It is incredible how much sightseeing and relaxation that tourists can pack into a single cruise holiday these days. Within the scope of just a few weeks, guests on-board one of the world's great cruise ships can venture to dozens of equally fascinating places and return home well and truly rested. From a UK consumer perspective the option of embarking and returning from the south of England is very often an attractive one and there are some top quality tours on which that is very much available. However, if you fly and then meet your cruise ship in mid-trip there are real bargains to be found and you can land right in the heart of some seriously exotic, not to say intoxicating regions of the world. So suddenly the likes of the Caribbean, Australasia and the Far East become much more affordable and realistic cruise holiday options.