Port of call

British cruisers have voted Venice their favourite port in the world in a new survey of the best cruise destinations...

The Italian city, world-famous for its criss-crossing Canals and gondola rides, pipped Barcelona to the top spot winning five per cent of the vote in the YouGov poll.

Mediterranean ports fared well among cruise fans with 15 per cent citing them as their favourite places to go on a cruise, with Caribbean ports next on the list.

However in a surprise twist, Road Town port on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, was mentioned ahead of better-known Caribbean ports like St John's in Antigua, and Bridgetown in Barbados.

Miami took the top spot as the best cruise port in the USA and Vancouver was voted the best in Canada.

It is not only exotic, far-flung ports that did well. Liverpool and Southampton vied for top spot when it came to British sea ports and received the same number of votes as Sydney and Stockholm.

The survey did not just look at ports, with river cruisers voting Luxor on the Nile their favourite river stop followed by London. Top rivers were the Yangtze in China and the Douro in Portugal.

When asked what they looked for in a good port, cruisers cited stunning scenery and local excursions as the most important features, closely followed by a good natural setting.

Nearly four out of ten people questioned thought that local culture was most important, with 25 per cent saying good regional food and drink were also pivotal.

Cruisers also proved themselves to be culture vultures with 20 per cent saying that meeting local people was the top attraction, whereas only 16 per cent listed shopping as an important feature.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk