Singles find love on cruise holidays

Are you over 50 and hoping to find love? Book yourself onto a cruise ship and you could soon find yourself sailing off into the sunset with someone special, says a new study.

Cruise comparison website CruiseCompare.co.uk polled more than 1,000 unattached people aged 50 and over who had taken a cruise in the past five years, and found that 53 per cent of them had gone in the hope of discovering romance onboard. And one in 10 said they chose a cruise holiday in order to 'make friends' onboard too.

And is that it really works - at least in the short term. Seventeen per cent admitted getting involved in a 'romantic relationship' while afloat, and six per cent of those relationships continued once they had returned home.

Respondents were also asked about what type of relationships they developed on board, aside from any romantic ones. Sixty-nine per cent said that they built friendships while on their cruising holiday, 19 per cent of which have been maintained.

Danielle Fear, managing director of CruiseCompare.co.uk, says: 'Cruises are certainly a great place to meet new people and to form romantic relationships... they allow people to form friendships more easily, as you are all experiencing the same holiday for the same length of time.'

'There are cruises designed specifically for single people with hope of finding romance, and they are a great option for anyone looking for love on holiday.'

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