Five great cities you can visit before or after a cruise

I’m often surprised that so few cruisers take the chance to visit the port cities where their voyages start or end. At most, people fly the night before their departure, usually only to build a safety net in case their flight gets cancelled or delayed.

And if you think of the sensational cities some cruises depart from or sail to, it seems like a real missed opportunity. Plus, it doesn’t have to cost significantly more – and add logistical complications. Many travel companies, such as Iglu Cruise, have teams dedicated to creating such cruise-and-stay packages.

These trips often have specially negotiated rates on the cruise itself. The hotels are vetted, and rates negotiated. And all the niggly details like transfers and luggage will also often be taken care of.

What are the best cities to discover before or after a cruise? Here are our five favourites:

New York City, United States

With an eight-hour flight and a five-hour time difference separating the Big Apple from the UK, the US megapolis can be a bit of a stretch for a simple three- or four-night city break, especially if you’re prone to jetlag. Visiting on a cruise makes a lot of sense.

Most cruises departing from New York City take you to the Caribbean or Canada and New England. But we think the best voyage to combine with a stay in the city that never sleeps is a transatlantic sailing on Queen Mary 2.

New York City and Cunard’s ocean liner are icons. Combining the two is a marriage of equals – an iconic trip from start to finish.

World of Cruising tip: Book a crossing that coincides with a New York event, such as the festive season or the January sales. If you intend to indulge in some shopping therapy, book an eastbound crossing from New York to Southampton so you don’t have to worry about the luggage allowance.

What to book:Iglu Cruise has a range of trips, including a Queen Mary 2 transatlantic crossing, a hotel stay and transfers. Prices start from £1,099 per person.

Sydney, Australia

Look, if you’re going to spend 30 hours or more in a flying tin can to get somewhere, you might as well make the most of it. Especially when that somewhere is as special as the Australian city is.

While Sydney is not the capital of Australia (that title goes to Canberra), it’s the Antipodean city that has most captured the minds and imagination of travellers. Of course, you’ll want to visit Bondi Beach and the picture-perfect harbour, with its Opera House to one side and towering steel arch bridge on the other. But there’s plenty more to see, and you’ll need at least a few days to really get a feel for the city.

Unlike New York City, Sydney doesn’t have its own iconic sailing. But it’s the starting point for one of the great cruise itineraries: Australia and New Zealand. So here again, you get to combine an amazing city stay with a fabulous holiday at sea.

World of Cruising tip: Shorter voyages sail straight from Sydney to New Zealand, while longer ones will also cover ports in Australia. This is a trip of a lifetime, book a longer cruise and make the most of it by discovering parts of both countries.

What to book: You can find a wide range of Australia and New Zealand sailings with a Sydney hotel stay and transfers on Iglu Cruise. Prices start from around £2,500 per person.

Tokyo, Japan

Ranked fourth in the 2026 World’s Best Cities Report, the Japanese capital can feel mesmerisingly foreign. A vast, neon-lit metropolis where ancient temples sit quietly beneath skyscrapers, Tokyo rewards slow exploration far more than a quick dash between sights.

Tokyo is the gateway to a wide variety of sailings. Many voyages explore the country’s coastline – calling at Hakodate, Aomori, Kobe or Nagasaki – while others venture to South Korea, Taiwan or the wider Pacific. But the most compelling pairings are often Japan-focused itineraries that weave together the country’s contrasting regions, from volcanic landscapes and hot-spring towns to historic ports and hyper-modern cities.

A pre- or post-cruise stay in Tokyo anchors the journey, giving you space to experience the Shinto shrines, hidden alleyway bars, serene gardens and world-class food scene that make this city so captivating.

World of Cruising tip: Time your visit to coincide with Japan’s cherry blossom season, and you’ll see Tokyo at its most atmospheric – but it’s also the busiest time of year to travel. Book well ahead and consider a round-trip cruise from Tokyo rather than a one-way itinerary. It saves you from juggling internal flights during peak travel weeks.

What to book:Iglu Cruise has a range of Japan and Asia sailings from Tokyo, with a hotel stay and transfers. Prices start at around £2,200 per person.

Athens, Greece

The Med has a wealth of phenomenal cities from which you can embark on a cruise. Barcelona, Rome (for sailings from Civitavecchia) and Marseille are all worthy picks. But we’ve settled on Athens.

The primary reason is that flights to Athens from the UK are longer than those to most other Mediterranean cities, making the Greek capital trickier to see on a short city break.

Athens is also the starting point for exciting itineraries that often take in the Adriatic coast of Croatia and Montenegro, the Greek islands and countries like Cyprus and the Turkish Riviera (some itineraries even push all the way to Istanbul).

The final reason for a pre-cruise stay in Athens is the city itself. The Acropolis and other monuments of ancient Greece may grab the headlines, but the city has a lot more to offer, from neighbourhood cafés spilling onto pavements and late-night dining to streets that shift quickly from grand boulevards to village-like backstreets. It’s a city that needs a bit of time rather than a rushed dash between famous sights.

World of Cruising tip: Athens is far more pleasant outside peak summer. Book a sailing in late spring or early autumn, and you’ll avoid the worst of the heat, the queues at major sites will be shorter, and the weather will still be warm enough to feel like a sunny holiday.

What to book: You can find a wide range of Mediterranean sailings with a hotel stay in Athens and transfers on Iglu Cruise. Prices start from around £1,099 per person.

Honolulu, United States

Hawaii feels far-flung for UK travellers – a 20-hour journey and a hefty time difference make it a challenging proposition for any holiday shorter than 10 nights. And while a cruise is an ideal way to see more than one of the archipelago’s islands, many sail round-trip from California, meaning the itineraries include a big chunk of days at sea.

There is, however, one exception: Norwegian Cruise Line’s round-trip Hawaii sailings from Honolulu on Pride of America. These voyages are perfect to maximise your time in the destination, and they also allow you to discover even more of it by extending the trip with a hotel stay.

You can get under the skin of the city’s beaches, surf heritage and volcanic backdrop. Or adventure further on the Big Island. If you choose to start your trip with a hotel stay, you’ll also have a few days to settle and recover from the jet lag before your cruise.

Pride of America’s weekly itinerary maximises discovery. You’ll tick off four islands in seven nights – Big Island, Oahu, Maui and Kauai – covering ground that would take weeks (and several inter-island flights) to replicate independently.

World of Cruising tip: Hawaii’s busiest periods coincide with the US school holidays. For calmer beaches and easier island touring, travel in late April, May or September. You’ll still get reliable sunshine – just with fewer crowds on the islands and better cabin choice on Pride of America.

What to book: You can find a variety of Pride of America sailings with Honolulu hotel stays from two to seven nights, and transfers, on Iglu Cruise. Prices start at around £2,749 per person.