For decades, river cruising has largely been a pursuit for couples; families and solo cruisers need not apply. But that old way of thinking is quickly going out the door, as river cruise lines move to court multi-generational families and solo cruisers eager to try their hand at the rivers of Europe.

The problem is that river cruise vessels are restricted physically by height, length and width due to the rivers they must traverse. The ships can only be so tall, so long and so wide. That, in turn, means that staterooms must also have finite dimensions. You can add another person to that existing space – but unless you’re booking at the suite level, things are going to get very cramped, very quickly. Unless, that is, you come up with some creative ideas, which a handful of cruise companies have done.

River cruising to or from Amsterdam? Why not do what the Dutch do and straddle a saddle? Hop on a bike and pedal your way through Amsterdam and the beautiful countryside to experience this fascinating region the way the locals do.

Most river cruise companies make bikes available to guests – at no additional charge. All you need to do is ask your ship’s front desk staff to prepare a bike for you. You’ll likely need to sign a release of liability, and you may be required to wear a helmet, which many cruise company provides.

Viking® will welcome a new Viking Longship®, purpose-built for the Seine River, to its fleet in 2025. Sailing the company’s popular eight-day Paris and the Heart of Normandy itinerary, the new sister ship will join four Viking Longships that were officially named in 2022, the Viking Fjorgyn®, the Viking Kari®, the Viking Radgrid® and the Viking Skaga®. All five ships are designed specifically to navigate the Seine River and bring guests to the heart of Paris, just a short walk from the Eiffel Tower.

One of my best river cruises ever was one of my longest river cruises ever. In 2016, I spent 15 glorious days cruising from Amsterdam to Budapest on AmaWaterways’ AmaSonata. After transiting the Rhine, the Main, the Main-Danube Canal and the Danube, I was left with one thought: Could I stay on and do the cruise in the opposite direction?

Of course, the answer was yes – from me – but a hard no from AmaWaterways. In fact, AmaSonata was not headed back to Amsterdam but would instead operate a series of Danube cruises. Sigh.

In last week’s post, we talked about the trend toward longer river cruises, longer than seven days, that is. Nearly all of the major river cruise companies now offer long cruises, with some itineraries approaching two months in duration. Two months? That wouldn’t bother our reader Linda at all.

We wondered when it would happen: When would a savvy river cruise company pick up the rest of Crystal River Cruises fleet. Nearly a year after Crystal went bankrupt, Riverside Luxury Cruises acquired the double-width Crystal Mozart. That left four recently Crystal-built river cruisers with an uncertain fate. We worried that with companies recovering from the pandemic no one would be flush enough with cash to purchase these spectacular ships.

The New Year is upon us, and what better way is there to manifest smooth sailing next year than by looking at the top five river cruise itineraries for 2023?

River cruising trends have changed tremendously over the past few years. We’ve seen growth from most river cruise companies, with Viking starting on the Mississippi to more itineraries on the Nile and Mekong than ever before. Luxury river cruising has even reached the Magdalena River in Columbia, where AmaWaterways will begin sailing at the end of 2023. With so many options, it can be hard to narrow down where to go next or, for some, where to start. Though I’ve shied away from some of those more exotic destinations, I hope this list will inspire you to travel somewhere new in 2023.

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.

In anticipation of wave season, Emerald Cruises will expand its ‘Explore the Extraordinary’ campaign into the new year. This campaign, which runs from December 16, 2022 to March 31, 2023, offers savings on a variety of 2023 and 2024 river cruises, along with bonus offers when guests pay in full.

In anticipation of wave season, Emerald Cruises will expand its ‘Explore the Extraordinary’ campaign into the new year. This campaign, which runs from December 16, 2022 to March 31, 2023, offers sizable savings on a variety of 2023 and 2024 river cruises, along with a new menu of bonus offers available when guests pay in full.

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/.

One of my favorite river cruise vessels will soon be back in service, the m/s Mozart. I first cruised on the storied ship in 2008, when she was operated by Peter Deilmann. Aside from being awed by Mozart’s impressive width, nearly double that of a typical river cruise ship, I’d never been on a river cruiser with an indoor pool.

Award-winning luxury river cruise line, AmaWaterways, tells us that travelers can now book unforgettable river cruise vacations on all 2024 itineraries on the iconic rivers of Europe, Africa, Egypt and Asia. With an added reward for early bookings and extended seasons on the Rhine, Danube and Douro rivers, guests have the opportunity to save now when reserving their much-anticipated journeys. Whether celebrating a milestone anniversary, a special birthday or a reunion with friends and family, river cruising with AmaWaterways offers the perfect variety of included tours and culinary experiences to please all ages and types of travelers searching for a more personalized way to reconnect with the world around them.

We’ve done a number of articles featuring our best river cruise tips. Search our site and you’ll find posts such as Our Top Three Tips For Choosing Your River Cruise, Three Tips For Cruisers Going To Europe, Five Tips For Choosing Your Stateroom, Airfare Hacks: Cheap Business Class Tickets For Your River Cruise, and many more articles designed to provide you with a better (and often, cheaper) river cruise experience.

This week, we turned to Emma Cakmak, owner of A Passport To Travel. Emma just returned from a river cruise in Bordeaux. That’s her in the photo above doing what we often love to do on our river cruises: exploring by bicycle.

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.

News that comes as no surprise to us: Riviera River Cruises is proud to announce that it has received 2022 Magellan Awards from Travel Weekly for its solo traveler offerings. We’re not surprised because we have long touted – and advised single travelers – that Riviera represents one of the best choices when it comes to traveling solo. See Britton’s story, Riviera River Cruises: The Best For Solo Travelers?

This week, Britton is gearing up for her Rhine river cruise on Riviera’s Geoffrey Chaucer. That means arranging for pet-sitters, shopping for new clothes (of course), and finalizing the logistics of her trip. She’s become quite the traveler, something that she began training for early on in life. In fact, she was only approaching her first birthday when she crossed the Atlantic on the venerable Queen Elizabeth 2, the first of many cruises for the now 27-year-old.

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.

Earlier this week, we heard from a reader who was “stuck” in Passau on Uniworld’s River Duchess. Underway now, the ship had been stationary since September 3 due to low water levels on the Danube. “The River Duchess has been impacted by the low water near Passau,” Uniworld’s CEO Ellen Bettridge told us on Wednesday. “Good news is that it is raining.”

The stretch of river between Passau and Regensburg had been impassable until Thursday of this week. This afternoon (Saturday), River Duchess was heading toward Bamberg, doing six knots per hour (~7 mph), according to cruisemapper.com.

For most of us, a river cruise represents a significant investment. First, there’s the investment of planning your vacation and carving out time to do it. If you’re retired or if you have a flexible work schedule, finding a time to river cruise probably isn’t an issue. You still need to plan, though. Planning is likely why you’re here researching on our site, River Cruise Advisor.

Second, there’s the investment of getting to your river cruise destination, and perhaps getting there a few days before your river cruise begins so that you can shake off the jet lag and acquaint yourself with the destination. You’ll spend for getting to the airport, the flight, the transfer to the dock where your ship departs or your hotel. If you’re arriving a few days early, you’ll need to budget for dining out and sightseeing. And if you’re flying in comfort, you’ll need to shuck out extra money for seat upgrades. Before you even get to Europe, you’ve spent a fair amount of money.