UK airports to offer cruise connections

Four UK airports are set to offer flights to provide connections to cruises offered by Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines.

The company is set to offer trips from Rome's Civitavecchia port from May 1st, using the 1,340-passenger Balmoral, Travelmole reports.

Flights to connect with the cruise services will be available from Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport in London, as well as Manchester Airport and Bristol Airport.

Cruises from Rome will take passengers to destinations including Malta, Crete, Barcelona and Tunisia before the Balmoral returns to its home port of Dover on June 11th, where it will remain for the rest of the year.

Lol Nichols, general sales manager for Fred.Olsen, said: "Although she has only been in service for a short time, Balmoral has already built up a loyal following with many passengers booking future cruises on this lovely ship for either later this year, or next."

UK travellers can access a number of destinations in Italy this summer, including Milan from Edinburgh Airport and Naples from Newcastle Airport.