The river cruise industry, mainly centered in Europe, is expanding to new territories, often with smaller ships and with new themed itineraries. That’s the takeaway from last week’s River Cruise Convention of the Cruise Lines International Association.
While the bigger ships, as above, remain popular, and the Rhine and Danube remain the most popular cruising rivers, numbers of operators announced less-usual plans. Others announced themed itineraries aimed at such diverse groups as families and LGBT cruisers.
Pandaw, which operates smaller ships on off-the-beaten-track rivers in Asia, for example, is adding Borneo, where it will offer trips that include tribal villages and an orangutang rehabilitation center.
CroisiEurope, which claims a spot as Europe’s largest, is building two 16-passenger vessels fr cruises on the Chobe and Zambezi rivers in Africa; those cruises will combine with luxury lodge stays and expeditions to Victoria Falls. Croisi will also launch ‘multi-river’ cruises in Europe, including one that combines the Rhine, Moselle and Seine.
Another major player, Amadeus, is pushing cruises in the Danube Delta, the area of the river south of Budapest. Its VP Marcus Leskovar says “The wildlife in the Danube Delta is extraordinarily rich and diverse and we have a fleet of safari vessels to take passengers on excursions. It is an undiscovered part of Europe as far as many people are concerned.”
