Free tool
What a trip actually costs
"From $899 per person" is an interior cabin, lowest season, double occupancy, before port taxes, gratuities, airfare, transfers, insurance and the excursions nobody skips. Type in the fare you were shown — from any site, agency or brochure — and this works out the real number for your party, showing every figure it used, where that figure came from, and which ones we couldn't verify.
Below the calculator you can also browse 1,148 escorted tours and river cruises across 66 countries at the operators' own published prices. Those carry no all-in figure, and the page explains exactly why.
Your trip
Every number below moves with these. Then type the per-person fare you were shown next to any trip in the list and we add what the fare leaves out. Nothing is stored and nothing is sent to us.
Where the fare stops
Each bar is the whole party, low estimate to high. Where you have typed a fare, the vertical marker is what that fare would suggest — fare × 4 travelers — and everything to the right of it is real money that is not in the headline number. Rows with no fare yet show the add-ons alone.
The operators we can price line by line
These 16 carry a published fee schedule we have checked, so every line can be shown with its source. We don't hold a current lead-in price for them — a price with no departure date and no expiry is a guess — so type the one you were shown.
How this is calculated, and where it's weak
The fare is yours — we don't publish lead-in prices for these operators, because a price with no departure date and no expiry is not a price. Everything added on top of it is labeled separately on every line. Sourced means a figure published by the supplier or a government on a date we recorded — Carnival's $17 per day, Alaska's $34.50 state excise, Port Everglades' $20 daily parking maximum. Modeled means the structure is real but we estimated the size — airfare bands, transfers, on-trip spending. Weak means we could not verify it and we are telling you rather than hiding it: Viking's daily gratuity, where two credible 2026 sources disagree, and Mediterranean port fees, where no sailing-level example is published anywhere.
Insurance is applied at 4.9% of insured trip cost for the 40-59 band. The 4–10% overall range is published by Squaremouth and InsureMyTrip; the per-age weighting is our own estimate derived from their generational averages, and insurers rate each traveler individually rather than off the oldest in a party, so read it as a party-level approximation. Airfare is the only component that moves with your travel month — we do not model seasonal movement in the base fare, because no verified per-sailing source for it exists and the number would be invented. Flights are estimated from South Florida to each gateway (Seattle, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Dublin, Rome, San Jose, Punta Cana, Cancun, Montego Bay), and are the least certain line here — there is no authoritative public dataset of international city-pair fares to check them against.
This is an estimate, not a quote. Fares move daily, itineraries differ, and government fees change — Mexico's cruise passenger fee doubled to $10 per passenger on 1 August 2026 and, by presidential decree, steps to $15 from July 2027 and $21 from August 2028. We re-verify the published figures behind this tool weekly; the current set was last checked 2026-02-03. A real quote prices your actual sailing, your actual room, and your actual dates.
Browse the full catalogue — 1,148 tours
Prices last checked 2026-10-11Escorted tours and river cruises across 66 countries, at the operators' own published lead-in prices. These are for browsing and starting a conversation — unlike the packages above, we don't yet have verified fee schedules for these operators, so we don't show an all-in figure for them. We explain why below.
1,148 match.
Independent Rome City Stay
Flights not included — the operator states this
Independent Paris City Stay
Flights not included — the operator states this
Independent London City Stay
Flights not included — the operator states this
Moroccan Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Imperial Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Independent Bangkok
Flights not included — the operator states this
Costa Rica Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Captivating Kerala
The operator does not say whether flights are included — we'd confirm before quoting
Turkish Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Independent Rio de Janeiro City Stay
Flights not included — the operator states this
Jewels of the Bay
The operator does not say whether flights are included — we'd confirm before quoting
Scottish Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Independent Santiago City Stay
Flights not included — the operator states this
Independent Dubai
Flights not included — the operator states this
Scottish Highlands Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Independent Rome & Florence City Stay
Flights not included — the operator states this
Independent Buenos Aires City Stay
Flights not included — the operator states this
Lisbon to Madrid Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
North of Ireland Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Irish Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Greek Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Lisbon to Costa del Sol Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Polish Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Baltic Christmas Markets Escape
Flights not included — the operator states this
Why there's no all-in figure on these
The packages higher up this page show a full cost stack because we hold verified, supplier-published fee schedules for them — a daily gratuity rate, port taxes, a known departure airport. For these operators we don't, and we checked rather than assumed. As of 30 August 2026, Globus, Insight and Avalon publish no per-day gratuity figure at all — Globus calculates one per itinerary and shows it only at booking — and Trafalgar's own pages disagree, with its blog quoting $5–7 per day for the Travel Director while its FAQ says tips are included.
Airfare is the other gap. These tours run across 66 countries, and there is no authoritative public dataset of international city-pair fares to price that from. We could generate a number for every one of them; it would look authoritative and it would be invented. So the version we show is this: a real published price, what the operator says it excludes, and an offer to work out the rest properly for your dates.
Tell us what you're considering →The six things that turn a fare into a bill
Every trip in the calculator is built from the same six components. Only the first one appears in the advertised price.
| Component | In the advertised price? | Typical 2026 figure |
|---|---|---|
| Base fare | Yes — this is the advertised price | Lead-in category, double occupancy. Guests 3 and 4 in a cabin pay roughly 40–65% of the lead rate. |
| Taxes, fees & port expenses | No — added at checkout | $140–$200 per person, 7-night Caribbean. $200–$320 in Alaska, which carries a $34.50 state excise (on voyages over 72 hours in state waters) plus Juneau's $5 marine passenger and $3 port development fees. River cruising is the exception: AmaWaterways publishes $250 per person and includes it in the fare. |
| Gratuities & service charges | No — charged on board or pre-paid | Per guest per day: Carnival $17 ($19 suites, raised 2 Apr 2026), Royal Caribbean $18.50 ($21 suites), Norwegian $20 ($25 in The Haven, guests 3 and up), Princess $18/$19/$20 by category, Disney $16 including infants. Escorted tours run $10–$17 per person per day across director, driver and local guides. |
| Airfare & checked bags | No, unless the quote says air-inclusive | $0 from a South Florida home port. Roughly $250–$550 round trip to the Caribbean and Central America and $530–$1,270 to Europe, plus $70–$100 per traveler in bags. These are our estimates — no authoritative public dataset of international city-pair fares exists. |
| Transfers & insurance | Rarely | Airport transfers $40–$190 per group depending on destination. Florida terminal parking is $20 a day at Port Everglades and $25–$35 at PortMiami, billed per day and counting both travel days. Insurance runs 4–10% of insured trip cost and rises with age. |
| On-trip spending | No — and it is not a hidden fee, it is your choice | $25–$60 per person per day at an all-inclusive resort; $50–$100 on a cruise. Cruise Market Watch puts the typical cruiser at $82 per day; Royal Caribbean Group collected $99.38 per passenger day in Q2 2026. |
Two things this turned up that nobody advertises
The gap is widest on the cheapest-looking trips
A value-line 7-night Caribbean cruise at $599 per person works out to roughly twice the brochure math for a family of four in July. A premium cruise at $2,199 per person works out to about 1.15 times, because far more is already inside the fare. The advertised price is least representative exactly where price-shoppers look hardest — which means comparing two trips on their headline numbers systematically steers you toward the one that excluded more.
Several sailings carry no airfare at all
If you live in South Florida, a cruise from Port Everglades or PortMiami removes the single largest variable cost in the model. For a family of four that is commonly $1,200 to $2,400 of flights and bags, replaced by terminal parking at roughly $20–$23 per vehicle per night — plus you skip the pre-cruise hotel night that flying travelers are told to book against delays. It is the biggest advantage a South Florida family has and no brochure puts a number on it.
How we handle numbers we can't verify
Every line in the calculator is labeled sourced (published by the supplier or a government on a date we recorded), modeled (the structure is real, we estimated the size), or weak (we could not verify it, and we say so rather than hiding it). Two figures currently sit in that last category: Viking's daily gratuity, where two credible 2026 sources disagree and Viking's own FAQ will not render the number, and Mediterranean port fees, where no sailing-level example is published anywhere.
A verification pass on 29 August 2026 also removed things. Costa Rica's widely-quoted $15 arrival tax is gone, because no Costa Rican government source publishes it. Port Tampa Bay is not in our parking figures, because the port publishes no daily rate on its own site. And we stopped crediting our airfare bands to a data source that did not actually support them — they are our estimates, labeled as estimates. Removing a number we could not stand behind is the same job as adding one we can.
We do not model seasonal movement in the base fare, because no verified per-sailing source for it exists and the number would be invented. Airfare is the only component that moves with your travel month. We re-check the published figures behind this tool weekly, and the current set was last verified 2026-02-03. 28 offers in our catalog are not shown above because we don't yet have a verified fee schedule for those suppliers — we'd rather leave a gap than estimate one.
Frequently asked questions
What is not included in a cruise price?
The advertised cruise fare covers your cabin, main dining, entertainment and most onboard activities. It does not cover taxes, fees and port expenses (roughly $140–$200 per person on a 7-night Caribbean sailing, more in Alaska), gratuities or service charges (Carnival $17 per guest per day as of April 2026, Royal Caribbean $18.50, Norwegian $20, Disney $16, Princess $18 in a standard stateroom, rising to $20 in a suite), airfare, airport transfers or parking, travel insurance, alcohol packages, specialty dining, shore excursions, Wi-Fi, spa or photos. For a family of four on a value-line sailing, those add up to roughly as much again as the fare itself.
How much more than the advertised price should I budget?
It depends heavily on the trip, and counterintuitively the gap is widest on the cheapest-looking trips. A $599-per-person mainstream cruise runs about twice the brochure math for a family of four once taxes, gratuities, transfers, insurance and on-trip spending are counted. A $2,199-per-person premium cruise runs about 1.15 times, because more is already inside the fare. Comparing two trips on their advertised prices systematically favours the one that has excluded more.
Do I need travel insurance, and what does it cost?
It is not required, but for a large deposit-and-final-payment purchase it is the standard protection. Squaremouth and InsureMyTrip both put comprehensive policies at 4–10% of insured trip cost, averaging around 6% — that range is published. Cost rises with age, and our calculator applies roughly 4.3% under 40, 4.9% for 40–59, 7.8% for 60–79 and 11.5% above 80. Those per-age figures are our own estimate derived from Squaremouth's average premium and average trip cost by generation, not numbers they publish, and insurers actually rate each traveler separately rather than off the oldest in your party. Cancel-for-any-reason coverage adds a further 40–60% on top of the base premium.
Is it cheaper to cruise from Fort Lauderdale or Miami if I live in South Florida?
Substantially, and it is the largest single cost advantage available to a South Florida family. A sailing from Port Everglades or PortMiami removes airfare entirely — for a family of four that is commonly $1,200 to $2,400 of round-trip flights plus checked bags, replaced by terminal parking. Port Everglades charges a $20 daily maximum for a standard vehicle ($25 oversized); PortMiami runs $25 a day in most garages and $35 in Garage AA and the Norwegian garage. Note every Florida port bills per day and counts both the sailing day and the return day, so a 7-night cruise is 8 days of parking. Driving also removes the pre-cruise hotel night that flying travelers are advised to book against flight delays.
How can I tell whether a travel quote is complete?
Check for the specific words rather than assuming. The two components most often assumed included and most often not are gratuities or service charges, and 'taxes, fees and port expenses.' Ask for both in writing. As a structural check, a genuinely all-in mainstream cruise quote for a family lands around 1.75 to 2.15 times the advertised lead-in fare times party size. A quote close to the advertised per-person price is almost certainly a bare fare.
Does a travel advisor cost extra?
Not for the trips in this calculator. Cruise lines, resorts and tour operators pay the agency a commission as the booking channel, so the price you pay is the same and the planning is free. That is also why the numbers here are worth showing publicly — we have no incentive to make a trip look cheaper than it is, because we are the ones who have to be there when the real bill arrives.
Keep going
Not sure which line or brand fits your group yet? Start with the cruise line matcher or the all-inclusive resort matcher, then come back here to price what they suggest. Wrangling a bigger party? The family reunion budget calculator splits costs fairly across households. Current offers are on the deals page.
Why we publish this
Nobody hires a travel advisor for a $9,000 multigenerational trip in order to find a trip. They hire one so the trip doesn't go wrong — it's infrequent, expensive, socially exposed and largely irreversible, and the organizer's standing in their own family is on the line. Showing you the real number before you commit is the same job. Cruise lines, resorts and tour operators pay us as the booking channel, so our planning costs you nothing and there's no version of this where making a trip look cheaper than it is helps us. Tell us about your trip and we'll price the real one.