The Best River Cruises in 2017

Europe’s waterways will see new luxury ships and special-interest tours, while less travelled South-East Asia is becoming the destination of choice for adventurous cruisers. Sally Macmillan picks this year’s top journeys.

This season there’s just a handful of new ships making their debuts on Europe’s waterways compared to the dozens that launched in the past few years, but the few that
are coming up are pretty special.

The first to set sail will be Uniworld’s latest “Super Ship”, SS Joie de Vivre. It launches in March and will cruise exclusively in France. As it’s smaller than the line’s other Super Ships, it can dock in the heart of Paris, from where it’ll head to Normandy and back, as well as joining up with other Uniworld ships for longer journeys to Bordeaux and Avignon.

Like its opulent fleetmates, the 128-passenger SS Joie de Vivre will showcase antique furniture, lavish furnishings and exquisite artworks. New restaurants include Le Restaurant Pigalle, Bistro Saint-Germain and Café Flore, and Le Club l’Esprit boasts a cinema and pool that turns into a dance floor or outdoor cinema at night.

Emerald Waterways, Scenic’s less  inclusive sister cruise line, has three new ships coming up. Emerald Liberté, the line’s first ship in France, will sail the Rhône and Saône Rivers from April, with up to 138 passengers. The 112-passenger Emerald Radiance will sail the Douro River in Portugal from May, while Emerald Destiny will begin cruising the Rhine, Main and Danube in May, along with its four identical, 182-passenger “Star Ship” sisters. 

Crystal Cruises is best known for its uber-luxurious oceangoing ships, but the company is diversifying into river cruising. The completely rebuilt and lavishly refurbished Crystal Mozart launched on the Danube last year and two sumptuous new ships, the 110-passenger Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler, will start cruising on the Rhine, Main and Danube in June and August.

New experiences

Scenic is giving three of its Space Ships substantial makeovers for the start of the 2017 season, which means bigger cabins for fewer passengers and the same number of crew, so you can expect even more attentive service.

New features for French-based Scenic Emerald, Diamond and Sapphire include a “vitality pool”, gym, spa, huge 47-square-metre Royal Owner’s suites (among the biggest on Europe’s waterways) and even a cooking school.

Complementing the onboard culinary experience, Scenic is offering new foodie excursions on shore, including a visit to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Valence and lunch in a traditional bouchon in Lyon. In Bordeaux, there’s a lunch at Rémy Martin in Cognac served with vintage cognacs, a Château Phélan Ségur wine and food event in the Médoc region, and a visit to Baltard Market in Arcachon on the Atlantic coast.

Upmarket US river cruise company Tauck is also updating its ships Swiss Emerald and Swiss Sapphire, which both operate in France, in time for spring. They will carry 98 rather than 118 passengers and The Bistro will be upgraded to an alternative dining room called Arthur’s with its own kitchen and chef and an expanded menu.

Europe

Cruise companies are working hard to attract younger, fitter and more independent travellers and are upping the pace and expanding the scope of their shore excursions. Most of the major lines offer cycling tours, and APT, Avalon Waterways, Scenic and Uniworld are introducing programs that include jogging, hiking, kayaking and even whitewater rafting in a variety of destinations.

APT’s four 15-day Cycling Magnificent Europe cruises feature a choice of seven challenging bike rides on the Amsterdam to Budapest itineraries, while its two eight-day Bordeaux by Bicycle cruises offer four cycling tours that range from 45 to 104 kilometres. And, of course, if you don’t want to take part, all the usual shore excursions will be available, too.

History- and wine-themed cruises are big in Europe this year as well. APT is running four more of its popular Wine Series cruises, hosted by top Australian wine experts. They’ll lead excursions to wineries and later present their own wines at special pairing dinners on board the ships.

Two new cruises have been designed by APT to commemorate the centenary of Western Front battles in WWI: the 20-day Western Front ANZAC Dawn Service in April, and the 22-day Battlefields of France cruise that’ll run four times during the year. Meanwhile, journalist and war historian Peter FitzSimons is hosting an 11-day Scenic cruise to the Somme battlefields and Normandy’s landing beaches in June.

Uniworld is launching its 10-day Jewish Heritage cruises in May. Sailing between Munich and Cologne, they’ll celebrate the 2000-year-old Jewish legacy in the Rhineland. Shore excursions will feature a compelling mix of past and present, with visits to magnificent synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and memorials, exceptional museum collections and historic ghettos, led by local experts.

Travelmarvel is operating cruises in Portugal for the first time, on board the recently refurbished 130-passenger Douro Queen. Ranging from eight days to 21 days, highlights include Portuguese lessons, a sunset sailing accompanied by Fado performers, and a dinner at a local quinta (estate).

South-East Asia

Journeys along the mighty Mekong and Irrawaddy rivers are attracting more travellers every year. Scenic Aura launched in Myanmar last September; the 44-passenger ship sails 11- and 14-day cruises between Mandalay and Yangon, an 18-day Yangon round trip and an epic 30-day voyage from Siem Reap to Yangon.

Scenic Aura has a pool and open-air cinema – perfect for the climate – the biggest one-bedroom cabins on the river (each with a private balcony), a well-stocked library, and wellness centre. Free daily laundry is a big bonus – this service is also offered on board APT’s recently refurbished AmaLotus, which sails on the Mekong in Vietnam and Cambodia.

The 54-suite AmaLotus has two new restaurants, Le Viet Nam Café and the intimate 16-guest Indochine by Luke Nguyen, a new Lotus Spa and Wellness centre, and service has been ramped up to include both silver and gold butler service.

Pandaw, which was established 22 years ago in Myanmar, operates a fleet of boutique vessels based on steamships originally run by the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company. Pandaw’s expeditions along the rivers of Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and now China go further off the beaten track – its “classic Mekong” cruise now takes passengers as far as Kratié, a picturesque French river port in Cambodia.