Have you ever wondered about the hottest travel trend out there, River Cruising?

If you’re like me, when you see the initial price point you wonder what you’re going to get for that investment. Especially when you compare it to the cost of an ocean cruise.

First, let’s eliminate a few myths. All ships on the rivers are longships. Only a certain length/width can safely turn the winding corners on European rivers, and only a certain size can go through the many locks on those same rivers.

Where river cruise companies differ is by how many cabins they cram into that same space. The lesser-known river cruise companies, the ones with the least monies spent on advertising, can travel with fewer passengers onboard and offer larger cabin sizes because they also have a lower overhead.

Makes sense, right?

My personal favorites are Avalon and AMA. They travel with an average of 150 passengers in cabin sizes averaging 200 square feet. Most other brands sail with 190 passengers onboard resulting in much smaller cabin sizes. Remember, these figures are for ships that are exactly the same size.

All river cruise companies include your meals. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. They also offer many snack choices as well as beer and wine with lunch and dinner. This is an area where I haven’t experienced any appreciable difference between the various companies. Don’t make your choice based on quality of meals. They all offer delicious meals. (They all offer the ability to meet dietary restrictions: vegan, gluten free, diabetic diet, etc. Kosher can be a bit more problematic).

All river cruise companies include excursions in every port. This is where it gets a little sticky. Some companies offer excursions that have one guide per 30-40 guests. That’s downright treacherous when you’re walking through the Christmas Markets of Cologne, and you can neither see nor hear the guide you’re trying to follow.

Speaking of hearing, all excursions include headsets. Very high quality, no difference between the companies on that point.

The better companies have a higher number of guides and lower number of participants per guide. On my two favorite brands I’ve never been on an excursion with more than 8 other passengers. It’s heavenly.

The better companies also offer a variety of styles. For instance, that same walking tour of Cologne. The better companies offer a walking tour for people with mobility issues (slow walkers), as well as for strollers (meandering pace), for energetic walkers (moderate pace) and for athletic walkers (fastest pace).

They also offer active choices, such as kayaks, walking sticks, hiking routes, bikes and bike routes, etc. The onboard activity director also usually offers yoga every morning and optional adventures, such as hiking up to a castle during a stop rather than the usual city tour.

My favorite river cruise companies also include what we call “discovery” options. For instance, you can partake in a painting class in Arles or a cooking class on the Seine.

Making river cruising even more appealing are the “specialty” cruises. There are wine appreciation cruises, beer appreciation cruises, culinary cruises, festive event cruises (like my upcoming Christmas Time on the Danube cruise) or Garden and Nature lover cruises (like my upcoming Tulip Time cruise). There are also historical cruises, Jewish Heritage cruises, Photography Lover cruises, even a “storyteller” cruise option where you travel along with some of the most renowned authors of our time.

On American river cruises the options are almost identical to their European counterparts. The one big difference is the ships are all quite different. With unique ships in a wide variety of sizes, American river cruising is a bit more complicated, but just as enjoyable.

The new kids on the block are the “shorter” itineraries for those of you who aren’t sure if you’ll enjoy a river cruise. You can cruise European rivers for as few as four nights. Just enough to get your feet wet and add pre and post cruise city stays to get more bang for your buck.

I am a huge fan of river cruising. I hope you will give it a try. I believe it will delight you.

Your Globetrotting Friend,
Joy

Cruisers Can be Chooser