There’s no doubt about it – a cruise is a sociable and communal holiday, and there’s nothing more fun and inspiring and than being surrounded by like-minded people.

Many holidaymakers enjoy indulging in a hobby while they’re away, but more and more are choosing to dedicate their whole break to an activity that interests them.

Several cruise lines now offer sailings themed to a huge range of pastimes or interests, where you can learn to paint, improve your game of golf or find out more about classical music, for example.

A cruise ship is the ideal environment for learning – everyone eats, sleeps and spends their leisure time in the same space, and evening entertainment can easily be replaced by lectures and seminars, workshops and demonstrations, especially on sailings with multiple sea days.

A specialist will often host the cruise and also take guests on themed excursions – so you can expect vineyard or market tours on gastro sailings, rounds of golf on golf cruises, or visits to galleries if you’re on an art cruise. There are also cruises themed to world affairs lectures or academic modules, ballroom dancing or sailing with soap stars, and whole sailings given over to gay travellers or poker tournaments.

While themed cruises are usually organised by the cruise lines themselves, it’s also possible to book places with special interest groups who take over large numbers of cabins and conference rooms on mainstream cruises, alongside other passengers. Organisations and societies also charter whole ships for their members.

So who will you find on a themed cruise? Enthusiasts of course, often retired people who finally have the time to dedicate to their interest. But this type of cruise is increasingly popular with first-times of all ages – for example, if you’ve got a sweet tooth then a chocolate-themed holiday might be just the push you need to finally take a cruise. Single travellers also often take themed cruises in the hope of sharing their holiday with like-minded people – but whoever you meet on a themed cruise, everyone has at least one thing in common.

Ask your ACE travel agent for details.