Folks,

We had not even been considering taking a River Cruise because of the cost...until I noticed in the 2007 brochure that the prices listed are "per couple" and not "per person".

So it looks like a River Cruise could fit into our budget if we plan for spring of 2008.

That being said, we'd be really interested in hearing from anyone who will be taking either the 9 day or 11 day River Cruises of Holland/Belgium once you get back!

Totherleslie - unless things have changed dramatically - read the fine print! The price is usually per person travelling as a couple. Sorry to disappoint you, but if the price is $3000, it will be $6000 for two people. It could be worse, however, you could be travelling solo, in which case you would also be paying the much dreaded 'single supplement', which means you are paying more than anyone else, and will probably end up in a dog kennel, rather than a room - I haven't actually done this, but I assured that it is true, by fellow board members - that is the way things work in Europe.

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is...

I've just read the brochure again, and the wording says: "Prices listed above are per couple, double occupancy and do not include port charges of xxx per person."

I suppose the catchy clause is "double occupancy".

I'm going to ask my TA what this really means.

Maybe spring 2009 instead????

Leslie

That seems fairly unambiguous, Leslie. If it says that the price is per couple, then the price is per couple!

Well....that's what I thought at first too, it seemed straightforward. But, it never hurts to check.

I haven't done so yet since I've been busy at work for the past few days, but I'll send a note off this weekend to get the official word and I'll post the answer I get back.

Per couple sounds like a typo for per person, but let's hope it's the real deal!

I had a chance to check into this today, so here's the scoop. It's a case of what you see in the brochure is not precisely the message that Trafalgar meant to convey.

Here is what the TT rep told our TA.

The line in the brochure that reads "Prices listed aboveare per couple...etc." appears as the very last line of the illustration box which lists prices of the river cruises. But if you examine this price illustration box more discriminately, you will see that it is subdivided into a "top" portion, and a "bottom" portion. The top portion of the box lists the various prices of the cruises, and the bottom portion of the box talks about potential discounts.

Ergo, the one-liner that says "Prices listed above are per couple...etc." is in the "bottom" section of the box, and therefore was only intended to reference the potential discount amounts that appear in the previous column.

It would be much easier for me to explain this if I could put up a power-point slide and use my trusty laser pointer to draw your eye to the salient points!!!! But if you have the River Cruise brochure, take a look and I'm sure you'll quickly see what I'm trying to explain in words.

I'm not sure if all of the brochures were set up like this, or if it's just the Canadian version.

The TT rep told our TA that this one-liner in the brochure has generated a lot of confusion, and they've received several questions on this same point. I expect that next year the wording in the brochure will be crisper.

Ah well, it was a nice thought while it lasted, this river cruise thing!!! As I type this note, husband is back thumbing through the land tour book!!!

Oh, I forgot to add....I'd still LOVE to hear from anyone who does go on a river boat cruise this spring, once you get back!!

Just caught up with this...Thanks for coming back to us with the update. I knew it was too good to be true Typical marketing hook.

A bit late I know with this reply. I went to a travel expo and asked the question. Answer - a typo. The old Maxwell Smart situation - if it looks too good to be true, it is.