Cheap River Cruises

Six choices that bring the price down without spoiling the trip.

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What Makes Cheap River Cruises Cheap

Cheap river cruises are mostly the result of six choices you control. Change one or two and the total can drop a long way, without changing the experience as much as you might fear.

Lever	Lower-cost choice	What you give up
Length	Four to five nights	Fewer ports; more travel time per day of cruising
Cabin	Lowest deck, fixed window	Smaller room, window near water level
Month	March, early April, late October, November	Cooler weather, shorter days, some water-level risk early in the year
River	Rhine or Danube rather than a rarer river	Busier ports
Line style	Value or mid-priced line	Simpler decor, fewer included extras on some lines
Start city	An easy, well-served airport	Nothing — it simply costs less to reach

The Lower-Deck Cabin

On most European river ships the lowest passenger deck has small cabins with high windows that do not open, set just above the waterline. On Viking’s longships these are the Standard cabins; other lines use their own names. You eat in the same restaurant, join the same tours and use the same lounges as guests in suites. If you plan to spend your days ashore and your evenings in the lounge, it can be the single biggest saving on the ship.

The Rhine flowing past vineyards and a wooded island near Rudesheim under a cloudy sky

Short Sailings

A four- or five-night river cruise costs less in total than a week, and makes a good trial for first-timers who are not sure they will enjoy the pace. CroisiEurope, for example, sells short cruises of about four to eight days, including round trips on the Seine from Paris. Short sailings pair well with a few nights in a start or end city booked separately, which you can compare on Rooms Cheap.

Good for

First-timers, travelers with limited vacation, and anyone adding a cruise to a land trip.

Watch for

Flights cost the same for a short cruise as a long one, so the saving shrinks for long-haul travelers.

Combining the Levers

The biggest bargains usually combine two or three levers: a five-night Rhine sailing in November in a lower-deck cabin, say, or a shoulder-season Danube week on a value line. Our cruise advisors at Mister Cruise can price several combinations side by side so you see what each change is really worth. If you prefer to start from a fixed number, Your Price River Cruises works that way.

Cheap River Cruise Questions

Are cheap river cruises worse?

Not necessarily. On a given ship, a lower-deck cabin gets the same meals, tours and service as a suite. Value lines have simpler ships, but many still include drinks and tours.

How short can a river cruise be?

Some lines sell sailings of about four or five nights, such as short Seine round trips from Paris or short Rhine and Danube sectors. They cost less in total, though not always less per night.

Price the Cheaper Options Side by Side

Tell us which levers you would pull — shorter, lower deck, off-peak. Our cruise advisors at Mister Cruise will quote the combinations so you can compare.

Compare Cheap Options