Demand Doubles for Rail & Cruise

Iglu Cruise Report Growth in Rail and Cruise Enquiries

Iglu Cruise reports a definitive rise in demand for cruise itineraries which incorporate a rail element. Comparing 2024 with 2023, demand has doubled for this type of holiday.

Top rail experiences available to book include the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express; Eastern & Oriental Express; Rocky Mountaineer; the Japanese Bullet Train and the Flåm railway. With prices from £799 per person upwards, there is a rail and cruise option for everyone. Combining luxurious comfort with exceptional service, and the chance to see incredible landscapes from the train, a rail and cruise holiday offers many benefits.

Iglu Cruise’s Chief Commercial Officer Dave Mills says, ‘Customers’ appetite for a combination holiday, with time on an iconic train, embedded within a cruise itinerary is certainly on the rise. I have invested in our programme over the last few months, to respond to demand for trips with several transport elements. We’re talking about bucket-list travel experiences, made easier and even more enjoyable by adding a rail trip to a cruise—as the different methods of travel seem to complement really really well. These five ideas are truly mouth-watering.’

Top Rail and Cruise Itineraries from Iglu Cruise

JOOLS HOLLAND - CRUISE & VENICE TO PARIS - £10,899

Join Jools on board Cunard Queen Victoria this May. The last few cabins are available on this itinerary which concludes with a journey on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express from Venice to Paris. Be wined and dined in meticulously-restored 1920s dining cars, before raising sparkling toasts in iconic Bar Car '3674'. Between plush cabins and palpable history, an astonishing journey awaits. Iglu Cruise offers ‘Luxury No-Fly Trip’ for 11 nights from £10,899 per person, full board, based on two sharing an outside suite, departing from Southampton on May 4th, 2025, returning by train from Venice via Paris. Ports visited are Cadiz (for Seville), Palma De Mallorca and Civitavecchia (for Rome).

EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS - SOUTH EAST ASIA - £8,079

A spectacular winter holiday next February. Iglu Cruise offers ‘Journey on the Eastern & Oriental Express Train, with Luxury Hotel Stays & India & Sri Lanka & Thailand from Mumbai’ for 22 nights from £8,079 per person, departing February 5th, 2026. Take the luxury train on day 17 for four days—The Essence of Malaysia—to journey from the urban buzz of Singapore, deep into the Malaysian jungle, and revelling in onboard glamour and visiting the spa. Plenty of excursions are brought to life by local experts, such as UNESCO-listed George Town in Penang, Langkawi island and the magnificent Perlis Geopark. In keeping with the outstanding quality throughout, all hotels in this itinerary are in the 5* luxury category.

1 night outbound flight London to Mumbai

2 nights Mumbai

12 nights cruise Mumbai to Singapore on board Celebrity Millennium, full board

3 nights Sentosa

3 nights Eastern & Oriental Express, a Belmond Train

1 night Singapore

Fly home

ROCKY MOUNTAINEER - CLASSIC NORTH AMERICA - £4,899

A classic bucket-list trip, combining an Alaskan cruise with a Rockies rail journey on board the iconic and luxurious Rocky Mountaineer. Unlock a hidden world of shifting landscapes and unparalleled beauty as you journey onboard the award-winning Rocky Mountaineer train. Iglu Cruise offers, ‘Toronto, Niagara Falls & Rocky Mountaineer from Banff to Vancouver & Alaska with Inside Passage from Vancouver’ for 15 nights from only £4,899 per person, full board, on board Holland America Line’s Koningsdam, departing London Heathrow (regional flights available) and overseas transfers, departing on May 24th, 2025.

SHINKANSEN (BULLET TRAIN) - A JAPANESE HIGHLIGHT - £3,749

A journey on the super-slick Bullet Train in Japan is easily integrated into a holiday to the country. For example, try ‘Golden Week Tokyo Stay, Mt. Fuji and Hiroshima’ from £3,749 for 17 nights, departing from London Heathrow (regional flights available), on April 28th, 2026. A true marvel of modern engineering, you’ll get glimpses of Japan’s scenic countryside as you relish in the modern comforts and efficiency of this world-famous high-speed railway from Odawara Station back to Tokyo proper.

1 night overnight flight

3 nights Tokyo Hotel Stay with Bullet Train

12 nights cruise from Tokyo to Busan and return on board Celebrity Millennium, full board

1 night return flight

FLAM RAILWAY - A NORWEGIAN MUST-DO - £799

Easily integrated into a Norwegian Cruise itinerary, a trip on Flåmrailway is one of the most popular excursions for cruisers in Norway. The Flåm Railway has been described as one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world and is one of the leading tourist attractions in Norway. The journey features the finest aspects of the stunning scenery of Western Norway. Iglu Cruise offers ‘Norwegian Fjords from Southampton’ for 7 nights from £799 per person, full board, based on two sharing an inside cabin on board P&O Iona, departing on June 28th, 2025.