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Grand Circle generally draws travelers aged over 50 and is a popular line for Americans cruising the rivers of Europe. Grand Circle attracts a high number of repeat passengers, drawn by value-for-money fares that are often lower than other European river cruises. 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.
Best Boutique European River Cruise: European Waterways
Sail the Seine from Paris to Normandy aboard Tauck’s intimate 98-passenger MS Sapphire to explore destinations such as Caudebec-en-Caux, Les Andelys, Mont-St-Michel and Étretat. The cruise features a number of thoughtful, exclusive excursions, like dinner at the 16th-century Château du Taillis and a walking tour in Rouen to Joan of Arc Square and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen. Most poignant, however, is the chance to pause at the D–Day Beaches, with 2024 marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy. The guided tour also visits the somber Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial on Omaha Beach. CroisiEurope is the largest company based in Europe and operates a fleet of riverboats and hotel barges.
Main
Another river cruise alternative within France is set within the Bordeaux region in the southwest of the country, where sailings are offered on the Dordogne and Garonne rivers and Gironde estuary (which leads toward the Atlantic Ocean). An increasing number of river cruise options here are anchored out of the UNESCO-protected city of Bordeaux, where ships overnight so that guests can discover its historic structures, outstanding dining, and lively riverfront. From there, itineraries emphasize the surrounding rural areas and most especially, the fine wines that are synonymous with the region. Common ports of call include Blaye, Cadillac, Libourne, and Pauillac, and itineraries come jam packed with visits to vineyards and wine châteaus in celebrated regional wine destinations like Médoc, Sauternes, and Saint-Émilion. Tauck’s all-inclusive European river cruises are a boon for travelers with a thirst for history.
Tulip cruises
The company's "time to discover" philosophy focuses on intensive travel experiences, shore excursions, and varied culinary offerings. This Australian-owned organization is the country's largest family-owned tour and cruise company, offering a variety of travel styles. Their Concerto River Ships, AmaVenita, AmaStella, and AmaReina, cruise on the Danube, Main, Rhine, and Douro Rivers with luxury accommodations and excursions. Apt charters the ships from AmaWaterways, but their itineraries and onboard programs are unique to Apt River Cruises. Apt's offerings include rail journeys, as well as small boat, yacht, and ocean cruises.
The most beautiful stretch of the river is a 62-mile passage through a gorge between the Balkan and Carpathian Mountains. Ships visit such cultural hubs as Vienna, with its opera and art museums and elaborate royal palaces, and Budapest, Hungary, with its magnificent architecture and modern vibe. If your ship passes the Hungarian Parliament building at night, you're in for a treat; magnificently lit, it's one of the most photographed sights on the river.
For those looking for a longer experience, Uniworld cleverly combines a Po cruise with luxury rail journeys to places like Istanbul, Switzerland and beyond. Another must for wine-lovers is exploring the interior of France, sipping Cotes du Rhone in such famous winemaking regions as Hermitage and Chateauneuf-du-Pape in Provence and Beaune in Burgundy. You might also have the option of a side trip to Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Mozart — and also where several scenes for the movie "Sound of Music" were filmed. A surprise for many is Old Town Bratislava, Slovakia, which might not have been on your must-do list but which charms with its beer culture and castles.
best river cruises in Europe
Running across Central Germany, the Main River is formed by the joining of the Red Main and the White Main, meeting the Rhine River at the town of Mainz. Cruises on the Main are usually combined with Danube River cruises; since1992, the Main-Danube canal connected the two rivers with a total of 16 locks. On a Main cruise, running between Frankfurt and Nuremberg, ships stop in Heidelberg, Wertheim, Wurzburg and Bamberg.
All ships are stocked with age-appropriate games and books, and family shore excursions to zoos and theme parks feature on itineraries. AmaWaterways ups its dedication to active cruisers with a bevy of wellness spaces as well, including massage rooms, a fitness center, open-air spin classes on the sun deck and a pool. However, despite being twice as wide as most river ships in Europe, there are only about 30% more travelers onboard (just shy of 200 passengers). On one-week cruises, you'll follow the river 130 miles past green hillside vineyards in the Douro River Valley, a UNESCO-recognized destination, before turning around at the Spanish border. 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."
Best Budget-Friendly European River Cruise: Grand Circle Travel
"Met wonderful new friends. Absolutely outstanding service and terrific food," said one fan. Cruise Critic is not a booking agent and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. When you book with one of our partners, please be sure to check their site for a full disclosure of all applicable fees as required by the U.S. When it comes to Europe river cruises, a perfect seven-night starter sailing is the Upper Danube, which takes you through centuries of history as you explore Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Daily escorted walking tours and other excursions provided by the river line take you to key UNESCO World Heritage Sites and other city and village attractions you've come to see.
With more itineraries than any other, Viking is the best cruise line in Europe for first-time river cruisers. The world's largest river cruise line offers a well-tested river cruise recipe on its fleet of identical Scandinavian-style longships. Insightful port talks provide information on the next day's program that cover all questions, such as how much walking is involved and difficulty levels. Running from the Czech Republic through Germany, most river cruises on the Elbe River run between Prague and Hamburg. On the Belmond Napoleon, guests cruise the River Saône past châteaux, rural river towns, and expansive vineyards.
Adventures by Disney is, unsurprisingly, one of the best river cruise lines for families in Europe. The line charters AmaWaterways and, while you shouldn't expect a bevy of Disney branding on the ship, Disney's Adventure Guides are trained to bring kids into the river cruise experience. Picking the best line for a European river cruise can be a challenge as more and more lines compete for attention on European waterways.
Many American travelers have heard of river cruise lines like Viking, AmaWaterways and Avalon Waterways -- and you can find more about them below. The best river cruises blend refined onboard accommodations with exciting itineraries along some of the world’s most memorable waterways. Bordeaux river cruises are different from other water routes because you explore two short waterways — the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers — and the Gironde Estuary in Southwest France. 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. Uniworld's one-of-a-kind vessels are inspired by the locales they visit, making their luxurious ships a destination in themselves.
The 8 Best European River Cruises 2024 - Forbes
The 8 Best European River Cruises 2024.
Posted: Fri, 19 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The legendary, 765-mile-long Rhine—which flows from the Swiss Alps toward the North Sea at The Netherlands—has served as an important continental transport route for centuries, teeming with historical, cultural, and economic significance for Europe. 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. A visit to the Keukenhof Gardens, the world’s largest floral park, is of course, a highlight.
New ships debut each year, and the spacious AmaMagna, launched in 2019, is nearly twice the width of traditional European cruise ships. If that size river cruise sounds too small for you, Uniworld is a great boutique-style option for sailing Europe's rivers.. 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 most popular itineraries run between Basel and Amsterdam, with several stops in France and Germany en route. Another immensely popular themed river cruise in Europe is a voyage to take in the Netherlands and Belgium’s famous tulips. These are often called “Dutch Waterways” cruises, since ships go through a network of small rivers, inland seas and canals which are referred to as the Dutch Waterways. These mid-spring trips typically start and end in Amsterdam, and travel to Antwerp, Arnhem, Ghent, Rotterdam. With its fleet of more than 50 contemporary "longships" on rivers such as the Rhine, the Danube, and the Seine, plus additional ships in Europe, Egypt, and Vietnam, T+L's top-ranked river cruise line for 2022 is often praised for its steadiness.
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