If the major cruise lines are to be believed, the next twelve months will be the year Australians fly-cruise. With local capacity down and demand up, they aren’t going to have much choice.
But the message from companies like Norwegian Cruise Lines is even more specific: overseas cruise holidays are actually far cheaper than their land-based counter parts.
NCL MD and Vice President (APAC) Ben Angell made the claim on our podcast, OnBoard, recently. You can hear him talk prices here.
But it is true?
With the Mediterranean Australia’s favourite foreign destination by far, Cruise Passenger set out to test the claim. can it be true that, after flights, the rest of a stay in Europe is cheaper on a cruise ship?
It’s important.
Blame the ‘White Lotus Effect‘ but the siren call of the Mediterranean has become hard to resist. Last year Italy alone had the most Australian visitors since records began with 311,760 Aussies – a 19 percent increase on pre-pandemic 2019, the Italian National Tourist Board reported.
From the spangly blue waters of Croatia to pizzas with a cheese-stretch as long as your arm in Naples, there’s a reason over 245 thousand of us visited the Med last year.
Our Mediterranean date-to-compare price test
We set out to compare the cost of a seven-day cruise with Norwegian to exactly the same destinations travelled by hire car and hotels.
Cruise lines have perfected the art of sleek, all-inclusive packages that serve as a sampler to the most glorious harbour cities in Europe.This seven-night itinerary we found sailing now from Venice to Split, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Valletta, Messina, Naples, and finally Rome is on Norwegian Cruise Line.
For $3,089, your outside cabin with ocean view becomes your home base to explore seven cities, and when the day ends, retreat to the comfort of the Norwegian Escape. No hotel check-ins, no packing and repacking.
Pro tip: For day excursions request a lunch box to take while you wander the cobbled streets of Split and Dubrovnik, so every meal of the day is included.
The same seven days by land
Now, let’s shift gears and consider a road trip through the same hit-list of amazing countries and cities. There’s something irresistible about the idea of driving along the coast, windows down, the smell of the sea in the air, and the thrill of choosing your next stop.
But freedom comes at a price—both financially and logistically. Here’s the full breakdown of going by land.
Day 1: Venice
Hotel: Hotel Biasutti |Approx. $245 AUD/night, includes breakfastÂ
Water taxis $100 AUD
2 x meals + snacks $150 AUD pp
Day 2: Venice to Split (Approx. 3.5 hours, 300 km)
Hotel: Â Hotel Luxe | Approx. $300AUD/night, includes breakfastÂ
2 x meals + snacks $100 AUDÂ pp
Day 3: Split to Dubrovnik (Approx. 3 hours, 230 km)
Hotel: Hotel Lero | Approx. $340 AUD/night, includes breakfastÂ
2 x meals + snacks $100 AUDÂ pp
Day 4: Dubrovnik to Corfu (Ferry)
Hotel: Corfu Mare Boutique Hotel|Approx. $250 AUD/night, includes breakfastÂ
2 x meals + snacks $70 AUDÂ pp
Day 5: Corfu to Valletta (Ferry and Drive)
Hotel: La Falconeria Hotel | Approx. $295 AUD/night, includes breakfastÂ
3 x meals + snacks $150 AUDÂ pp
Day 6: Valletta to Messina (Approx. 3 hours, Ferry and Drive)
Hotel: Hotel Royal Palace| Approx. $150 AUD/night, includes breakfastÂ
2 x meals + snacks $150 AUD pp
Day 7: Messina to Naples (Approx. 4.5 hours, 400 km)
Hotel: Hotel Sant’Angelo Palace | Approx. $150 AUD/night, includes breakfastÂ
2 x meals + snacks $150 AUD pp
Final Stop: Naples to Rome (Approx. 2 hours, 230 km)
Estimated cost round up
Accommodation approx. (7 nights): $1,730 AUD
Meals (7 days): $2,000 AUD for two
Fuel (Approx. 1,200 km): $192 AUD
Taxis,Tolls and Ferries: $240 AUD
Car Hire with Europcar | FIAT 500 HYBRID (7 days): $570 AUD
Insurance: $224 AUD
Evening entertainment: $250 AUD pp
Estimated total: $5,456 AUD
The verdict
Ultimately, cost aside, the decision comes down to how you prefer to travel. Cruises offer a stress-free, curated experience with minimal decision-making. It’s a brilliant way to see several destinations without the complexities of managing your own itinerary. For $2,032, and the value is undeniable.
On the other hand, a road trip is amazing for travellers who crave independence. You can explore at your own pace, but with that comes the burden of planning and higher costs. For those willing to invest the time and effort, the rewards of a more intimate, flexible adventure may be worth it.
Cruiseabout General Manager Brad Kennedy, whose organisation helped compile the numbers on our behalf, said the benefits of cruising the Mediterranean are endless.
“Cruising is undoubtably the best way to travel through Greece and Italy- there’s nothing like being able to wake up on the water each morning and see parts of the Mediterranean you’d otherwise miss out on when travelling by land.
“Better yet, you skip out on checking in and out of hotels, catching multiple flights and driving to and from destinations- time is money when you’re travelling Europe, and going via land means you often lose precious time relaxing or exploring to sitting in airports.
“It’s also generally more affordable, depending on the type of cruise you want to take. This is why it’s always a good idea to book with a cruise expert who can help you compare costs and find a cruise that suits your travel needs and budget.”
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Hi Gerd
some good points here And we haves amended our figures.
But firstly, the cabin is for two not four. We have however upgraded to an ocean view as we agree it is not like with like.
We think the hotels chosen are on par with the ship. We get a price of $3,089 for two people. We have also upgraded our food allowance on the land package as this was for one and, for Europe, quite consservative at around $124 a day.
Hi Les, good point! We’ve updated the prices. All the best
Hi Mh, thanks for your comment. We agree – we’ve changed to a couple in an ocean view room. We didn’t do shore excursions on either as that’s really personal choice.
Hi Debbie, you are right, we have not included personal choice items like shore excursions or land tours for the car.
Hi Bernard, we have amended our pricing to an ocean view room for two at $3,089. the saving is still 25%. Cheers
Hi Richard, we have not included paid shore excursion in either trip.
A perfect example of lies and exaggeration masquerading as Marketing.
To start with the cruise price mentioned is based on 4 persons sharing an inside cabin in low season. The price for two is just under $3,000 per person
The ship is classified as 3*, hotels mentioned are mostly 4* with prices slightly exaggerated.The rooms are not inside rooms either – those are called broom cabinets on land.
The cost for hotels mentioned is per room, so half that estimate.
A more appropriate comparison would be two sharing an oceanview cabin, just under $4,000
By the time you add cost of drink packages or alternatively the exorbitant cost of an occasional drink, special dining, etc the equation likes very different.
And you are still comparing a 3* cruise with 4* hotels
Cruising can be more economical than land based holidays, but not this one.
The article is misleading and you should correct the figures
Hi, as most hotel rooms come with a window, you should have compared an Oceanview stateroom in the costing.
Most Aussies travelling to Europe most likely would combine both land based & cruise options, especially if they wish to explore in depth a particular city or country, which is the main downside to cruising.
Travelling by car you are creating your own shore excursions as you go.
However you have not included any sightseeing by way of excursions from the ship so the comparison is heavily biased towards the cruise option.
Shire excursions can be very costly and should have been taken into account.
Let’s not forget that the cruise cost is 2k per person compared to 4k for 2 people on the road trip
You are not comparing like for like. You need to add the cost of shore excursions, food off ship, independent transport, tours etc. You have also omitted cruise insurance which is much higher than land only insurance. If you are going to do a cost comparison, please do it properly.
Superficially a good comparison… except keep in mind if you are travelling yourself, you almost certainly wouldn’t be trying to replicate a cruise, but travel appropriately for land – just the same as the cruise isn’t going to try to replicate the best land trip, but equally can only visit places it can go to. And you’ll more than likely stay more than one day in each place, further cutting down transport.
AND it’s also highly questionable to compare an inside room with standard rooms in hotels, which most likely have views and more space. So the comparison is biased towards favouring the cruise rather than a balanced one.
If you choose big cities, you can better go by train, cutting down rental, fuel, tolls and car insurance costs massively. Or if you do a road trip to smaller country towns than the hotel costs will be much lower, as will tolls – which is a better like for like comparison. And to compare what you get in a hotel, you’d choose at least an oceanview room, but still with the tradeoff of less space.
And when you do it that way, it all comes out close to even. So just choose what appeals more – or as I do, combine them to get the best of both worlds. Generally, the land trip works out much cheaper, and with better food, but the cruise gets you further distances and with more inclusions.
RE: Cruise lines claim you can sail the Med for half the price of a hotel stay. But is it true?
You don’t mention in the srticle whether the costs shown are per person or per couple. I assume they are per person.
I would think per couple thst the road trip cost would be a lot closer to the cruise cost.