Many people will want to extend their cruise with a stay in area where the cruise departs from or returns to. These would be referred to as a pre-night or post-night. If they are added on to your cruise reservation, many times you can get transfers through the cruise line from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the port. You can usually add one to three nights on either side of your cruise.
You will likely find, however, that the prices for a stay booked in conjunction with your cruise will cost more than if you book the pre or post nights separately. Your travel agent can check the pricing both ways for you. We have found this to be true with Disney reservations. Discounts such as AAA or annual passholder rates cannot be applied to the cruise line resort booking. In most cases, the standard prices for the resort were pretty close to the rates the cruise line was charging, but if a discount came available, it wouldn’t be applied to the cruise line resort booking.
Another thing to be aware of is that the pre and post nights may have a different cancelation policy than the cruise reservation itself. This could also vary depending on the hotel and the city in which you are booking the stay. Some may or may not include the transfers as well so you’ll want to be clear in what you are booking.
A cruisetour is a little different from a pre or post night stay. This is an organized tour that is added on to your cruise, to give you a more in depth view of the area. Popular cruisetour locations are in Alaska, Australia, Europe, and South America.
Cruisetours will be an escorted tour by expert tour guides. They will include your hotels, many activities and transportation to areas that are many times more inland from the port or just cannot be taken in for a day while in port. Most cruisetours can either be at the beginning or the end of your cruise.