Building the UK’s Most Engaged Cruise Community

From 1 August 2026, Sail Away Magazine will begin an exciting new chapter as we move from a traditional magazine subscription to a monthly membership.

It’s a significant change, and we wanted to explain why we’re making it.

When we launched Sail Away Magazine back in 2023, it was always our aspiration to become a monthly publication. In fact, many of our longest-standing readers will remember that our first three issues were published monthly. As demand grew, we made the difficult decision to move to a bi-monthly schedule. It allowed us to manage the increasing workload while maintaining the editorial standards we wanted every issue to achieve.

That ambition to publish something every month, however, never disappeared.

Over the past three years, Sail Away has grown into much more than a magazine. Today we’re producing cruise ship documentaries, cruise podcasts, daily website content, exclusive interviews and building a community of passionate cruisers who genuinely care about the future of this industry.

We reached a point where simply publishing a magazine every other month no longer reflected what Sail Away had become.

Introducing OPINION

Rather than simply increasing the number of pages in the magazine, we wanted to create something completely different.

That’s where OPINION was born.

Every month between editions of Sail Away Magazine, members will receive OPINION, our brand-new supplement dedicated entirely to debate, analysis and honest commentary.

This isn’t another brochure.

It’s a publication built around the questions that divide the cruise community.

Are cruise lines becoming too greedy?

Should Wi-Fi be included?

Are ships getting too big?

Is AI helping or harming cruise content?

Every article is designed to challenge, provoke discussion and encourage readers to think differently about the cruise industry.

Most importantly, OPINION gives our readers a voice.

At the end of every article, readers will be invited to vote using a QR code. Then, in the following issue of Sail Away Magazine, we’ll publish the results and investigate what they tell us about today’s cruise industry.

We’ll explore the trends, analyse why readers voted the way they did and examine what those opinions reveal about cruising today.

In other words, your opinions become part of our journalism.

No other travel publication in the world, operates like this.

Why Your Voice Matters

One thing we’ve learned over the past few years is that the most valuable part of Sail Away isn’t what we think.

It’s what our readers think.

Whether we’re interviewing cruise line executives, producing documentaries or writing investigative features, the questions we ask are often inspired by conversations we’ve had with you. On email, over the phone and in person.

We want our relationship to become even stronger.

Cruise lines regularly tell us they’re interested in what our audience has to say. Through OPINION, we’ll be able to do more than simply report the news, we’ll be able to present genuine insight into what today’s cruisers actually think, supported by thousands of reader responses.

More Than a Magazine

The move to monthly memberships isn’t simply about changing how people pay.

It’s about changing what members receive.

Alongside Sail Away Magazine and OPINION, members will benefit from an expanding range of exclusive content, including member-only website articles, livestreams, podcasts, early video releases and community events.

Our premium members will also enjoy exclusive meet-ups, monthly Zoom calls, WhatsApp groups and much closer interaction with us.

This is just the beginning.

Giving More, Not Less

If you’ve followed Sail Away for any length of time, you’ll know we’ve never been afraid to criticise cruise lines when they ask passengers to pay more while quietly taking things away.

We’ve challenged reduced housekeeping, rising drink prices, increasing gratuities and the growing trend of charging extra for what many people consider the basics.

It would be damn hypocritical of us to ask our own readers to support Sail Away every month without giving something meaningful in return.

That’s why we haven’t simply introduced monthly billing. We’ve introduced a completely new publication. We’re investing in more exclusive content. We’re expanding our member benefits. We’re reducing international postage costs by around 22% for many overseas readers. And we’re already working on even more benefits that we’ll introduce over the coming months and years.

What Happens to My Current Subscription?

If you’re already a Sail Away subscriber, you don’t need to do anything. We’ll automatically move your subscription to the most appropriate membership tier from 1 August 2026.

Digital Subscribers

If you currently subscribe to the digital edition of Sail Away Magazine, you’ll automatically become a Deck Cadet Member.

Your membership will be charged at £2.99 per month and will include:

• Digital edition of every issue of Sail Away Magazine
• Monthly OPINION digital supplement
• Exclusive subscriber-only website articles
• Early access to selected videos
• 5% off website shop items.

Printed Subscribers

If you currently receive the printed edition of Sail Away Magazine, you’ll automatically become a Deck Officer Member.

Your membership will be charged at £7.99 per month.

You’ll continue to receive:

• Printed edition of Sail Away Magazine every other month
• Printed and digital editions of OPINION in the months between
• Free UK postage on both publications
• Access to the complete digital archive
• Monthly members-only livestreams
• Exclusive member events
• 10% off website shop items
• And every benefit included with Deck Cadet.

Premium Subscribers

If you’re one of our Premium Subscribers, you’ll automatically become a member of our brand-new Captain’s Circle.

Captain’s Circle is our most exclusive membership and includes everything available with Deck Officer, plus:

• Monthly Zoom calls with Dan & Jay
• Captain’s Circle WhatsApp group
• Exclusive meet-ups
• Priority booking for events
• Welcome gift and welcome card
• 20% off website shop items
• And much more as the community grows.

No Action Required

There’s nothing you need to do. We’ll take care of the transition automatically and email you if there’s anything you need to know. Our aim is to make the move as smooth as possible while giving every member significantly more value than before.

Looking Ahead

Everything we’re doing has one goal. To build the UK’s most engaged cruise community. Not simply the biggest. The most engaged.

A community that doesn’t just consume content, but helps shape it. A community that asks difficult questions. A community that challenges the industry when it deserves challenging, celebrates it when it deserves celebrating, and always puts passengers first.

Thank you for believing in Sail Away, for supporting independent cruise journalism and for joining us on this journey. We genuinely believe the best is yet to come.

Dan & Jay
Co-Founders, Sail Away Magazine