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Adults-only dinners and wine tasting experiences along with teen programming, Disney movie nights, karaoke, trivia nights, and Junior Adventurer dinners provide entertainment for guests of all ages. Scenic offers both ocean and river cruises, all with emphasis on its fleet of "Space-Ships" and their meticulous design and spacious quarters. Ships offer a wellness area, massage services, gym, e-bikes, and onboard entertainment. 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. Built on seven hills around the banks of the river Tagus, Portugal's capital was the departure point for the great explorers who set off to find new land in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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I Planned a River Cruise With 48 of My Closest Friends and Family — Here's How You Can, Too - Travel + Leisure
I Planned a River Cruise With 48 of My Closest Friends and Family — Here's How You Can, Too.
Posted: Sun, 03 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
One of the few vessels permitted to dock in Italy’s Venetian Lagoon, S.S. La Venezia explores the colorful facades of Burano, Mazzorbo and Torcello, charming Chioggia and the Po Delta, with the bonus of four nights moored in the center of Venice. 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. Ultimately, the best cruise to Europe is a bit subjective in that it depends where in Europe you'd like to go and what your travel style is.
Germany's Moselle
They are, by far, the most popular, doable either on one-week segments or longer itineraries that combine areas and sometimes combine rivers. Even if your cruise is only a week, don't underestimate the allure of relaxing for seven days on a river in France or on the dreamy Douro in Portugal. 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. Or you can choose to explore on your own, which is easy since your ship often will dock right in town.
Comparing the River Cruise Lines
With a number of cruise companies and rivers to choose from, planning a river cruise can take some time. Consulting with a travel advisor is always a good idea, and there's plenty of information available online as well. These are the major companies offering the best European river cruises along with examples of their itineraries. From Portugal's dazzling Douro to the mighty Danube, a river cruise is a fantastic way of exploring Europe’s magical cities and sensational countryside.
It will give you time to have a taste of the highlights, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. Once an important trading route for the Greeks and Romans, today's cruises run along the southernmost stretch. The main itinerary is a seven-night cruise from Lyon to Arles or nearby Avignon, or the reverse. City high spots include Cologne, famous for its landmark, a twin-towered Gothic cathedral that took 630 years to build, and Koblenz, overlooked by the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, one of the largest castles in Europe. From Koblenz, longer itineraries take in a section of the Moselle, which winds through the heart of Germany's wine-growing country. Quieter and narrower than the Rhine, the Moselle snakes past small wine towns including Cochem, with a charming old town filled with half-timbered houses.
Danube River Cruises is an Enchanting River with Culture, History and Iconic Landmarks
Music is traditionally played on the sun deck, often accompanied by complimentary cocktails, when ships pass the legendary Lorelei rock, a sheer 433-foot slate cliff, where a beautiful siren was said to lure passing sailors to their doom. The most popular Rhine cruise is a one-week sailing between Amsterdam and Basel, or vice versa, where the landscape of steep vineyard slopes, fairy-tale castles and medieval towns provide an ever-changing panorama. The company lets you personalize your experience down to the kind of pillows you prefer. All ships have a fitness room and fleet of bikes for tours in places such as Amsterdam and Cochem, Germany. The ships traverse waterways that include the Seine, Rhine, Danube, Douro, Main, Moselle, Rhone, Saone and Mekong. Here's a rundown of the best river cruise lines traversing inland waterways around the world.
Night Cities Of LightDetails
The 106- to 196-passenger ships in Europe also have a wellness focus with small spas and fitness rooms and a fleet of bikes for use either on your own or on organized excursions. River cruising is the original slow way to travel, as you cruise the calm waters of inland waterways just like Cleopatra did on the Nile. The best river cruise ships are floating hotels with views galore, such as the castles and vineyards of the Rhine or the rice paddies and villages on stilts along the Mekong. European river cruise prices start around $250 per person, per night for budget river cruises.
Douro River
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. The "Charming Castles & Vineyards of the Rhine & Moselle" begins with arrival in Frankfurt and transfer to Mainz for boarding. There's a private classical music concert and tour of Reichsburg Castle along the way, as well as optional visits to the Mercedes-Benz factory or a walking tour of Strasbourg and its magnificent cathedral.
Romantic Rhine (Southbound) 2024
Each of the cruise line’s 12 vessels is adorned with opulent antiques, crystal chandeliers and dramatic artwork to create the feel of a lavish boutique-hotel-on-water. Passengers can indulge in free-flowing drinks and market-fresh cuisine, while suite guests are assigned white-gloved butlers, each one trained at the prestigious Ivor Spencer Butler School in England to ensure royal standards are met. To help you out, I've narrowed down my favorites for the best cruises to Europe for different types of travelers, including families, couples and solo travelers. This 505-mile stretch between the Swiss Alps and southern France lets out in the Mediterranean Sea (near Marseille), affording a lovely ride along the way, marked by Alpine scenery filled in with gorges and valleys.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection stands as a paragon of opulence and sophistication in the realm of river cruising, epitomizing a commitment to redefining luxury on the water. Renowned for its fleet of lavishly decorated boutique-style ships, Uniworld provides an intimate and personalized experience for discerning travelers seeking a heightened level of refinement. Each ship is a floating masterpiece, adorned with unique themes, exquisite artwork, and sumptuous furnishings that evoke the ambiance of a luxury boutique hotel. Uniworld’s commitment to culinary excellence is evident in its farm-to-table dining experiences, showcasing locally sourced ingredients and gourmet cuisine prepared by world-class chefs. Beyond elegant accommodations and gourmet indulgences, Uniworld goes above and beyond with exclusive shore excursions, ensuring guests experience cultural enrichment and historical immersion at every port of call.
It's known as the "City of a Hundred Spires" due to its towering churches, and a huge cathedral, built between the 13th and 16th centuries, is arguably France's most beautiful Gothic church. Cruises on the Lower Danube take passengers east from Budapest through Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania toward the Black Sea. This is a much less explored and quieter stretch of the Danube that is also renowned for its rich wildlife. These two-week cruises also typically include two nights each in Budapest and Bucharest at the start and end of the itinerary. The scenic highlight on this cruise is the UNESCO-listed Upper Middle Rhine Valley, which is dotted with castles and medieval wine-growing villages.
Onboard cuisine features a variety of menus including Avalon Fresh which showcases mainly vegetarian dishes. Rising from north-central Spain and making its way for over 550 miles across northern Spain and Portugal, before emptying into the Atlantic, the Douro is a rising star in the river cruising world. Nearly every major river cruise line has introduced itineraries here in recent years. Think of luxury river cruises in Europe and images of gourmet cuisine, white-glove service, private excursions and swanky cabins all likely come to mind.
The peak season for European river cruises lasts from May through September, though if you're looking to avoid crowds, opt for cruising during the fall months. Check out our article with tips to help you pick the perfect European river cruise. 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. Along the route, between Melk and Krems in Austria, you cruise through the Wachau Valley, a key wine-growing region producing rieslings and gruner veltliners, with sipping opportunities available. It's also a great place to bike, which is why it's nice to sail with lines, such as AmaWaterways, that carry bikes on board for passengers to use.
It's not all that well known, and itineraries are more typically part of other routes, like the Rhine, but wow oh wow. Your ship will pass a patchwork of vineyards clinging to impossibly sheer-sided hills, interspersed with dense forest, while exquisite little towns sit along the banks, overlooked by towering castles. You won't cruise the Moselle on its own; it's usually part of a voyage that tacks on the Rhine.
Destinations include the Danube, Rhine, Main, Rhone, and Douro, as well as the Mekong. The value-packed experience is geared toward adults and is consistently high quality. Destinations include all the popular rivers of Europe — such as the Danube, Rhine, Seine, Bordeaux, Rhone, Elbe and Douro — as well as the Nile in Egypt, the Mekong in Vietnam and Cambodia, and the Mississippi. River cruises in Europe lean more casual than ocean cruises so pack comfortable clothing that can be layered.
Be sure to weigh a combination of destination, price and onboard vibe when deciding which is best for you and your travel party. Check out the phenomenal thermal suite in the ship's spa, which offers sauna and steam rooms, tile loungers and aromatherapy rooms at no extra charge. Or, splurge on a couples massage, which will leave both of you feeling loose and refreshed.
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