Affordable, expensive or extravagant? Budgeting for a river cruise

However modest or generous your clients’ budgets, there will be a river cruise to suit their needs. We pick out three contrasting suggestions for the Seine and the Amazon

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The Seine

A Seine cruise starting in romantic Paris travels to historic Normandy and right through the heart of the picturesque region that inspired a generation of impressionist painters

Affordable

Company: CroisiEurope
Itinerary: Paris to Normandy, taking in the Palace of Versailles, Honfleur, Deauville and the cliffs of Etretat
Duration: Five days
Price: From £779pp
Departure: Paris, May 6, 2018

What’s included?

All meals (French cuisine),plus drinks with meals and at onboard bar
Free wi-fi in lounge and bar
Excursions (with headsets), including a walking tour of Honfleur and day trip to the Normandy landing beaches

What’s not included? Champagne and drinks from the wine list, or drinks ordered during excursions; optional excursions and transfers and travel to/from departure and arrival points

Expensive

Company: Avalon Waterways
Itinerary: Paris to Normandy, via Vernon, Les Andelys, Caudebec, Rouen, Conflates and back to Paris
Duration: Eight days
Price: From £1,999pp
Departure: London Gatwick, November 5, 2019

What’s included?
Full-board dining. Soft drinks and tea and coffee. Regional wine and beer with meals
Return regional flights or rail travel, transfers and VIP home pick-up service (within 100 miles of departure point)
Gratuities
Three types of excursion: Classic, including a walking tour of Rouen; Active, including a hike to the ruins of Chateau Gaillard; Discovery, including a traditional French lunch and pastry demonstration

Extravagant

Company: Uniworld
Itinerary: Paris and Normandy, via Chateau La Roche-Guyon, Monet’s gardens at Giverny, Rouen, Honfleur or Etretat, Normandy beaches, Versailles, and back to Paris
Duration: Seven days
Price: From £4,369pp
Departure: Paris on September 2, 2018
What’s included?

All meals, unlimited beverages onboard including fine wine, beer, spirits, soft drinks, speciality coffee and tea, and mineral water

Excursions including Choice is Yours options
Guided Go Active, Do As The Locals Do and Gentle Walking programmes
Quietvox portable audio-headset on all excursions
Use of bicycles and Nordic walking sticks
Wi-fi, gratuities, transfers and cultural enrichment

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The Amazon

Cruise the Amazon in either Peru, Bolivia, Brazil or Ecuador and discover one of the most biodiverse environments in the world, as well as the tribes and communities who call it home

Affordable

Company: G Adventures
Itinerary: Fly from Lima to Iquitos, gateway to the Amazon, explore the town of Naut before cruising down the Amazon and some of its tributaries into Papaya Samiria National Reserve, then fly back to Lima
Duration: Seven days
Price: From £959pp
Departure: Lima, July 2, 2018

What’s included?
Six breakfasts, four lunches and four dinners
Local indigenous family visit and local shaman visit
Arrival transfer
Orientation tour of Iquitos
Internal flights
Transport between destinations and to/from included activities

What’s not included? International flights; drinks and tips onboard

Expensive

Company: Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
Itinerary: Starting in Barbados and taking in St George’s, Grenada; Belem, Brazil; cruising the river Amazon (meeting of the waters); Santarem, Brazil; Parintins, Brazil; Manaus, Brazil.
Duration: 14 nights
Price: From £2,299pp
Departure: Bridgetown on January 17, 2019

What’s included?
Five-course a la carte dinners, breakfast, lunch buffets, afternoon tea and late night snacks
Unlimited self-service tea and coffee
Evening entertainment, Captain’s Drinks Party and Gala Buffet
Flights

Extravagant

Company: Anakonda (with Latin Routes)
Itinerary: Travel from the Ecuadorian capital of Quita, to Coca and then through the Yasuni National Park. Including visits to a local family and a canopy observation tower
Duration: Five days
Price: From £4,300pp
Departure: London Heathrow, October 15, 2018

What’s included?
Return flights from the UK
All transfers
Four-star hotel stay in Quito
Guided city tour of Quito
All onboard meals
Daily excursions
Local bilingual guide

What’s not included?
Internal flight from Quito to Coca; communities entrance fees; wi-fi; beverages; gratuities and personal expenses.