of about £113 a night, compared with £86 for UK departures from mid-November to early December and £92 for January and February. So for the same type of trip, you pay roughly a third more per night to be on board for Christmas.

The shortest sailings cost the most per night. Aurora's five-night New Year's Eve trip to Hamburg works out at £220 a night, while Iona's 16-night Canaries sailing over the same dates is £87. If the dates matter more than the trip length, the longer Canaries sailings are often the better value per night. You can compare that figure for any sailing on our UK cruise price tracker.

Is it worth waiting for a late deal?

For Christmas 2026 I would not count on one. Last-minute discounts depend on cabins the line still needs to fill, and festive sailings fill up first. The drops I have tracked closer to departure are covered in last-minute cruise price drops, but over Christmas the more likely outcome is that the cheapest cabin grades sell out and the fare jumps to the next grade. That has already happened on the Fred Olsen sailings.

If you have spotted a sailing that suits you, the useful questions are how many cabin grades are left and how the fare compares to similar sailings, which is what how to tell if a cruise price is good walks through.

Christmas cruises 2027

Christmas 2027 is already on sale, with 493 sailings in our data and 17 from UK ports. P&O, Cunard, Fred Olsen, Ambassador and MSC all have UK sailings listed, from a four-night P&O Ventura trip to France at £329 to a 33-night Fred Olsen Caribbean voyage on Bolette.

This is the year to watch rather than rush. A year out, most cabin grades are still available, so you can save the sailing and see how the fare moves before deciding. The best time to book a cruise has more on timing, and there are more no-fly options in our UK cruise deals guide.

If you want to keep an eye on a festive sailing, you can create a free Cruise Prices account, add it to a watchlist and get an email when the price changes.

FAQ

What is the best cruise line for a Christmas cruise from the UK? It depends on where you want to be on Christmas Day. P&O has the most UK Christmas departures in our data, mostly to the Canaries, while Cunard, Ambassador and Fred Olsen add Canaries, Iberia and Caribbean options. MSC's Southampton sailings are short and stay in northern Europe.

Where is the best place to cruise over Christmas? From the UK, the Canary Islands and Madeira are the usual choice for winter sun without a flight. Northern Europe and Scandinavia suit people who want Christmas markets and a cold Christmas. For guaranteed heat you need the Caribbean, either on a long no-fly voyage or a fly-cruise.

Do Royal Caribbean do Christmas cruises? Yes. We track 68 Royal Caribbean sailings at sea over Christmas or New Year 2026, leaving from Florida, San Juan, New Orleans and Sydney among others. None of them leave from the UK in December, so you would need to fly.

Are there short Christmas cruises in 2026? Yes, but not many from the UK. MSC Preziosa's six-night sailing from Southampton on 18 December and Cunard's six-night Queen Victoria trip on 28 December are the shortest, along with P&O Aurora's five-night New Year's Eve sailing to Hamburg.