nice as the favourite port for British cruise passengers, according to a poll out today.

Venice has been toppled from the?top slot after two years, as 19% of consumers voted New York the best cruise destination according to a YouGov?poll for the Passenger Shipping Association. The poll results were issued?ahead of National Cruise Week which begins on Sunday.

New York was also voted favourite by more than one in four (26%) of respondents aged between 18 and 34.

Thirteen per cent voted for Venice and there was a three-way tie for third place between Barcelona, Rome (from the port of Civitavecchia) and Singapore, each registering 7%.

More than half (57%) of respondents said the opportunity to visit a number of destinations in one trip was a main attraction of a cruise holiday.

The convenience of having to unpack just once appealed to 50% of people, although this was more important to women (53%) than men (46%).

The perception that cruising is all-inclusive – despite there being extra onboard costs - was one of the most attractive features for 36% of respondents, just beating the attraction of waking up in a new port almost every day, voted for by 35%.

Next in appeal was the dining onboard cruise ships, favoured by 27% of respondents,?but by 33% among those in Wales.

A principal attraction of cruise for almost one in five (19%) was the opportunity to meet people from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities.The onboard entertainment was mentioned by 17% of those surveyed.

Asked to select the celebrity they would most like to see “walk the plank”, more than one in five (22%) chose Katie Price (alias Jordan), followed by Jedward (17%), James Murdoch (11%), Gordon Brown (10%) and Simon Cowell and Boris Johnson (both 6%). Johnny Depp and Jennifer Aniston topped the poll of fantasy cabin mates along with A