Should You Take a Pre-Cruise Extension? The Pros & Cons

Pros of Booking a Pre-Cruise Extension

Chapel Bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland (Photo: Marilyn Borth)

Pro: Experience More of the World in One Go

Traveling can take an extensive chunk of time, money and energy. So why not make the most of all your packing, flying and globetrotting by prepending your trip with a couple more days of fun-filled experiences?

This is especially ideal if you’re planning on taking a cruise to a far-flung destination like Asia, Australia, South America, Africa or Europe. If you’re already making all the effort to get out there, you might as well get the most out of it, and a great way of doing that easily is with a pre-cruise extension.

And, as an added bonus, a pre-cruise extension, in particular, ensures you won’t miss your ship due to flight delays.

Pro: Get the Best of Both Worlds: A Land and Sea Tour Experience

Lion Monument in Lucerne, Switzerland (Photo: Marilyn Borth)

I’m an advocate for cruises — if you couldn’t already tell by what website you’re on — but I am a diehard land-based traveler, too. There’s nothing quite like traveling by land, watching the countryside, cities and villages roll by your bus or train window as you cut through newfound places. And meeting locals and seeing first-hand how they live, even in remote villages? That’s very much up my alley.

If you’re like me, then a pre-cruise extension may call to you as well. Since they’re conducted solely on land, usually via trains or buses of varying sizes and types, you’ll get a more robust taste of “land life” your cruise ship can’t quite provide.

Pro: You Start with the “Tough” Travel and Follow It Up with Onboard Relaxation

While post-cruise extensions are available as well, pre-cruise extensions are less taxing and overall more attractive, since they allow you to start out with the “tougher” portion of the trip (land travel is almost always more energy-smiting) and finish up with the more relaxing part — your cruise ship.

Beginning with the land portion is almost always the preferred choice, as you have all this excitement and energy to get through it at the beginning of your trip. Then, by the time you step foot on your ship, you’re ready to kick back and let the vessel take you to your destinations henceforth.

Pro: Visit Places You Can’t Experience Via Your Cruise Ship

Limmat River in downtown Zurich (Photo: Marilyn Borth)

Not all the great places of the world can be reached via your ship, whether it be river, sea or ocean. Many can’t even be properly visited by available shore excursions. Pre-cruise extensions allow travelers to go beyond the ship and its excursions, providing them with the chance to explore continental cities, towns and other notable landmarks.

A few such places pre-cruise extensions have on offer include Vienna, Lucerne, Budapest, Lake Como, Iguassu Falls in Brazil, Angkor Wat in Cambodia — the list goes on and on.

Pro: Visit Places You Can Experience Via Your Ship, But for Longer

Some shore excursions and ports of call appear on pre-cruise extension itineraries as well. This is simply because some cruisers want to experience their embarkation cities and/or nearby locations more in-depth. Amsterdam, for example, is a popular port of call but can’t be effectively covered in just a day. If it’s included in your pre-cruise extension, however, you can spend up to three extra nights there.

Pro: Get a Deeper Look into Local Life with a Designated Guide

Guided Tour with Gate 1 Travel in Zurich, Switzerland (Photo: Marilyn Borth)

Brief shore excursions to various ports of call on any cruise can provide an overview of the destination you’re visiting. But there’s really nothing quite like staying just a bit longer than a couple of hours to get a deeper understanding of a specific location’s inner workings.

Foodies specifically can rejoice, since they’re tossed into the local life and, ultimately, the local cuisine. While cruise lines do their best to replicate the flavors and dishes of the visited ports, they can’t do it all. Simply stepping foot into the place, ordering from locals, and tasting it right then and there is something no cruise line can perfectly simulate. This experience can be achieved with a pre-cruise extension.

Pro: Have Built-In Translators to Tackle Language Barriers

If your destination’s language barrier is of some concern to you, then you can rest easy on a pre-cruise extension, as your guide will be able to speak the local language and can act as a translator for you.

Pro: You Can Pass the Burden of Booking Flights and Hotels to Someone Else

Oftentimes, it pays to have peace of mind. If you’d rather shell out a bit more money so that someone else will book your flights and hotels for you so you don’t have to, then a pre-cruise extension could be your saving grace.

Pro: See and Do More — While Someone Else Handles Your Bulky Luggage

Unpacking and repacking every day or night is one hassle often met with grunts and groans, especially from yours truly. Then, you have to lug it to your next destination? Forget it.

Fortunately, with most pre-cruise extensions, your cruise line will take your luggage for you and send it right to the ship. You still need to repack it, unfortunately, but aside from that, you can put it outside your hotel door and they’ll whisk it off to your next destination for you. Just remember to keep your necessities, like medication, wallets, phones and so on, in a carry-on bag for your day trip.

Pro: Make Friends Before Your Cruise and Meet Them Again Onboard

Making new friends isn’t easy for everyone. While on your pre-cruise extension, you’re likely to be with a smaller number of people than you are on your cruise ship, making mingling a bit less daunting. Then, by the time you’ve arrived on your ship, you’re stepping on board with a new group of friends — and you may make lasting friendships while on your ship.