Cruise destination
Compare South America sailings by cruise line, ship, departure date, port, and price.
Tracking 2,330 South America sailings · live price updatesPhoto by Parsing Eye on Unsplash
South America cruises trace the continent's dramatic edges. Rio's beaches and Carnival energy, Buenos Aires tango, the Chilean fjords, Cape Horn. Nearly all of it happens in the austral summer, November through March; mid-year the big ships leave and a small expedition fleet keeps the far south, Patagonia and the Falklands included. The Amazon River adds a completely different itinerary inland. Pick the sub-region first. It decides the season, the ship, and the fare.
Known for: Patagonia Glaciers · Amazon River · Rio de Janeiro · Buenos Aires · Cape Horn
PRICED FROM 1,545 REAL SAILINGS
Go in March — the last month of austral summer, at the year's lowest fares.
South America's fare chart splits into two markets, and you should read it that way. The classic circuit runs Rio, Buenos Aires, Patagonia and Cape Horn across the austral summer, November through March, when 23 lines and 58 ships are on the coast. Fares bottom out in March at $201 per person per night, 88% below the September median of $1,727. That September number is not a nice-weather premium. Mid-year the big ships reposition north, and what remains is a small expedition and luxury fleet, priced like one. Across 1,545 upcoming sailings the play is simple. Sail the summer, and sail it late.
CruiseCaptain — median 'from' fares, real upcoming sailings
No cruise line will show you the whole coast's fares on one chart, splitting into two markets in front of you. Every sailing, coloured by cabin, with the median line for each.
1645 sailings across 23 cruise lines and 58 ships · dots show a 1200-sailing sample · as of Aug 24, 2026
Select a month to pin its column — the spotlight below follows.
Higher score, deeper bar — a better all-round month on price, weather & crowds. – means too few tracked sailings to score; greyed months are out of season.
peak summer
beach season, calm Cape Horn
Peak summer: 87°F in Rio, the calmest water of the year off Cape Horn, and 282 sailings at $557. The year's heaviest rain arrives as afternoon storms, not washouts.
$557/night median
282 sailings
carnival season
Carnival, far south at its best
Carnival month. The dates shift year to year, the energy doesn't. 88°F, the far south at its calmest, and 213 sailings near $539 at the height of the season.
$539/night median
213 sailings
the verdict
late-summer warmth, fares at floor
The optimizer's month. The year's lowest median runs $201 across 164 sailings, with 85°F late-summer days, Carnival sometimes spilling into the first week, and the Patagonia window still open early in the month.
$201/night median
164 sailings
split market
autumn shoulder, fleet turning
Read April's $1,650 median carefully. It's a mixed market, not a price surge. Repositioning big ships list insides near the year's floor while small luxury ships lift the headline number. A genuine hunting ground for flexible cabin shoppers.
$1650/night median
93 sailings
small-ship only
fleet repositions north
The classic circuit goes dormant: 45 sailings, small ships only, and a $1,997 median that reflects the fleet, not the weather. Rio itself is drying out and mild.
Limited choice; excluded from the verdict.
$1997/night median
45 sailings
dry & quiet
whales gather, dry winter skies
Deep in Rio's dry winter, under two inches of rain, and still small-ship territory. 58 sailings near $1,591 as the Valdés whale gathering builds toward its peak.
Limited choice; excluded from the verdict.
$1591/night median
58 sailings
spring stirs
whale calving peak, penguins return
Spring stirs: Magellanic penguins come ashore and the Valdés whales hit their calving peak. The 109 sailings on the board are still mostly small ships near $1,727, beginning the slow build to summer.
$1727/night median
109 sailings
spring builds
whales peak, spring in the south
The fleet starts returning and fares ease to $1,323. Whale watching off Puerto Madryn is at its best while the mainstream season warms up offstage.
$1323/night median
134 sailings
season opens
jacarandas, penguin chicks
The season proper opens and the fleet is back: 198 sailings, fares dropping to $917. Jacarandas over Buenos Aires, penguin chicks in the colonies, and Patagonia's weather window opening.
$917/night median
198 sailings
busiest, brightest
Patagonia prime, holiday sailings
The busiest month on the calendar, with 249 sailings at $661. Holiday demand meets the opening of the Patagonia window, the year's longest days, and the first Antarctic scenic runs of the summer.
$661/night median
249 sailings
Rio sits at the tropics’ edge, so the swing is modest. About 13.4 hours of daylight in late December, 10.6 in June. The far south is another planet. Ushuaia runs past 17 hours at the December solstice, which is why Patagonia and the Antarctic scenic days belong to the summer itineraries.
≈10.6 h · June to ≈13.4 h · late December
8 hours a day in February
NASA POWER climatology (all-sky vs clear-sky shortwave; bright-sun via Angstrom-Prescott)
For the classic itinerary there is no dangerous month. No hurricane season, no monsoon. What leaves is the market. From May through September the mainstream fleet repositions north and a few dozen small expedition and luxury ships keep the coast, at medians many times the summer floor. If you want Rio and Buenos Aires on a big ship at a big-ship fare, mid-year isn't a bargain window; it's the wrong aisle of the store. April is the one true in-between. Read its listings cabin by cabin.
A handful of deep-south sailings between December and February add scenic cruising days along the Antarctic Peninsula. No landings, no zodiacs. What you get is the white continent from the rail of a mainstream ship at a fraction of an expedition fare. Check the itinerary day by day: 'Cape Horn' is not 'Antarctic Sound'. If you want boots on the ice, that's an Ushuaia expedition ship, and its own budget.
November through March, the austral summer, when the full fleet is on the coast and Patagonia's weather window is open. Within that window, March carries the lowest median fare ($201 per person per night across 164 sailings), January is the busiest, and February adds Carnival. Mid-year sailings exist, but they're a small-ship expedition market at a different price.
For a cruise, the data says March. It carries the year's lowest median fare at $201 a night, 88% below September, at the tail of austral summer, with the far south still sailable early in the month. If Carnival is the point, it's February, priced accordingly.
There's no storm season to dodge. This coast sits outside the hurricane belt. The months to avoid are economic: May through September, when the mainstream fleet repositions away and the median jumps to expedition pricing. Reckon $1,727 a night in September against $201 in March. Unless a small-ship trip is the plan, sail the summer.
Depends which South America. In the summer season our data counts 23 lines and 58 ships on the coast. That's the full mainstream spread plus the premium lines running Cape Horn. Mid-year the choice collapses to a handful of expedition and luxury operators. Pick the itinerary first. Brazil coast, the Cape Horn run, or an Antarctic scenic add-on: the shortlist of lines picks itself.
A full circumnavigation runs roughly 30 days or more. Most people sail a segment instead: about two weeks between Buenos Aires and Santiago around Cape Horn, or 7–10 nights on the Brazil coast. Antarctic scenic add-ons push a Cape Horn run past three weeks.
In season, usually: at March's median, a 7-night sailing works out to about $1,409 per person. Peak and holiday months run higher, so check the month table before counting on it. The mid-year expedition market is the real wall: a week runs near $12,087 at the September median, far past a $2,000 budget. Taxes and fees vary by line.
Arriving by ship, it's really an itinerary question. The year's least expensive medians come in late summer: $201 a night in March. The Cape Horn and expedition routes through Argentine and Chilean waters price higher. If budget leads, pick the March window first and let the country list follow the itinerary.
Where the ships go
4 itineraries with multiple South America ports.
7 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise
Cartagena, Colombia, Colon, Panama, Oranjestad, Aruba, Willemstad, Curacao · 7 nights
from $888
$126 / night
1 night Tropical Brazil from Paranaguá
Itajai, Paranagua · 1 nights
from $199
Every departure, priced
Prices per person · incl. taxes & fees.
Lowest per-night among the least expensive fares — 15 nights on Carnival Firenze at $52/night per person.Showing 2,330 South America cruises
Open in full search| View | Ship image | Cruise line | Line / Ship | Departs | Nights | From |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Virtuosa | Dec 1, 2026 | 1 |
from $70 |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Serena | Mar 17, 2027 | 2 |
from $361 $180 / night |
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Carnival Cruise Line | Carnival Cruise Line Carnival Firenze | Jan 4, 2027 | 15 |
from $791 $52 / night |
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Royal Caribbean | Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas | Feb 26, 2028 | 7 |
from $888 $126 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Musica | Apr 1, 2027 | 1 |
from $79 |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Serena | Apr 5, 2027 | 3 |
from $447 $149 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Divina | Mar 14, 2027 | 1 |
from $79 |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Serena | Mar 17, 2027 | 3 |
from $473 $157 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Virtuosa | Apr 3, 2027 | 1 |
from $89 |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Diadema | Dec 2, 2026 | 3 |
from $503 $167 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Divina | Nov 15, 2026 | 1 |
from $133 |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Diadema | Mar 18, 2027 | 3 |
from $533 $177 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Musica | Mar 14, 2027 | 1 |
from $169 |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Diadema | Mar 24, 2027 | 3 |
from $545 $181 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Musica | Mar 13, 2027 | 1 |
from $199 |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Diadema | Nov 23, 2026 | 2 |
from $551 $275 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Musica | Mar 9, 2027 | 4 |
from $349 $87 / night |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Diadema | Dec 9, 2026 | 3 |
from $553 $184 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Musica | Nov 23, 2026 | 3 |
from $368 $122 / night |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Diadema | Dec 16, 2026 | 3 |
from $553 $184 / night |
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