As part of ongoing research into the holiday habits of Britons, an independent online cruise travel agent has conducted a study of over 1,100 married men and women in a bid to discover what they did to celebrate their stag or hen party; with just under one in ten, 9%, claiming that they celebrated theirs with a cruise.

An independent online cruise travel agent has conducted a study to discover more about the most popular destinations when it comes to holding a stag/hen party. The research was conducted in a bid to discover more about the holiday habits of Britons, specifically in relation to stag and hen parties with the wedding season upon us.

The research, conducted by www.Bonvoyage.co.uk, asked 1,171 married men and women across the UK what they did to celebrate their stag/hen party before getting married, with all respondents having been married in the past 5 years.

According to the study, the majority, 34%, stated that they went to a ‘city in the UK’ to celebrate their stag/hen party booking activities like life drawing in hen party houses. When asked where in the UK they travelled, ‘Brighton’ was the most common destination for 23%, shortly followed by Edinburgh with 18%.

In contrast, just under one in ten, 9%, of those taking part claimed that they celebrated their stag or hen party with a cruise.  When asked why they had opted for a cruise, the majority, 61%, of those taking part explained that they felt a cruise was ‘more interesting’ than other stag/ hen options, whilst a fifth, 22%, believed that the cruise was ‘better value for money.’

Of those who had gone on a cruise for their stag/ hen, a ‘Mediterranean cruise’ was the most popular option; with over a third, 35%, of the stag/ hen cruisers having opted for this type of cruise.

A further 26% of these respondents had opted for a ‘mini cruise’ that lasted three days; whilst 14%, had opted for a Northern Europe cruise, whilst 12% had chosen one around the Caribbean.

Of the total respondents to the study, 27% stated that they celebrated their stag/hen party at the ‘local pubs and bars’ in their hometown; whilst 17% of the respondents enjoyed their stag/hen party ‘abroad’, with ‘Spain’ being the most popular destination of choice.

When asked what had been the most important factor when deciding how to celebrate their stag or hen party, the majority of those taking part, 52%, claimed that ‘having fun’ was the main deciding factor. In contrast, just under a quarter, 24%, claimed that ‘money/ budget’ decided how they celebrated, whilst 12% claimed that they had ‘no choice’ in how to celebrate as it was ‘organised for them.’

Steph Curtin, Cruise Development Manager of bonvoyage.co.uk, spoke about the findings:
“One of our aims here at bonvoyage.co.uk is to inform people about all the types of cruise holidays on offer, and try to banish the stereotype that some people may have about cruising.  There is a perfect cruise out there for every occasion, weather it is a family fun packed holiday, a romantic honeymoon or even an adventurous stag/hen party; and it seems that more and more are cottoning on to cruises as a unique way to celebrate before they marry.”

She continued:
“It was interesting to see that those who picked a cruise for their stag or hen did so as a more ‘interesting’ option than other destinations. They are certainly a great way to visit a range of destinations- and with most offering food and drink packages in with the price, can be an affordable option on a budget. Why just go to Amsterdam when you can visit a whole host of wild European cities on a cruise in one week!”