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There are traditional river itineraries — the Danube, the Rhine, the Rhone and the Nile — that anybody who appreciates the convenience and camaraderie of river cruising can guide with a lot of the prime cruise strains. However these aren’t your solely choices.
Probably the most thrilling river cruises to guide this yr are the brand new choices that go off the overwhelmed path, discover an unsung river or mix a normal seven-night crusing with a novel land tour.
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Listed here are 9 new itineraries for 2024 and 2025 which are taking river cruising past the acquainted, together with a number of on just lately launched or soon-to-debut river ships.
AmaWaterways’ 7-night Wonders of Colombia and Magic of Colombia
Love South America however have already cruised the Amazon? Think about AmaWaterways’ latest ship, AmaMagdalena. Debuting in January 2025, the 60-passenger ship will sail two alternating seven-night itineraries year-round on Colombia’s Magdalena River, touring from Cartagena to Barranquilla and vice versa.
With the Wonders of Colombia itinerary, you’ll board AmaMagdalena in coastal Cartagena, a preferred Caribbean port on Panama Canal transits you could now additionally get pleasure from on a river cruise. Arrive a day early or guide a two-night precruise add-on to see sights such because the historic Walled Metropolis, San Felipe de Barajas Citadel and the Gold Museum.
Following a sundown sail away, immerse your self within the sights, sounds and tastes of Colombia through a neighborhood music expertise in Palenque, the primary “free city” within the Americas after a 1713 decree from the Spanish crown freed residents from slavery. You may as well take a look at Nineteenth-century Calamar on a paola (a two-person bicycle taxi) and the jazz music and native handicrafts accessible in Santa Barbara de Pinto and Mompox.
El Banco and Magangue spherical out the checklist of port calls earlier than the cruise ends with a tour of the floating village of Nueva Venecia and a night Carnival celebration within the seaside port of Barranquilla.
Select the Magic of Colombia itinerary, from Barranquilla to Cartagena, and also you’ll go to the identical ports, simply in a distinct order. Relatively than finish your cruise with the Carnival celebration, you’ll expertise it in your first day. You may as well guide a number of precruise and postcruise land excursions, together with three nights precruise in Medellin, three nights postcruise in Panama or each.
AmaMagdalena will likely be joined in June 2025 by 64-passenger AmaMelodia. Each vessels will provide spacious (237- to 516-square-foot) staterooms and suites, in addition to a heated pool on the solar deck and two eating choices: the principle restaurant, serving Latin American delicacies and Western favorites, and an intimate alfresco eating expertise.
Associated: Finest river cruise strains world wide
American Cruise Traces’ 15-night Nationwide Parks & Legendary Rivers
American Cruise Traces’ itineraries on the Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon and Washington already entice vacationers who recognize the gorgeous landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, however now the cruise line has a 15-night Nationwide Parks & Legendary Rivers itinerary that takes scenic appreciation to a different degree.
The journey combines an eight-night cruise on the Columbia and Snake rivers with a seven-night land tour to 3 nationwide parks: Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton. The itinerary visits 5 states and begins or ends in both Portland, Oregon, or Jackson, Wyoming, relying on whether or not you do the land or cruise portion first.
What’s going to you see on this cruise? When you begin in Portland, you’ll in a single day earlier than boarding one of many firm’s trendy, 180-passenger river ships: American Jazz, American Concord or American Music. Your first day will likely be spent having fun with scenic cruising alongside the Columbia River, with Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens as a backdrop, as you head to Astoria, Oregon. The historic seaside metropolis is understood for its stunning Victorian homes and pink trolleys.
Geology lovers and anybody who remembers the devastating Could 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens will likely be fascinated by the port name in Kalama, Washington, the place you’ll be able to take an included guided tour to the Nationwide Volcanic Monument. The next day will likely be spent cruising the Columbia River Gorge earlier than you arrive in Stevenson, Washington, the place a go to to 620-foot Multnomah Falls is a spotlight. The ultimate two days function views of the dramatic landscapes of the Snake River in japanese Washington as you name on Richland earlier than disembarking in Clarkston.
The guided nationwide parks tour begins with a drive to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for a lake cruise adopted by an in a single day in Kalispell, Montana. As soon as in Glacier Nationwide Park, you’ll navigate Going-to-the-Solar Highway and dine on the historic Lake McDonald Lodge.
The tour continues on to Yellowstone Nationwide Park, the place your journey guides will provide perception as you discover Mammoth Scorching Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, Tower Fall and Previous Trustworthy, amongst different highlights. A go to to Grand Teton Nationwide Park and its Jackson Lake Lodge follows, together with your remaining day spent admiring the park’s unimaginable mountain vistas and plentiful wildlife.
Associated: The perfect US river cruises
American Cruise Traces’ 50-night The Nice United States
If 15 nights aren’t sufficient to fulfill your wanderlust, American Cruise Traces gives a 50-night model of The Nice United States program for 2025.
The 2025 crusing encompasses three cruises. It takes the 15-night Nationwide Parks & Legendary Rivers itinerary described above and provides a 21-night Mississippi River cruise from New Orleans to St. Paul, Minnesota, aboard 180-passenger American Serenade, which can name on 21 ports in six states. Alongside the Mississippi, you’ll have an opportunity to go to Civil Warfare battlefields in Vicksburg, Mississippi; Mark Twain’s boyhood dwelling in Hannibal, Missouri; and the landmark Gateway Arch in St. Louis. You may as well get pleasure from legendary blues music on Beale Road in Memphis.
That section will likely be adopted by a 14-night, 14-port cruise alongside the coast of New England on 125-passenger American Pioneer (debuting in 2025). The ship will sail round-trip from Boston and go to scenic coastal ports in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, together with the quintessential New England islands of Martha’s Winery and Nantucket.
Tour choices will embrace visits to the Maine Botanical Backyard in Boothbay Harbor and Acadia Nationwide Park in Bar Harbor, an SUV journey alongside the dunes of Provincetown on Cape Cod and a tour of the gilded mansions of Newport in Rhode Island.
In whole, you’ll verify off 15 states out of your must-visit checklist throughout this river cruise. That’s a powerful variety of locations to go to in a single journey.
Avalon Waterways’ 7-night Vida Portugal: Vineyards & Villages Alongside the Douro
Portugal’s Douro River Valley is beloved by oenophiles. Over the previous few many years, it has additionally attracted river cruisers searching for a calming itinerary punctuated by sleepy small cities and the each day enjoyment of native meals and wine.
In March 2024, Avalon Waterways added the Douro River to its choices when it debuted 102-passenger Avalon Alegria crusing an itinerary known as Vida Portugal: Vineyards & Villages Alongside the Douro. The seven-night cruise is spherical journey from Porto, the place there’s time at the beginning and finish of your cruise to discover this colourful metropolis’s historic port-wine cellars, church buildings and bridges (together with the Ponte de Dona Maria Pia, designed in 1877 by Gustave Eiffel).
Noteworthy stops vary from a day name on Porto Antigo, with included excursions to monasteries and church buildings in Braga and Guimaraes, to a name at Peso de Regua, the place sightseeing and wine tasting go hand in hand. You’ll even have a chance so as to add an elective tour from Pinhao to the frilly 18th-century Baroque palace Casa de Mateus (of rose wine fame).
Save time for the onboard actions, too. After a full-day tour from Barca d’Alva to Salamanca, Spain — a metropolis recognized for its mixture of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque architectural kinds — you’ll be able to discover ways to paint azulejos (Portugal’s well-known blue-hued handmade tiles) or get pleasure from a pastry-making demonstration on the ship the subsequent morning.
Associated: The perfect river cruises in Europe
CroisiEurope’s 7-night A Cruise By 4 Beautiful European Valleys
Germany is understood for its scenic river valleys, and a brand new itinerary from French river cruise line CroisiEurope doesn’t skimp on stunning vistas. Referred to as A Cruise By 4 Beautiful European Valleys, the seven-night, round-trip crusing departs from Strasbourg, France, and visits the Rhine, Neckar, Moselle and Saar river valleys.
The ship for this itinerary, 81-passenger Elbe Princesse II, is one in all CroisiEurope’s three paddle river boats. It usually navigates the Elbe River between Berlin and Prague. Nonetheless, from July to October 2025, the ship will likely be cruising the Rhine and its tributaries.
This river cruise kicks off on the Saar River, well-known for the Nice Bend at Mettlach (the river equal of a hairpin flip), and overnights within the city of Saarburg, Germany. After a morning scenic cruise onto the Moselle River, you’ll go to Trier, Germany, recognized for its historical Roman buildings and its photogenic medieval buildings, earlier than persevering with on to Cochem, Germany, the place you’ll be able to get pleasure from a day go to to the hilltop Reichsburg Citadel.
Bigger cities like Koblenz, Germany, situated on the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers and residential to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, are additionally on the itinerary. The journey contains a cease in wine-centric Rudesheim, Germany, as effectively, so you’ll be able to pattern some vino and luxuriate in a journey on a scenic practice whereas within the Rhine Valley.
The ultimate day calls on a trio of German ports on the Neckar River. Within the morning, you’ll go to Mannheim and disembark for a coach switch to Heidelberg, dwelling to pink-hued Heidelberg Citadel, historic church buildings and atmospheric beer halls. You’ll then reboard Elbe Princesse II in Heidelberg and sail to Eberbach, a medieval metropolis with an abundance of half-timbered houses and historical fountains. The ship will in a single day as you get pleasure from a remaining gala dinner earlier than disembarking in Strasbourg the subsequent morning.
Riverside Luxurious Cruises’ 11-night Danube and Primary River Discovery
With the March 2024 debut of 110-passenger Riverside Debussy, Europe-based newcomer Riverside Luxurious Cruises has added greater than a half-dozen new three- to 21-night itineraries, with choices on the Rhine, Primary, Moselle and Danube rivers. In October 2024, the ship will sail an 11-night Danube and Primary River Discovery itinerary from Budapest to Frankfurt that mixes the highlights of two rivers and visits 4 nations: Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany.
You’ll embark Riverside Debussy in Hungary’s capital earlier than cruising previous the illuminated Hungarian Parliament Constructing in your technique to Bratislava. The capital of Slovakia is dwelling to a hilltop citadel, a walkable pedestrian zone and pubs serving native beer.
The following day, uncover the historical past and artistry of Vienna with visits to its Hapsburg-era palaces, Sixteenth-century St. Stephen’s Cathedral and quite a few museums. Charming Durnstein, Austria, is understood for its medieval citadel and a riverfront abbey with a reasonably blue-and-white spire, whereas the golden-hued abbey in close by Melk, Austria, celebrates the flavour of apricots in preserves and liquors.
As you attain Passau, Germany, which sits on the confluence of three rivers, you’ll enter Bavaria and uncover a walkable metropolis with a domed Seventeenth-century Baroque cathedral. The following day on the Primary River (a Rhine tributary), you’ll tour Regensburg, Germany, together with its UNESCO World Heritage-listed metropolis middle, earlier than spending two days exploring Nuremberg, Germany, which has a notably advanced historical past.
Rounding out the cruise are calls on Bamberg, Wurzburg and Wertheim, Germany, with bustling Frankfurt — the place historic remnants of the Center Ages meet trendy skyscrapers — serving because the departure port.
Associated: River cruise packing checklist: What to pack when touring by riverboat
Tauck’s 13-night Romantic Capitals: Prague to Paris
Tauck’s latest river providing in Europe for 2025 is its 13-night Romantic Capitals: Prague to Paris itinerary. This multiriver and land journey is accessible from April to October on Tauck ships Pleasure and Savor.
You’ll begin your journey with two nights on the Fairmont Golden Prague Resort and luxuriate in ample time to absorb sights comparable to Prague Citadel and the Charles Bridge. You’ll then switch to Regensburg, Germany, for a nine-day cruise to Trier alongside the Primary, Rhine, Moselle and higher Danube rivers, in addition to the Primary-Danube Canal.
Ports and cities visited on excursions embrace Frankfurt, Koblenz, Nuremberg, Bamberg, Wurzburg, Wertheim and Boppard, Germany. Unique experiences accessible to Tauck friends vary from a non-public reception and dinner at Schlosshotel Kronberg close to Frankfurt to a go to to the legendary Nurburgring racetrack close to Koblenz.
You’ll proceed your journey on land with a fast cease in Luxembourg for a strolling tour of its capital metropolis. Afterward, you’ll board a practice to Paris, the place your journey will conclude with a two-night keep at L’Resort du Collectionneur.
Uniworld’s 14-night Pleasant Danube & the Castles of Transylvania
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises’ latest providing for 2024 and 2025 is a 14-night cruise-and-rail itinerary, Pleasant Danube & the Castles of Transylvania, that visits six nations: Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria and Germany.
In Istanbul, the start line, you’ll have a day to take a look at most of the metropolis’s prime sights, such because the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and the Basilica Cistern Museum, earlier than you board the personal Golden Eagle Danube Categorical for a four-night practice journey via Bulgaria and Romania. Stops you’ll make alongside the best way embrace Bulgaria’s historical capital of Veliko Tarnovo and the rugged mountain landscapes — and well-known landmarks that impressed Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” novel — of Romania’s Transylvania area.
Earlier than your practice journey ends in Budapest, you’ll get pleasure from a standard Hungarian puszta horse present and two nights on the 4 Seasons Resort Gresham Palace Budapest. The latter serves as a terrific dwelling base for having fun with native sights just like the Danube-spanning Chain Bridge, the neo-Gothic Hungarian Parliament Constructing and the hillside Citadel District with its palace and 14th-century Matthias Church.
Your Danube cruise begins as you board Uniworld’s 130-passenger River Duchess and set sail north via Austria, visiting Vienna (for imperial and creative immersion in palaces and museums) and Krems (to tour a citadel set amid the fantastic thing about the Wachau Valley). You additionally will name on Passau, Germany, a metropolis that resides the place three rivers — the Inn, the Ilz and the Danube — meet; it’s a picturesque spot for a strolling tour or riverside bike journey. Then, you’ll make your technique to Regensburg, Germany, with its charming medieval Previous City, transit the Primary-Danube Canal and dock in Nuremberg for a particular nighttime celebration earlier than disembarkation.
Viking’s 10-night Rhine & Primary Explorer from Nuremberg to Basel
Viking’s latest itinerary for 2025 is the 10-night Rhine & Primary Explorer, which cruises from Nuremberg to Basel (or vice versa) from Could to November and visits cities in Germany, France and Switzerland. It’s a brand new mixture of ports for Viking, together with some lesser-known historic cities in Germany’s Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria areas.
You’ll board one of many cruise line’s 190-passenger Viking Longships in Nuremberg, the place an in a single day gives time to study concerning the metropolis’s medieval buildings and previous as a staging floor for Nazi rallies. Extra medieval structure awaits in Bamberg, well-known for its river-spanning Altes Rathaus (City Corridor) and its rauchbier (smoked beer). If wine is your most well-liked spirit, you’re in luck, as Wurzburg, a metropolis in Germany’s Franken wine area, can be on the itinerary.
As you proceed your cruise, you’ll see the colourful half-timbered homes and pattern the hearty Bavarian delicacies (suppose: bratwurst and pork knuckle) of Marktheidenfeld, Germany. A go to to bustling Frankfurt, which gives a stark distinction between historic and trendy Germany, can be so as after a day spent crusing previous the Primary River’s castle-topped hillsides.
France’s Alsace area will get its flip if you name on Strasbourg, recognized for its superbly preserved Previous City encircled by the Unwell River. The itinerary additionally features a cease throughout the Rhine in Breisach, Germany, the gateway to the Black Forest and a city filled with vineyards. You’ll finish your journey with a full day of exploring charming guild house-lined Marktplatz, history-rich streets and greater than 40 museums in Basel.
Planning a cruise? Begin with these tales:
- The 5 most fascinating cabin areas on any cruise ship
- A rookies information to choosing a cruise line
- The 8 worst cabin areas on any cruise ship
- The last word information to what to pack for a cruise
- A fast information to the preferred cruise strains
- 21 suggestions and methods that may make your cruise go easily
- High methods cruisers waste cash
- The last word information to picking a cruise ship cabin
