If you start talking about river cruises, most will think of some small, old boat carrying a group of passengers down a muddy part of the Thames estuary whilst a tinny commentary informs you about every rotting brick building or cluster of unremarkable weeds that you happen to pass. A good job that modern alternatives, even in the UK, can provide a much more enjoyable experience.
Luxury river cruises are becoming increasingly popular as a cheaper alternative to the cruises undertaken by the larger ocean-going liners. Despite usually being smaller, the river cruise ships are equally lavish and provide all the modern comforts and luxuries. With gourmet dining, signature menus and high quality entertainment, passengers will never find themselves without anything to do if they decline any of the shore visits, and one of the advantages of a smaller ship is that you can visit locations that the larger Seabourn cruises cannot.
You have a similarly bewildering choice of destinations as you have with the ocean-bound cruise firms. Almost every country imaginable has a complex set of waterways and these are often the very routes that first formed their commercial infrastructure, so meandering along these courses allows you to see some of the original and most genuine parts of a nation. A popular choice of destination is the Loire or Rhine valley, where you have plenty of chances to stop and sample the local wine production! For those with more exotic tastes, travelling along the legendary rivers of the Nile, Mekong or Yangtze will give you all the sights and wonders of any trip you could imagine.
Added to the frequent stopovers at points of interest, many like a river cruise as you dont need to be a hardened sailor: the land is always in sight and rivers will never be as rough as the open sea. As an alternative to the increasing range of luxury cruise offers it certainly has much to offer the discerning traveller
No related posts.
