How can I escape the British winter?

Go on a cruise - they've changed.Traditionally, it was the Caribbean that lured the winter cruiser. But the boom in cruising over the past five years has inspired cruise lines to come up with increasingly adventurous itineraries and destinations.

A craze for South America, which started last winter, shows no sign of abating, whether it's an adventurous voyage around Cape Horn, a couple of nights at the Rio carnival or a foray into the Amazon rainforest. Princess Cruises (020 7800 2468; www.princesscruises.com) has four 16-night voyages around Cape Horn this winter from £3,545, taking in lakes, mountains, glaciers and fjords and bustling cities such as Buenos Aires and Santiago.

The luxury line Crystal Cruises (020 7287 9040; www.crystalcruises.com) has a departure on 29 January from Fort Lauderdale, sailing to Buenos Aires, with two nights in Rio for the carnival, from £4,350 for 19 nights. If you've got even more money to burn, Radisson Seven Seas Mariner (023 8068 2280; or www.rssc.com), one of the most spacious and luxurious ships afloat - complete with Cordon Bleu restaurant, cigar bar and thalassotherapy spa - sails in January from Buenos Aires via Rio to Manaus, deep in the Amazon. The 19-night cruise starts at £6,710.

The Pacific is a long, long haul but, for some, it's worth it for the sun and lush scenery. Norwegian Cruise Line (0800 181 560; or www.uk.ncl.com) is basing a ship in Hawaii this winter, sailing from Honolulu to Kauai, Maui, Kona and the unspoilt Fanning Island (from £2,255 for seven nights, although to justify the long flight you need to extend the holiday in a hotel).

There's still time to book on the QE2's December world cruise, too, with a starting price of £21,800 for the full four months (0800 052 3840; or www.cunard.com).

But I don't want to be with hundreds of other people

For a private-yacht feeling, try Windstar Cruises's (020 794 04488; or www.windstarcruises.com) romantic sailing ships. Wind Song , carrying only 148 passengers, will sail around New Zealand this winter, and the company has a couple of one-off pre-Christmas cruises from Bali to Cairns and Cairns to Auckland (from £2,075 on 25 November).

Smaller ships can slip into more exclusive ports. A good bet in the Caribbean is the graceful five-masted Royal Clipper (01473 292229; or www.starclippers.co.uk) which spends the winter alternating between the Windward Islands and the Grenadines, calling at Martinique, Bequia, St Lucia and Tobago Cays (from £975 in early December and £1,040 early January, excluding flights). Her sister ship Star Flyer, meanwhile, meanders lazily around southern Thailand among the towering limestone monoliths of Phang Nga, near Phuket, and the jungle islands of Ko Phi Phi, from £965 excluding flights.

What about something more adventurous?

Two major films being made about the South Pole - one stars Russell Crowe, the other Kenneth Branagh - are expected to prompt a stampede to Antarctica. Winter is the season to head there, when a small number of ships with ice-hardened hulls explore its still partly uncharted waters.

Orient Lines (020 7959 5900) does this in style with the comfortable 848-passenger Marco Polo, while Hapag Lloyd's Bremen (020 7434 0089) is a small but luxurious expedition vessel.

Quark Expeditions (01494 464080; www.quark-expeditions.com) and Peregrine Expeditions (020 7723 2450; www.peregrineadventures.com) operate more basic research ships in the area. Comfort levels aside, all these cruises provide first-class lectures, guest speakers and shore excursions, allowing passengers to get close to the wildlife and glaciers.

Closer to home, Norwegian Coastal Voyage (020 7559 6666; www.norwegiancoastalvoyage.com), which operates mail and supply ships up and down the Norwegian coast, has 11 four-night Northern Lights departures from Tromso to Bergen, during which you experience the eerie half-light of winter in the Arctic and, with luck, see the aurora borealis (from £495).

Are there any new ships?

Silversea Cruises' lavish Silver Whisper (0870 333 7030; www.silversea.com) which takes 388 passengers in decadent style with everything down to the last drop of Moët included in the price, will spend its maiden season in South America and, later, the Indian Ocean.

The Scottish line Hebridean Island Cruises (01756 704704; www.hebridean.co.uk) has a new ship, Hebridean Spirit, which will take only 78 guests in understated luxury through the Aegean, the Red Sea, the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Seven nights in the Aegean in November is unashamedly expensive, starting at £2,660.

Royal Caribbean (0800 018 2020; www.royalcaribbean.co.uk) launches Adventure of the Seas, the third of its huge, 142,000-ton floating resorts, in October. She is destined for year-round, seven-night jaunts around the southern Caribbean.

Fred. Olsen Cruises (08702 414424; www.fredolsencruises.co.uk, has added a third ship, Braemar, to its fleet. This will spend the winter in the Caribbean before sailing to the Canaries in April.

I still see cruising as a blue-rinse kind of holiday.

Cruising is aiming at younger holidaymakers, as new ships become more like smart resort hotels. Kiss goodbye to napkin-folding demonstrations and say hello to Martini bars, internet centres, state-of-the-art gyms and sumptuous spas.

Black-tie formal nights have become optional, and dinner has evolved beyond the rigid second-sitting-at-eight format to eating when you like in a choice of restaurants. Norwegian Cruise Line's brand new Norwegian Sun has a sushi restaurant, a tapas bar, an aerobics programme, scuba diving lessons and a Balinese spa.

Royal Caribbean's newly launched Radiance of the Seas has a 3-D cinema, a rock-climbing wall and a champagne bar.

Is it value for money?

Cruising is generally excellent value as all food and on-board entertainment are included in the prices. The market is highly competitive and there are big discounts for the canny traveller.

Extras, however, can mount up. Expect to pay a cover charge of up to £18 a head for dining in 'alternative' restaurants, for example. An annoying 15 per cent 'service' charge is added to drink prices on most ships catering for Americans; and on some, there's a surcharge for using some sports facilities.

Should I book now?

'If you see the cabin you want on the ship you want, book it now,' advises Jeremy Scott, general manager of specialist cruise agent ecruise (020 8559 9007; www.ecruise.co.uk

'At the top end of the market, you need to book ahead. At the middle to lower end, the exotic one-off itineraries go quickly. But if you just want a week in the Caribbean, book it late. There will always be several ships doing the same itinerary.'

Big incentives are offered to early bookers, and that does mean early - 120 days ahead in the case of Radisson Seven Seas Cruises. This can produce a saving of £500 on a 10-night cruise, or a whopping £3,290 on a 56-night voyage. Cunard will give you 20 per cent off the brochure price for booking a 2002 cruise before the end of November, and 10 per cent off before 31 March.

Who has the best deals?

'Specialist cruise travel agents have the best deals because we have access to the best cruise line discounts,' says Edwina Lonsdale, head of Mundy Cruising (020 7734 4404; www.mundycruising.com).

A good specialist should also have the time and expertise to match the right passenger to the right ship. Booking direct with a cruise line will rarely produce a better deal than you'll get from an agent, unless you are a past passenger with many cruises under your belt and a huge loyalty discount.

Look for agents that are members of the Leading Cruise Agents of the UK (listed at www.leadingcruiseagents.co.uk) or that display a Passenger Shipping Association Retail Agent Scheme (PSARA) sticker (www.psa-psara.org), which means they have been trained by the association (020 7436 2449; www.cruiseinformationservice.co.uk) in selling cruising.

• Sue Bryant is editor of 'Cruise Traveller' magazine, at www.cruisetraveller.co.uk