Having had the opportunity to take several European river cruises to multiple locations, river cruising is a great way to see and experience the villages, cities and great rivers across Europe and beyond (since river cruising does exist, to a lesser degree, in other parts of the World). A river cruise can be an expensive vacation, but it’s hard to beat cruising around Europe in your own floating boutique hotel, eating great cuisine, and being able to literally walk off ship and be enveloped by the culture of the nearby village or city. But like any big vacation adventure, planning is key to making your trip an enjoyable and memorable one!

Plan your OVERALL budget - Think of the river cruise as the “main course” of your multi-course meal (trip), with all the other components (airfare, pre/post hotels, excursions, meals off ship, etc) rounding out your trip. Sure, the river cruise itself will (most likely) be the high dollar item for the trip, but you need to work with your travel agent to plan the other aspects of your trip, such that you get the best value for dollar spent. 

Saving $$ on the river cruise itself - There are several ways you can save money allocated towards the actual river cruise. Things to consider include – type of room/suite category (since prices can easily vary by hundreds or thousands of dollars), when you’re planning to travel (shoulder season vs prime summertime, or other busy times such as Christmas Markets) and any bundled/packaged savings that might be available through the river cruise line.  Additionally, there are many river cruise lines to choose from, and one may offer “value to price” advantages for you. A good travel agent follows multiple river cruise lines, and their sale offerings.

How long to vacation? - Obviously, your budget will help determine how many days you stay pre- (prior to) or post- (after) river cruise. Many European river cruises begin/end near major cities, giving you plenty of excursion opportunities to pack into a limited number of extra days. And, don’t rule out a quaint town, or city a bit more distant from your river cruise path, since you’re probably only a train ride away from where you ultimately need to be.  Many river cruise lines offer their own pre/post-cruise packages, but you should work with your travel agent to decide if this or an a la carte method is a better option for your journey.

Remember, it’s YOUR vacation – As a travel agent, I’m here to help you plan what might be a once in a lifetime bucket list trip, or the first of additional future river cruises to other exciting destinations.  The more time spent going over your vacation wants and needs (or course taking budget and length of vacation into mind, along with other assorted inputs), will hopefully help yield a memorable vacation.

Going solo, as a couple, or with friends? - All of these are possible when river cruising. The uncrowded ships allow you to dine with whomever you like and take whatever included or optional (possibly at a fee) excursions you desire. If you have good friends whom you like traveling with locally, why not see if they want to explore the world with you on a river cruise?

 It’s never too early to start planning your river cruise vacation! - Most ships only carry 100 to 190 people (in primarily double occupancy cabins/suites), so room inventory can disappear rather quickly. The key is to get your trip designed and outlined (overall budget determined), and your cabin deposited, and then finalize and fill in the remaining items for your journey.

Hope to see you on the rivers soon!