Online travel forum Travelzoo said more than a third of its customers (36 per cent) plan to take a cruise this year – an increase of 11 per cent since 2015; and up on 2016’s 34.5 per cent.

In 2017, it published more than 170 cruise deals in its weekly Top 20 email, and sent over 26.7 million cruise deal emails to its 4.5 million-strong UK database.

Joel Brandon-Bravo, general manager at Travelzoo in the UK, said: “Cruise is becoming an ever-bigger part of Travelzoo’s business. Our data shows that not only is the appetite for cruising among our members growing – they’re becoming big fans – over a quarter (27 per cent) of those who’ve cruised have been on two to three, while 22 per cent have been on a whopping eight or more! We’re seeing more exciting and inspiring itineraries from the cruise partners we work with now than ever before – last year we published deals for cruises in South America, a Panama Canal and Mexico cruise, and an Australia and New Zealand cruise – and a growth in the number of river cruising deals available.”

He added: “This spring, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line will all launch their largest-ever ships, complete with cutting-edge technology and a whole host of onboard activities and exciting partnerships with brands like Audi, Apple and Burberry to enhance the passenger experience. Onboard product is becoming ever more sophisticated across the industry, with improving Wi-Fi, wearable tech, interactive avatars and virtual-reality dining and shore excursion samplers expected to become available this year. Traffic to the cruise sections on Travelzoo’s websites peaks in January, and ‘The Cruise’ will no doubt increase this further by putting a spotlight on everything cruising has to offer.”

Travelzoo sampled 1,506, 920 and 1,058 UK members in 2017, 2106 and 2015 respectively. It provides deals to 28 million members – working with 2,000 travel suppliers.