European River Cruises – Key Attractions

River cruises are fast overtaking coach tours as a travel choice for those travellers wishing to go on organized tours.  This part of the travel industry is growing phenomenally as indicated in my previous blog.  So what are the key attractions?

–  No packing and unpacking.  Hooray cheers everyone!
–  Your beautiful stateroom (if that’s what you booked) is yours for the whole journey, so no bad hotel room experiences.  I still remember the time when at one of our destinations, we walked into our room and it was quite tiny.  We thought if we drew the curtains, the view outwards will add a sense of space.  Only problem was that when we drew the curtains, we were faced with a solid brick wall.  This obviously was one of their irregular shaped end rooms that wasn’t big enough to accommodate their proper windows.  Tony insisted that they moved us as there was no way we could have spent a couple of nights in this little shoebox.
–  You have the freedom to move around or stretch out in your room during the cruise.  This really beats being confined to your coach seat for hours.
–  Enjoy a drink or snack with your fellow travellers as you’re cruising the river.
–  Suntan or enjoy the fresh air on the sundeck as you’re cruising
–  The boats normally dock next to the city centre and you can stroll into town and return to the boat whenever it suits you.
–  The crew get to know you well by the end of the journey and they become your friends.
–  The boats that we have been on were very comfortable, however the newer generation boats are geared to provide even more luxuries.

I can’t wait for our next our next river adventure in summer when we’ll be exploring the Dnieper river.  For the cruise itinerary, check the river cruise section of our site.

Helen