Danube cruise. Bavaria

River cruises in Europe are gaining popularity

River cruise market in Europe has shown stable growth over the past few years. The global financial crisis that affected virtually all spheres of tourism had practically no impact on the major cruise lines of the Old World. More and more cruise companies are seeking to strengthen its positions on the European rivers. Cruises on the Danube, Rhine and Loire rivers are interesting not only for the European, but also American companies.

Thus, the California based cruise company AmaWaterways in 2012 will present on the European water routes its new creation - the ship AmaCerto. AmaCerto is designed for 164 passengers. It is planned that the ship will serve cruises on the Danube, Rhine, Moselle and Main. Among the attractive features that are waiting for the AmaCerto passengers are Wi-Fi and bicycles on board.

Another American cruise company - Avalon Waterways - launched in May 2011 its new river ship Avalon Panorama, which also operates along the ports of the Rhine, Danube and Moselle. In addition, in 2012, the company plans to expand its fleet on the European rivers by two more ships. It will be comfortable steamers Avalon Visionary and Avalon Vista, which are not inferior in quality of services to its predecessor. It is worth noting that in 2010 Avalon Waterways was named by the authoritative world cruise guide Cruise Critic the best river cruise operator.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises cruise company, which focuses on tourists from North America and Great Britain, presented in March 2011 its new brainchild - SS Antoinette. The cruise ship, which cabins are decorated in the XVIII-XIX century style, became the flagship of the company. In addition, S.S. Antoinette is also known for its unique river cruise options – 20-place cinema. The main direction of the SS Antoinette is cruises on the Rhine.

Viking River Cruises is, perhaps, the largest cruise company in the European river cruise market, presented in 2012 six new ships of the Viking Longship class: Viking Aegir, Viking Embla, Viking Freya, Viking Idun, Viking Njord and Viking Odin. All of them will operate on the most popular cruise destinations in Europe. Its services new cruise ships will offer on such well-known routes as Amsterdam-Budapest, Amsterdam-Antwerp-Amsterdam and others.

Ilya Kalachev

Photo: Dagobert Vidamann

Date: 17/11/2011