European Cruise Vacation Guide

By Jason Myers

If you're considering a European cruise holiday but have previously sailed the Mediterranean and the Baltic, one more choice lies ahead for you: a river cruise.

A river cruise provides a comforting, picturesque way to see Prague, Vienna, Cologne, Budapest and other centers of European history, art and culture. Between the cities, you'll discover charming villages and peaceful countryside.

River cruise ships are different from their ocean-going counterparts. On these tinier, lower-profile boats, you're not likely to find amenities such as swimming pools or casinos. However, you will find comfortable cabins and public areas, which often provide wide windows and wide-open decks for viewing the ever-changing scenery. The ship?s flat bottoms offer a smooth travel, minimizing any apprehensions about motion sickness.

The smaller size of river cruise boats also signifies they can go places that their bigger, ocean-going cousins cannot. River cruise ships can literally cruise into the heart of every destination, harboring near city centers. There will be a little new to do and view on shore every day, and a lot of shore excursions are included in the basic price of a river cruise.

The most famous river cruises in Europe can be those that float down the Rhine or the Danube, but cruise boats also tour on the Main, the Seine and a lot more. For example, in the Low Countries of The Netherlands and Belgium, cruise boats sail the Nieuw Maas, Waal and Schelde Rivers to call on Amsterdam, Antwerp and Rotterdam. Spring is a wonderful time to cruise there, as the windmill-dotted scenery comes alive with colorful tulips.

A lot of river cruise guests take pleasure in consuming a few more days in the cities - such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris or Lucerne - where their cruises begin or finish, spending days to know more about a city that can't be accessed by an ocean cruise. - 29948

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