Cheaper flights, no queues: Why cruisers are doing Europe in winter

Fancy cruising Europe in winter? Once, you’d have been considered a crank, and have found no ship to sail on. In the last decade, however, the number of winter cruises has grown steadily, and is set to become mainstream.

Why? The rising expense of travel, and increased awareness of tourism overcrowding. While monuments and museums may have shortened winter hours, they also have shortened queues, which is a big plus in busy tourist cities such as Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Istanbul.

The Northern Lights from a Hurtigruten ship – one of many reasons to cruise Europe in winter.

Off-season cruises are generally cheaper. When Windstar Cruises operated Star Legend in the Mediterranean between December 2023 and April 2024, for example, prices were up to 65 per cent lower than for a comparable high-season cruise.

Off-season bargains won’t last as customer demand grows, but travellers will still benefit from lower prices for flights and hotels, except over Christmas.

Other incentives may include the opportunity to see familiar places in a new way, the avoidance of the Mediterranean’s recently super-hot summers, and the lure of seasonal events such as a European Christmas or the Venice carnival.

Meanwhile, cruise lines are happy. Ships can avoid relocating to another continent, during which days at sea burn fuel and stall lucrative revenue from shore excursions.

Cruise lines have steadily lengthened their Mediterranean seasons, with ships from the likes of Crystal Cruises and Explora Journeys now lingering into November. Among other companies that now remain there all or part of the winter are Celebrity, Costa, Emerald, MSC, Princess, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, Silversea and Viking.

Most itineraries take you to Greece, Turkey, Malta, Croatia and Italy. Some do, however, take in coastlines further north in the western Mediterranean. Seabourn Cruise Line, for example, has Riviera sailings in France and northern Italy.

Cruise lines have steadily lengthened their Mediterranean seasons.Credit: iStock

More recently, European winter cruising has extended into Norway and the Baltic. Copenhagen expects more than 50 cruise ships to visit between October 2024 and April 2025 to meet the growing interest in winter sailings in the region.

The main reason to cruise in Norway is the chance to see the Northern Lights, shown off to good advantage by the lack of light interference around cruise ships. Aurora Expeditions, Cunard, Hurtigruten, Silversea and Viking are among companies with Northern Lights cruises.

On rivers, winter cruising has been around longer, at least during December, when the attraction is Christmas markets and a Christmas-card European ambience, although you’ve little chance of snowscapes these days. The culture-minded spot an advantage in the low-season lack of crowds in palaces and museums.

River-cruise lines are now restarting their spring season as early as February. Some offer sailings year-round. Cruises have been great for their bottom line, as river ships are otherwise mothballed over winter.

There are downsides to winter cruising. The weather is unpredictable, and cities aren’t as lively outdoors. The scenery isn’t as verdantly pretty. Days are short, although dark evenings provide their own enchantment during December.