Luxury German Rhine River Cruises

Pricing and Booking Tips on European Riverboat Cruise Holidays

Feb 7, 2008

Coffee & Cake, a German afternoon tradition, © Amadeus Waterways

Prices vary and surcharges matter when booking a European riverboat cruise holiday on Germany's romantic Rhine and other rivers such as the Moselle, Main, and Danube.

Prices often vary widely on riverboat cruises offered on Germany’s popular Rhine River and tributaries such as the Moselle, Main, and Danube. Services included in the cruise price also vary widely making it essential to read the small print when comparing cruises, boats, and especially cruise prices.

Rhine River cruises often book out early with last-minute reservations and late-booking discounts almost unheard of. Discounts are available for early reservations where “early” for some lines can be more than a year in advance.

Prices and Surcharges on Rhine River Cruises

European riverboat cruises have generally not (yet) picked up the habit of ocean liners of adding surcharges for things once commonly included in the price of the cruise. However, always read the fine print to see exactly what is included in the price as well as to confirm at what stage the cruise price is fixed (usually four months prior to departure date).

Luxury liners, especially those that market heavily in the American and other non-European markets, often include much more than cheaper lines aiming at the European markets. European travelers often prefer to lunch onshore and to arrange their own excursions.

The more upmarket lines take into consideration that non-European travelers may be less comfortable in arranging their own excursions and meals onshore. Many non-European travelers also prefer to have as much as possible of the cost of the holiday paid upfront in dollar or non-euro currencies. Luxury riverboats often have all three meals on board, wine is mostly included with dinner (sometimes per glass, often without limits), while shore excursions, especially town walks, are gratis.

Travel and cancellation insurance is a good idea. Cruise prices are expensive and very little can be recouped if a trip is cancelled even a few months prior to the intended departure date.

Children and Single Passenger Supplements

Children and solo passengers are still not particularly welcomed by most European riverboat cruise lines. Cabins are too small to accommodate more than two persons and children generally have to book an additional cabin at the full adult rate. Childcare facilities and entertainment aimed at children are very rare to completely absent on most boats.

Single passenger supplements are generally very high – the industry standard seems to be 150% for cheaper category cabins and as much as 200% for suites. Some cruise lines have specials for solo travelers on some less popular cruises dates.

Cruise Only or Cruise & Air?

Cruises are generally priced as “cruise only” or “cruise & air”. It is best to use a major internet reservation service to compare whether airfares offered by the cruise company is competitive or not. If booking “cruise & air”, good deals are often available for upgrades to business class but coach fares may be cheaper when booked separately, especially if cheap deals are available for out-of-season travel.

If planes are booked by the cruise company, transfers will be included but these transfers are usually group transfers meaning early arrivals have to wait for passengers arriving on later flights.

When making own transport arrangements, bear in mind the cost and time required from international airports to cruise departure ports. A transfer from say Frankfurt International Airport to a cruise departing from Frankfurt am Main involves a 20-minute taxi ride for around €20 while a Trier departure means three hours by road or rail from Frankfurt Airport.