A trend of rapid increase in popularity of departures from British ports has resulted in a significant fall in the popularity of the Caribbean as a destination, Cruise Lines' International Association (CLIA) UK & Ireland said in a statement, adding that Northern Europe and Norway have been the biggest winners.

"The figures for last year show a big shift towards cruising from UK ports at the expense of fly-cruise, particularly to the Caribbean, which has seen numbers drop by almost 100,000 since 2009 due to Air Passenger Duty and higher airline costs," CLIA said.

Cruising in the Mediterranean remained the most popular choice for British passengers, accounting for 644,000, but this is set to be overtaken by Northern Europe with numbers up by 20% last year to 531,000. This continues a trend of "spectacular growth" for the region over the past decade during which passenger numbers have grown fivefold.

Within Northern Europe, Norway stands out, with the number of passengers visiting the country on cruises departing from the UK leaping from 37,000 to 218,000 in a decade. This is part of a wider trend which has seen a continuing increase in the number of UK passengers starting their cruises at home rather than overseas.