Cruise travel packages bundle the cruise with flights, hotels, transfers or a land tour. A package is a bargain only if it costs less, or saves more hassle, than putting the pieces together yourself.
The Main Kinds of Cruise Travel Packages
Air-inclusive cruises
Flights bought through the cruise line with the booking. Useful for one-way cruises, Europe and remote ports.
Cruisetours
Cruise plus a guided land tour, best known in Alaska’s interior and in parts of Europe and Canada.
Pre- and post-cruise hotels
A night or two in the port city with transfers, sold by the line or an advisor.
Transfer bundles
Airport, hotel and pier transfers arranged for you, often per person.
Land extensions
Extra days in a city such as Rome, Barcelona or Vancouver, before or after the cruise.
Advisor packages
A travel advisor combining cruise, flights and hotels, sometimes with added amenities.
How to Tell If a Package Is the Bargain
- Price the pieces. Check the same flights and hotel separately, then compare with the package total.
- Count the per-person charges. Transfers and tours priced per person add up quickly for families.
- Value the protection. Some packages help if a flight is delayed or a connection is missed. That can be worth paying for.
- Check flexibility. Package flights and hotels may have stricter change and cancellation rules.
- Look at the hotel. A cheaper hotel far from the port can cost more in taxis.
Need a hotel or things to do in a U.S. port city before you sail? Best of the USA has local guides, and our sister site Cruise Airfare goes deeper on flights.
Package Questions
Is a cruise line air package cheaper than booking my own flights?
Sometimes. Air packages can be competitive, especially for one-way and international trips, and the line may help if the flight is delayed. Booking yourself can be cheaper and more flexible. Compare both.
What is a cruisetour?
A cruise combined with a land tour run by the cruise line, most famously in Alaska, where several lines pair an Inside Passage cruise with days inland, for example at Denali.
Packages for Alaska, Europe and the Caribbean
In Alaska, a cruisetour often makes sense because inland Denali and the Yukon are hard to organize alone. In Europe, a pre-cruise hotel and transfer package removes the stress of a long flight and a foreign port. In the Caribbean, packages matter less: many travelers drive to a Florida or Gulf port, and simple airport transfers are easy to book yourself. Match the package to the place.
Whatever you choose, ask for the package price and the separate prices in writing. A good advisor will show you both without being asked, and will tell you when the simple option is cheaper.
Timing matters too. Package flights are often released some months before sailing, so if you want the line’s air, ask when it becomes available and compare it then.
Compare a Package With DIY
Our cruise advisors at Mister Cruise will price your cruise as a package and as separate pieces, so you can see which is the real bargain.
Compare Package vs DIY