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But since there is so much to do, odds are that the cabin will be only used for sleeping and downtime. However, Crystal Cruises has some excursions that incur an added cost, and all of the American Queen Steamboat Company excursions are additional (although they do offer hop-on hop-off bus tours). The Tauck Suites are large, at over 300 square feet and have a large bed as well as a fold-out sofa. Most cabins have floor-to-ceiling windows to save space in the cabin, and the most affordable is Category 1, which is about 150 square feet and has small windows and a little bathroom with a shower.
What Readers Loved
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. Nearly 165,000 T+L readers completed the 2023 survey, an increase of nearly 25 percent over pre-pandemic voting levels. A total of more than 685,000 votes were cast across over 8,500 unique properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.). The eight-day "Traveling on the Elbe and Havel" cruise covers Germany's north on rivers and canals aboard the Frederick Chopin.
Travel Insurance for River Cruises: Coverage, Benefits and Tips (2024) - MarketWatch
Travel Insurance for River Cruises: Coverage, Benefits and Tips ( .
Posted: Sat, 20 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
More destinations for river cruising
Family departures add active excursions, arts and crafts, and visits to amusement parks. Here's a rundown of the best river cruise lines traversing inland waterways around the world. For the cruise category, respondents were asked to rate individual ships; the results were separated by ocean cruises and river cruises. 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 10-day itinerary features visits to the Taj Mahal, Rajbari temple complex, and Mother Teresea’s home.
Lueftner Cruises
During a call on Richland, Washington, you can admire the scenic beauty around the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers at Sacajawea State Park. AmaWaterways, with over 25 ships, is known for having a smaller amount of passengers on board. Viking is the largest river cruise operator with over 50 Longships in their fleet.
Florida's St. Johns and Tolomato Rivers
If your vacation preferences favor mountain landscapes, wine tasting and pioneer lore, consider American Cruise Lines' eight-night Columbia & Snake River Cruise. You'll explore the Pacific Northwest from Portland, Oregon, to Clarkstown, Washington (or vice versa). From Memphis blues and Elvis Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes" to Kentucky bluegrass and New Orleans jazz, American Cruise Lines' eight-night Music Cities Cruise sails you through a chronology of the U.S. music scene. You'll traverse three rivers (the Mississippi, Ohio and Cumberland) en route from Memphis to Nashville, or vice versa. Take a look at the luxury river cruise landscape -- and find the line that's right for you. Adventures by Disney, the guided, family vacation arm of the Walt Disney Company, offers unique journeys sprinkled with signature Disney magic.
Grand European Tour Budapest to Amsterdam
Destinations include the Danube, Rhine, Main, Rhone, and Douro, as well as the Mekong. 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.
Best European River Cruise Line for Families: Adventures by Disney
Readers praised the line's value proposition and shore experiences that go beyond the norm. The "Thinking Man's vacation" is the way one reader who sailed on a Viking ship on the Rhine river put it. The six-day "Highlights of the Rhine" cruise begins in Cologne and cruises on to Rotterdam and then Amsterdam the following day. Options include a bus tour, canal tour, pedal boats, or private auto tour, each at an additional cost. It’s not the first time the company – best known for its escorted coach tours – has been at the bottom of our table. Shearings reserves blocks of cabins on European river boats, and it drives customers from across the UK to their embarkation point and back home from their final port of call.
The ship passes through the Main-Danube Canal that connects the Black Sea and the North Sea. In Vienna, there's a cocktail party and private orchestra recital or city tour before heading to Budapest for two days. Uniworld's one-of-a-kind vessels are inspired by the locales they visit, making their luxurious ships a destination in themselves. Billed as "the world's only authentic boutique cruise line," Uniworld offers in-suite butler service, world-class cuisine, and all-inclusive rates that cover premium spirits and wines as well as gratuities.

Some lines, however, offer excellent value—especially when you compare the price to the overall cost of a land-based vacation in Europe. One cruise line that consistently offers great value is Emerald Cruises, a river cruise operator that gets travelers more bang for their buck—without compromising on quality or service. As standard, Emerald’s eight Europe-based “Star-Ships” offer a generous number of inclusions built into the cost of the cruise, with typically lower entry level fares.
Uniworld's ships are each distinctly designed and outfitted, and the all-inclusive itineraries include tours, meals, liquor and wine, fitness classes and more. The line also offers reduced solo-traveler surcharges on higher-grade cabins on select sailings. Tauck's ships carry fewer passengers than riverboats of a similar size, so it's easy for solo travelers to make new friends. You'll also find a high number of inclusions, such as all drinks from the bar and with meals, to create a stress-free sailing with no hidden extras. Viking includes one excursion in each port with your fare, and offers a wider variety of river cruises in Europe than others. That gives new-to-river-cruise passengers plenty of options to try their hand at a cruise length that fits their style and a wide array destinations from which to choose.
With balmy summertime temperatures, Portugal's sublime Douro is an idyllic river cruise destination for couples. The intimate 96-passenger Scenic Azure winds through the port-producing (and UNESCO-listed) Douro Valley, with its terraced vineyards, olive groves and tranquil towns and villages. The itinerary sees Scenic whisk passengers to historic vineyards and cellars in Regua, Vinhateiro and the Côa Valley to sip on local wines and Port. An unmissable outing for couples is a private classical concert at the beguiling Sao Francisco Church in Porto, offered as one of the cruise line’s “Scenic Enrich” experiences. Whether you're fascinated by American history, culture and cuisine, or you've enjoyed river cruising in Europe but are now looking to explore closer to home, U.S. river cruises are an easy and enjoyable vacation option.
Recommended Providers also scored at least four out of five stars for both customer service and value for money. You won’t find the range of on-board facilities of the vast ocean liners, but then you won’t be spending whole days at sea either. Otherwise, most welcome children but don't offer extra programming for them, and Viking doesn't allow children at all. CroisiEurope is the only line to sail on the Loire River in France, with a specially designed modern paddlewheeler to navigate low water levels.
It was also the only operator to clinch the full five stars for its vast array of itineraries – it has 14 Rhine trips alone. Off-ship experiences include sampling local beer and oysters in Astoria, Oregon; visiting Multnomah Falls or hiking Beacon Rock; and having a private vineyard visit and downtown wine walk in Walla Walla, Washington. Complementing the itinerary will be gourmet Pacific Northwest cuisine and more than 40 regional wines curated by an onboard culinary team.
Catherine on the Rhone and Saone, for instance, boasts a $1 million art collection. This ship truly embodies the decadence of Renaissance Venice, with a playful interior featuring hand-painted Venetian masks and flamboyant custom-made fabrics by Venice-design house Fortuny. Passengers can dine on fresh wood-fired pizza at Cielo's and sip Bellinis at Hari's Bar, all while taking in views of Venice's sparkling lagoon. For any cruises listed, Cruise Critic does not guarantee any specific rates or prices. Don’t be tempted by the relatively low headline price – you’ll have a better time with any other cruise line.
Imagine kayaking to floating villages, watching silk weavers at work, and biking to village markets. Beyond the beautiful sights in Cambodia and Vietnam, the ship, Aqua Mekong, is a marvel in itself. The vessel has 20 suites that feature full-length windows and onboard amenities include a cinema, top deck plunge pool, and sun deck with lounge chairs and cabanas. If you book a river cruise between now and 2025, you can receive 30 percent off your voyage. Some might argue that, with less than 200 passengers onboard, free wine at meals and included shore excursions, all river cruises are luxurious, compared to their mainstream ocean counterparts. If you like to stay fit and healthy on vacation, Avalon Waterways is the best line for get-up-and-go European river cruises.
At the top end are large well-appointed suites with two full-sized rooms and great views, measuring about 445 square feet. AmaWaterways is the only cruise line on Europe's rivers to be a member of the prestigious international gastronomy organization Chaine des Rotisseurs. Additionally, the line's culinary director is a member of the French association Tables et Auberges de France. When it comes to an active, contemporary, luxury experience, Scenic is at the top. Sail the storied Seine from Paris to Normandy aboard Tauck’s 98-passenger MS Sapphire. The intimate 96-passenger Scenic Azure winds through the port-producing Douro Valley, with its terraced vineyards, olive groves and tranquil towns and villages.