European River Cruises – Special Offers

If you’re contemplating a European river cruise, there’s never been a better time than now to travel.  With the economic downturn, there are some fantastic sales and deals coming through, depending on where you are based and especially if you can travel in the next few months. 

Some of the current special offers to coax travellers out of their economic-downturn bunker include:

• 1 Free night’s pre and post cruise accommodation plus and Earlybird cash saving to the combined value of over $1450 per couple (Australia)
• a Free cabin upgrade plus an Earlybird cash saving. Maximum saving is valued at over $880 per couple (Australia)
• book the Magnificent Europe cruise and save $800 per couple off the package price if you fly Singapore Airlines (Australia)
• Book the Magnificent Europe Cruise and second passenger saves 50% off the cabin price for selected departures (N.Z.)
• 2-for-1 offer! Two people cruise for the price of one on select river cruises when you book by March 31, 2009
• extra 5% off if booked by a certain date
• free upgrade of suites for certain cabin classes
• $200 – $400 off the cruise price per couple if booked by a certain date (U.S.)
• savings of more than 50% off regular fares, if airfare is booked in conjunction with a cruise (U.S.)

M/S Poetry

European River cruises have become the fastest growing travel choice in recent times and we’re seeing more and more cruise providers building up their fleets and creating river tour itineraries to capture our imagination. There are some good reasons why this travel mode has become so popular:

• Unlike ocean cruises where you’re in the open sea most of the time and therefore see very little of the ports that you call into, with the river cruises, you actually do see a lot of the towns that you stop at.   On the Rhine river cruise for instance, the boat zig-zags the Rhine, stopping at towns, cities and villages along the way.  Most of the time, the boat is moored right in the town centres and passengers can just stroll off the boat and be taken on walking tours or do your own explorations.
• You have the same room for the duration of the cruise and there’s no packing and unpacking every other day as on coach tours.  Speaking with fellow travellers, this is a big plus with everyone.
• Most of the boats are relatively new and the suites and staterooms are very modern and comfortable.  If you choose a room with a balcony and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, you can watch the world go by from the comfort and privacy of your own room or you can choose to go onto the upper deck and enjoy the sun.
• There’s no early morning departures to beat the traffic.  On a river cruise you can choose to sleep in or get up early regardless of the boat’s schedule.

When we did the cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest, we thought it was a very civilized way to travel.  We certainly saw a lot of amazing places and had great experiences during our two week cruise.  The Amsterdam to Budapest cruise is one of the most popular cruises and is a good one to start with.

Helen

More info on River Cruises
European River Cruising for people who use wheelchairs