Help with 3 days in Switzerland before river cruise in Basel

I'd go directly to Luzern from the Zurich airport by train (about 1 1/4 hours). More to see and do there.

I agree, go directly to beautiful Lucerne.

Yes, it is a direct train right from the airport to Luzern twice per hour, at 15 and 39 past the hour. I guess you would be arriving 2 days before the start of the cruise.

From Lucerne, lots of mountain options, Rigi, Stanserhorne, Pilatus. If you really like trains, you could take a big loop to Brienz, Interlaken, and back to Lucerne. Beautiful scenery.

Right now, you can buy a Saver Day Pass for 52 CHF for days in October. Use that for your full day in Luzern. It is like a 1 day Swiss Travel Pass. That will cover all the trains and boats, plus the mountain top Rigibahn and the mountain top Stanserhornbahn.
https://www.sbb.ch/en/offers/saver-day-pass

The train from the airport is 31 CHF anytime price. The anytime price for Luzern to Basel SBB is 36 CHF. You could buy a SuperSaver Ticket well in advance for as low as 20 CHF, but you must take the exact train you buy the ticket for.

I should add that your hotel in Luzern will give you a city travel card so you can use all the city buses during your stay. They even send you a QR code so you can take a city bus from the station to your hotel on your arrival day.

Thank you for all the info. I think going straight to Lucerne from Zurich makes sense. Any suggestions for a modest hotel stay in Lucerne? I’ll look into the train passes as well.

The Hotel des Alpes is my go-to. It is just across the bridge from the train station. If you can get a river-view room, you will love it. The Hotel Pickwick is next door for a bit less money.