While the majority of ex UK cruises sail from ports in the south of England, several of our favourite cruise lines operate a handful of cruises out of Scottish ports during the summer months. The most common points of embarkation are the ports serving Edinburgh - Leith, South Queensferry and Rosyth - though you may occasionally find itineraries sailing out of Greenock, Glasgow's main port.

These itineraries are rarely round-trips, so you'll normally be disembarking somewhere else in Northern Europe, with common ports including Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Reykjavik. Occasionally you might find an itinerary beginning or ending somewhere else in the British Isles, such as Dublin or Southampton.

Cruise lines currently operating out of Scotland during the summer include small ship lines Windstar Cruises and Azamara, typically visiting Scandinavia, the Baltic or Iceland, and Silversea sometimes offer expedition itineraries to Iceland, Norway or the Arctic sailing from Scottish ports.

And let's not forget Scotland's own home-grown cruise line, Hebridean Island Cruises, which sails the waters around Scotland for most of the year. During spring and autumn the quirky little Hebridean Princess sails out of Greenock, while during the summer she's based in Oban and occasionally other ports such as Invergordon. This one-of-a-kind ship is like a floating country hotel, small enough to visit the remote islands and craggy coastlines that other cruise lines can't reach.