Travel Guides Cruises
Kaitlyn Rosati
If you’ve ever wanted to travel to Caribbean destinations, there’s a good chance you’ve considered going on a cruise. If you’ve ever thought of traveling through Europe, however, it’s likely that you’ve solely planned your trip around trains, planes, and automobiles. What many travelers don’t realize is that traveling throughout Europe via cruise is not only an exciting way to see the continent and its many countries, but it’s also a great money-saving tactic, as well.
Thanks to Europe’s several rivers and waterways, as well as its many coastal towns and cities, cruising throughout the continent is easy and efficient. Cruising is a great option to see several destinations in a short period of time, especially in Mediterranean locales, such as choosing from the many Greek Islands or Sardinia. With hotels and airfares at an all-time high, it’s time to consider other options when it comes to traveling throughout Europe.
Compare prices of flights, trains, and hotels
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People primarily book cruises for a few reasons. Firstly, cruises are a great way to pay a fixed price without having to worry about any of the planning. Better yet, not only do you not have to plan, but you can see several destinations and not have to worry about figuring out the logistics of flights, trains, and even hotels.
Europe, which is already a generally expensive continent (note that in Eastern Europe, traveling on a budget is not as difficult as it is in Western Europe), has seen a significant increase in hotel rates, similar to the rest of the world. According to Money.com, hotels are up by a staggering 54% more than they were pre-pandemic. Another study by USAToday says that cruises, however, are down by 5% from rates pre-pandemic. It’s a no-brainer that cruises are going to save you money with the rate of inflation in the current world while travel companies still work vigilantly to recover from lost profit during COVID-19.
So, if you want to travel but you’re trying to save, paying a fixed price for a cruise just might be the way to go.
Potential European cruise itineraries
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So, where exactly can a cruise in Europe go? The options are surprisingly endless. Landlocked nations such as Hungary aren’t even off limits, thanks to companies like Viking Cruises offering Budapest as a stop. If you want to take a ride around the South of France and further onward to the island nation of Malta, MSC Cruises offers an itinerary on their MSC World Europa cruise option for as low as $499/person.
Interested in seeing some Norwegian fjords? Celebrity Cruises offers some steals on cruising through Norway, which is typically an expensive destination to travel to. If you want to travel through Portugal’s coastal seaside from the comfort of a cruise without breaking the bank, you can book a Viking River Cruise with just a $25 deposit.
CroisiEurope Cruises offers cruise options specifically through French canals or even through the Italian Riviera all the way down to the Amalfi Coast. In sum, traveling throughout Europe doesn’t have to be done in a conventional way, and taking a cruise, especially in the off-season, is a surefire way to make even some of the most expensive destinations, like France and Italy possible on a budget.
