AmaWaterways, the first major river cruise line to navigate the Magdalena River in Colombia, shared its latest updates in preparation for the inaugural sailing of its first ship in Colombia, AmaMagdalena, set for 2025. The company is focused on enhancing the luxury cruising experience along this river, a new destination for river cruising, ensuring guests enjoy authentic and enriching connections to the region’s culture and heritage. Read the rest of this entry »

Getting to and from river (or barge) trips is one of the more challenging aspects of travel. First, we prefer air travel with the most convenient connections. Second, we prefer to travel in comfort. To that end, we’ve written often about how to get the best business class fares.

The major airline hubs where river cruises often begin or end – Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna, Budapest – usually pose no problem, other than finding good-value airfares. Other destinations – Lyon, Arles, Bordeaux, Basel – pose challenges because they typically require connections through the major hubs. Read the rest of this entry »

Since 2015, I have hosted nearly a dozen trips on hotel barges. These are narrow, custom-built vessels that putter along the French canals generally for six nights/seven days. Because the barges are confined to dimensions that will allow the transit of multiple locks, many measuring less than 20 feet wide, staterooms are smallish but adequate Read the rest of this entry »

This week on the Rhine River, while cruising on AmaWaterways’ AmaLucia, I chose to straddle a saddle on four excursions by bicycle. “It’s the best way to see a place,” our guide Monika said as we rolled through Strasbourg, one of Europe’s most bike-friendly cities. More than a dozen of us chose to cycle into the city center for an invigorating three-hour tour.

From Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, we’ll marvel at wildlife against a backdrop of spectacular panoramas. We’ll pitch camp in romantic lodges and sail on the beautiful African Queen. We’ll explore beautiful natural reserves and the secrets of Lake Kariba before taking in the grandeur of the “smoke that thunders,” Victoria Falls Read the rest of this entry »

Viking® today announced its newest ship for the Nile River—the 82-guest Viking Hathor—was “floated out,” marking a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water. Set to debut in August 2024, the Viking Hathor will join the company’s growing fleet of state-of-the-art ships for the Nile River and will sail Viking’s popular 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary Read the rest of this entry »

Viking^® has revealed plans to add 10 new Viking Longships to its river fleet. Eight of these vessels will navigate the popular routes along the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers, while two will join the Seine River. This expansion includes a Longship for the Seine, announced in February 2023.

The construction of Read the rest of this entry »

Britton has been learning quite a bit about trip insurance. You’ll find her articles at this link. I recently reached out to Suzanne Morrow, Senior Vice President for InsureMyTrip.com to ask a couple of questions.

1. What are the top three coverages that a U.S. traveler to Europe would want in trip insurance?

Travel insurance isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every trip is different, and every traveler has different needs and concerns. With that said – if an American is traveling out of the country, we recommend they consider emergency medical and evacuation coverage. Most domestic health insurance, including Medicare, will not cover medical bills overseas. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2024, for the first time, AmaWaterways will begin its European river cruising season on February 11 with two ships on the Danube and Rhine rivers. As a direct response to the increased demand for new off-season travel options, this strategic move reflects AmaWaterways’ commitment to evolving travel preferences. As AmaWaterways announces record results for 2023 and continued strong growth for 2024 and 2025, several key trends are setting the stage for a bright future of the river cruise industry.

Guests embarking on their river cruises and land journeys with AmaWaterways in 2024 can anticipate curated experiences embracing the following trends: Read the rest of this entry »

You could be forgiven for not knowing about Riverside Luxury Cruises. After all, the company is a newcomer, first mentioned on our site one year ago.

That was in November 2022, when Riverside acquired the double-width river cruiser Mozart. The ship had been operating for Crystal River Cruises, which went bankrupt. Riverside snapped up Mozart and has since added two more of the ex-Crystal ships. Read the rest of this entry »

Though we primarily focus on European river cruises, we would be remiss not to mention Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals on the Mississippi. Here are two from American Queen Voyages and American Cruise Lines. Read the rest of this entry »

Award-winning luxury river cruise line AmaWaterways announced an exclusive 2-for-1 Land Package offer for guests reserving a full six- or eight-night land package in conjunction with select 2024 and 2025 seven-night river cruises in Vietnam and Cambodia. Guests reserving select Charms of the Mekong or Riches of the Mekong itineraries are able to take advantage of this offer* until December 31, 2023. The 2-for-1 Land Package Read the rest of this entry »

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises announces the addition of two new Super Ships, the S.S. Victoria and S.S. Elisabeth, which will begin sailing in Europe in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Uniworld will take over the ships from Seaside Collection under a three-year, bareboat charter agreement for each ship and create the signature Uniworld experience on existing itineraries with an all-Uniworld staff, as well as the brand’s trademark touches and amenities. Before joining Riverside Luxury Cruises, the ships were a part of Crystal Cruises’ river fleet as the Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler. Read the rest of this entry »

Award-winning luxury river cruise line AmaWaterways today announced details on a series of new combination cruises in Europe debuting in 2025, appealing to travelers’ desire for longer trips. The new “Grand” series of 14-night itineraries, including Grand Seine & Bordeaux, Grand Seine & Rhône and Grand Rhine & Dutch Canals, are attractively priced and include convenient transfers between rivers where applicable. By combining two popular 7-night sailings into one convenient itinerary, these three curated extended journeys invite travelers to immerse themselves in Read the rest of this entry »

Bikes and riverboats go together. So much so that we have a whole page dedicated to bicycling and river cruising. As a bike enthusiast, last week I attended the Asheville, NC premiere of a new movie, Shadow Of A Wheel. I believe many of our readers will relate to the film.

Shadow Of A Wheel was produced by an old friend, Paul Bonesteel. The feature-length film tells the story of 31 teenagers who spent one epic summer crossing America by bicycle in 1982. Read the rest of this entry »

Some of the challenges in choosing river cruises in Europe are the rivers themselves. Unless you’ve frequently traveled to Europe, you may not be familiar with geography of the rivers. Even for those who are familiar with the lay of the land, the list of rivers can be daunting. A quick glance at Wikipedia shows hundreds of rivers coursing through the European continent, including quite a few that I’ve never heard of, the Oise, for example, which I only learned about this year. I’ll be on that river with 21 others in May of 2024, as we barge along the Oise Read the rest of this entry »

On August 16, in the medieval town of Viviers, France, Anouchka Gerlach christened the Riverside Ravel during a festive ceremony ahead of Ravel’s inaugural sailing on the Rhône River.

This is the second ship to launch for Riverside Luxury Cruises, a Hamburg-based company founded by siblings Anouchka and Gregor Gerlach in late 2022. The Riverside Ravel will tour the Rhône River between Lyon and Arles and similar to Riverside Mozart, which is sailing the Danube this season, will continue to Read the rest of this entry »

If your answer to our headline question was no, you’re probably fine. Despite what major media outlets are reporting, visas aren’t required for most of our regular readers to travel in Europe. If you are from the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain and a slew of other countries, you likely have no need for concern about obtaining a visa for travel to Europe in 2024. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week’s survey about booking trends revealed that only 16 percent of you could not see yourself booking a last-minute river cruise in Europe. Who said we couldn’t be spontaneous? Show us a deal, and we’re on board.

Your comments and our commentary.

AmaWaterways has announced a new limited-time offer for travelers seeking distinctive journeys through Europe and Asia. Now through September 30, 2023, travelers can save 20 percent on the total river cruise fare on new reservations for select Europe and Mekong sailings embarking in 2023 and 2024. As an alternative offer, solo travelers can take advantage of a reduced 20 percent single supplement on the same sailings in select stateroom categories. These limited-time offers* can be combined with AmaWaterways’  AirPlus promotion, creating exceptional savings opportunities for travelers. Read the rest of this entry »

Riverside Luxury River Cruises has a new Summer Sale.  The offers are for bookings made by August 31.

• Receive a US$150 per person onboard credit
• No single supplement on Harmony & Melody Suites

Read the rest of this entry »