Cruise-and-rail holidays are having a moment, and UK-based online cruise specialist Cruise.co.uk has just widened the options. Four new itineraries have joined its 2027 Cruise & Rail Collection, which launched in May 2026 and now counts 17 departures spanning the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and North America. Every package bundles trains, hotels and a cruise into one price, with all flights and rail travel included.
The most budget-friendly of the new arrivals is a six-night Christmas Markets River Cruise, escorted by rail from London. You take the Eurostar to Cologne, a high-speed train on to Frankfurt, then board VIVA Cruises' VIVA TIARA for a four-night all-inclusive sailing with stops in Speyer, Strasbourg and Mainz. A night in a Cologne hotel and the train home round it off. Departures run on November 27 and December 13, from £1,849 per person.
Two of the additions put Cunard's five-star Queen Elizabeth at the centre. The 13-night Europe by First Class Rail option starts with Eurostar to Paris, a high-speed hop to Barcelona for two nights, then a seven-night cruise calling at Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Ajaccio and La Spezia for Florence and Pisa, finishing with hotel nights in Rome and Basel before the train home. It departs June 8 from £3,399. Alternatively, the 15-night Grand Tour of Italy by Rail flips the order: Milan, three nights on Lake Garda, Florence and Rome by train, then a seven-night cruise to La Spezia, Genoa, Villefranche-sur-Mer and Ajaccio, disembarking in Barcelona. That one sails on September 17 from £2,999.
For the keenest rail fans, there's a 16-night Queen Elizabeth to Queen of the Mountains trip. Sail from Barcelona to Valletta, Kotor, Split and Zadar, disembark in Trieste, then ride to Lugano before boarding the scenic Gotthard Panorama Express to Lucerne for six nights. The package includes Switzerland's Big 5 Mountain Railroad Adventure plus trips on the Stanserhorn, Stoosbahn, Titlis Rotair and the Pilatus Railway, flying home from Zurich. It departs September 9 from £3,799.
Tony Andrews, the company's managing director, framed the appeal simply: rail and cruise pair well because you enjoy the journey as much as the destination. That's the real hook here. These packages remove the faff that usually puts people off combining trains with a cruise — the separate bookings, luggage transfers and hotel logistics are all handled, which is rare in this corner of the market.
The itineraries suit two types of traveller. Overland-inclined holidaymakers who'd rather skip short-haul flights where possible get a greener, more scenic route to the departure port. And cruise regulars bored of fly-cruise routine get a proper land-based chapter built into the trip, whether that's Alpine rack railways or Italian lakes. Bookings are open now via cruise.co.uk.
Full details via Breaking Travel News.
