How about a vacation where you have fantastic service, unpack only once, see multiple destinations, and explore some of the world’s most important historic and cultural sites? Sound good? That’s what a river cruise vacation has to offer. Check out these remarkable reasons to river cruise!
Image by Leonhard Niederwimmer from Pixabay
Reasons to River Cruise instead of Ocean Cruise
While ocean cruising sounds fun, you might prefer to get away from masses of people instead of traveling with thousands of them. As the owner of Amawatersays says, you may want to travel, “through the destination, not to the destinations.” If it’s your once-in-a-lifetime visit, you’ll want to spend more time exploring those destinations.
That’s just a few reasons why river cruising is an exciting way to travel. Read on for more compelling reasons to river cruise.
You Only Have to Unpack Once
River cruising continues to grow in popularity every year, and for good reason. Many of us love being near or on the water, and river cruising allows you to travel closer to the water. You get to visit the cities you’ve always dreamed of seeing. What’s the best part? You take your room with you. That means you get to visit all those incredible cities and only unpack once.
Most European vacations offer transportation between cities. That’s a great perk! However, for every new dream city on your itenerary, you have to do the following:
- Pack your room
- Check out of your hotel
- Load your luggage into your vehicle
- Travel to the next city
- Unload the vehicle
- Check into the next hotel
- Unpack at the next hotel
On a river cruise, you don’t have to waste time with all those accommodations and modes of transportation for every city. Your one accommodation is your one mode of transportation.
A Larger Variety of Experiences
During a river cruise vacation, you’ll enjoy new ports and experiences every day, and sometimes even more than one a day. Avoid the long, boring sea days that you’ll get traveling between ports on ocean cruises.
Don’t get me wrong, staring out at the open sea is a magical experience. On the other hand, traveling the rivers between ports offers a constantly changing view of landscapes and cityscapes. You’ll get to see sites, people-watch, and witness local wildlife along the way.
Just imagine sitting in the ship cafe or in your room and watching the local scenery pass by in front of your eyes, as you cruise through these beautiful countries.
I was considering a river cruise on the Rhine a while ago, and you’re in a particular city in the morning. And so you’re having that port experience, and then in the afternoon you’re going and seeing castles all along the way during your time along the river, and the, the tour guide is narrating for you about the castles and about the countryside, and you’re having a, you’re having beer and appetizers while you’re, while you’re having this experience.
And then, you wake up the next morning and find yourself in a completely different place. You’re constantly having new experiences along your river cruise vacation.
A More Intimate Experience
Most cruise ships have fewer than 200 passengers. Sure, you have your own space on both boats, and you can find quiet places on both river ships and ocean liners.
However, you’ll be sharing the ocean cruise ship’s public spaces with potentially thousands of other passengers. That means more crowds, more lines, and more noise than river cruises. Whether you’re enjoying your morning coffee, a scrumptious dinner, or a workout at the gym, the river cruise will offer a more personal and intimate experience.
River Cruises Offer More Immersive Travel Experiences
While ocean cruises take you to countries, river cruises take you through them. There simply is no way to reach river cruise destinations on mega cruise ships.
One of the top reasons to go on a river cruise is that you really get to immerse yourself in local culture.
You get to spend more time in the port city rather than unloading and loading with thousands of other cruisers. The river cruise ports are located in the hearts of the cities. By contrast, you’ll likely need another transportation to see the sights when you visit the ocean cruise ports.
It also means you don’t need to rush back to the ship. Since you won’t have as far to go and won’t need as much time to board, you can enjoy your time. Do you go on vacation to rush?
No Seasickness May Be the Best Reason to River Cruise
Rivers don’t have sea swells. The river boats don’t rock nearly as much as even the larger ocean liners. The river’s flat, and you don’t have that sense of I’m out in the middle of nowhere. You can see the coastline at all times. Enjoy a luxury vacation on water, visiting multiple dream destinations, and avoid seasickness!
Local Tastes and Cultures
Local tastes and culture, including foods, drinks, entertainment, art festivals, and whatever cultural experiences are happening, allow you to dive right into them.
Sure, ocean liners will offer food from around the world. On a river cruise, though, you get to enjoy the local tastes and cultures within the walls of those quaint local cafes. Relish the sights and sounds while sitting in places where those local delicacies are made.
River cruise ships also often feature local entertainment from the cities where they stop. Rather than the entertainment traveling with you out at sea, you get to live in the culture right there where it originates.
Castle Views
European river tours offer more than just cafes, restaurants, and shops. There are castles! As you travel along those rivers and visit those European cities, you’ll get to witness the magnificent, ancient architecture as your ship crawls by.
Additionally, during some of your port stops, you can hike to castles to see them up close and tour them. Furthermore, many cruise ships will offer knowledgeable local guides, allowing you to truly learn about the history and culture of these historic landmarks.
Entertainment for the Whole Family
With a wide variety of activities and entertainment, plus plenty of stops along the way, everyone in your family will enjoy a memorable vacation. River cruises offer plenty of opportunities for fun and bonding for every age group in your family. It’s a great learning experience for kids to walk amongst the places where history was made.
There are also plenty of options for relaxation, whether with a spa treatment or enjoying a glass of wine and a book. That makes river cruises an ideal choice for mult-generational family vacations as well as honeymoons or couples’ getaways.
Small Ship Experience with High-Level Staff and Attention
Most of these river cruise lines have fewer than 200 guests on the ship. That may seem like a lot, but it’s really not. Even with a smaller staff, that’s really high-level attention to detail service with fewer passengers.
World-Class Accommodations
These river cruise ships are nice. Even the less expensive accommodations will feel spacious and luxurious compared to tiny, windowless cabins on the middle of massive ocean liners.
New Options Around the World
We tend to think of Europe when we think of river cruises. However, you can enjoy these river adventures all over the world.
Cruise the Columbia or Hudson rivers in the United States. The Mekon River in Asia has river cruises, as do the Nile and the Amazon.
If these reasons appeal to you, you’ll want to read more about river cruising.