Travel By River

River cruising is one of the fastest growing sectors in the travel industry. A river cruise allows you to sail into the heart of some of the most exciting destinations. You will sail into some of the world’s greatest cities and along the way enjoy the country’s landscape, towns and villages, and scenery that just keeps coming to you. River cruising provides a greater variety of destinations than most any other means of travel.

And you will do all this at a remarkable level of comfort. The new river ships are luxurious in accommodation level, superb in cuisine and excel in a very high, personalized level of service. With passenger capacities from about 100 to 250, river cruises offer a warmer, guest like experience in contrast to being another passenger.

Having cruised on the rivers of four continents we have the insight from experience to guide you in your selection of a river cruise.

Here is a selection of our preferred river cruise companies:

• AMAWaterways

Striving to be the most modern and innovative vacation experience has brought AMAWaterways not only many awards, but a much deserved reputation for excellence and consistency. AMAWaterways is a leader in river cruising thanks to their fleet of custom-designed ships, deluxe amenities and attentive service. They were the first cruise line to offer such benefits as French Balconies, complimentary in-room Internet access, ship-wide Wi-Fi, award-winning cuisine and guided bicycle excursions. We are more and more impressed with AMAWaterways and believe you will be as well. Their destinations include:

Europe

AMAWaterways offers a complete slate of fabulous itineraries throughout Europe. There are also many theme cruises including wine cruises that showcase the acclaimed vineyards and wineries along the Rhone, Seine, Danube, Rhine and Douro rivers, Jewish Heritage tours, gourmet cruises with Chef Bob Blumer, and jazz cruises featuring top artists from Europe and America. And if European Christmas Markets are an interest, this river cruise line has several great itineraries.

Asia

AMAWaterways itinerary starts in Hanoi and includes a tour via a local junk in scenic Ha Long Bay, a short flight to Cambodia and the Angkor World Heritage Site and cruising the Mekong through Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City.

Africa

AMAWaterways offers safari and cruise combinations so you can experience the best of both. Safari options include Krueger National Park Area in South Africa, or other National Parks in Kenya and Tanzania, including Serengeti National Park. Afterward, in Botswana, AMA cruises the Chobe River through Chobe National Park to Victoria Falls.

 

• American Queen Steamboat Company

American Cruise Lines offers world-class, small ship cruises along the inland waterways and rivers of the United States. On the upper and lower Mississippi River, the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers and the magnificent Columbia and Snake Rivers, their up-to-date fleet of paddle wheel riverboats are an elegant and fun way to see America.

We have cruised the Mississippi River with the American Queen on a jazz-themed cruise. An album by the pianist in that jazz group is a staple in our music collection. We’d love to share that experience with you and help you find just the right paddle wheel experience for you.

 

• Avalon

Avalon has designed their river cruise offering by heeding the only opinion that matters: yours. At every turn, you'll enjoy the luxury of choice — Avalon enables you to decide what and where you eat, to select your room configuration, on-land discoveries, and onboard enrichments. Avalon continues to be the youngest fleet on the rivers of Europe. Their entire fleet is designed in contemporary elegance, with the largest staterooms on the European waterways and the industry's biggest views – thanks to panoramic windows in the common areas and huge, floor-to-ceiling windows in nearly all of the staterooms. We recently completed the Paris to the Beaches of Normandy itinerary with Avalon. We were impressed. The ship, the Creativity is not one of their newest ones but was marvelous nonetheless. The large cabin windows are very nice and when we tired of sitting on the top deck to enjoy the scenery it was very nice that the views from the cabin were still great. The ship was spotless, the food was excellent, the free wine with dinner was better than other "free" wines I recalled (then again, it was France!) and the whole cruise and excursions were very well done and were fun. I liked the way local food and wine was incorporated into the menu. Here is a tip of the cap to the Avalon Cruise Director: we went when the government closed and the American Battle Monument Commission closed the American cemetery at Omaha Beach. The CD found a British cemetery that had an American soldier buried there and after our visit to the beaches we stopped at that cemetery site and had a brief memorial ceremony. A fitting finish to our visit to the beaches. We had clients on another Normandy Beaches river cruise - different line - and there was no effort made to find an alternative to the American cemetery.

 

• Tauck

Our clients love Tauck River Cruises. Among the things they love are all-inclusive pricing, including shore excursions and gratuities. They also love the world-class personalized service and attention, the exclusive onshore experiences, and the gorgeous riverboats with fewer than 120 passengers on any cruise. They love Tauck River Cruises and so will you.

Europe

Tauck's uncommon access and exclusive cultural experiences ashore along European waterways – the Rhine, Danube, Main, Rhône and Moselle rivers – connects you with each place you visit. They offer more than a dozen European itineraries that sometimes make it hard to decide to which one to do now - we can help you optimize that decision. In addition, Tauck's specially themed river cruises enrich the mind and feed the soul, with in-depth cultural events, hands-on learning and interactive workshops and presentations that bring out the creativity of inspiration in all of us. Themed river cruises include walks and talks with local experts, special performances, presentations with local flair that illustrate the creative arts and seasonal celebrations.

China

Tauck offers 3 or 4-night river cruises featuring cultural land exploration... cruise the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China to explore this fantastic landscape and the village life along the river. Then enjoy visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors.

Egypt

The mysteries of ancient Egypt and Jordan unfold before you on this Tauck’s 13-day journey in ancient Egypt and Jordan is one of discovery to revered temples, tombs and monuments that tell a story of 5,000 years of civilization. From hotels with incredible views, to a 3-night River Nile cruise, to behind-the-scenes insights by local experts, Tauck's Egypt and Jordan tour is a classic in these historic lands.

 

• Un-Cruise Adventures

Un-Cruise Adventures river cruise is a hands-on small boat exploration of the Columbia & Snake Rivers. Un-Cruise provides an inviting alternative to explore these rivers by small expedition boat along with 88 like-minded adventurers for an uncommon experience. For starters, the vessel, the Legacy of Discovery, is fully renovated and new to the fleet in 2013. This replica of a Victorian-style steamship will sweep you back to another era, and provide exploration with the amenities and conveniences of today. In one of its prior lives, we cruised three times on this boat and it is a favorite of ours. A great vessel for this river cruise.

We have cruised with Un-Cruise Adventure in Hawaii and the experience was fabulous. We are trained and certified by Un-Cruise to expertly guide you through the Un-Cruise Adventure selection process.

 

• Uniworld
Uniworld has captured our attention not only through the Conde Nast, Travel+Leisure and Cruise International awards they are capturing on a regular basis, but also by words of praise from travelers who have cruised Uniworld. A luxury river cruise line, Uniworld benefits from the synergy they share with thier sister company Red Carnation Hotels, which has over 50 years of expertise in owning and operating luxury boutique hotels.

And Uniworld has emulated the boutique hotel concept in their river cruise ships, each unique from the other and, each suite on each ship is a unique decor. But Uniworld offers more than just beautiful ships. The cuisine on board is consistently acclaimed and award winning, In Europe, Uniworld’s luxury experience is all-inclusive - unlimited beverages, of all kinds, are included as are all gratuities, shore excursions, transfers, and onboard Internet service. Add to all that the highest staff to guest ratio in the river cruise industry and it becomes quite apparent that Uniworld can deliver a truly seamless, luxury river crusing experience.

Europe:

Uniworld offers an abundance of luxury river cruising itineraries on Europe’s most scenic rivers - the Danube, Main, Rhine, Moselle, Rhône, Saône, Seine, Po, and Douro.

China:

Uniworld has constructed multiple fascinating itineraries, all of which include cruising the Yangtze. Some include days in Lhasa, Tibet, others cruising on the Li River and others include Hong Kong. All land accomodations are in centrally located five-star hotels.

Vietnam & Cambodia:

Uniworld’s itineraries on the Mekong capture both the diversity of culture and daily life in these two nations. As in China, cruising along the Mekong includes special themed meals that celebrate local culture and cuisine.

India:

Uniworld’s new 2016 itinerary in India highlights wondrous sights along the country’s most venerated river, the Ganges, as well as must-see destinations in Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur—the Golden Triangle— one of the most culturally rich areas of the subcontinent.

There is much more to Uniworld than we can cover here - 40 itineraries, 500 departures! We are about to start the Uniworld River Cruising Specialist program to learn even more. And we are thinking Uniworld European river cruise in 2015 to get that first hand understanding. Courses are great, but we love to be able to tell our clients “This is how it was when we cruised...” that line, or that itinerary. Real people giving real advice from real experience.

 

• Viking River Cruises

Viking River Cruises has consistently placed high on competitive rankings like Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List, Reader’s Choice and Best Small Ships awards.

We have been on four Viking River Cruises and completely agree that their success is defined by inspiring destinations, beautifully crafted itineraries, expert tour guides, luxurious ships, fine cuisine, excellent service, and remarkable value. The destinations include:

Europe

Enjoy the timeless beauty and grace of the Old World with European river cruises along the Rhine, the Main, the Danube and the Seine. We have cruised with VRC in Europe and are happy to help you get the most from your European river cruise experience. We cruised with Viking again in October 2014 in the Bordeaux region. We have high expectations of Viking and this cruise met or exceeded them in many ways.

China

Viking River Cruises enables you to see all of China’s key highlights in addition to cruising the Yangtze. The Yangtze cruise takes you through the cradle of China’s cradle of culture and the wonderful Three Gorges region. But Viking River Cruises adds China beyond the Yangtze, e.g. Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and the Terra Cotta Army, the Great Wall, and more. We have cruised the Yangtze with Viking River Cruises twice and can help you maximize your experience.

The Nile

The great city of Cairo, the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, the unearthed secrets of desert sands—all are set on or near the banks of the nurturing Nile. Cruise the river in luxury, and sail across Lake Nasser to the monumental statues of Rameses II and Nefertari at Abu Simbel. We have cruised the Nile and have the experience to make your experience a great one.

Southeast Asia

From your Viking River Cruise ship on the Mekong or Irrawaddy, you will sail past unforgettable scenery, visit destinations rich in history, enjoy wonderful cuisine and meet the region’s fascinating, friendly people.

To view all the relevant details about all Viking River Cruises itineraries, land extensions and destinations please visit: Viking's Website