Leaving home for the holidays can be hard. For some, it feels like you are leaving behind tradition, family and friends, all of which seems unthinkable. I was one of those people – until I did my first Christmas Markets cruise.

The year was 2010, and I was a mere 14 years old. I had done only one other river cruise, and that was on the Mekong. So not only was this my first Christmas Markets cruise, but also my first river cruise in Europe.

Riviera River Cruises has announced that its 2024 European river cruise departures are now on sale, with 10% savings and free beverage packages for new bookings made through Feb. 28, 2023. A total of 14 itineraries with 301 departures, including seven cruises exclusively for solo travelers, are available between March and November 2024 in destinations including France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Portugal and more. For additional information about Riviera River Cruises and its European river cruise itineraries, call 888-838-8820 or visit https://www.rivierarivercruises.com/.

Last week, I sailed along the Moselle and Rhine Rivers with Riviera aboard Geoffrey Chaucer. I was invited by Riviera to experience one of the line’s unique Solo Departures. As someone who often travels solo, I was curious to see what was different about traveling with other solos, as well as what Riviera does differently from the other cruise companies I have sailed with. This trip was definitely one for the books, so much so that I am having a hard time finding a way to capture the impact of my journey. Let’s start off with a few first impressions.

Hallo liebe leser, 

As most of you know, I am currently sailing the Rhine and Moselle rivers on board Riviera River Cruises’ Geoffrey Chaucer. We are a small group of just 37 solo travelers. Needless to say, we’ve had to become quick friends. Luckily, most of us seem to enjoy each others’ company.

When I thought about what to share with you all today, I figured I would gather some first impressions about Riviera. However, I am continuing to be surprised and delighted by Riviera every day, so I thought I’d save those for the end. Read the rest of this entry »

We often recommend the Rhine and Danube to first-time river cruisers. These rivers not only the most popular for river cruising, but also offer a large variety of itineraries between the two rivers and their tributaries. Those looking to try something different may decide to venture to the Seine or the Rhone rivers in France, or, if they wish to stay on this side of the pond, even the Mississippi River. However, there are an array of river cruise options “off the beaten path,” with itineraries in South America, Africa and Asia.

We have rounded up five river cruise itineraries for those looking to branch out from traditional river cruise itineraries.

AmaWaterways

AmaWaterways offers guests a free pre- or post-cruise land package on certain itineraries including the Blue Danube, Captivating Rhine, Enticing Douro, Charms of the Mekong, and more.

Offer(s): Free land package with select itineraries

Avalon Waterways announced that it will make its Douro debut with a new itinerary and Suite Ship, the Avalon Alegria, in 2024.

VIDA PORTUGAL: VINEYARDS & VILLAGES ALONG THE DOURO

Hillside vineyards and historic villages await guests as they sail through Portugal on Avalon’s all-new, eight-day cruise that begins and ends in Porto and is filled with Avalon’s signature, included Classic, Discovery and Active excursion choices.

Reservations are now open for AmaWaterways’ 2024 Seven River Journey – Spring and Summer Editions. AmaWaterways is introducing its longest journey yet with the complete 49-night itinerary spent on board one ship, the AmaMora, and the first-time experience of sailing the complete length of the Rhine and Danube rivers including the seldom visited Danube Delta region leading to the Black Sea.

It is no secret that solo travelers often pay more than those traveling in couples or with groups. Solo passengers usually pay single supplements, meaning that they usually must dole out what a couple would pay for the same stateroom.

There are often specials and promotions for solo travelers, and some companies do have solo cabins on their ship, but oftentimes these promotions can leave solo travelers scrambling to find an itinerary or ship with solo space. Riviera River Cruises has taken a different approach. Not only does Riviera hold between four and six solo cabins for every single one of its departures, but it also offers a number of solo-only itineraries. This means that there is no single supplement on any cabin and that all of those onboard are rooming alone.

Viking announced that its newest river ship, the Viking Saigon, has begun its inaugural season in Southeast Asia. Purpose-built for the Mekong River, the 80-guest ship sails between Kampong Cham, Cambodia and Mỹ Tho, Vietnam as part of Viking’s popular 15-day Magnificent Mekong itinerary. With the 2022-2023 season now underway, regular sailing dates are available through March 2023; the 2023-2024 season begins in July 2023.

CroisiEurope Cruises announced its worldwide program of 2023 river, canal and ocean itineraries, which are now available for booking. The 2023 cruise catalog features 170 itineraries on 55 ships, sailing on 45 waterways in 40 countries.

To celebrate, CroisiEurope is offering an early booking discount of 15 percent on most 2023 itineraries when booked by August 31, 10 percent if booked between September 1 and October 15, 2022 and 5 percent for bookings made between October 16 and November 30, 2022.

American Queen Voyages announced a free roundtrip air promotion on select voyages from 30 gateways in 2023 when booked by Aug. 31, 2022. Guests taking advantage of this offer can sail on any vessel in the cruise line’s fleet, with itineraries sailing February through December 2023.

In addition, the cruise line has also launched a new full-service air desk to provide consumer and agent support beginning with select 2022 and 2023 voyages. Overseen by Director of Call Center Operations Dana Horton and a team of cruise industry veterans led by Director Tonya Meyer and Manager Kevin White, who have a combined 35 years of experience enabling them to provide a seamless voyage experience for guests.

Emerald Cruises’ newest Star-Ship Emerald Luna was christened today during a ceremony in Amsterdam. In attendance for Scenic Group, parent company of Emerald Cruises, were Rob Voss, COO – Scenic Group; David Winterton, Global Director of Brand & Marketing; Maggie Carbonell, VP Marketing – Scenic Group USA; and Ann Chamberlin, VP Sales – Scenic Group USA; as well as Monic van der Heyden, Commercial Director, Cruise Port Amsterdam, Johan Kaasjager, Managing Director of the Den Breejen Shipyard, embarking guests, and local dignitaries. Award-winning US travel industry advocate and educator Vanessa McGovern took the honors as godmother during the official ceremony.

Read the rest of this entry »

As the world returns to its new normal, so are things at River Cruise Advisor. The past month has been one of extreme productivity for us. Before the pandemic hit, we were working hard at redesigning our sites. We ran surveys about the industry and about our readers’ unique interests to better keep you in the loop on all things river cruise. Our goal for this site has always been a simple one, to help you make an informed decision before you book your river cruise, be it your first or fifteenth. Read the rest of this entry »

It is hard to believe that it has been almost a month since I left for France to sail on Emerald Cruises’ Liberte. The ship so quickly felt like home, and I have been missing it dearly for the nearly three weeks since I have returned to North Carolina.

Those of you who have read our previous coverage from the journey know that I sailed with my grandmother, GG. We were invited by Emerald Cruises to spend eight days in Southern France, sailing from Arles up to Lyon along the river Rhone.

GG and I had dinner together last night and shared our stories from the trip with the rest of the family. Though I already posted Three Things I Loved About Emerald Liberte, our dinner conversation last night left me wanting to share more with you. There is so much to love about the ship, crew and the Emerald experience as a whole. Read the rest of this entry »

AmaWaterways today released the print version of its 2023 Europe Brochure, offering a look at new vacation experiences, including its Seven River Journeys, Celebration of Classical Music: The Danube cruises, and new 5-night Majestic Capitals of the Danube cruises. Read the rest of this entry »

Britton and her grandmother are cruising the Rhone on Emerald Liberte. They are guests of Emerald Cruisers for the purposes of this review. Britton has been sending updates of her trip as they cruise along. She’ll have a more detailed report when she returns home.

Saturday, June 4, 2022

WELCOME ABOARD

Day one of the journey. How exciting! I have to admit, the airport was not easy. This is a busy time of year, and it is normal to expect delays and cancelations. In fact, some of our fellow passengers didn’t make it to the boat until late in the evening, and some even arrived the following day. Read the rest of this entry »

It has been a dream of mine to take my grandmother, GG, on a river cruise for quite some time. My dreams were put on hold as an array of scheduling issues and a little thing called COVID plagued the travel industry. After months of planning, I was able to deliver the most exciting news to my grandmother in March: “GG! We’re going to Germany.”

The plan was simple. GG and I would fly to Frankfurt to experience one of Emerald Cruises’ Moselle river cruises. I was excited to cruise the Moselle, as it has been dubbed Europe’s most beautiful river by my father. Unfortunately, the trip wasn’t as easy to execute as I had initially thought…

Not minutes after I hung up the phone inviting GG to join me in Germany, she started packing her bags. My grandmother is a very prepared woman. Some joke that I was born with a clipboard in my hand. If that’s the case, then GG was born with a daily planner, calendar, checklists (yes, more than one), a rolodex, an Excel Spreadsheet, and a filing cabinet in hers Read the rest of this entry »

Riviera River Cruises is offering a $1,000 per person discount on the majority of its departures in Europe through October 2022.

“We launched our marketing in North America just five years ago and gained a lot of momentum with our travel advisor partners before COVID-19 arrived, with their clients returning from cruises very satisfied,” said Marilyn Conroy, RivieraRiver Cruises’ Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing North America. “Now that cruising has resumed and we look to build on that momentum, we’ve decided to offer a discount that’s more generous than any we’ve offered before – about 30 percent off, on average – so as many travelers as possible can try us this year. We firmly believe they’ll return again and again, and spread the word among family and friends Read the rest of this entry »

Avalon Waterways is dedicated to preserving the precious environments surrounding the world’s riverbanks with the Lighthouse Project, an initiative created to help travelers come together to reduce their footprint and give generously for the globe’s greater good.

With a mission of nurturing a culture of care and sustainability that extends to guests, the Lighthouse Project is focused on three, give-back categories:

Planet: Conserve and preserve each destination visited. To protect waterways and wildlife and shine a light on organizations that do the same. Read the rest of this entry »

Riviera River Cruises is offering savings on two French itineraries in 2022. Choose between savings of US$1,000 per person or free economy airfare from most major U.S. gateways through the end of June.  If you’re interested in either of these deals, please complete the form below for more information. Read the rest of this entry »