In pictures: Top 10 cruises from around the world

2 AROUND THE BRITISH ISLES: Criss-crossing between the west coast of England, Ireland and Wales on the new route operated by the Japanese-owned Crystal Cruises on its 550-cabin Serenity — best of the medium-sized ships — will engross anyone interested in history. It also offers the delicious prospect of being able to eat every night at the on-board Japanese restaurant run by Nobu. In Holyhead, Wales, you visit a 14th-century church, where a Welsh male choir performs for the passengers, and see the slashes in the stone where 17th-century Protestant ruler Oliver Cromwell and his troops sharpened their swords before setting off for Ireland. In Dublin, where Cromwell is still loathed, you hear about the later famine that drove many destitute Irish to emigrate to the US. In Liverpool, you see the docks from where they sailed, and follow the story of the British Empire in the brilliant dockside Museum of Liverpool. In Belfast, the sight of corrugated iron walls still separating Catholic and Protestant streets almost rivals the Titanic museum (where guides quip, “Well she was OK when she left us”). iStockphoto.com

3 IN THE CARIBBEAN: For all their intense beauty and lushness, and the joy in listening to the music that ripples out of these lovely islands — steel drums, reggae, ska — there is a certain melancholy about the Caribbean that adds a poignant subtext to any visit. Somehow you feel it at dusk, which is often the time you’re pulling away from port and starting to think about where you’ll eat dinner and whether you’ll eat inside or out on deck, and the awareness of the me-me-me-ness of that sharpens one’s gratitude at being here, now, on holiday, and surrounded by such profound luxury. Smugness at having been so right in choosing to sail on the Sea Cloud is unavoidable, though, despite best intentions. Built for an heiress in 1931, this three-masted, 34-cabin yacht is arguably the most beautiful vessel afloat. It is ideal for a private charter, too. Courtesy Sea Cloud Cruises

4 VENICE TO THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN: From 2015, grotesquely large cruise ships — those over 96,000 tonnes — will be banned from entering Venice. About time. It is dreadful to witness the furious slapping of waves against the fragile foundations of this beautiful city as they lumber past, causing aesthetic mayhem as well as physical damage. But the view of St Mark’s Square from the water remains one of the greatest sights in Europe. Witnessing it from one of Seabourn’s identical three ships, the 225-cabin, 32,000-ton Odyssey, Sojourn or Quest, gives you about as agreeable an experience as cruising can bestow. The spas on these beautifully designed crafts are outstanding, and their Seabourn Square internet-access/library/concierge/coffee bar is inspired by social hubs. The evening ashore Seabourn provides at Ephesus, Turkey, with an orchestra striking up for a private open-air concert as the sun sets on these massive Greek ruins, is unforgettable. Courtesy Seabourn

5 THROUGH THE PANAMA CANAL: Where next, once you’ve sailed in the obvious waters — the Mediterranean, east and west, and the Caribbean? South America is forever on the cusp of being the Next Big Thing in travel and it’s a region that cruise companies are exploring more as the number of people who now cruise regularly grows year on year, looking around for new waters to explore. Arguably the most interesting way to approach it is via the Panama Canal, built a century ago this year. It’s an engineering marvel, and on an itinerary that starts in Caldera in Costa Rica and calls at New Orleans and Key West before arriving in Miami, you get a good mix of lazy days at sea and busier days in port. iStockphoto.com

6 THROUGH THE GREEK ISLANDS: Cruise ships tend to do most of their sailing at night, so that you wake up to a fresh port each morning. Wandering out to your balcony in the early morning to see a new Greek island sparkling in front of you can make you feel quite overcome: the sunshine, the breeze, the tiers of dazzling whitewashed houses strung above the quayside, the prospect of a cappuccino and croissant on deck before you go ashore. The sophisticated 54-cabin Sea Dream mega-yacht, a kind of a boutique hotel at sea, is perfect for these waters. Not only narrow enough to transit the Corinth Canal and to nudge into little ports such as Hydra’s, it has mahogany decks dotted with hammocks where passengers can enjoy that ultimate treat of sleeping under the stars — cotton sleep-suits are provided too. Courtesy SeaDream Yacht Club

7 AROUND THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: On the east coast of South America, Rio de Janeiro is the must-see, but on the west coast that title is awarded to the open-air wildlife paradise formed by Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands. Rough waters can make approaching the islands on the average, wildly bobbing tourist boat fairly challenging (although nowhere as grim as the passage between the deep south of South America and the Antarctic, where Silversea and Seabourn both now send expedition vessels). On a small cruise ship, however, sailing in these waters is deliciously smooth. Silversea — which ruled the waves in small-ship luxury cruising until Seabourn came along and is battling its rivals on the small-expedition-ship front, now has a dedicated, 50-cabin vessel sailing in the area, complete with on-board wildlife experts and a library crammed with natural-history titles. Courtesy: Silversea Cruises

8 FROM DUBAI TO INFINITY: Or Cape Town, anyway. One great thing about cruising is that it’s just so easy. And the easiest option of all is when you’ve barely left home before you’re settling into your cabin, arranging your stuff in the ingeniously dinky bathroom that is weirdly always such an enjoyable part of a cruise and wandering up on deck to wait for that romantic hoot that signals the ship is moving and you’re off to see the world. On Oceania Cruises’ 332-cabin Nautica, there’s potentially the treat of a lifetime next autumn in a 30-day itinerary that departs from Dubai, calling at Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Muscat two days before cruising the Arabian Sea and then calling at Mumbai, Goa, Cochin, Male, the Seychelles, Mombasa and Maputo before arriving in South Africa. Teak decks, a 2,000-book library, a cooking demonstration kitchen in the culinary centre ... you might never want to get off. That’s another thing about cruising — it is so addictive. iStockphoto.com

9 CUBA ON A TALL SHIP: Seemingly preserved in a time warp since Fidel Castro took over in the 1950s, Cuba is set for change once his communist regime collapses and Americans return. Architecturally glorious in its mix of crumbling Spanish colonial and modernist touches, climatically delectable (barring the occasional hurricane), fringed by some of the loveliest beaches in the Caribbean and home to the world’s most enthusiastically run restaurants — the three- or four-table affairs set up in private homes as soon as Castro relaxed laws banning private enterprise — it’s like nothing else. As is exploring the island from the Star Flyer. A four-masted tall ship with 85 cabins, this wind-driven sailing ship was built in 1991 as a replica of a 19th-century vessel. Teak deck, piano bar, fireplace in the library, daily chat with the captain: it’s an absolute dream. Courtesy Star Clippers

10 Around the Scottish isles: If you love the super-remote and scenically splendid and wouldn’t be averse to turning the clock back a half-century or so, you are guaranteed to love a week on the Hebridean Princess. You might even want to charter the whole thing. This is the world’s smallest luxury cruise ship, with just 30 cabins — 10 of them singles — accommodating 50 guests looked after by a crew of 40. Over 65 per cent of guests on board at any time are likely to be repeat visitors, some of whom have been sailing on the Princess since it first set sail 25 years ago. Food is robust and delicious, with particularly good traditional Scottish puds. Itineraries start in Oban and visit wild and windy islands and coastal villages, taking in castles, white-sand beaches, walks across hillsides and spectacular lochs and mountains. Most nights the ship docks in a remote bay and then the guest’s speaker or captain’s storytelling starts — wonderful. Courtesy Hebridean Island Cruises

Watching the crew tie up at a remote quayside where your ship is the only one in port and then being able to step ashore instead of having to wait for a tender. Eating delicious, healthy and beautifully prepared meals on deck or in the kind of setting you’d find in a top city restaurant — with an ocean view. Falling asleep to the sound of the sea in a roomy cabin whose door onto a balcony you can leave open at night. Discovering the ship’s library is stocked with books and DVDs you’ve been meaning to catch up on, the spa elegant and the service immaculate. Not having too many other people around. Those are just some of the experiences that make top-notch cruises so enjoyable. They’re also the crucial reasons why you should always, always choose a smaller ship. Almost always, anyway. The smaller ships, operated by Seabourn, Silversea, Hapag Lloyd and a handful of others, are the most uniformly luxurious, have the manoeuvrability to get into smaller ports off-limits to the behemoths and ply the routes to draw you back again and again to this serene, versatile and infinitely relaxing way of simultaneously seeing the world and getting away from it all.

More information if you go

1 Crossing the Atlantic: A seven-night cruise from Hamburg or Southampton is available from May to November and costs from £4,209 (Dh25,660). Visit www.cunard.co.uk or call 0044 843 3742 224.

2 Around the British Isles: A 13-night cruise, starting and ending at London, will be available from July 28, 2015, and costs from £4,079 (Dh24,872). Visit www.crystalcruises.com or call 001888 722 0021

3 In the Caribbean: A seven-night cruise from Barbados and back via Tobago, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia, sailing from December 14 to 21, 2015, costs from €5,155 (Dh25,115) in an outside cabin. Visit www.seacloud.com or call 0049 0040 3095 9250

4 Venice to the western Mediterranean: 21-night cruise on the Odyssey next April, from Piraeus to Venice via Kusadasi for Ephesus, costs from £6,500 (Dh39,627). Visit www.seabourn.com or call 001 866 755 5619

5 Through the Panama Canal: A 12-night cruise, available from next March, costs from £2,659 (Dh16,210). Visit www.azamaraclubcruises.com or call 001 305 341 0206

6 Through the Greek islands: A seven-night cruise, available from next summer, from Venice to Piraeus via islands such as Hydra, Mykonos and Santorini costs from £3,235 (Dh19,720). Visit www.seadream.com or call 0047 4104 0122

7 Around the Galapagos Islands: A seven-night cruise in the Galapagos, sailing from Baltra and back again with 12 ports of call in between next March, costs from £4,150 (Dh25,300). Visit www.silversea.com or call 0037 7977 02424

8 From Dubai to infinity: A 29-night cruise in a stateroom with a vernadah costs £10,469 (Dh63,823). Visit www.oceaniacruises.com

9 Cuba on a tall ship: A seven-night cruise in the best cabins, with three nights in the Cayman Islands, next February, costs £2,800 (Dh17,070). Visit www.starclippers.com or call 0037 7979 78400

10 Around the Scottish isles: A four-to nine-night cruise costs from £950 (Dh5,790). Visit www.hebridean.co.uk or call 0044 1756704700