Are Flights Included When You Book a River Cruise?

One of the most common questions I receive about river cruises is whether flights are included in the price.

Here’s the short answer: It depends.

Not very helpful, I know!

With river cruises, there are three situations with regards to flights.

1. Flights are NOT included in the price, but available as an option.
In this situation, you generally pay the going rate for flights, although sometimes the cruise lines have contracted rates which may be lower.
Usually in this case, you have an incentive to book flights through the river cruise line, because they will then also include transfers between the airport and ship.
Also, if you book air through the cruise line then they are responsible for helping you if your flights are delayed and you are in danger of missing your embarkation.
This is the case with Ama Waterways, for example.

2. You receive a heavy “discount” on flights.
In this situation, flights are available as an option for a relatively small amount of money.
You will see ads like “add air for only $199 per person to Europe from major North American gateways”.
Viking frequently packages their river cruises this way

3. You receive “free air”.
In this case, flights are included in the price and there is no option to book the cruise without the flights.
Viking sometimes offers free air, and I’ve seen Uniworld do the same thing.

Those last 2 options are almost irresistible and seem to be no-brainers. However you’ll want to keep the following in mind if you’re considering one of those options:

• Even if the marketing says ‘free’, the cost of flights is built into the overall cruise cost. So for example If you want to fly using ‘points’, or if you are already in Europe and want to add a river cruise onto your existing trip, then you’ll end up paying more than you should for flights
• The cruise line will assign your flights. That means you have no say over the airline or the routing. You will be on the cheapest flights available. Even if a direct flight is available, you will not necessarily be on it.
• If you want to arrive a couple of days early, or stay a few extra days after your cruise (which I DO recommend) then you can expect to pay extra fees.

If you’re looking at your river cruise options, flights are an important consideration.

Be sure you’re aware of all the implications of getting flights included with your river cruise.

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I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley