Do you know what a river cruise is?

25 Nov

I’m not taking the pi££ here, or being condescending. It has come to my attention, that there are some people who do not realise what a river cruise entails.

It seems self-explanatory, like a donut shop, but it’s not.

I commented on a post in a local group the other day, the lady was asking which Christmas markets she should choose between; Germany, Austria, or Budapest.

I suggested that she didn’t have to choose, that she could visit all of them from a river cruise.

She said ‘ Thank you, but I prefer to fly’

So the conversation continued, I explained how amazing her trip could be, and she is now in my DM’s talking to me about river cruises YAY.

Hmm…so this brought me to writing this blog.

I guess, in England for sure, we see a river cruise as a party cruise along the Thames, or a party boat tour along the waterways in Amsterdam, etc…

This is not that!

I just asked my husband (who also works at home in the study across the hallway from mine) ‘What is a river cruise?’

This is what he said ‘It’s a boat on a river that you sleep in’

Ha ha but Humph.

I asked one of my daughters, and this is what I got - ‘it’s a cruise on a river!’

Oh dear, I’m getting nowhere.

But then she said ‘ I guess if I didn’t know, I would presume a London Cruise because they are advertised everywhere.’

My husbands now come back with ‘It’s residential like an ocean cruise.’ BOOM!

My thought process in asking them was, that I don’t want to necessarily educate you. You can type the same question into Google, (other search engines may apply) or Chat GPT if you want to be educated. I wanted to get more personal.

My husband and I have been on 2 river cruises (I have done ship inspections on many more!), and, although I had booked many, (this was so much easier when I worked as a cruise specialist in Nova Scotia. Canadians & Americans love all-things Europe, history, culture, etc…) I didn’t know truly what to expect. I mean, sharing a space for a week with just 150 people - yuck. (Also, my husband is an introvert & doesn’t like people). We were use to cruising on the big ocean ships at that time, with over 2,000 people, so if you didn’t like someone, you could avoid them forever!

This was back in 2011. We now actually prefer smaller ships - both on rivers & oceans, and I ONLY promote small ships in my business.

Our first river cruise was with Uniworld along the Danube. I chose this itinerary because both Vienna & Salzburg were on my ‘must places to see’ list, and Vienna was on my husbands. We flew from Nova Scotia to Budapest, where we were met by one of their reps & shown to the coach. Upon arrival of the ship, (docked right next to the Chain Bridge, opposite the parliament buildings!) we were WOWED!

And as a side note - We stayed in Budapest overnight on the ship, and we preferred Budapest to Vienna!

Our first night in our Uniworld floating boutique hotel in Budapest

Imagine arriving at your small boutique hotel in the middle of Budapest. You walk in, show your passports, and are taken to your room. There is no security and no scanning machines, just warm welcomes & champagne.

But, this boutique hotel travels with you - travelling effortlessly through, and docking at, little villages, large towns and iconic cities.

Because these towns & cities were built along the waters edge, it is simple to step off and explore. There are no coaches required, unless you want to partake in optional excursions outside of the local area.

Not only that, but the scenery along the Danube is superb; fairytale castles & ruins, vineyards, dotted villages..it is lovely to sit up on deck, or on your private balcony, and just watch the world go by.

I mean, personally, I couldn’t do a coach tour across Europe. All the on and off, stop at a different hotel each night, drag your cases in, get up and rummage though your suitcase, board the coach for endless hours of bum-numbing torture, stop and get off to look at highlights…you get my drift. But each to their own.

When river cruises came along, it was simply genius. Spend a few nights onboard, unpack once, dock somewhere new every morning, explore, return to your ship for an amazing gourmet a’la carte meal, socialise, dance, have fun, then wake up and do it again.

And spending time with just 150 people wasn’t an issue either, even for my husband. I mean, there was this one American who we sat in a group with through dinner one evening. He was a tad annoying. He believed that as we lived in Canada, we obviously lived in igloos and rode sled dogs all day. I mean, I wish for the dogs, but we didn’t, and it’s only freezing in Nova Scotia for like 5 months of the year. Anyway, we avoided him for the rest of the trip - there are lots of tables!

Our second river cruise we chose with Emerald along the Rhone in the south of France. we stayed in Marseille a couple of nights pre-cruise, and then again were transported to our ship.

Emerald was lovely too, totally different, and a younger customer base, but lovely. Again, the ship took us to beautiful French towns and villages, and into cities where we stepped off and explored.

It’s just so easy. And that is it - It’s so easy. That is what I was looking for! BOOM BOOM

My husband and I next to the Emerald Liberte

Me first boarding the ship - cool as a cucumber

Here’s to us hoping we can squeeze in a river cruise next year. For now, we are sticking with European itineraries, but one day, it may be the Mekong, Nile, or even the Chobe in South Africa, as a safari is probably number 2 on my bucket list!

If you’re look for an ultra-luxurious way to explore Europe & beyond, give me a call - 0118 317 7070.