Deal alert: Super-short cruises on sale starting at $69

Are you traveling to the West Coast of the United States or to Northern Europe in the next few months? You might consider spicing up your trip with a super-short cruise.

Two cruise lines — Holland America and MSC Cruises — are offering relatively rare one-night sailings between various ports in those regions at rates as low as $69 per person.

The shortie voyages come as the lines reposition vessels to new ports for the summer and are designed to offer would-be customers a chance to test their offerings without a major commitment.

In some cases, the cruises are less expensive than the cost of flights or train rides between the ports in question and offer a chance to travel in greater style.

Here are some of the one-night sailings scheduled for the next few months available at discounted rates as of Monday:

• A one-way trip from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seattle on Holland America's Eurodam departing April 28. Fares start at $119.
• A one-way trip from Southampton, England, to Rotterdam, Netherlands, on MSC Cruises' MSC Virtuosa departing April 21. Fares start at $69.
• A one-way trip from Genoa, Italy, to Marseille, France, on MSC Cruises' MSC Orchestra departing May 15. Fares start at $69.
• A one-way trip from Marseille to Genoa on MSC Cruises' MSC Bellissima departing March 26. Fares start at $79.
• A one-way trip from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Southampton on MSC Virtuosa departing April 23. Fares start at $79.

Holland America also is selling a one-night trip from Seattle to Vancouver on Eurodam departing Oct. 7, with fares starting at $74. The line is offering a one-night sailing from Vancouver to Seattle on Eurodam departing May 3, 2024, starting at $74.

In addition to one-night sailings, several lines, including Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, are offering a handful of short two-night cruises in the coming months at low rates. Like the one-night cruises, they were created in part to reposition ships to new home ports but also to offer would-be cruisers a taste of what cruising is like.

Princess, for instance, currently is offering a two-night sailing from Seattle to Vancouver departing Sept. 23 starting at $138 — or $69 a day.

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Among super-short cruises available from Norwegian is a two-night sailing from Granada, Spain, to Lisbon, Portugal, departing March 31 starting at $99 — or about $50 a day.

The fine print on short cruise deals

Note that most of the deeply discounted fares above are only available for windowless interior cabins, which are the lowest-category cabins on each of the ships.

That said, there are notably low rates available on ocean-view and balcony cabins on some of the trips, too.

Related: 6 ways to get a deal on a cruise

Ocean-view cabins (cabins with a window) on the Eurodam sailing from Vancouver to Seattle departing Oct. 7 were listed on Holland America's website Monday for $84 — just $10 more than a windowless cabin. Balcony cabins on the sailing were listed for $94.

Note that all the fares are per-person rates and are based on two people staying in a cabin. They're not available for solo travelers.

In addition, while the rates include accommodations, meals and entertainment, they don't include port taxes and fees, which can add another $50 or more to the cost of the trip.

Cruise lines typically advertise their fares without port taxes and fees included but add these costs to final bills at the time of checkout.

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