Yahoo News Why this luxury, grown-up alternative to backpacking is on the rise
Unpacking only once while exploring several different inland cities – essentially, enjoying a series of city breaks in a single trip – is becoming more and more popular as people make up for lost time with those ‘big holidays’ that really make the most of our precious time away.
Cruising the inland waterways of Europe and further-flung destinations was already on the rise pre-pandemic (with an average growth of 10 per cent a year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association), but the launch of nine new ships and a new cruise lines in 2023, and more to come in 2024 and 2025 (including two new Super Ships for Europe from our partner Uniworld), testify to river cruises as an increasingly alluring proposition. Uniworld reports a rise in passengers of just under 50 per cent to Egypt and to Vietnam/Cambodia, of 36 per cent to exotics including India and Peru, and of 154 per cent to Venice.
Demand is expected to grow by 12 per cent by 2028, outstripping even that of ocean cruises. This goes both for shorter breaks – including hugely popular Christmas market cruises (no longer do you need to choose between markets – you can blitz several in one fabulously festive trip) and longer holidays. Scenic and Emerald Cruises report more people booking 10- and 11-night itineraries, while AmaWaterways has added a whopping 49-night sailing taking in no fewer than seven European rivers. Many cruise lines are also adding ever more exotic locations, such as Colombia, as the public appetite grows. This matches the growing interest in once-in-a-lifetime grand tours and world cruises in general.
One reason to consider a river cruise rather than regular city breaks is the skyrocketing of hotel rooms prices in many European cities since the pandemic (a rise of 13.4 per cent from 2022–23, with more increases expected in 2024). When dining-out costs, walking-tour prices, attraction tickets and local transport are all factored in too, city breaks can be fiendishly expensive.
A river cruise will never be cheap, but full-board or all-inclusive packages mean that while travelling in comfort and even luxury, enjoying facilities including the likes of swimming pools and spas, you also benefit from having meals, drinks, entertainment and shore excursions included in your holiday price.
Then there’s also the money you'll save on travelling between cities if you want to visit more than one city or region, adding to the sheer convenience of literally floating between one destination and the next without packing and unpacking and heading to airports or train stations.
The perception of river cruises is changing, too – increasingly active travellers of all ages are looking for great sports and wellbeing facilities wherever they go, and cruise lines are responding accordingly with everything from pickleball courts to yoga spaces and bikes with which to explore your destination.
River cruises are also brilliant for the increasing number of women travelling together or alone, providing a safe environment, company when you want it, and those wellbeing centres and activities. And they are also expected to cater increasingly to multigenerational groups, with facilities appealing to everyone from young children (some have started to introduce kids’ clubs) to grandparents.
Travellers are also falling for river cruise lines’ concerted sustainability efforts. Some of them are saving food waste by ditching traditional buffets, while other initiatives include more efficient fuel consumption and waste management systems. Some vessels have emission-reducing engines, or there are even battery-powered ships now.
So what tempting river cruises are out there for you? Good Housekeeping has a selection of exclusive river cruises for 2024, some including escapes with top chefs and celebrity experts. How about cruising Dutch canals and other waterways in the country’s most colourful season with award-winning landscape designer and Gardeners' World presenter Adam Frost, for instance? Or as a food and wine lover, delve into the gastronomic riches of Bordeaux and the Médoc wine region with TV chef Monica Galetti, or taste Portugal’s best wines on a cruise along the Douro Valley.
Discovering or rediscovering Venice and its region is never a bad idea, and lagoon cruises allow you to do it in supreme style - perhaps with an exclusive intimate concert and a talk by world-famous tenor Russell Watson, or perhaps in the company of chef James Martin, who will give a talk as well as cooking up a storm for your gala dinner.
Or if you want to go beyond Europe, a classic Nile cruise is even more thrilling when accompanied by expert Egyptologist guides and by historian and Agatha Christie expert Lucy Worsley. Alternatively, how about the mighty Mekong? Our sailing through Vietnam and Cambodia includes 13 amazing excursions to archaeological and historic wonders, among them two UNESCO World Heritage sights, that will get you right under the skin of these compelling destinations.
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