A 3rd major cruise line throws in free tours worth thousands of dollars if you

Cruise industry trendwatchers, take note: There’s now a third major line offering customers a multiday land tour for free if they book a cruise in the next two months.

Miami-based Regent Seven Seas Cruises this week launched a limited-time offer that gives customers a complimentary pre-or post-cruise land tour package as an add-on to a cruise when they book select Europe voyages scheduled to take place in 2023.

To qualify for the offer, you must book by Jan. 6.

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The free add-on land tours that are available as part of the promotion, which normally cost as much as $2,699 per person, range from three to four nights in length and include:

• A three-night tour of Cappadocia in Turkey with a visit to ancient cave churches at Uchisar Castle and the Goreme Open-Air Museum. The add-on trip would normally costs $1,499 per person, based on double occupancy.
• A three-night tour of London and the Cotswolds with a visit to the Tower of London and the Roman baths in the city of Bath. The add-on normally costs $2,099 per person, based on double occupancy.
• A four-night tour of Madrid and Barcelona that brings stops at multiple historic sites. It normally costs $2,699 per person, based on double occupancy.

There are seven such add-on tours available for free as part of the promotion in conjunction with 59 departures of Europe sailings scheduled to take place between April and November of 2023.

Other destinations where the add-ons are available include Ljubljana, Slovenia: Umbria in Italy; Athens, Greece; and Copenhagen.

Each of the land tour packages includes accommodations in hotels, some meals and guided tours.

As an alternative, in lieu of the free tours, Regent customers who book by the Jan. 6 deadline for the 59 departures can opt for a $750 per-person credit when they book (up to $1,500 per cabin).

The free tours and credits are only available to the first two people staying in any given cabin.

The Regent offer comes just days after upscale river cruise line AmaWaterways announced that customers who book select 2023 sailings in Europe, Egypt and Asia will get a free pre- or post-cruise land tour worth up to $1,680 per person as an add-on.

Also announcing a similar program in recent weeks was upscale cruise operator Oceania Cruises.

Oceania’s offer brings free pre- and post-cruise tours worth up to $4,600 when booking one of 15 longer sailings scheduled for 2023. The tours range from one to three nights in length and include visits to such iconic destinations as the Taj Mahal in India and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

As is the case with Regent’s offer, the AmaWaterways and Oceania offers are only available to customers who book in the next couple of months.

The free add-on promotion comes as cruise lines look for ways to boost bookings without dropping their base fares.

Related: The ultimate guide to picking a cruise line

Many cruise lines have struggled to get occupancies on ships back to normal levels since they restarted operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In lieu of discounting fares, many lines have been offering “value-add” freebies to customers including free shore tours, drinks packages, Wi-Fi packages and gratuities.

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