Q – We are booked on our second AMA sailing on the Rhine River in May of 2026. We were able to receive a nice discount of about 20% when we originally booked this several months ago. Yesterday, we received an AMA e-mail notifying us that they are now offering complimentary three-night land packages to guests booked on Rhine sailings, including our specific itinerary. When our trusted agent called to get us set up with the comp land program we were told that it does not apply to our sailing but we can buy it for an additional $2500. This seems like misleading advertising. What are my options?
A – Welcome to the wonderful world of consumer travel advertising. Your sailing is heavily booked. Prices have gone up twice since you originally made your booking. Because prices have gone up, you will need to pay more should you cancel and re-book with the current offer. On the other hand, on your sailing, AMA will “allow” you to purchase the land offer for only $2500.
On escorted tours, pricing is more heavily regulated because no one wants to spend ten nights touring on a motorcoach with riders comparing notes on what they paid. And think of the poor tour guide who has to deal with price allegations.
But the cruise and riverboat firms worry less about passengers talking to one another. The major mass market lines discount at will and they often discount as sailings with empty cabins approach sailing date. The major four and five star lines, however, generally reward guests who book the earliest – the rule of thumb is the first “20%” always get the very best pricing. The prices, as we have indicated, start rising on an average three-month cycle.
The “tricky part” comes when it is decided to match a price increase with a “special booking incentive offer” while trying to never mention the fact that the cruise or riverboat price has gone up.
We checked, and in your specific case, you can get the free land offer on some of the potentially poor weather spring and fall dates. But riverboat guests planning to travel next summer should be aware that inventory on Europe’s major rivers for prime season already has already fallen to just below 30%. If you booked one of the “weather and water level” riskier dates, you will also find that cabin selection is quite minimal.
There are always exceptions, a part of what makes our work so fascinating, but you are most often going to be best served by booking early and taking advantage of early booking discounts without the tainted applesauce in the form of “special deals at a higher cost.
