You know that there are some cheap cruise deals out there. It’s part of what makes cruising so popular. You can take an entire vacation for just a fraction of what it would cost to fly, pay for a hotel, meals, and lodging. In fact, we recently found a dozen cruises for less than $300.
Now we’ve found one for less than $70 per person.. Just don’t expect your vacation to last very long. In fact, it lasts only 15 and a half hours.
The cheapest cruise in America sails from Seattle, Washington to Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s aboard Princess Cruise Lines’ Emerald Princess. In total, the trip will cover just about 150 miles, departing at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 24 before arriving in Vancouver at 7:30 a.m. Monday, September 25. That’s barely enough time to unpack your bags!
The full price for this trip? It’s $68 per person for an interior cabin, plus port fees and taxes. Balcony rooms start at $112.
Why would a cruise line offer such a small cruise? The next trip scheduled aboard the Emerald Princess offers a reason.
After arriving in Vancouver, the ship has a fast turnaround. It leaves that day for a six-day trip to Los Angeles. After that, the ship will sail regularly from LA.
Due to laws that have been around for decades, foreign-flagged ships (which encompasses nearly every cruise ship) aren’t allowed to pick up passengers in one U.S. city and let them off permanently in another U.S. port unless they first visit a distant foreign port. A close port like Vancouver doesn’t count.
Therefore, to move the ship from Seattle to Los Angeles, the cruise line needs end the trip in a foreign port and let passengers off, before embarking new passengers and heading to LA.
In the meantime, this quirk in the law brings passengers the shortest — and cheapest — cruise in America.
You can view more details at Princess Cruises.
