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The cruise line’s soothing Scandinavian aesthetic combines a chic design with spacious accommodations that include river views or private verandas, and sails also include drinks during mealtimes, shore excursions and Wi-Fi. Considering that river cruising came into its own in Europe, it won't come as a surprise that it continues to be one of the most popular destinations for this travel style. Leading cruise lines such as AmaWaterways, Viking and Uniworld continue to create new markets and itineraries to showcase the best of Europe's flowing rivers. The most eye-catching vessel in the Riverside fleet is Riverside Mozart, the former Crystal Mozart. Carrying just 150 passengers, the ship provides a big luxury European river cruise experience on the four-deck vessel that's 77 feet wide, double the width of standard river ships in Europe. Riverside is also different as it offers a flexible "a la carte" pricing policy.
Avalon Waterways: Elevating River Cruising
French line CroisiEurope caters to travelers on a tight budget and does river cruising in a friendly European style. The passenger contingent is mostly bargain-seekers from France and Germany, and you'll hear onboard announcements in multiple languages. Some will love the idea of cruising like a European, while others may miss, for instance, a wide breadth of entree choices at dinner. Leading luxury tour operator Tauck has its own fleet of award-winning 84- to 130-passenger river ships cruising the Danube, Douro, Rhine, Rhone and Seine. The big selling point here is that a Tauck tour director and three Tauck cruise directors are on board all departures, assuring that guests are catered to. Sleek ships with marble lobbies, mid-century furnishings and impressive art collections mark the Australian-owned Scenic as all about luxurious, high-end river cruising.
Best European River Cruise For Active Travelers: AmaWaterways, AmaMagna
However, it's the line's Junior and Royal Suites that really enhance the luxury cruise experience. Expect in-room breakfast service, daily canapes or sweets and invitations to Table La Rive -- the line's exclusive fine-dining restaurant. Part of the fascination of the Seine is that it remains an important commercial waterway. It's navigable by oceangoing vessels as far as Rouen and river cruisers will share the water with all kinds of vessels, including barges laden with freight.
Comparing the River Cruise Lines
In Vienna, there's a cocktail party and private orchestra recital or city tour before heading to Budapest for two days. I am a freelance journalist who has covered travel for over a decade and the cruise industry for several of those years. I've written about destinations ranging from the South China Sea to the Arctic and Norway. Some of my favorite cruise experiences include sailing the Rhine during fall or a transatlantic voyage on the Queen Mary 2 during summer. I adore my home city, London, the west coast of Ireland and New York, where I once spent a summer living in Brooklyn Heights on a work abroad program.
Belmond - Afloat in France
The river cruises typically include a visit to the university town of Salamanca in northern Spain. Viticulture is very much the lesson en route, as you learn about port production on the "River of Gold." On the Belmond Napoleon, guests cruise the River Saône past châteaux, rural river towns, and expansive vineyards. Stops at Montmerle, Mâcon, and Tournus offer opportunities for wine tasting and exploring a Benedictine abbey. There's a walking tour of Chalon-Sur-Sâone and time to browse through St. Jean de Losne. This Australian-owned organization is the country's largest family-owned tour and cruise company, offering a variety of travel styles.
The next days are spent in Cremona and Mantua with disembarkation and a coach trip back to Venice. Maria Theresa begins in Budapest with a choice of touring by bicycle or walking. A stop in Vienna includes a Mozart and Strauss concert at a Viennese palace, a city tour, and a taste of local delicacies. The cruise ends in Passau with a choice of bicycling, walking, or hiking to explore the city and a special captain's farewell reception and dinner. While Scenic isn't strictly adults-only, this elegant Australian-owned cruise line doesn't tend to draw many families, making it ideal for couples. There are 12 Scenic all-suite vessels on Europe's waterways, each one featuring nifty innovations such as in-suite windows that slide down at the touch of a button—perfect for languid mornings gazing at picture-perfect scenery.
Cruise Critic's Best Cruise Itineraries for First-Timers - Cruise Critic
Cruise Critic's Best Cruise Itineraries for First-Timers.
Posted: Fri, 20 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The ship passes the Mosel vineyards and docks in the medieval town of Cochem for a guided walking tour. The next day, guests can tour the town of Bernkastel-Kues and enjoy a wine tasting or hike to the ruins of a castle for a stunning view. After a morning tour of Saarburg, the ship cruises along the Saar River with panoramic views of its massive loop. The ship stops in Luxembourg and then continues to Koblenz, where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers meet, before returning to Cologne. Palate-pleasing gastronomy and epicurean shore excursions make new arrival Riverside Luxury Cruises a standout for foodies. The cruise line, which cruises on several ships that once belonged to luxury cruise line Crystal, offers a sublime culinary program, particularly on the 110-passenger Riverside Ravel, which taps into the Rhône’s extraordinary bounty.
Best Boutique European River Cruise: European Waterways
But it's royal-level service that just might define Uniworld's luxury river cruises in Europe. That means white-gloved butlers trained at the Ivor Spencer Butler School to the standards required by London's Buckingham Palace. The noble treatment extends to shore excursions, which can include a cocktail reception hosted by Princess Anita von Hohenberg -- a descendant of the Habsburg dynasty -- at Artstetten Castle, her Austrian home. Unlike ocean cruises that offer "sea days" with plenty of time to relax, river cruises on European waterways include a stop each day with a busy -- albeit completely optional -- sightseeing program.
Passengers are transported through medieval cities such as Avignon and Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy. Its ships are designed as floating palace hotels, employing marble, Murano glass and expensive fabrics in its over-the-top decor. Don't be surprised if you find yourself lounging in a room decked out in animal prints. Catherine on the Rhone and Saone, for instance, boasts a $1 million art collection. You'll also be able to take in the lavender fields, haystacks and other scenes that inspired painters like Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh.
For true indulgence, book a table at the fleetwide reservation-only Vintage Room, set up for private dining, with an extravagant seven-course wine-pairing menu. The experience is worth the $295 fee, especially for true oenophiles who will get to savor coveted Bordeaux Grand Crus. Other highlights include visiting a truffle farm near Viviers and savoring a selection of wines at Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyard. In Lyon, guests can visit foodie heaven at Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, the city’s outstanding indoor food market filled with a vast array of produce.
The eight-day "Traveling on the Elbe and Havel" cruise covers Germany's north on rivers and canals aboard the Frederick Chopin. A guided tour takes guests through Autostadt Wolfsburg, a park dedicated to the history of the automobile. In Hamburg, there's a city tour and harbor cruise before the cruise continues to the Baltic resort, Laboe, and ends in Kiel. The eight-day Danube River Cruise starts in Budapest where excursions include a horse show at an equestrian park and a goulash-making competition for Adventurers.
When it comes to top cruising rivers in Europe, the Rhine wins for natural beauty and fairytale landscapes. A cruise on the river between Amsterdam in The Netherlands, and Basel, Switzerland — a typical one-week route — takes you past expanses of slope-side vineyards, forests and mountains, historic cities and medieval half-timbered villages. Belmond has another way to cruise some of Europe's rivers — on luxury barges with private chefs and excursions like truffle hunting, hot air ballooning, canoeing, and wine tasting. The elegant barges cruise the waterways of Burgundy, Provence, Alsace, Champagne, Languedoc, and Franche-Comté from April to October. The line’s newest ship sails Europe’s Rhine, Main, Danube and Moselle rivers, featuring a heated pool that transforms into a cinema, spacious suites and a dedicated wellness area.
Airport transfers to and from the ship, drinks (non-alcoholic, beer and wine) with lunch and dinner, gratuities, Wi-Fi and a plethora of shore excursions are included. There are often excellent deals to be had, too, such as free flight credit when booking early, buy-one-get-one-free offers and reduced-single supplement for solo travelers. Emerald’s ships are unquestionably elegant, including the 180-guest Emerald Luna, which sails Europe’s Rhine, Main, Danube and Moselle rivers.
The ship visits ports such as Barcelona, Spain; Marseille, France; Florence (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), Sicily and Venice, Italy; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Athens and Santorini, Greece; and Kusadasi, Turkey. Regional riverboat itineraries are extremely popular, bringing guests to celebrated cities like Basel, Switzerland, and Strasbourg, France, and placing an emphasis on Germany with calls in locales like Koblenz, Mannheim, Rüdesheim, and Cologne. The Douro River is a rising star in the river cruising world, with almost every major river cruise line introducing itineraries here in recent years. The star attraction of a cruise on the Seine is glorious Paris itself; the river flows right through the city center and your voyage will start and end here. Some cruise lines also offer extended two-week French itineraries with rail transfers to link a Seine cruise with sailings in Burgundy or Bordeaux. There really is only one option on the Rhone, but why not take advantage of being in France and add a couple of nights in Paris to the start or end of the cruise?
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