When we think of river cruises, we often think of couples drinking wine and gazing off their balconies, wandering through the cobblestone streets of Europe, sitting in the lounge for performances and eating meals in a communal dining room. Those are the things that keep me river cruising, but sometimes I want a little bit more. That’s why I love Avalon’s Active & Discovery itineraries. Avalon incorporates everything people like about a traditional river cruise, but with a twist. And each of these sailings become a new favorite trip because they attract such an adventurous and enthusiastic crowd of people.

This past Thursday, I returned from France after back-to-back barge trips in Burgundy. To say that my 17 days in France was wonderful would be an understatement.

For starters, we had a fun group of people. They came from Georgia, British Columbia, Alberta, California, Colorado, Illinois and other regions throughout North America. We had lots of laughs, enjoyed long canal-side walks and bike rides, indulged in delightful dinners, sipped sumptuous wines, and so much more. Read the rest of this entry »

CroisiEurope is offering complimentary airfare on select summer departures on Seine and Loire River itineraries. The air-inclusive packages are currently limited to flights in and out of New York City’s Newark Airport (EWR) on select departure dates. However, CroisiEurope has plans to expand these offerings in the upcoming months, providing more opportunities for travelers to take advantage of similar deals.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 »

The weakness of the Euro (and the strength of the U.S. dollar) is unfortunate for the Europeans. Citizens in the Eurozone appear to have a tough winter and a potentially deep recession to endure in the months ahead. We hope that doesn’t come to pass, but what is clear is that the Euro is in decline, which may, or may not, be transitory.

Earlier this week, the Euro and U.S. dollar reached parity, and in fact, the Euro even dipped slightly below one U.S. dollar on Wednesday. Parity between the two major world currencies hasn’t happened in 20 years, and some analysts posit that the Euro has even further to fall. 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 »