Round trip river cruise. Does one exist?

Round trip river cruise. Does one exist?

I can't seem to find a European river cruise that departs and returns to the same port.

I travel on a tight budget and would like to be able to purchase a round-trip air ticket to a departing river cruise destination.

All the cruises I can find seem to start from one place and end up in another hundreds of kilometers away.

Thanks for any help on this.

Round trip river cruise. Does one exist?

I can't seem to find a European river cruise that departs and returns to the same port.

I travel on a tight budget and would like to be able to purchase a round-trip air ticket to a departing river cruise destination.

All the cruises I can find seem to start from one place and end up in another hundreds of kilometers away.

Thanks for any help on this.

We did a Windmills and Tulips cruise that went in and out of Amsterdam.

Hello afteryouwho,

welcome to cruisecritic. There are quite a few trips like that offered by European cruise companies. Arosa (German), Riviera Travel (UK) and CroisiEurope (France) are the ones that spring to mind. They all have cruises that can accompany English speaking guests. Riviera, being British obviously, is all English, the other two either offer German or French language as well. CroisiErope might even be tri-lingual on selected itineraries. The company I went with, Transocean, also offers round trips with English tours if there are enough English language-speaking (i.e. from a European country other than Germany) guests.

CroisiEurope has recently announced offers of Spanish-speaking cruises. I am not sure if they have done so for the American market only but you can check online. I am sure you will find them if you google in Spanish.

Typical ports are Cologne, Strasbourg (CroisiEurope) for the Rhine and Passau/Engelhardzell for the Danube. On the Seine I believe they all start and end in Paris when doing the Normandy itinerary.

A few itineraries of North-American cruise companies offer round trips, they are mainly but not always in Spring (see post above).

May I recommend you have a look at the stickies on the first page for excellent tips from our host jazzbeau and the cruisecritic people?

I hope you find a great river cruise for you.

notamermaid

The Paris/Normandy River Cruises all begin and end in Paris. We loved that itinerary

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Some of the Douro River, in Portugal cruises are RT.

The Paris/Normandy River Cruises all begin and end in Paris. We loved that itinerary

 

 

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Not all begin and end in Paris. Several companies travel from Paris to Honfleur or vice versa.

Hardly "budget friendly," but Crystal Mozart itineraries are round-trip Vienna.

For a one way way cruise you can buy a ""multiple city"" or open jaw ticket. That is general is 2 x 1/2 returnprice, so not much more expensive then a returnticket.

Not all begin and end in Paris. Several companies travel from Paris to Honfleur or vice versa.

Now that you mention it - CroisiEurope does offer both, round trip and Paris to Honfleur or vice versa. I had forgotten reading that some time ago.

Do other companies offer that? I only know it from CroisiEurope. I expect the flights would nevertheless be both from Paris, what other airport would you use near Honfleur??

Isn't the Bordeaux itinerary also always a round trip? Not sure if I remember this correctly from reading past cruisers' posts.

notamermaid

We just returned from a Crystal cruise on the Danube that was round trip from Vienna.

Just grab a train or a super cheap local airline to get you back the the airport city you want.

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Just grab a train or a super cheap local airline to get you back the the airport city you want.

 

 

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J'ville you took the words right out of my mouth!!! Since OP is in Spain train was the first thing that occurred to me since train service in Europe is so good. I would also suggest using one of the small feeder airlines for lower fares.

Our only round trip river cruises were Amsterdam-Amsterdam when we did Holland Tulips and Cairo-Cairo but that was primarily a land/cruise tour. With the exception of Paris, I think most river cruises tend to be one-way...it's more efficient for them and they have two opportunities for trip extensions.

For a one way way cruise you can buy a ""multiple city"" or open jaw ticket. That is general is 2 x 1/2 returnprice, so not much more expensive then a returnticket.

If cost is the main reason to want a round trip, then above is the way to go, and not limit yourself on cruise choices.

We flew last September, Toronto to Budapest, Bucharest to Toronto, for $840 in coach. Toronto to Budapest roundtrip wasn't any cheaper.

Another thing to save money, if you can be flexible, is to sign up for e-mail from various companies. There are some very tempting last minute offers, some with the airfare included. The Paris attacks scared some people off travel, and ships were sailing with empty rooms. Good luck.

You may also be able to save money by booking the airfare through the cruise line. You lose some control, but the lines buy airfare under a completely difference price scheme so open jaw is no problem for them.

Not all begin and end in Paris. Several companies travel from Paris to Honfleur or vice versa.

True as far as actual cruising goes. But at least one, GCT, gets you RT via one way bus and hotel near CDG as part of the overall trip. They provide this even if you arrange your own air and don't opt for their transfers.

Purchase a river cruise with an airfare sale where the air is included (or at a low cost of $295). Viking runs these sales pretty frequently.

Also, open jaw tickets don't cost more than r/t to/from same city tickets usually, so don't rule this out.

I'm happy to help you with any questions.

We did (and greatly enjoyed) Tulip Time with AMA, beginning and ending in Amsterdam.

Next year we are r/t Paris on our Uniworld Paris and Normandy sailing.

We also did r/t Porto on the Douro with AMA this past summer and r/t Bordeaux with Scenic this past April.

Just a note to thank you all for your feedback. This should get me on the right track!!

Crystal offers round-trip Vienna but certainly is not the option if your intention is to save cost.

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I have cruised Danube Vienna-Vienna, Douro Porto-Porto and Seine Paris-Paris all with CroisiEurope. In addition their sea cruise (virtually a river ship anyway) was Dubrovnik-Dubrovnik. Makes life a lot easier when looking for cheap air fares.

I also did the Tulip Time cruise....started in Amsterdam and ended in

Amsterdam:)

I have cruised Danube Vienna-Vienna, Douro Porto-Porto and Seine Paris-Paris all with CroisiEurope. In addition their sea cruise (virtually a river ship anyway) was Dubrovnik-Dubrovnik. Makes life a lot easier when looking for cheap air fares.

I didn't think of Croisi but because OP is in Spain Croisi would certainly be a very good option for her. I have no personal experience with them but was considering them for a river cruise in Spain (only ones at the time who did Guadalquivir River) and found their prices quite reasonable and judging from what I see on CC, they have a pretty good reputation for service and reliability.