Choose to cruise from Britain and you just drive or take a coach to the port – Saga and Spirit of Adventure will even transport you to the port free of charge – check in, and within an hour you can be having your first drink of the holiday. No bother, no delays and you can tell yourself that it's much more environmentally friendly than flying.  This year, for the first time, Celebrity is sailing from Southampton and offering cruise deals just for the British. They are on the new 2,850-passenger Celebrity Eclipse, an American ship that has some features added just to please British holidaymakers, including kettles in cabins, beef stew for dinner and pub quizzes and games. Cruises are mainly 14 nights to the Mediterranean, Norwegian fjords, Baltic and Canary Islands.  Sample holiday A 14-night Spanish Mediterranean cruise on September 4, visiting Barcelona, Seville, Palma and Vigo costs from £1,636 per person (0844 493 2029; www.celebritycruises.co.uk)  This is a new cruise line, created from Cruise and Maritime Services, which used to charter the 850-passenger Marco Polo for summer-only cruises from Tilbury. It now sails Marco Polo year-round from Tilbury and the 800-passenger Ocean Countess, formerly Cunard Countess, from Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Leith, Greenock, Liverpool and Plymouth.  There are cruises to Norway, the Baltic and around Britain in summer, and to the Amazon and Caribbean in winter.  Sample holiday A 12-night Iberian Discovery cruise from Greenock on Ocean Countess on August 2, visiting Cadiz, Tangier, Malaga and Gibraltar, costs from £899 per person (0845 430 0274; www.cruiseandmaritime.com)  One of the best-known names in cruising from Britain, thanks to its transatlantic voyages between Southampton and New York. If you go one way you have to fly, but many people cruise to New York, spend a few hours there and then head home. Queen Elizabeth joins the fleet in October, giving Cunard three ships based in Southampton. It will be cruising to the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and the Baltic, and fitting in a world cruise in January 2011.  Sample holiday A 12-night Mediterranean Magic cruise from Southampton on Queen Victoria on September 1, visiting Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Corfu, costs from £1,937 per person (0845 071 0300; www.cunard.co.uk)  Mickey Mouse comes to Dover this summer when Disney Cruise Line brings one of its ships to British shores for the first time, sailing 12-night cruises to the Baltic. There will be Disney-themed entertainment in the theatre, Disney cartoons on television and favourite characters joining in the cruising fun. On a shore excursion in St Petersburg, Disney princesses will be hosting a lavish gala in the Grand Ballroom of the Catherine Palace.  Sample holiday A 12-night Northern European Capitals cruise on July 18, visiting Copenhagen and Stockholm and staying overnight in St Petersburg, costs from £1,099 per person (0800 840 9683; www.virginholidayscruises.co.uk)  Fred Olsen, which is all about ultra-British cruises appealing mainly to people aged 60-plus, has four ships sailing from Britain – not just from Southampton and Dover, but also from Rosyth, Greenock, Newcastle and Liverpool. You can cruise almost anywhere from Britain with Fred – to the Mediterranean, northern Europe, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean and even South America and around the world.  Sample holiday A 13-night cruise to the Canary Islands from Liverpool on Boudicca on December 8, visiting Madeira, La Palma and Tenerife, costs from £699 per person (01473 746175; www.fredolsencruises.co.uk)  Rather than cruising from Britain, Hebridean sails around it, meandering around the Scottish islands from Oban or Fairlie on the Clyde. The cruise line has one ship, the 49-passenger Hebridean Princess, which is rumoured to have been chartered for two weeks in July by the Queen so that she can relive the cruise she had for her 80th birthday in 2006.  Sample holiday A seven-night Secrets of the Western Isles cruise from Oban on September 9, visiting Barra, Tiree, Skye and Eigg, costs from £2,752 per person including drinks, shore excursions and gratuities (01756 704704; www.hebridean.co.uk)  MSC Cruises brought its Italian cruising style to Britain in 2007, starting small with an 812-passenger ship, and this year is sailing 11-night cruises from Dover to the Baltic and Norwegian fjords on the 1,700-passenger MSC Opera.  To make sure British passengers feel at home, the menu includes shepherd's pie and roasts and afternoon tea is available.  Sample holiday An 11-night Norwegian Explorer cruise to the Norwegian fjords on August 19, visiting Stavanger, Molde, Bergen and Oslo, costs from £945 per person (0844 561 1955; www.msccruises.co.uk)  NCL is planning to end cruises from Dover next year. But for 2010, the 1,936-passenger Norwegian Sun is sailing 12-night cruises to the Baltic. NCL is all about casual cruising: no dress codes, no captain's cocktails and no set dining. Instead, Norwegian Sun has 10 places to eat, offering everything from sushi to succulent steaks; you just decide what you fancy and book a table.  Sample holiday A 12-night Baltic cruise on July 10, visiting Copenhagen and Helsinki and spending two days in St Petersburg, costs from £1,289 per person (0845 201 8900; www.ncl.co.uk)  P&O is the biggest cruise line sailing from Britain, with seven ships based in Southampton this year, ranging from the 1,200-passenger Artemis to the new Azura, launched in April and with capacity for 3,100. It's keen on tradition, with dress codes, captain's cocktail parties and fixed dining (but with a "freedom dining" alternative on the bigger ships), and sails to all corners of the world – the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the fjords and the Canary Islands in summer and around the world in winter.  Sample holiday A seven-night Spain, Portugal and France cruise from Southampton on Ventura on September 4, visiting Lisbon, La Rochelle and Vigo, costs from £687 per person (0845 678 0014; www.pocruises.com)  Princess based a ship in Southampton for the first time in 2005, enabling Britons who didn't want to fly to experience the line's relaxed American style. It now has three ships operating from Britain in summer – the 2,600-passenger Grand Princess, sailing to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Iberia; the 3,110-passenger Crown Princess, from Southampton around the British Isles, to the fjords and Iceland; and the 700-passenger Ocean Princess, cruising from Dover to Ireland, Norway, Denmark and Germany between June and August.  Sample holiday A 14-night Mediterranean Adventure from Southampton on Grand Princess on July 10, visiting Barcelona, Naples and Civitavecchia (for Rome), costs from £1,299 per person (0845 355 5800; www.princess.com)  Royal Caribbean launched summer-only no-fly cruises on the 2,076-passenger Legend of the Seas in 2005. Now the line's 3,634-passenger Independence of the Seas is based in Southampton all year, sailing two-week cruises to the Mediterranean and 10-night voyages to the Canary Islands. It's American and lively, with a surf simulator, a rock-climbing wall, an ice-rink and mini-golf.  Sample holiday A 14-night Italian Mediterranean cruise on September 11, visiting Livorno (for Florence and Pisa), Civitavecchia (for Rome) and Ajaccio in Corsica, costs from £1,536 per person (0844 493 4006; www.royalcaribbean.co.uk).  You have to be aged over 50 to cruise with Saga (40 if you are with a partner over 50), but don't think that means it's overly traditional or stuffy. The 446-passenger Saga Pearl II, an old ship new to Saga, is modern and stylish and gives passengers the freedom to eat when and with whom they want. On the 661-passenger Saga Ruby, you are allocated a table. Saga Ruby sails from Southampton, Saga Pearl II from Dover and Southampton, visiting Norway, the Baltic and the Mediterranean. Saga Ruby goes round the world in January 2011.  Sample holiday A 31-night Mysteries of West Africa cruise from Southampton on Saga Ruby, visiting Senegal, Dakar and Sierra Leone, costs from £3,249 per person including transfers to the port, gratuities and travel insurance (0800 056 5880; www.sagacruises.com)  Spirit of Adventure, which has one ship of the same name, is popping into Dover for a couple of months this summer, offering its own brand of educational cruises to the Baltic, the fjords and around Britain for older folk with, well, a spirit of adventure. There are lectures on sea days, free shore excursions when you call into port and quizzes to round off the evenings.  Sample holiday A 14-night Maritime Ports of the Hanseatic League cruise on Spirit of Adventure on July 28, visiting Szczecin, Poland, Turku, Finland, and Visby, Sweden, costs from £1,924 per person including shore excursions, gratuities and transfers in Britain (0800 300 432; www.spiritofadventure.co.uk)  Swan Hellenic is all about education, with didactic shore excursions included in the price and scholarly lectures about ports of call. Swan, a favourite with older cruisers, has one ship, the 350-passenger Minerva, and no-fly summer cruises from Dover that are snapped up by regulars drawn to the genteel British ambience.  Sample holiday A 14-night Highlands and Islands cruise on August 12, visiting the Channel Islands, Ireland and Scotland, costs from £1,495 per person including shore excursions and gratuities (0844 209 9000; www.swanhellenic.com)  Although Voyages visits plenty of well-known ports, it throws in surprises now and then. Its no-fly cruises from Harwich to the Baltic, the Norwegian fjords, Iceland, France and around Britain visit Nuuk in Greenland, Akureyri in Iceland and Barentsburg in Spitsbergen. Its single ship, Discovery, takes 698 passengers and there are expert lecturers on board.  Sample holiday A 10-night Taste of France cruise on August 20, visiting La Rochelle, Bordeaux and Rouen, costs from £999 per person including gratuities (0844 822 0800; www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk)  Four cruise lines have a couple of round-trip cruises from Britain this summer.  Holland America Line, having offered a mini-cruise last year, has three voyages from Dover to the Baltic and the fjords. From £859 per person for an eight-night voyage to the fjords on June 21 (0845 351 0557; www.hollandamerica.co.uk)  Yachts of Seabourn, a luxury line, has two no-fly cruises – one from Greenwich, one from Dover – on the new 450-passenger Seabourn Sojourn, due to be named in Greenwich on June 4. From £2,999 per person for 14 nights including drinks and gratuities (0845 070 0500; www.seabourn.com)  Six-star Crystal Cruises has no-fly round-Britain cruises departing from Dover on June 14 and August 25, with prices from £2,181 per person including soft drinks, gratuities and $500 per person on-board credit (020 7287 9040; www.crystalcruises.co.uk)  Silversea, another luxury line, has a 10-night round-Britain no-fly cruise from London on August 3. From £3,647 per person including drinks and gratuities (0844 770 9030; www.silversea.com)
As more holidaymakers decide to steer clear of airports, Jane Archer picks the   best summer cruises from UK ports.