Are you planning any trips to Northern Europe or the West Coast of the United States in the near future? A very brief cruise can be a good idea to spice up your trip.
The extremely uncommon one-night sailings between different ports in those regions are being provided by two cruise lines, Holland America and MSC Cruises, for as little as $69 per person.
The quick trips are timed to coincide with the lines' repositioning of their ships to new ports for the summer and are intended to give potential customers an opportunity to try out their services without making a significant commitment.
The cruises provide an opportunity to travel in greater style and are occasionally less expensive than taking a flight or taking a train between the two ports in question.
These are a couple of the upcoming one-night sailings that are available as of Monday at reduced rates:
• A one-way voyage on Holland America's Eurodam traveling from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seattle on April 28. Fares start at $119.
• A one-way voyage aboard MSC Cruises' MSC Virtuosa departing from Southampton, UK to Rotterdam, Netherlands, on April 21. Fares start at $69.
• A one-way trip from Genoa, Italy, to Marseille, France, on MSC Cruises' MSC Orchestra departing May 15. Fares start at $69.
• A one-way trip from Marseille to Genoa on MSC Cruises' MSC Bellissima departing March 26. Fares start at $79.
• A one-way trip from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Southampton on MSC Virtuosa departing April 23. Fares start at $79.
Moreover, Holland America is marketing a one-night voyage aboard the Eurodam sailing from Seattle to Vancouver on October 7, with prices beginning at $74. Starting at $74, the line is offering a one-night voyage aboard the Eurodam from Vancouver to Seattle leaving on May 3, 2024.
Some cruise lines, including Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, are offering a few inexpensive, brief two-night trips in the upcoming months in addition to one-night sailings. Similar to the one-night cruises, they were developed to give prospective travelers a taste of what cruising is like as well as to reposition ships to new home ports.
For instance, Princess is now advertising a two-night voyage traveling from Seattle to Vancouver on September 23 for as little as $138, or $69 per day.
A two-night voyage from Granada, Spain, to Lisbon, Portugal, departing March 31, is one of the extremely brief cruises offered by Norwegian and starts at $99, or roughly $50 per day.
The details about short cruise deals
The majority of the steeply discounted rates shown above, which are the lowest-category accommodations on each of the ships, only apply to windowless interior cabins.
On some of the cruises, though, there are also noticeably low rates for cabins with balconies and ocean views.
For the Eurodam sailing from Vancouver to Seattle departing on October 7, ocean-view accommodations (cabins with a window) were featured on Holland America's website on Monday for $84 — just $10 more than a windowless cabin. The price of a balcony cabin on the sailing was $94.
Keep in mind that all of the pricing are per-person and assume two individuals per cabin. Alone passengers cannot use them.
The rates also do not include port taxes and fees, which can raise the overall cost of the trip by an additional $50 or more even though they do cover lodging, meals, and entertainment.
The port taxes and fees that cruise lines often exclude from their advertised pricing but include in final invoices at checkout.
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