The government’s guidance says the Package Travel Regulations generally apply to cruises, because a cruise combines transport with accommodation, unless it lasts less than 24 hours without an overnight stay. So both kinds are packages, but they are protected in different ways:

• A fly-cruise needs ATOL. The flights make it a flight-inclusive package, so the organiser needs ATOL cover and must issue an ATOL Certificate.

• An ex-UK cruise is protected outside ATOL. It must be protected another way: a bond with ABTA or another approved body, insurance or a trust account.

Example: a seven-night Mediterranean fly-cruise from Barcelona with return flights from Gatwick, sold by the cruise line, comes with an ATOL Certificate. A round trip from Southampton to the Norwegian fjords does not, but it is still a protected package.

Worth knowing

• An ex-UK cruise is not unprotected just because it has no ATOL Certificate.

• Overnight ferries and sleeper trains whose main purpose is getting from A to B are generally not packages. Cruises usually are.

• Adding your own flights to a cruise needs care. The government’s guidance says that if a package has already been chosen and paid for, adding another service later should not create a new package, unless the package rules are met in another way. But if you sell a cruise and flights together, for example at a total price or chosen together before the customer pays, that combination is a package and you are its organiser, so you need ATOL cover for it. If in doubt, check with your ATOL provider or a travel law specialist before selling this way.