Method
How we compare
Every operator statement on this site comes from that operator’s own published material, and is published with the address it came from and the day a person read it.
This page is the standard we hold ourselves to. If a page on this site breaks it, that is a defect and we would like to know.
The rules
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First-party sources, or nothing
An operator fact is taken from the operator’s own page, not from a third-party summary, a forum, a press release rewritten by someone else, or our memory. Where a fact appears only in a document that does not cover the itinerary in question, the page says which document and why it is cited.
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We write the explanation ourselves
We record what an operator states and then write the explanation in our own words. We do not reproduce marketing copy, itinerary descriptions or review text. That is both a copyright position and an editorial one: rewritten brochure copy is not a comparison.
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Every changeable fact carries a date
Inclusions, capacities, routes, fares and promotions all move. Each one is published with the day we checked it, and we recheck them on a schedule. A fact we have not rechecked in time is flagged on the page rather than left to look current.
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No claim without a source, in either direction
Where we cannot establish something, the page says we make no claim and tells you who to ask. We do not infer a negative from a competitor’s positive: the absence of a published bicycle programme is not evidence that there is not one.
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Scope is stated, and narrow
A comparison names the river, the programmes and the ships it covers. We do not generalise a ship-specific amenity to a fleet unless the operator does, and we do not let a claim about one itinerary stand in for a brand.
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Commission does not move the ranking
Some outbound links may earn us a commission, and that is disclosed beside the link. It does not buy a better write-up, a higher position or a larger button. On a comparison the two partner actions are given identical size, wording and position, deliberately.
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No fabricated trust signals
No ratings, no review scores, no testimonials, no awards, no "as seen in" strip, no counts of cruises compared. We publish none of those, so none of them appear, including in the structured data search engines read.
Fares, and why you will rarely see one
We do not publish a claim that one operator is cheaper than another. Both run changing promotional fares, and the number moves with the sailing date, the cabin grade, the promotion running that fortnight and the occupancy being priced. A general price claim is wrong within a fortnight of being written.
What we will publish is a snapshot: a specific fare, for a specific cabin, on a specific sailing, with the source and the day we looked. Once a snapshot is no longer recent, the page says so rather than letting it look current.
So on most pages you will see no fare at all. Check the current price for the exact departure and cabin you are considering with the operator, who is the only party who can tell you what it is today.
If we get something wrong
Tell us. A correction to a sourced fact is the most useful message this site can receive, and an operator disputing a statement about its own published terms is entitled to a fast reply. When we correct something we say what changed and when.