How do I get the cheapest river cruise fare?

[psteinik]

I'd like to book a river cruise but wanted to know the best way to get the cheapest price. Is it better to go through a website like cruise.com or through the river cruise operator's website? And are there any specific websites I should check which have really good deals?

 

Are there some sites which are better if you want to include airfare -- and some which are better if you book your own?

 

I'd love to know what kind of deals anyone got for a European river cruise so I can compare. We plan on going in July.

[cmthomas]

Hello fellow Marylander! In response to your question, there are two types of companies providing river cruises. One type is the "direct seller" such as Grand Circle and Vantage. You cannot buy it anywhere other than from them directly. They do not negotiate price but if you wait until the last minute they do offer bargains on their web site to fill the ship. Risky way of doing it!

 

Then there are the other lines such as Uniworld, Viking, Amadeus and others that are sold through travel agents as well as directly through their own web site. There I would go with a travel agent who is knowledgeable in river cruises and does a lot of business with the company that you have selected from all of your research and the wisdom that you have gained by reading this Board! They often have bargains and discounts not offered by the line directly and it costs you NOTHING to use a travel agent as they receive their commission from the cruise line. (I am NOT a travel agent!)

 

One factor that is big for me is that with the direct sellers you are often REQUIRED to use their air arrangements that are not always convenient. If you go with a line that markets through travel agents you can usually get it with or without air allowing use of frequent flyer miles or the ability to arrive a day or two early to see the sights and get time adjusted.

 

We have sailed on both Grand Circle and Viking and found them both superb. The quality of river cruise offerings is very high so itinerary and price are often the deciding factors.

 

Good luck! River cruising is great and I am sure that you will enjoy it if you do not try to compare it to ocean cruising. Different products entirely.

 

Clarence:)

[unberwoob]

I agree. On our many trips we have used a great travel agent who knows what flights to use and how much time we need for layovers, which does not always agree with what the cruise company suggests. We sometimes pay extra for the custom air, but it has been worth it.

In November we are taking our first cruise with Grand Circle to Egypt, and I am very apprehensive of their air arrangements. They use Egypt Air but still won't confirm flight times, etc. And no seat assignments! Our travel agent assigns our seats 300 days out, but GC won't even tell us 120 days prior on what flights we have, and seat assignments are up to us.

The best way to get the best price is to book early since most companies give early booking discounts, and you can get the cheaper cabins. Many cruises need to be booked a year in advance.

[Kayelache]

My husband and I have sailed with GCT twice, on the Great Rivers of Europe and Romance of the Rhine and Mosel, in 2004 and 2005. Both times we booked our own air arrangements. On the latter, we were given $1100 off the catalog price. We liked both cruises. It is true that not all the land tours are included, I think there were about three on each that were optional, where as, I hear other companies include everything. The optional tours were reasonable, and usually we did them. Others we did not as we had been to those places several times and enjoyed using the time exploring on our own. Grand Circle includes other "nice" features like included wine with dinner. The food, we thought was outstanding. (I brought home lots of their recipies.) I would highly recommend Grand Circle. We have done eight land tours with them, also. They provide excellent value for the money, in my book.

[travelnnana]

We have traveled with both Grand Circle and Viking and used their air arrangments on both occasions - I live in Prescott, AZ Lat year we did Holland and Belgium in SPring - United non stop Phoenix to Dulles - Dulles to Brussels - on the way back - Amsterdam on United to Dulles and then again non-stop to Phoenix - they do not put you on awful flights - we love them and will travel again with them - great food and free wine with dinner on the Rivers

[Wild Blue Yonder]

Hi,

do you have to pay in full, way in advance in order to get the lowest price ??? --- and once you got it is the price guaranteed ??? There seem to be a lot of contradictory opinions.

[WarEagle76]

Knowing we wanted to do both China and Russia, we looked at all of the available options, signed up to receive brochures in the mail from each company, and in both cases ended up with a Viking deal that gave us $499 air to China (from SFO used miles from ATL-SFO), $599 to Russia as well as very generous early booking discounts with payment in full. For us, it was do your homework and good timing and we booked with Viking River again for Russia based upon our experience with them in China. BTW, have excellent connections to St. Petersburg and from Moscow on Lufthansa through Frankfurt leaving tomorrow!

[BJS]

Hi,

do you have to pay in full, way in advance in order to get the lowest price ??? --- and once you got it is the price guaranteed ??? There seem to be a lot of contradictory opinions.

We found, and keep finding, Viking lowers their prices to 2/1 for many of their fall cruises. We received a brochure for our 2/1, Oct. 15th, cruise 6/5/06. They are now offering up to $900/cabin off on cruises for 2007 which is no where near the $5,000 savings we received. Yes, we had to pay in full for the discount but that was only a couple of weeks earlier than we would have without the discount. For the $900 discount it needed to be paid in full by 7/31/06 and goes down if it is paid by Dec. 18, 2006 to $500/cabin.

 

Reading other river cruise lines brochures their prices seem lower than Vikings. We haven't seen their prices lowered to 2/1 on any of their cruises which then makes Viking's prices much lower.

 

..

[sccruzzer]

Hello fellow Marylander! In response to your question, there are two types of companies providing river cruises. One type is the "direct seller" such as Grand Circle and Vantage. You cannot buy it anywhere other than from them directly. They do not negotiate price but if you wait until the last minute they do offer bargains on their web site to fill the ship. Risky way of doing it!

 

Then there are the other lines such as Uniworld, Viking, Amadeus and others that are sold through travel agents as well as directly through their own web site. There I would go with a travel agent who is knowledgeable in river cruises and does a lot of business with the company that you have selected from all of your research and the wisdom that you have gained by reading this Board! They often have bargains and discounts not offered by the line directly and it costs you NOTHING to use a travel agent as they receive their commission from the cruise line. (I am NOT a travel agent!)

 

One factor that is big for me is that with the direct sellers you are often REQUIRED to use their air arrangements that are not always convenient. If you go with a line that markets through travel agents you can usually get it with or without air allowing use of frequent flyer miles or the ability to arrive a day or two early to see the sights and get time adjusted.

 

We have sailed on both Grand Circle and Viking and found them both superb. The quality of river cruise offerings is very high so itinerary and price are often the deciding factors.

 

Good luck! River cruising is great and I am sure that you will enjoy it if you do not try to compare it to ocean cruising. Different products entirely.

 

Clarence:)

 

Hi cLARENCE

 

i NOTICED YOU WERE ON LINE...Have you heard of a river Cruise MS Viktoria? I am looking at a Christmas market Danube River Cruise in Dec. Do you have any input on this. I have never taken a river cruise before in Europe. Will December be too cold? Thanks:)

[sccruzzer]

Hello fellow Marylander! In response to your question, there are two types of companies providing river cruises. One type is the "direct seller" such as Grand Circle and Vantage. You cannot buy it anywhere other than from them directly. They do not negotiate price but if you wait until the last minute they do offer bargains on their web site to fill the ship. Risky way of doing it!

 

Then there are the other lines such as Uniworld, Viking, Amadeus and others that are sold through travel agents as well as directly through their own web site. There I would go with a travel agent who is knowledgeable in river cruises and does a lot of business with the company that you have selected from all of your research and the wisdom that you have gained by reading this Board! They often have bargains and discounts not offered by the line directly and it costs you NOTHING to use a travel agent as they receive their commission from the cruise line. (I am NOT a travel agent!)

 

One factor that is big for me is that with the direct sellers you are often REQUIRED to use their air arrangements that are not always convenient. If you go with a line that markets through travel agents you can usually get it with or without air allowing use of frequent flyer miles or the ability to arrive a day or two early to see the sights and get time adjusted.

 

We have sailed on both Grand Circle and Viking and found them both superb. The quality of river cruise offerings is very high so itinerary and price are often the deciding factors.

 

Good luck! River cruising is great and I am sure that you will enjoy it if you do not try to compare it to ocean cruising. Different products entirely.

 

Clarence:)

 

Hi cLARENCE

 

i NOTICED YOU WERE ON LINE...Have you heard of a river Cruise MS Viktoria? I am looking at a Christmas market Danube River Cruise in Dec. Do you have any input on this. I have never taken a river cruise before in Europe. Will December be too cold? Thanks:)

[cmthomas]

Hello sccruzzer! I saw your message earlier but since I am not familiar with the Viktoria (you didn't mention the name of the cruise line) I thought it best to leave it to someone else to respond. Likewise, I have never chosen to subject myself to traveling in Europe in the middle of the winter. During that period I manage to hide out in Florida where it is nice and warm and there is no snow to shovel. Yes, I am proudly a "snowbird!"

 

I am sure that if you are patient someone with the knowledge that you seek will come along. For generic information you might try using the search function as there are many posts regarding Christmas Market cruises and those who have taken them speak very highly of them.

 

Good luck!

 

Clarence:)

[sccruzzer]

Hello sccruzzer! I saw your message earlier but since I am not familiar with the Viktoria (you didn't mention the name of the cruise line) I thought it best to leave it to someone else to respond. Likewise, I have never chosen to subject myself to traveling in Europe in the middle of the winter. During that period I manage to hide out in Florida where it is nice and warm and there is no snow to shovel. Yes, I am proudly a "snowbird!"

 

I am sure that if you are patient someone with the knowledge that you seek will come along. For generic information you might try using the search function as there are many posts regarding Christmas Market cruises and those who have taken them speak very highly of them.

 

Good luck!

 

Clarence:)

 

Thanks Clarence, I will definetely do that.

[Twice_a_year]

You don’t want the cheapest. You want the least expensive.

It is not the least you pay for the river cruise but rather the total cost including monetary, opportunity and comfort.

If you spend less on the cruise but end up spending more out of pocket to makeup the deficiencies of the line, it is not less expensive.

If your itinerary and/or guides are lacking, you have missed, maybe your only chance, to see this part of the world.

If your accommodations and services (meals included) are inferior, then the lower price might not be worth it.

Just because the price is higher does not insure superior cruising. Based on my readings on this site, I think most major lines provide a quality product. If you have an experienced travel agent, use this valuable resource.

Remember it is YOUR personal preferences that will dictate what is best for you. An example – If wine is included with your meals then a higher price may end up less expensive if you tend to drink wine with your meals. However, if you don’t drink the house wines and furnish your own then you have wasted the additional cost included in your price.

[cmthomas]

A wise traveler once told me "You will remember your trip long after you forget how much you paid!" After almost 45 years of international travels, all for pleasure, I can assure you that the above maxim is true! Clarence:)

[DEEGEE]

I believe your first criteria should be the itinarery you want to travel, then what is included in the cost. Are the shore excursions included, do you want to include your air, which normally includes transfers to and from the boat, or will you book your own air and transfers. Cheaper air normally means more stops, on our bargin trip to Greece we were up and down 4 times to Greece and 5 times back to Phoenix our starting point, we saved money , but the trip back was a 26 hour ordeal. We have booked our next river cruise on the Avalon Tapestry inc. air through Globus and got a menu of routes to choose from. This time we fly to Amsterdam through Chicago and back from Zurich thru Dulles to Phoenix, a little more costly, but much more comfortable, and with included transfers. There is much more than the lowest price to consider when planning a vacation like you are proposing.

[tban]

Hi,

do you have to pay in full, way in advance in order to get the lowest price ??? --- and once you got it is the price guaranteed ??? There seem to be a lot of contradictory opinions.

No, a deposit of 200 secures your reservation and also the price. Full payment is due 90 days prior to your departure

[Host Caroline]

Just a reminder that you cannot post links to or TA recommends here on the boards.. there have been quite a few links to a specific agency on this thread that have been removed.

 

Your cooperation will be appreciated!

 

 

Caroline