FIRST TIMERS GUIDE TO RIVER CRUISING

River cruising – a foreign world to some and a natural habit for others. We have compiled a first timers guide to river cruising so you can learn why river cruising is one of the most popular ways to explore the rivers of the world.

Choosing a river cruise over a traditional cruise at sea offers a unique and distinctly immersive experience that you won’t find anywhere else. The intimacy of navigating through picturesque waterways allows travelers to explore charming towns and vibrant cities right from the comfort of their floating hotel. Here are several compelling reasons why you might consider embarking on a river cruise for your next adventure:

Intimate and Scenic Experience

River cruises typically feature smaller ships, which allows for a more intimate and immersive experience compared to larger ocean vessels. As the ship glides smoothly along the winding river, you’ll find yourself closer to the shoreline than you might on other types of cruises. This proximity offers breathtaking panoramic views of picturesque landscapes, charming towns, and historic landmarks that line the banks. With every bend and twist of the river, new sights and hidden gems unfold, creating a unique and enriching journey that captivates the senses and deepens your connection to the destinations you visit.

Read our first-hand river cruise review and video guide - Avalon Envision River Cruise Ship Review

Cultural Immersion

River cruises often focus on exploring the rich cultural heritage and historical sites of specific regions, offering a unique travel experience that is both immersive and enlightening. You’ll have the opportunity to visit smaller ports and dock right in the heart of vibrant cities and charming towns, which allows for easy access to a variety of local attractions, bustling markets, and authentic cultural experiences that might be missed on larger ocean cruises. This intimate approach to travel can provide a deeper connection to the destinations you visit, enabling you to engage with local customs, savor regional cuisine, and learn about the history and traditions that shape each unique locale. With each stop, the journey becomes not just about seeing new places but truly experiencing them.

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Smooth Sailing

Rivers tend to be calmer than open seas, which results in significantly smoother sailing conditions that can enhance the overall experience for travelers. This tranquility can be particularly appealing to those who may struggle with motion sickness or seasickness. If you’re prone to feeling unwell on larger bodies of water or simply prefer a more stable cruising experience that allows you to fully enjoy the scenic views along the riverbanks, a river cruise can be a fantastic choice. It offers a serene environment where you can relax and take in the beautiful landscapes as you glide effortlessly along the water.

Unique Destinations

River cruises provide a unique opportunity to access a variety of inland destinations that larger ocean liners simply cannot reach. As you journey along iconic rivers such as the Rhine, Danube, Nile, Mekong, Douro, and Mississippi, you are not only treated to breathtaking views but also given the chance to immerse yourself in a world of discovery. These serene waterways offer the chance to uncover hidden gems and lesser-visited sites that boast rich histories and vibrant cultures. Each stop along the way reveals new experiences, from charming small towns to historic landmarks, allowing travelers to truly connect with the heart of each region in a way that larger ships cannot replicate.

Read our Douro River Cruise Review on Emerald River Cruises

Unpack Once, Explore Many

One of the standout conveniences of river cruises is that you only need to unpack once, as your floating hotel seamlessly carries you to a variety of picturesque ports of call along the way. This unique aspect of river cruising eliminates the constant inconvenience of packing and unpacking your belongings multiple times, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the experience without the stress of logistical challenges. As a result, travelers can enjoy a truly hassle-free travel experience, focusing on relaxation and exploration instead of the usual grind of traditional travel.

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Inclusive Experience

River cruises often include a variety of shore excursions in their itineraries, giving travelers the wonderful opportunity to explore each unique destination alongside knowledgeable local guides who are well-versed in the region's history and culture. These excursions are frequently included in the overall cost of the cruise, which helps to simplify budgeting and planning, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the experience without worrying about additional expenses. This seamless integration of guided tours enhances your journey, ensuring that you can discover the hidden gems and local highlights of each port of call.

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Social Atmosphere

River cruises generally foster a more intimate and social atmosphere, primarily due to the smaller number of passengers on board compared to larger ocean cruises. This reduced capacity can create a genuine sense of community among travelers, making it significantly easier for guests to meet, chat, and interact with one another. Passengers often find that they can form lasting friendships while sharing their experiences on excursions or during onboard activities, enhancing the overall journey. The cozy setting encourages engaging conversations and camaraderie, allowing everyone to feel more connected to both the cruise and each other.

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Culinary Delights

River cruises often focus on regional cuisine, providing a unique opportunity to savour local flavours and immerse yourself in the culinary traditions of the areas along your journey. Many ships feature onboard restaurants that not only offer a diverse menu but also showcase the distinctive dishes and ingredients of the regions you pass through, enhancing your overall cultural experience. By indulging in these culinary delights, you can truly connect with the local culture, discovering the stories and history behind each meal, and enriching your travel experience in a delicious way.

While both river cruises and cruises at sea have their own merits, these reasons highlight some of the unique advantages of choosing a river cruise. Ultimately, the choice depends on your preferences, desired destinations, and the type of experience you seek.

On a river cruise, you can expect a range of experiences and amenities that are designed to provide comfort, relaxation, and exploration. Here are some aspects you can typically expect on a river cruise:

Comfortable Accommodation

River cruise ships offer well-appointed cabins or staterooms with amenities such as private bathrooms, comfortable beds, and often large windows or balconies that allow you to enjoy the scenic views.

Dining Options

River cruise ships usually have onboard restaurants or dining rooms that serve a variety of meals. Many cruises incorporate regional cuisine, giving you a chance to savour local flavours. Some ships may also offer alternative dining options or specialty restaurants.

Onboard Amenities

While river cruise ships are generally smaller than their ocean counterparts, they still offer a range of amenities to enhance your onboard experience. Common amenities include lounges, bars, libraries, fitness centres, and sometimes even bikes, spas and pools, depending on the ship.

Shore Excursions

River cruises often include guided shore excursions as part of their itineraries. These excursions allow you to explore the destinations you visit, with activities such as guided city tours, visits to historical sites, cultural experiences, and opportunities to interact with local communities. Local guides provide insights into the destinations, adding depth to your exploration.

Entertainment and Enrichment

River cruises often feature onboard entertainment and enrichment activities. These can include live music performances, cultural shows, lectures, cooking demonstrations, and even language lessons, providing you with an immersive experience and the chance to learn more about the region you’re cruising through.

Intimate Atmosphere

Due to the smaller size of river cruise ships, a more intimate and social atmosphere is often fostered onboard. This can make it easier to meet fellow travellers, form connections, and engage in shared activities or conversations.

Scenic Cruising

The highlight of a river cruise is the scenic cruising experience. As the ship sails along the river, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy breathtaking views of landscapes, charming villages, iconic landmarks, and natural beauty. The close proximity to the shoreline allows for an up-close and personal connection with the surroundings.

Flexibility and Personalization

River cruises often provide a level of flexibility and personalisation. While there is typically a structured itinerary, you may have the option to choose from different shore excursions or participate in optional activities, allowing you to tailor your experience to your interests.

It’s important to note that specific amenities and features can vary depending on the cruise line, ship, and itinerary. Researching different river cruise options will help you find the one that aligns with your preferences and desired experience, or call us at Cruise Select for our impartial advise.

Typically, people that you will meet on a river cruise share a passion for knowledge. Most are generally interested in art, music, heritage and history and enjoy the relaxed pace of a river cruise. First-time river cruisers usually evolve from ocean cruisers and people who enjoy land tours. River cruise guest are typically an average age of 55+ years.

Onboard a river cruise you will be able to make the most out of every day. Expert guides will teach you about the culture, traditions and history in every destination you visit. You will be able to meet local experts such as pastry bakers and winemakers who will share the secrets of their trade.

On a river cruise you will have plenty of opportunities to visit museums, castles, medieval villages, vineyards, cathedrals and private homes, to name but a few. But you will not only spend your time sightseeing, you will be able to participate in lots of other various activities such as local cooking classes and dance classes.

The intimate travel experience of a river cruise appeals to all ages and interests. River cruising offers an all inclusive value, most including fine wines with lunch and dinner and shore excursions. You will be able to take a more flexible approach to your holiday as the shore excursions are not compulsory so if you want to explore on your own, you can and most destinations you visit are off the beaten track so you will get to visit places that are less travelled than others. And the two best things about river cruising; you only have to unpack once and it is very unlikely that you will experience sea sickness.

There are plenty of different river cruise lines that you can choose from and some ocean cruise lines that also feature river ships as well. They all have their own unique points so below is a summary of what you will expect to get with each of the main river lines.

A-ROSA Cruises offer river boat sailings to Europe sailing on the Rhine, Danube, Rhone/Saone, Main and Moselle rivers. A-ROSA have three river boats with sailings on an all inclusive basis.

View further details about  A-ROSA river cruises

AMA Waterways are an award-winning river cruise line. They have a fleet of 15 custom-designed vessels which sail the rivers of Europe, Vietnam, Cambodia and Africa.

View further details about  AmaWaterways

APT River Cruises offer luxury river cruising to Europe, Russia, Vietnam, India, America, Egypt and China. After you travel with APT you automatically become an APT Club member which will entitle you too many perks for your future river cruise holidays.

View further details about  APT River Cruises

Everything is fully included with Avalon Waterways. They have 22 river boats in their fleet sailing to the main European rivers and worldwide rivers such as the Mekong, the Irrawaddy, the Yangtze, the Galapagos and the Amazon.

View further details about  Avalon Waterways

Emerald Waterways have four ships to their name and British style icon, Twiggy, is Godmother to their first ‘star-ship’ – Emerald Sky. Emerald Waterways mainly offer river cruises on the Danube and the Rhine.

View further details about  Emerald Waterways

Luftner Cruises offer river cruising with a difference. This fabulous 6* river line sails the Danube, Rhone/Saone, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, Rhine and the Main rivers in luxurious style.

Saga Cruises offer an excellent choice of ships for river cruising with a choice of a smaller or larger vessel. Some of their ships are chartered exclusively for Saga and others are shared with other guests. Most cruises include return travel from the UK by rail or coach and best of all travel insurance is included for every trip. Don’t forget that Saga is just for the over 50’s.

View further details about  Saga River Cruises

Tauck have a high number of guests who sail with them over and over again as their staff go above and beyond for every guest onboard. Tauck sail on all of the main rivers in Europe and also offer bridge cruises for something a little different.

View Tauck River and Ocean sailings

UNIWORLD BOUTIQUE RIVER CRUISES

Uniworld provide multi award winning luxury boutique river cruises unlike any other. Known for their one-of-a-kind ships, stylish décor, thoughtful personal touches and welcoming ambience, they offer exceptional service and one of the highest staff-to-guest ratios in the industry.

View further details about Uniworld Boutique River Cruises



There are an astonishing number of choices available when it comes to river cruising, so we are confident that you will find something that perfectly matches what you are looking for.

At Select Travel Holidays, the proud home of Cruise Select, our team has collectively had the opportunity to experience a river cruise at various points in our careers. This ensures that we possess firsthand knowledge and insights into what makes each cruise unique and appealing.

For more detailed information on the wonderful world of River Cruising, please feel free to contact one of our helpful and knowledgeable specialists at 01234 326 758. We are here to assist you in planning an unforgettable journey!

We can’t wait to help you find your perfect river cruise, whether it be for a first time or an avid returner.