The Same Steep Discounts We're Accustomed to Receiving on Ocean Cruises Are Also Available on Select River Cruises

Most avid travelers are aware that by going to numerous cruise discount websites, or even to the cruiselines' own websites, they can occasionally find discounts off published prices of at least 50%. And yet, when they consider booking a river cruise, they usually pay full price. The foolishness of such a course was revealed this week in a widely-distributed e-mail from Vacations To Go ( www.vacationstogo.com ), which is now heavily involved in the sale of river cruises. In that missive, VTG has listed two major, most-of-the-year river cruise programs on which participants, by booking now, could buy two cruises for the price of one ("companion cruises for free") -- that is, at 50% off (and resulting in prices of about $1,000 per person for a one-week cruise).

The offers, in the exact language of the e-mail, are the following:

Rhine Getaway 2012: 8 days with Viking River Cruises. Travels between Amsterdam and Basel with stops in Cologne, Heidelberg and Strasbourg. Companion cruises for free, plus save $800 per couple off roundtrip airfare when you book and pay in full. Land/cruise-only starting from $1,949. Departures from March 18 through December 30, 2012.

Paris & the Heart of Normandy 2012: (Paris-Rouen-Paris), 8 days with Viking River Cruises. Begins and ends in Paris with visits to Giverny, Omaha Beach and Conflans. Companion cruises for free, plus save $800 per couple off roundtrip airfare when you book and pay in full. Land/cruise-only starting from $2,149. Departures from March 21 through December 23, 2012.

To follow up on either of those remarkable offers, you simply call tel. 800/510-4002 and ask to speak with a river cruise specialist.