The New Year is upon us, and what better way is there to manifest smooth sailing next year than by looking at the top five river cruise itineraries for 2023?

River cruising trends have changed tremendously over the past few years. We’ve seen growth from most river cruise companies, with Viking starting on the Mississippi to more itineraries on the Nile and Mekong than ever before. Luxury river cruising has even reached the Magdalena River in Columbia, where AmaWaterways will begin sailing at the end of 2023. With so many options, it can be hard to narrow down where to go next or, for some, where to start. Though I’ve shied away from some of those more exotic destinations, I hope this list will inspire you to travel somewhere new in 2023.

Leaving home for the holidays can be hard. For some, it feels like you are leaving behind tradition, family and friends, all of which seems unthinkable. I was one of those people – until I did my first Christmas Markets cruise.

The year was 2010, and I was a mere 14 years old. I had done only one other river cruise, and that was on the Mekong. So not only was this my first Christmas Markets cruise, but also my first river cruise in Europe.

Riviera River Cruises has announced that its 2024 European river cruise departures are now on sale, with 10% savings and free beverage packages for new bookings made through Feb. 28, 2023. A total of 14 itineraries with 301 departures, including seven cruises exclusively for solo travelers, are available between March and November 2024 in destinations including France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Portugal and more. For additional information about Riviera River Cruises and its European river cruise itineraries, call 888-838-8820 or visit https://www.rivierarivercruises.com/.

Last week, I sailed along the Moselle and Rhine Rivers with Riviera aboard Geoffrey Chaucer. I was invited by Riviera to experience one of the line’s unique Solo Departures. As someone who often travels solo, I was curious to see what was different about traveling with other solos, as well as what Riviera does differently from the other cruise companies I have sailed with. This trip was definitely one for the books, so much so that I am having a hard time finding a way to capture the impact of my journey. Let’s start off with a few first impressions.

This week, Britton is gearing up for her Rhine river cruise on Riviera’s Geoffrey Chaucer. That means arranging for pet-sitters, shopping for new clothes (of course), and finalizing the logistics of her trip. She’s become quite the traveler, something that she began training for early on in life. In fact, she was only approaching her first birthday when she crossed the Atlantic on the venerable Queen Elizabeth 2, the first of many cruises for the now 27-year-old.

We often recommend the Rhine and Danube to first-time river cruisers. These rivers not only the most popular for river cruising, but also offer a large variety of itineraries between the two rivers and their tributaries. Those looking to try something different may decide to venture to the Seine or the Rhone rivers in France, or, if they wish to stay on this side of the pond, even the Mississippi River. However, there are an array of river cruise options “off the beaten path,” with itineraries in South America, Africa and Asia.

We have rounded up five river cruise itineraries for those looking to branch out from traditional river cruise itineraries.

AmaWaterways

AmaWaterways offers guests a free pre- or post-cruise land package on certain itineraries including the Blue Danube, Captivating Rhine, Enticing Douro, Charms of the Mekong, and more.

Offer(s): Free land package with select itineraries

Avalon Waterways announced that it will make its Douro debut with a new itinerary and Suite Ship, the Avalon Alegria, in 2024.

VIDA PORTUGAL: VINEYARDS & VILLAGES ALONG THE DOURO

Hillside vineyards and historic villages await guests as they sail through Portugal on Avalon’s all-new, eight-day cruise that begins and ends in Porto and is filled with Avalon’s signature, included Classic, Discovery and Active excursion choices.

Reservations are now open for AmaWaterways’ 2024 Seven River Journey – Spring and Summer Editions. AmaWaterways is introducing its longest journey yet with the complete 49-night itinerary spent on board one ship, the AmaMora, and the first-time experience of sailing the complete length of the Rhine and Danube rivers including the seldom visited Danube Delta region leading to the Black Sea.

Viking announced that its newest river ship, the Viking Saigon, has begun its inaugural season in Southeast Asia. Purpose-built for the Mekong River, the 80-guest ship sails between Kampong Cham, Cambodia and Mỹ Tho, Vietnam as part of Viking’s popular 15-day Magnificent Mekong itinerary. With the 2022-2023 season now underway, regular sailing dates are available through March 2023; the 2023-2024 season begins in July 2023.

CroisiEurope Cruises announced its worldwide program of 2023 river, canal and ocean itineraries, which are now available for booking. The 2023 cruise catalog features 170 itineraries on 55 ships, sailing on 45 waterways in 40 countries.

To celebrate, CroisiEurope is offering an early booking discount of 15 percent on most 2023 itineraries when booked by August 31, 10 percent if booked between September 1 and October 15, 2022 and 5 percent for bookings made between October 16 and November 30, 2022.

American Queen Voyages announced a free roundtrip air promotion on select voyages from 30 gateways in 2023 when booked by Aug. 31, 2022. Guests taking advantage of this offer can sail on any vessel in the cruise line’s fleet, with itineraries sailing February through December 2023.

In addition, the cruise line has also launched a new full-service air desk to provide consumer and agent support beginning with select 2022 and 2023 voyages. Overseen by Director of Call Center Operations Dana Horton and a team of cruise industry veterans led by Director Tonya Meyer and Manager Kevin White, who have a combined 35 years of experience enabling them to provide a seamless voyage experience for guests.

Emerald Cruises’ newest Star-Ship Emerald Luna was christened today during a ceremony in Amsterdam. In attendance for Scenic Group, parent company of Emerald Cruises, were Rob Voss, COO – Scenic Group; David Winterton, Global Director of Brand & Marketing; Maggie Carbonell, VP Marketing – Scenic Group USA; and Ann Chamberlin, VP Sales – Scenic Group USA; as well as Monic van der Heyden, Commercial Director, Cruise Port Amsterdam, Johan Kaasjager, Managing Director of the Den Breejen Shipyard, embarking guests, and local dignitaries. Award-winning US travel industry advocate and educator Vanessa McGovern took the honors as godmother during the official ceremony.

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As the world returns to its new normal, so are things at River Cruise Advisor. The past month has been one of extreme productivity for us. Before the pandemic hit, we were working hard at redesigning our sites. We ran surveys about the industry and about our readers’ unique interests to better keep you in the loop on all things river cruise. Our goal for this site has always been a simple one, to help you make an informed decision before you book your river cruise, be it your first or fifteenth. Read the rest of this entry »

It is hard to believe that it has been almost a month since I left for France to sail on Emerald Cruises’ Liberte. The ship so quickly felt like home, and I have been missing it dearly for the nearly three weeks since I have returned to North Carolina.

Those of you who have read our previous coverage from the journey know that I sailed with my grandmother, GG. We were invited by Emerald Cruises to spend eight days in Southern France, sailing from Arles up to Lyon along the river Rhone.

GG and I had dinner together last night and shared our stories from the trip with the rest of the family. Though I already posted Three Things I Loved About Emerald Liberte, our dinner conversation last night left me wanting to share more with you. There is so much to love about the ship, crew and the Emerald experience as a whole. Read the rest of this entry »

AmaWaterways today released the print version of its 2023 Europe Brochure, offering a look at new vacation experiences, including its Seven River Journeys, Celebration of Classical Music: The Danube cruises, and new 5-night Majestic Capitals of the Danube cruises. Read the rest of this entry »

Britton and her grandmother are cruising the Rhone on Emerald Liberte. They are guests of Emerald Cruisers for the purposes of this review. Britton has been sending updates of her trip as they cruise along. She’ll have a more detailed report when she returns home.

Saturday, June 4, 2022

WELCOME ABOARD

Day one of the journey. How exciting! I have to admit, the airport was not easy. This is a busy time of year, and it is normal to expect delays and cancelations. In fact, some of our fellow passengers didn’t make it to the boat until late in the evening, and some even arrived the following day. Read the rest of this entry »

Riviera River Cruises is offering savings on two French itineraries in 2022. Choose between savings of US$1,000 per person or free economy airfare from most major U.S. gateways through the end of June.  If you’re interested in either of these deals, please complete the form below for more information. Read the rest of this entry »

My sailing onboard Viking Radgrid was beyond my wildest dreams. From wonderful meals and service to comfortable and stylish accommodations, Viking continued to surpass my expectations throughout the week I spent with them on the Seine.

Viking is the most well-known river cruise company in the world – so much so that its name has become almost synonymous with river cruising. Sometimes, because of this, the company isn’t taken as seriously as some of its competitors. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I said a brief hello from the Seine. It’s hard to believe that last weekend I was bicycling in Giverny looking at paintings by Claude Monet. My entire Saturday was spent wandering through the streets of Paris with friends, both old and new.

Was that the most obnoxious paragraph I’ve ever written? …probably. But thanks to Viking River Cruises I was able to live my best life in France last week. I want to talk about Viking and its wonderful new ships and the beautiful event that I attended, but I want to do that later when I can speak properly to the entire Viking experience on the Seine. For now, I want to address your questions about what it is like to travel right now Read the rest of this entry »

Though it feels like forever since I have sailed the rivers of Europe, I was lucky enough to do so twice in the fall of 2021. My first trip back to Europe was onboard AmaWaterways’ AmaSiena. After traveling to Europe once during the pandemic I felt like an old pro, so when Avalon Waterways reached out and asked me to sail the Rhône, I jumped at the opportunity. There was fear that came with my first trip back to Europe, but on this second trip in early October, I was vaccinated, boosted, fearless and ready to go.

Avalon Waterways required all passengers and crew to be vaccinated, and I had to take a Read the rest of this entry »