Madeira and the Azores are the mid-Atlantic islands cruising mostly passes through — and that is exactly what shapes the price. Almost nobody sails to them alone; they appear as the green days on Canaries itineraries, on Portugal-and-Spain runs from Southampton, and on the autumn repositioning crossings. Three products, three price tags. Here is what each costs in 2026.
The three ways in, priced
No-fly from the UK: the dedicated way to do the Azores properly. Cunard's Queen Anne sails a 12-night Azores, Portugal and Spain round trip from Southampton on 1 November 2026, and Fred Olsen runs similar Atlantic-islands itineraries. Mainstream-to-premium 12-nighters in this format typically list $1,400–2,400 per person interior — roughly $115–200 per night, meals and the crossing included, no flight to buy.
Madeira on a Canaries fly-cruise: most seven-night Canaries loops from Tenerife or Gran Canaria add a Funchal day. Those sailings run $600–1,000 interior, as priced in what a Canary Islands cruise costs. Madeira becomes one excellent day rather than the destination — fine, if you know that going in.
Repositioning crossings: the autumn and spring Atlantic crossings that call at Funchal or Ponta Delgada are the bargain entry at $60–90 per night — one-way, with the flight home to price separately. The mechanics are in repositioning cruises.
Flights
For the fly-cruise version, the flight is to the Canaries home port (New York–Tenerife from about $683 round trip). For visiting the islands directly around a cruise — and the Azores deserve days, not hours — Boston has the rare direct link: Azores Airlines flies Boston–Ponta Delgada from about $625 round trip. Madeira has no direct US service; route via Lisbon for $600–900 round trip from the East Coast.
Tips
The mainstream $16–18 per person per day applies on the ocean lines; Cunard bundles a slightly lower daily hotel-service charge. On a 12-night sailing, budget $170–220 per person all told, plus the automatic 18–20% on bar and spa.
Excursions: the real budget
The good news is that these are cheap ports — among the cheapest in this series:
- Madeira: Funchal is walkable from the pier; the Monte cable car and the famous wicker toboggan run come in around $40–60 for the pair; levada walks are free; the ship's island-highlights tours run $60–100. A strong DIY day costs under $40.
- Azores: Ponta Delgada's crater lakes (Sete Cidades) and the Furnas hot springs are the standard day — $60–100 on a ship or independent tour, about $30–50 hiring a local taxi for a half day.
- Terrain note: both island groups are steep. Madeira's levadas are flat but vertiginous in places, and the viewpoints are uphill by design; check the walking grades before booking, as covered in how much walking on a shore excursion.
Figure $40–100 per person per port day booked, under $40 DIY — these islands do not punish the independent traveller.
The cost nobody tells you about
The sea days, and what the Atlantic does to them. The no-fly Azores sailings from Southampton mean roughly half the trip at sea, and the November-to-March Atlantic between England and the Azores is not the Caribbean. If sea days are your idea of a holiday, the $115–200 per night is remarkable value; if they are your idea of a waiting room, the fly-cruise arithmetic in the Canaries article is the honest comparison.
Second: weather margins. Both island groups are lush because they are wet, and winter calls are occasionally cancelled for swell. It costs nothing but disappointment — unless the island was the reason you booked, in which case book the longer no-fly itinerary with two or three island days instead of a single call.
The all-in picture
Per person, from the US unless noted:
- No-fly 12-night Azores run: about $2,200–3,400 plus getting to Southampton — interior, one tour per island, tips.
- Canaries fly-cruise with a Madeira day: $1,500–2,200 all in, per the Canaries article's math.
- Azores as a trip around the cruise: add $400–700 per person for two extra Ponta Delgada nights and the direct Boston flight.
Madeira and Azores calls appear among the Atlantic listings in our fare database; which islands suit which traveller is in our Madeira and the Azores guide.
The short version
- No-fly from Southampton: 12-night Azores-Portugal-Spain sailings typically $1,400–2,400 interior; Cunard's Queen Anne sails 1 November 2026.
- Madeira as a Canaries port day: $600–1,000 for the week, inside the Canaries budget.
- Repositioning crossings: $60–90 a night, plus the flight home.
- Direct flight: Boston–Ponta Delgada from about $625 round trip; Madeira via Lisbon $600–900.
- Excursions are cheap: $40–100 booked, under $40 DIY. Tips $16–18 a day on the ocean lines.
- All in: $2,200–3,400 for the dedicated no-fly trip, $1,500–2,200 for the fly-cruise week, per person.