Keen travellers can take a holiday on the classic cruise liner Funchal next year from Falmouth Docks to Norway, Madeira, the Canaries, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and the Mediterranean when cruising from the port returns.

Newell’s Travel has joined forces exclusively with Portuscale Cruises, owners of the Funchal, by offering a series of cruises out of Falmouth in 2014.

This is welcome news for port managers who have seen a slump in shipping over recent months. Mike Reynolds, A&P port operations director said: “It is very good news that Falmouth will be hosting turnarounds of the Funchal next year. Once again we will be working with Newell’s Travel to provide a great quayside service for passengers to start and finish their holiday in the best possible way. We hope with the success of these cruises to see more in the future.”

Passengers with cars can enjoy free parking at the docks in a secure compound for the duration of their holiday.

The classic liner Funchal has undergone a £10 million refit and refurbishment programme during the past two years to bring her up to date with the stringent safety standards laid down by SOLAS 2010. She has had new engines installed with all of the interior, including cabins and public rooms, being refurbished to a very high standard. Funchal has in the past acted as the presidential yacht for Portugal.

The 9,500-tons vessel, which can carry 500 passengers, has been operating in UK waters for 20 years and the 2014 voyages will appeal to first time cruisers or people seeking a more relaxed holiday away from the hustle and bustle associated with the mega cruise ships.

Roger Hawke, one of the main architects in setting up the highly successful cruises on Van Gogh years ago, has been in Portugal finalising arrangements for next year’s cruises with Portuscale bosses.

A re-positioning Easter Algarve to Falmouth cruise from Portimao to Falmouth via Arrecife, Agadir, where passsengers can enjoy a desert tour, Casablanca, Lisbon and Oporto brings Funchal to Cornwall for the start of her 2014 programme.

The South to the Sun cruise starts in April when passengers embark on a ten-day cruise to Vigo, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Tangiers and Oporto. These ports were popular with thousands of passengers that undertook holidays from Falmouth onboard the Van Gogh.

A Falmouth to the Fjords 11-day cruise will see the Funchal sail from Falmouth next May for Dublin and onto Bergen where she will spend the day in port before steaming down the beautiful Sognefjord to Flam. Funchal leaves here for Gudvangen on Nærøyfjord and Rosendal on Hardangerfjord. Next stop is a call at Ijuimuiden, Holland’s third largest port at the entrance of the North Sea Canal. A day at sea follows as the ship heads down Channel for Falmouth.

The longest cruise of 13 days during August takes passengers first to Porto then on to Madeira, garden of the Atlantic, with calls at Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Arrecife, Lanzarote, Casablanca, Lisbon and back to Falmouth.

The Gardens, History, Wine and oysters, a nine-day cruise from August 23 to 31, caught my eye. This may be for people wishing to enjoy a break closer to home. Sailing from Falmouth, Funchal steams south to the Basque port of Bilbao, Spain, then works her way back across the Bay of Biscay via three delightful ports in France and the Isles of Scilly.

A port call at Bordeaux, a worldwide renowned wine capital, now listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, some 60 miles from the sea at the head of the Gironde Estuary will satisfy the wine buffs amongst the passengers.

Next stop is La Rochelle with a call at the delightful port of Honfleur in north west France before sailing onto St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly and back to Falmouth. Passengers on this cruise will arrive back in port in time to see the action packed start of the Tall Ships Race that day.

It promises to be a busy day at the docks when Funchal departs that evening on her Treasures of the Mediterranean cruise which ends in Lisbon from where passengers fly home.

n Anyone requiring further information about the cruises should call 01326 312620 or 0800 652 3452.