The advantages of a riverboat cruise are obvious: You can see land all day long; the boats are small enough to dock close to the city center; and you can visit great inland destinations inaccessible to cruise ships, like Paris, Vienna, Cologne, Prague and Budapest. You see the rolling countryside all day long -- fields and meadows that lead to small villages and major cities, often punctuated by medieval estates or vistas of flowers or crops. And one last obvious advantage: There is very little chance you will get seasick.
Some people who take river cruises think of them as an alternative to bus tours, but river cruises are more similar to ocean-going cruises than many travelers realize. You board the boat and unpack once, settling into your stateroom for the entire trip. All meals are included in the price and taken in the boat's dining room, or sometimes as box lunches on the longer tours. There is a shore excursion usually every day, and often two per day, separated by lunch back on the boat in most cases. At night you enjoy long gourmet meals with fellow passengers, followed by a little entertainment, and then to bed.
But they are also different from ship-based cruises in significant ways. In most cases, river cruises are priced as an all-inclusive package, with air fare from the United States, transfers from the airport to the riverboat, and all meals and shore excursions covered in the price. Riverboats tend to be a bit more regimented than cruise ships -- in most cases, everyone takes the same tours and eats a fixed menu at the same mealtimes. The meals are prepared by gourmet European chefs using the finest and freshest ingredients, and are served in proper European style, sometimes including wine and a cheese course at the end of the meal.
River cruising is a popular, mature industry in Europe -- more so than the U.S. -- and its growth in the last decade has been phenomenal due to its discovery by Americans. The closest examples we have in the U.S, are the Delta Queen steamboats (plus some Columbia River itineraries). But, European riverboats tend to be modern and elegantly furnished with just two or two and a half passenger decks, they have to be short enough to go under bridges.
Customized for Americans The major European river operators favored by U.S. passengers offer meals and shore excursions tailored to the American audience, with English-speaking tour guides and destinations known to be of interest to them. One of the newest yet most formidable lines with heavy focus on the U.S. market is Viking River Cruises with U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles, offering 20 different cruises in Europe plus Russia and Yangtze River cruises. But there are other companies as well with their own unigue styles offering European and Asian river cruises; Avalon Waterways, Globus, Uniworld, Amadeus Waterways, Imperial Waterways, Value World Tours, Elegant Cruises and Peter Deilmann .
On any one of these companies you can find river cruises in Spain, France,Germany, Hungary, Austria, The Netherlands, and beyond to Odessa on the Black Sea and St. Petersburg on the Baltic. The regular season runs from April to Late October, but most of them also offer Christmas Holiday cruises. Some of the most outstanding itineraries are the Tulip cruise through Holland, The Rhine Festival of Fire, The Russian River cruises from Moscow to St Petersburg (or vice versa), and the Rhine and Danube rivers including Cologne and Vienna. In addition, some of these companies also offer cruises on the Yangtze River in China, and the Nile in Egypt.
Prices are surprisingly reasonable when you figure in the cost of airfare, shore excursions, wine with dinner, and the cruise itself. Accommodations tend to be on the small side, though suites are available for a higher price (and worth it, in my opinion); but much of your time is spent out on the top deck, watching the scenery go by. Most riverboats carry 150 passengers or less, and the tours are varied according to nationality. In most cases, an American passenger will be on a boat with other Americans, or groups of British or other English speakers. Large groups connected by some kind of affinity are common on these vessels, but individuals are catered to as well.
The typical river cruise in Europe is seven to 12 days. Pre-cruise and post-cruise hotel stays are often offered as part of the package. A typical pre-cruise offering is a stay in Prague which is not on any navigable river, but you fly into the city for a two-night hotel stay, and then you are bussed to the river boat on the third day. This is all conveniently pre-arranged by the cruise line.
The advantages of a riverboat cruise are obvious: You can see land all day long; the boats are small enough to dock close to the city center; and you can visit great inland destinations inaccessible to cruise ships, like Paris, Vienna, Cologne, Prague and Budapest. You see the rolling countryside all day long -- fields and meadows that lead to small villages and major cities, often punctuated by medieval estates or vistas of flowers or crops. And one last obvious advantage: There is very little chance you will get seasick.
