Would you fly across the world for a 2-night cruise? Most wouldn't even consider this, but I was excited to take on the challenge.
I recently embarked on an unforgettable trip to Europe for a 2-night cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line. For just $99 per person, this cruise was dirt-cheap. Instead of spending thousands to fly to Europe during spring break, I decided to roll the dice and use my airline standby benefits.
This provided flexibility for us, but also limitations on where we could fly. If we didn’t arrive in Málaga, Spain, in time (spoiler - we almost didn’t), we’d miss the cruise entirely. This meant we would lose hundreds of dollars that we had already paid. Of course, this was a real possibility, as flying standby is especially risky during the busy spring break season.
Luckily, I wasn’t going to be alone on this adventure! My best friend, Hayley, was willing to throw caution to the wind and attempt flying standby to Europe for this 2-night cruise. As a Norwegian Cruise Line aficionado, she was excited to see what this 20-year-old cruise ship would be like.
However, I hadn’t cruised with Norwegian in over a decade! As a loyal Royal Caribbean cruiser, I was intrigued by this unique one-way itinerary, and who wouldn’t want to spend spring break in Europe?
Our crazy adventure wasn’t for the faint of heart, as it tested our patience and planning skills. We were exhausted by the end of our week-long trip, packing just a backpack for easy navigation as we trekked across three different countries.
Read more: I took my first Norwegian cruise after more than a decade. Here are my honest thoughts
Ultimately, our trip involved flying standby overnight to Europe from North America and spending one night in London. We flew to Málaga, Spain, the night before our 2-night cruise, which included stops in Cádiz, Spain, and Lisbon, Portugal. We spent one day exploring Lisbon before flying back to London, where we spent two nights before flying standby home.
Although flying standby helped keep costs down initially, we still spent more than $4,000 on the whirlwind trip when it was all said and done. Not having confirmed tickets was more stressful than we anticipated, and I’m not convinced the whirlwind trip was worth the cost.
What started as a spontaneous idea to take a 2-night European cruise quickly evolved into a strategic plan
While searching for a cheap spring break cruise, I stumbled across a 2-night sailing on Norwegian Sun, which is one of the oldest ships in Norwegian’s fleet.
Most people wouldn’t consider flying to Europe from North America for a 2-night cruise, but I’m no stranger to whirlwind weekend trips. I’ve taken weekend trips to Europe and Asia multiple times, so I was confident I could make this happen.
We decided to book the cruise for $99 each, costing about $394 total between the two of us for an interior guarantee cabin. This also included port fees, taxes, and prepaid gratuities. Although not as cheap as we originally saw advertised, it’s tough to beat the $200 per person cost when it includes transportation, entertainment, food, and accommodations!
Read more: I flew standby to Europe for a cheap cruise and I would never do it again — here's why
Our standby flights ended up being the biggest expense of the trip, totaling $1,588
Any standby flyer will tell you that you need to make sure you research multiple routes and prepare backup plans. You never know what a day of standby flying will bring! Because of this, Hayley and I mapped out Plan A, Plan B, and everything in between. We monitored the flights in the weeks and days leading up to our flight to strategize the best options.
In case of delays, we decided to fly to Europe a few days early to buffer for the unexpected. I’m glad we did, because we ended up flying to London instead of anywhere close to Spain! We used London as our home base with multiple international flight options and direct routes to Málaga for our cruise. When you fly standby, you still need to pay taxes or fees, so it’s not completely free.
Some countries are more expensive than others, but England has some of the highest taxes for standby flying. For this reason, there are often more seats available — if you’re willing to pay the $200 tax. We wanted to be sure we made the flight, so we hoped we could get seats to London.
In the end, Hayley and I paid $1,588 for taxes and fees on our standby flights between the two of us. This was, by far, the priciest expense for our entire trip, and it was more than we planned to spend.
Hayley and I were relieved to land in London, and we made the most of our short time in this historic city
With such a short amount of time in each destination during this trip, we had to make the most of each day. There was no downtime, leading to a quick-paced itinerary with few opportunities for relaxation. After landing at London Heathrow, we made our way to the hotel to freshen up before sightseeing in the afternoon. Because we had only packed our large backpacks, it was easy for us to take the Heathrow Express train directly into the city.
Fighting jet lag was difficult, but Hayley had never been to London and wanted to see as much as possible. I was happy to oblige, as London is one of my favorite cities in the world! We explored London’s main sights as much as we could in our single day. We caffeinated at a local coffee shop, walked around the city, and took many pictures in front of the iconic landmarks. We wrapped up our first day with a cozy dinner at a nearby pub before some much-needed sleep.
The London Double Tree cost $217 for one night, while we spent $107 on transportation and $50 on meals. This totaled to $421 for our one-night stay in London.
Read more: I'm a London travel expert. Here are the 8 things I wish tourists knew before visiting
The following morning, we ventured to the airport again for our flight to Spain - but almost didn’t make it
Hayley and I had a relaxing morning strolling the beautiful and peaceful Kensington Gardens, with coffee in hand! Unfortunately, the slow-paced morning quickly turned into a stressful jaunt to Stansted Airport after heading in the wrong direction to the wrong airport.
After researching so many flight options across London’s many airports, we nearly went to the wrong airport and would have missed our flight. The delayed train only made matters worse, and the chaotic security line at the airport heightened our stress further.
Thankfully, we arrived at our gate with a few minutes to spare before boarding started. Had we missed this flight, we probably wouldn’t have arrived in Málaga, Spain, in time for our cruise aboard Norwegian Sun!
This wasn’t a cheap flight either, costing $399 each. Although Europe is known for cheap regional flights, we couldn’t secure any airfare until we were assigned seats on our first international flight.
To our surprise, the last-minute Ryanair flight from London to Málaga was $399 each. Just a few weeks earlier, the same flight was only $70, which is a huge price increase.
Our flight landed late in the evening, so we took an Uber to the hotel and ordered dinner at the lobby restaurant. We spent $283 in total for our hotel, transportation, and dinner in Málaga. However, we were so relieved to see Norwegian Sun docked in the city the following day.
We couldn’t wait to board Norwegian Sun for some relaxation during our two nights on board
Hayley and I were thrilled to finally board Norwegian Sun after our days-long adventure to arrive in Málaga, Spain. Boarding a cruise is always exciting, but we couldn’t wait to finally relax, even if it was only for two nights!
Embarkation was a breeze in Málaga, and we learned this 2-night one-way cruise was actually just the final two nights of a longer Mediterranean itinerary. Most guests had already been cruising for more than a week, and only a few guests (like us) boarded in Málaga for the 2-night cruise.
We immediately grabbed a classic Norwegian mojito and enjoyed the picturesque views of Málaga. Unfortunately, we were too exhausted to get up early and explore Málaga, instead opting for breakfast at the hotel and an early taxi to the port. So, we loved seeing the city from the top deck of Norwegian Sun.
For this cruise, we were assigned an interior cabin and quickly made ourselves at home. We had just a few things to unpack with only our backpacks for this trip. The lime-green bathroom was the most surprising aspect of our cabin, but the rest of the stateroom felt up-to-date for the ship’s older age.
We paid $394 for our interior stateroom, which was one of the cheapest aspects of this entire trip. In fact, our 2-night cruise was half the cost of our Ryanair flight to Malaga!
During the cruise, Hayley and I explored Cádiz, Spain, on our own to keep costs down.
The only port of call during our 2-night one-way cruise was a full day in Cádiz, Spain. Neither of us had visited this destination before, and we were thankful the ship docked right in the city center. This allowed us to walk around the port instead of booking any excursions, which can add up quickly.
Hayley and I had a wonderful day exploring Cádiz and trying the local cuisine. We spent our afternoon walking along the shores and seeing the city’s highlights before heading back to Norwegian Sun.
We both agreed that an older Norwegian ship is a perfect choice for a more port-intensive itinerary. You can immerse yourself in the destinations easily, as the smaller and older ships have fewer frills for onboard entertainment and activities.
While the entertainment onboard was minimal, we were so tired from our trip that we hardly noticed. Instead, we loved relaxing in our cozy interior cabin for the two nights onboard.
Just like that, we were already packing up our backpacks in the evening to prepare for the following day’s disembarkation in Lisbon, Portugal. Because we were constantly on the move during this whirlwind trip, we were grateful to have only our backpacks and fewer belongings to haul around. Roller bags would have slowed us down and made it more difficult to explore the cities.
For the cost, Norwegian Sun offered excellent value, and we enjoyed seeing two different ports of call during our short cruise.
After disembarkation, we spent the day sightseeing in Lisbon before flying back to London
On a two-night itinerary, the cruise truly goes by in the blink of an eye. Even though our cruise was finished, we had two more days in Europe, including one day in Lisbon and another day in London. It wouldn't be long until we had to begin our standby journey back to the United States.
Similar to Cádiz, Norwegian Sun docked right in the city center of Lisbon. Within minutes, we were walking through the city’s old town and enjoying a local cafe for breakfast. Hayley and I stored our luggage in a storage locker, so we could tour Lisbon without being hindered by our backpacks. Considering how many stairs you need to climb in Lisbon, this was a good choice!
Hayley and I spent $30 on our meals in Lisbon, including lunch in the city and dinner at the airport. We visited the city castle, shopped at many of the city’s boutiques, and walked around the culturally-rich city for hours.
Eventually, we made our way to the Lisbon airport for our late-night flight back to London. Our airport transport was only $15, although our delayed flight meant waiting in the dreary Lisbon airport for hours. You get what you pay for, as this flight was only $90 each on Wizz Air to London’s Luton airport.
Our flight landed around midnight, and by the time we arrived at our hotel, we were exhausted. This was one of our cheapest hotel nights, costing only $99 for the hotel room. The taxi was a little pricey, as we paid $18 for the 5-minute ride from the terminal to the hotel
Before flying standby back to the U.S., we had one more day to sightsee in London, costing us $303
We took it slow on our final day in London by sleeping in until noon and spending the afternoon exploring more of the city. Hayley was eager to see Tower Bridge and Borough Market before we ended our whirlwind trip with a quaint dinner at our favorite pub, The Victoria!
Our final day in London, including a $220 hotel at the Hilton London Paddington, was $303. After six days of non-stop traveling, we both agreed we were ready to head home. Being on the move constantly can be exhilarating, but also exhausting. The older I get, the more I value relaxing vacations at a slower pace.
Even though we were ready to head home, flying standby meant there was no guarantee we’d actually get a seat. The uncertainty of possibly being stuck in Europe longer than we planned was stressful enough, and had me rethinking whether I would choose to fly standby internationally again.
Flying to the U.S. was easy, but we had to drive two hours back to our homes in Florida
We trekked back to London Heathrow to attempt our standby flight back home after our spring break adventure in Europe. Hayley and I breathed a sigh of relief when we were assigned seats on our first-choice flight, and we were on our way back home!
Unfortunately, after arriving in the U.S, we had trouble getting seats on a connecting flight to our home airport. We ran around to multiple gates without any luck, leaving us very frustrated. By this point, we were tired, sweaty, and ready to be home.
Our last-ditch effort was a flight that would get us within two hours of our home, and we received the last two seats on that flight. Of the four standby flights, this was the most stressful leg of the journey, and we didn’t arrive at our own home until after midnight.
This standby adventure was one I’ll always remember, but I’m not looking to do it again
Hayley and I always reminisce about our crazy standby adventure to Europe, fondly recalling all the logistics and memories we made. Although the whirlwind trip was unforgettable, the stress of flying standby would keep me from planning this trip again.
If you have a flexible schedule, including multiple buffer days before and after your cruise, flying standby to Europe for a cruise could be worthwhile. Because we were on a tighter timeline, there was little room for error. Even though our cruise was quite cheap, I would hate to think about the amplified stress of a more expensive vacation.
While I’m grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime adventure, we could’ve spent that same $4,000 on a relaxing, well-planned week in Europe, without the stress of flying standby. Booking everything last-minute actually drove up the costs. With better planning, much of our stress could have been avoided.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
