Cruise lines
These ships are chosen for the river or the landing, not for the number of restaurants. The luxury ocean ships and the yachts are on their own pages.
A river ship is about 150 to 190 passengers. An expedition ship is often 100 to 400.
The ranges are per person, for two people in a cabin. An agent requests most of these fares. Meals are in the fare, and on most European river ships a daily excursion is included.
A European river ship has a small lounge, a dining room, and a sun deck. An American Cruise Lines paddlewheeler adds the red wheel, a paddlewheel lounge, and open-seating dining. An expedition ship has a lecture room and a place to board the Zodiacs. None of these has a casino district or a wave pool.
On most European river ships the meals and a daily walking tour are in the fare. Bikes, a tasting, or a longer transfer are the paid extras. Uniworld and Scenic include more drinks. Read that list before adding another tour.
On an expedition ship the plan is a landing or a Zodiac ride, run by the ship’s staff. Weather and wildlife can change it. Antarctica and the Galápagos are sold as that uncertainty. A printed list of ports is not a promise.
You see the same people all week. There is no second show if you skip the first one. The fare looks high next to a Caribbean interior because the meals, the guide, and the smaller ship are already in it.
Each card is one line. The table is on a wider screen.
Passengers. About 100–400.
Where they go. Antarctica, the Arctic, and the Galápagos. Weather rewrites the landing list.
Price range. An Antarctica trip of 10 to 14 nights is often $8,000–$20,000 a person. Galápagos weeks are often $6,000–$12,000.
Passengers. American Heritage, Splendor, Pride, and West, about 110–180. Heritage is about 150.
Where they go. Mississippi, Ohio, Columbia and Snake, and the Great Lakes. The red wheel turns, with modern engines behind it.
Price range. Often $4,500–$8,000 a person for a week.
Passengers. About 120–190.
Where they go. Danube, Rhine, Seine, Douro, and other European rivers.
Price range. Often $3,000–$6,500 a person for a week. Uniworld and Scenic include more drinks. An agent often requests the fare.
Passengers. About 180. Song, Harmony, Jazz, Melody, Symphony, and Serenade.
Where they go. Mississippi, Ohio, Columbia and Snake, and the Great Lakes.
Price range. Often $4,000–$8,000 a person for a week.
Passengers. Longships about 190. Viking also has a Mississippi ship.
Where they go. Danube, Rhine, Seine, Douro, and other European rivers. The Mississippi ship sails the Mississippi.
Price range. The fare for about a week is often $2,500–$5,500 a person, with meals and a daily excursion on most European rivers.
Do not compare these fares with a Carnival interior. The meals and the daily walk are already in the price, and the ship cannot carry 5,000 people up the Danube.
Regent, Silversea’s ocean ships, Seabourn, Explora, and the yacht lines are compared on the luxury pages. If a search comes back empty, the line is usually one of those. Send the plans and we will price them.