The ever increasing popularity of river cruising

[notamermaid]

Amadeus River cruises in 2025:

https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/amadeus-river-cruises-releases-2025-europe-programme

 

Like Riviera Travel (UK) and A-Rosa (Germany), Amadeus is a company that has cruises starting in Cologne on the Rhine. I find that a good alternative to Amsterdam. It is of course more convenient for those coming from the UK but Düsseldorf and Cologne airport connections are worth checking out if you are coming from North America I find. Or connecting from Amsterdam by train.

 

What caught my eye in the article is Hainburg on the Danube. I do not know this as a port but it looks nice and is certainly convenient for exploring Carnuntum, the Roman town. There does not appear to be a website in English: http://info.hainburg-donau.gv.at/

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Busy, busy are these river cruise companies, are they not? Apart from renovations, upcoming meetings and fairs, companies are also getting new ships built, in this case a ship that had been announced in a previous year, or at least that what it sounded like at the time. The "Spirit of the Moselle", a sister ship to Spirit of the Rhine and Spirit of the Danube had been a mentioned in the same breath as them, i.e. to be following them closely, which I assumed would be 2023. I had been wondering if the company was still going to go ahead with this one. Now this article says that the keel-laying ceremony took place in Serbia (where the majority of European river cruise ships come from these days) in January:

https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/saga-expands-fleet-with-new-river-ship

The ship will join the fleet in July 2025.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[ural guy]

Here's hoping that the Spirit of the Moselle does a full  week sailing on the Moselle, RT from Koblenz.  There are so many pretty little villages, castles, Trier, and vineyards for day tours.  Out of our 5 cruises, the few days we spent on the Moselle are our favorite. 

 

And the more varied docking spots and tours are always good news.  We've sailed mostly late in the season, I can't imagine Summer in some of these places, the crowds, yikes.  So many boats, so many people. 

[notamermaid]

6 minutes ago, ural guy said:

Here's hoping that the Spirit of the Moselle does a full  week sailing on the Moselle, RT from Koblenz. 

Alas, the company says the Spirit of the Moselle will sail mostly on the Main. But let us hope that later the Moselle will become "her river". At 135m she is limited as to where she can sail and dock but Luxembourg and Germany are no problem for her. One week return on the Moselle? Some may say there is not enough river length and towns to merit that. I am happy to prove them wrong if they are open to experiencing this beautiful river in a bit more detail. With your help ural guy and I am sure a few others who prefer the quieter Moselle to the very busy Rhine we will convince them.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Alas, the company says the Spirit of the Moselle will sail mostly on the Main. But let us hope that later the Moselle will become "her river". At 135m she is limited as to where she can sail and dock but Luxembourg and Germany are no problem for her. One week return on the Moselle? Some may say there is not enough river length and towns to merit that. I am happy to prove them wrong if they are open to experiencing this beautiful river in a bit more detail. With your help ural guy and I am sure a few others who prefer the quieter Moselle to the very busy Rhine we will convince them.

 

notamermaid

 

I'm in!

[Canal archive]

Wow don’t shout to much or our secret - shhhh Moselle will become as busy as the rest but your all right an absolutely beautiful piece of water.

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Wow don’t shout to much or our secret - shhhh Moselle will become as busy as the rest but your all right an absolutely beautiful piece of water.

I often think to myself when I read a North American or Asian travel website about a "hidden gem" in Germany or close by that when the reader sees that the place has already seized to be a hidden gem, I mean the Germans and Europeans have been there many times. 😉 So it is with the Moselle. I was in Cochem last year on a drab winter day and Dutch tourists where there. I stayed in Cochem for about three hours so that tells you that the chances of bumping into a foreign tourist where not that high. But as far as the river is concerned, yes it is a landscape away from the maddeningly full Rüdesheim or other places on the Rhine. When you see no ship (of any description) on the Rhine sailing for fifteen minutes you start wondering if the authorities have issued a river traffic ban...

 

In all seriousness and without my barely hidden dislike of Viking river cruises (for the reasons I have stated several times) thrown it, I do wonder how the company is going to figure out the logistics of their own ships docking in all the places. They also go with the 135m ships only so limit themselves. Granted, there is now variation in the ports they choose - I prefer the Treasures of Rhine over the Rhine Getaway itinerary - but all in all the variation on the Rhine, Moselle and Main could still be greater - with several companies. I suggest a "B ports Europe" itinerary, leave out the A list of Cologne, Rüdesheim, Passau, etc. and see what you find. Accept that the "wow" is replaced by the "I really like that" and you will find many places to interest and possibly even enchant you.

 

The rivers are certainly getting fuller with the 135m ships. A pity somewhat. 110m is big enough. CroisiEurope proves it.

 

notamermaid

 

[ural guy]

We were on the Moselle early November, and the vineyards leaves were yellow, the sun on the slopes painted a beautiful picture.

 

We stopped in Cochem for Reichsburg Castle, twice in Bernkastel-Keus, once in Trier, and a 'free day' in Schweich, where most took an optional tour to Luxemburg and I biked back to Trier.  Bernkastel, we had a walking tour there during one day, and stayed tied up overnight so we could enjoy Carnival celebrations.  The next day we took a tour of a vineyard where we had lunch.  Family owned place, different wine with each course, great time.

 

Ad Koblenz for a sixth tour.  Optional spa day in Traben-Trarbach (20+ minutes drive from Bernkastel), or visit Eltz Castle (35 minute drive from Koblenz).

 

And while we're plotting, on a 105m ship so we can go further upstream, AND the smaller ship has a second dining venue that you can complete dinner in under 45 minutes.  We were hitting 2 hours in Viking's Aqauvit Lounge, that's too long for me. 

 

The day of our Trier tour it was raining and cold.  This pic is from the day I biked back.  I staged this for a work buddy who use to be stationed nearby, said it was his favorite city in Germany.

 

[ural guy]

30 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

 

Accept that the "wow" is replaced by the "I really like that" and you will find many places to interest and possibly even enchant you.

 

The rivers are certainly getting fuller with the 135m ships. A pity somewhat. 110m is big enough. CroisiEurope proves it.

 

notamermaid

 

To follow your point, if you did swap in the "I really like the" without telling the passengers, 80% probably wouldn't know if you took down the signs.  To me, there are just so many lesser visited castles, gardens, villages...through in a small wine garden along the river, and that's a great day. 

 

I was happy to see Oschenfurt added as a Rhine stop on a new cruise.  I think it's just a pick up spot with an hour or so walking tour, but it helps spread out the love, and I enjoyed walking through it on our own.

 

Six times to Ireland, still haven't been to Blarney castle.  My kids can tell you about walking through sheep pastures to get to old castle ruins though.  And that if you do the 'Bah Ram Uwe' call from the movie Babe, all the sheep will run over to you.  True story.

[notamermaid]

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

the place has already seized to be a hidden gem

How did that get in there? [Slight language embarrassment there, I always try to be so accurate] Perhaps a Freudian slip of sorts in that towns get seized by river cruise passengers, but I did not want to be mean. I meant ceased.

 

3 hours ago, ural guy said:

And while we're plotting, on a 105m ship so we can go further upstream

Between 135m and 110m there is mostly a difference in the ports, i.e. the docking facilities, that a ship can go to, but a few stretches of river (not Rhine, Main or Danube) have a restriction in that size. You are right about 105m being another size advantage. As far as I know it does not apply to the Moselle, but it is curious to note that no ship of 110m or longer goes further than Grevenmacher or Remich in Luxembourg. The Moselle in France has a height disadvantage and only river cruise ships that are shorter than 100m go there. But they are also one deck lower, my guess is that this is the crucial difference here, meaning better for the low bridges between Apach and Nancy-Frouard. Not sure who to ask for confirmation. But the restriction of 105m in size is valid elsewhere due to locks, as are width restrictions. River cruise ships can go 345km on the Moselle if they are small enough, like the Excellence Pearl.

 

105m gets you onto the Neckar for a bit, but reduce the width and the length a bit more and you get all the way to Stuttgart.

 

90m width and 9.5m length puts your ship into the realm of "can sail almost anywhere and is still bigger than a cosy, converted barge".

 

But we need not go that far up the Moselle river. Koblenz to Remich return with an overnight stay in that small town gives us enough time for a trip into Luxembourg city and to explore Metz on an excursion.

 

Other rivers are also bringing news of new or at least renovated or sold ships. Not sure that the Douro is heading in a good direction as regards more river traffic but I think there is only one new ship this year, the other one is just changing the charter company. But that is for prospective cruisers to look into.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

To another company. A-Rosa. I read in German news that they offer culinary cruises so I checked the website. There are dates marked as international so I guess they will be in English language as well. It is these: https://www.arosa-*****/river-cruises/offers/gourmet-cruises.html

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

APT and Travelmarvel in 2025: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/travel-agents/apt-travelmarvel-unveils-2025-european-river-cruise-programme

Interesting that Travelmarvel has UK and Ireland exclusive cruises. Other companies do this of course but I would not have thought that an Australian company would go for this. I guess it makes perfect sense to put the shorter cruises, which are not worthwhile coming to Europe from Australia for, only on the UK and Irish markets.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A-Rosa have been busy finding new excursion options. This is the news article: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/a-rosa-adds-50-extra-excursions-to-2024-programme

More info is available from the company press release: https://www.arosa-*****/fileadmin/media/presse/PM/2024/KW09/A-ROSA_PR_New_Excursions_26.02.2024.pdf

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Scenic has just announced the launch of its 2025 Europe River Cruising brochure [although I can't find it yet], featuring new destinations (esp. Krems, Austria) and new Scenic Freechoice excursions including Gottweig Abbey, a Craft Beer and Chocolate Pairing, Düsseldorf's Altbier, and an e-bike ride to Klosterneuburg Monastery.

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/03/scenic-unveils-2025-european-river-cruise-collection-brochure/

[notamermaid]

@Host Jazzbeau

quick note regarding your post: it is Altbier in Düsseldorf.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

25 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

@Host Jazzbeau

quick note regarding your post: it is Altbier in Düsseldorf.

 

notamermaid

 

The first was my error (with help from spell check); the second is how it was on Cruise Industry News.  But I fixed both because you are the maven!

[notamermaid]

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The first was my error (with help from spell check); the second is how it was on Cruise Industry News.  But I fixed both because you are the maven!

Thanks. Actually, I was just referring to the beer, did not see the u Umlaut thing as my brain tells my finger to go straight to that key on my German keyboard.

 

The Scenic cruise options look nice, the new Douro ones perhaps being the most attractive for those that are looking for something different and active. Melk Abbey was stunning already, with its spiral staircase a gem, would love to see Gottweig Abbey.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is the time of year for big announcements, with the ITB in Berlin, the CLIA conference and the ASTA River Cruise Expo having just finished. Uniworld seem to have made a comment on scrapping U by Uniworld, oddly, I mean, we talked about this months ago: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/uniworld-scraps-millennial-focused-product

In more exciting news we hear from them that a ship will come to the fleet, a new one, not a lease. The Victoria (2024) and the Elisabeth (2025) are former Crystal ships as we know, but 2026 will see the Emilie: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/uniworld-confirms-name-of-new-european-river-ship

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

During the ASTA river cruise expo at Amsterdam https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/ASTA-River-Cruise-Expo-bigger-than-ever

the Riverside Debussy was christened on 13 March.

 

She will be on her first voyage under the new name from 23 March. It is an itinerary from Brussels to Amsterdam. It being a German ship now, I have seen quite a bit of coverage in the German tourism media online.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[reeves35]

On 3/10/2024 at 6:26 AM, notamermaid said:

APT and Travelmarvel in 2025: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/travel-agents/apt-travelmarvel-unveils-2025-european-river-cruise-programme

Interesting that Travelmarvel has UK and Ireland exclusive cruises. Other companies do this of course but I would not have thought that an Australian company would go for this. I guess it makes perfect sense to put the shorter cruises, which are not worthwhile coming to Europe from Australia for, only on the UK and Irish markets.

 

notamermaid

 

I wonder if these are unique itineraries or just unique packages for UK travellers.  On our Travelmarvel cruise last year, most travellers were Australians and New Zealanders doing the classic 14 night Amsterdam to Budapest itinerary but nearly all the UK travellers were doing 7 night itineraries of Amsterdam - Nuremberg or Nuremberg - Budapest. 

 

These itineraries were not really advertised to Australian travellers and a lot of them were last minute type deals with no single supplements etc.  They also seemed to miss out on things like Travelmarvel backpacks and nametags.

[Canal archive]

Our very first cruise with Scenic who are an Australian company was that 7 day one and being real newbies we didn’t realise there were longer trips, well this trip got my DH hooked and we’ve never done a short one again. Although don’t forget it’s only a short hope across the Channel for us and not a flight around the world, if we find ourselves with a week to play with it’s so much easier. Our first trip got nicknamed by the majority on board as the Commonwealth Cruise, Aussies, Newzealanders, Canadians and Brits., plus one couple from Japan who we made honorary members for the cruise.

[notamermaid]

More announcements from my German realm and internationally. This one is from Viking, winter sailings on the Danube: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/viking-adds-second-european-winter-river-cruise

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The Avalon Alegria has been christened on the Douro: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Avalon-Alegria-christened-in-Portugal

 

notamermaid