These 6 Cruises Have Airfare Included in the Price
Your vacation just got so much easier.
One of the best things about cruising is being able to see several different places without having to book flights or trains from one place to the next. But usually, you still have to arrange travel to the cruise itself.
To save you the trouble, some cruises come with flights built right in — whether they're round-trip from your home city to a foreign port, or short-haul jaunts between two stops on your itinerary. From jetliners to Athens to connections in Argentina, your vacation will feel a little easier when there's one less thing to book.
Airfare is covered either as part of the standard cruise package or as an upgrade. Note that the upcharge can be pricey — pricier than booking the flight yourself, that is — but if it's convenience you're after (so you can focus on packing for your big adventure rather than spending your time poring over airline sites), these cruises are it.
PONANT, Emblematic Antarctica
Duration: 12 days
Ship: Le Boréal
Flight included: Round trip flight between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia
Price: Starting around $16,000
Why go: The seventh continent beckons on this mega-yacht with 132 staterooms. See humpback whales, leopard seals, and gentoo, Adélie, and chinstrap penguins, or watch icebergs float by and go hiking through Antarctica's untouched landscape. And with the flight between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia included, it's one less thing to have to think about.
Viking River Cruises, Viking Homelands
Duration: 15 days
Ship: Various
Flight included: Round trip flights from select gateways
Price: Starting around $8,000
Why go: Fifteen days aboard the Viking Jupiter or any other Viking Cruises vessel will grant you a full tour of Scandinavia — "the homelands," the tour operator calls it — including a medieval Danish town, a string of Swedish islands, Norwegian fjords, and more. Of course, the boat also makes the obligatory stops in Nordic hotspots like Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo.
Celebrity Cruises, Quito & Galapagos Southern Loop
Duration: 11 nights
Ship: Celebrity Xpedition
Flight included: Round trip flight between Quito and the Galapagos
Price: Starting around $6,400
Why go: You'll stand on the equatorial line in Quito, and then, following your included flight to the Galapagos Islands, enjoy eight days exploring their ecological wonders with the help of naturalist guides. The small ship size (accommodating only 48 passengers) means you'll have plenty of time and breathing space to relax with a glass of complimentary wine and use binoculars to look out at the incredible nature around you.
P&O Cruises, Canary Islands
Duration: 7 nights
Ship: Azura
Flight included: Round trip flights from select UK airports to Tenerife
Price: Starting around $1000
Why go: Island hopping in the sunshiny Canaries for around $1,000 per person — with flights, meals, and entertainment included — is a steal impossible to pass up. This week-long cruise sails from Tenerife to Madeira, La Palma, Fuerteventura, and back to Tenerife, providing plenty of time to explore each island before hopping back on the 3,100-passenger Azura. You do still have to get yourself to and from Manchester, U.K. for the included return flight, though.
Oceania Cruises, Singapore to Dubai
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Duration: 16 days
Ship: Riviera
Flight included: Round trip flights to/from Singapore and Dubai with OLife Choice package
Price: Starting around $5,200
Why go: A little over two weeks on the Riviera, Oceania Cruises' 1,210-guest small ship, will grant you access to some of Southeast Asia's best beaches, India's colorful cities, and the futuristic megalopolises of the United Arab Emirates. Between sailings on the Laccadive and Arabian Seas, the Riviera makes stops in Phuket, Thailand; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Mumbai, India; and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, among other destinations. Excursions include visiting mosques and temples, touring spice farms, shopping at souks, and embarking on a desert safari. The special OLife Choice offering includes round trip international airfare in the cruise price.
Silversea, Athens to Athens
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Duration: 11 days
Ship: Silver Whisper
Flight included: Round trip flights to and from Athens, Greece
Price: Starting around $7,900
Why go: Silversea's Silver Whisper whisks passengers across the Mediterranean, ping-ponging between Greece and Turkey's most picturesque and lesser-known ports. The 11-day journey begins and ends in Athens, stopping in Naxos, Kusadasi, Istanbul, Myrina, Thessaloniki, Skiathos, and Syros. The ship, equipped with seven passenger decks and the capacity to accommodate roughly 400 guests, features a wellness spa and multi-tiered show lounge for when you're not on land exploring the dazzling Mediterranean coast.
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