One of the great things about cruising is the sheer variety and range of options available. A cruise is so much more than a holiday at sea. You could depart from the UK, or fly to your first destination to cut down the sailing time, or follow up your cruise itinerary with a week or two on land.

The latter – known as a cruise and stay holiday, or stay and cruise as it is also known – is a great way to really make the most of your holiday. The idea is that you combine a cruise with a standard land-based holiday, and take one after the other. You can do it in either order or, depending on how lavish you want your holiday to be, you could even choose to bolt a holiday on to both sides of your cruise – the ultimate escape!

So what’s the appeal with cruise and stay holidays?

It appeals to different holidaymakers for different reasons. Let’s say you’re planning a jam-packed cruise with plenty of sightseeing tours and excursions, ready to explore as many new destinations as possible. Believe it or not this can be pretty tiring, so it can be a great finish to the holiday if you’ve got a relaxing week to look forward to after the cruise has ended. You could follow it up with a quieter week on land, where you don’t have to do anything more taxing than kick back on the beach or chill out by the pool.

Of course it’s also a great excuse to spend more time in a specific destination and explore it to the full, before – or after – you enjoy the cruise part of the holiday.

Cruise and stay holidays are often booked on a bespoke basis, so in many cases you can browse the full range of cruise itineraries, liners, destinations and fly cruise deals, choose the one you want and then add a land-based holiday onto the end.

How does that sound for a perfect holiday?