bottom: 15px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Luxury tailor-made tour operator Carrier has reported a 153% rise in cruise bookings in the first half of the year.

No breakdown of the figures was given, although the operator said it follows three years of consecutive growth since the company introduced its cruise portfolio in 2014.

This comes against a background of new ships being launched by luxury cruise lines such as Seabourn and Ritz-Carlton entering the sector with three yachts over the next four years.

Carrier plans to expand and enhance its cruise offering and will continue to invest in staff training and cruise familiarisation trips to ensure continued superior product knowledge.

New partners will also be added to Carrier’s existing portfolio including Celebrity Edge and Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.

Product manager for cruise, Lucy Wybraniec, said: “The luxury cruise market is an exciting space to be operating in at the moment, with lots of investment, new ships and destinations on offer.

“As well as arranging the simpler fly-cruise holidays, Carrier also has the expertise and knowledge to create incredible itineraries for pre- or post-cruise tours in a number of de