All-inclusive? Mid-range or luxury? Balcony upgrades? Savings or free flights? There is a bewildering array of decisions to be made when choosing your next river cruise.

So, River Cruise Passenger has combed the world to create the best possible incentive comparison chart to help you find the perfect cruise.

We’ve compared staterooms and cabins, shore excursions and inclusions.  Of course, it’s a guide and can’t replace great advice from a travel agent. However, it does demonstrate the significant differences that can be found across the waterway lines.

What you need to know about river cruises

To make it easier to assess, we’ve calculated an actual daily rate to give you an idea of the value of the incentives.

How many nights on the river

An eight-day river cruise is better considered a seven-night cruise; on the final day, you may depart as early as 6 am. Even if you’re lucky enough to check out as late as 9 am, it’s hardly what we call a whole day. For that reason, we’ve calculated the per-day cost based on the number of nights you’ll spend on board to give you a better idea of the value of your cruise.

How much should you expect to pay?

All the prices are for one person but are based on double occupancy. Solo travellers will generally pay a single supplement, but Tauck, Avalon, and Emerald are currently offering to waive the supplement.

On ship gratuities

Many of the lines we compared include staff gratuities in the fare cost. Others give a daily recommendation in Euro, though we’ve converted it to Aussie dollars. In these instances, make sure you have Euro cash on you.

Onshore gratuities

Onshore gratuities work the same as onboard. Though gratuities are usually smaller for drivers and tour guides, we recommend carrying Euro coins rather than notes.

Drinks and beverage packages

Nearly all river cruise companies offer complimentary soft drinks, specialty coffees, beer and wine during lunch and dinner. A few include drinks at the bar between meals. Others charge for them; some offer beverage packages, and others simply provide an a la carte option.

Current Incentives (per person)

AmaWaterways, Emerald, Scenic, Uniworld and Viking offer free return flights to your cruise departure city. The value of these was calculated based on Singapore Airlines departing Sydney two days before the beginning of the cruise. Scenic is also offering $300 off if paid in full by the end of October, and Avalon is offering $1000 off per person as an earlybird incentive.

Value of Incentives (per day/pp)

We divided the incentive amount, calculated above, by the number of nights to arrive at a per-day value.

Daily rate/Square Foot

This is purely to indicate how much you pay for each square foot in your stateroom – not that you’ll spend much time there when there’s so much else to do!

Is a balcony upgrade worthwhile?

Most of the entry-level staterooms have fixed windows, except for Crystal, where even entry-level staterooms on its new vessels have Panoramic balcony windows that raise and lower (except on Mozart, which does have some fixed windows). 

CroisiEurope does not have balconies on most of its vessels, but it does have windows open for fresh air. If having access to the outside world from your room is essential, you might want to upgrade to a balcony room, so we’ve provided the cost of the upgrade, in total and per day.

Shore excursions

All lines include enjoyable shore excursions, but many also offer alternatives for an added cost, which you may find well worth investing in.

Added perks and river cruise incentives

Looking for added perks and incentives for your river cruise adventure? Cruise Passenger reveals the best offerings from top cruise lines, ensuring you enjoy a luxurious and unforgettable waterway experience. From onboard amenities to exclusive excursions, we help you maximise your river cruising experience.