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Tauck director guides organize trivia and movie nights, as well as family feud contests and a French food Fear Factor contest (that introduces kids to new foods like oysters) during evenings on board. The minimum age is three; Tauck recommends its river cruises for kids age eight and older. One thing that really makes the Adventures by Disney river cruises stand out are the adventure guides. The guides audition for the role and the result is cruises led by a high-energy group of talented individuals dedicated to family fun. A full ship generally has six guides on board who do everything from supervising pajama parties to organizing a karaoke night and leading active excursions. The minimum age to join a cruise is four, but Disney recommends age eight and older for its river cruises.
Rhine River
And most meals are enjoyed as a family in the common dining room on the ship. The AbD river cruises are almost entirely free of add-on costs; effectively everything is included — the price is the price. With DCL, port excursions cost extra, adult dining costs extra, Internet access costs extra, airport transfers cost extra, crew gratuities are extra, all alcohol costs extra. The river cruise pricing includes all excursions, all gratuities, airport or hotel transfers, adult dining, WiFi, and free flowing beer and wine during lunch, dinner, and various receptions. AmaWaterways is a leader in luxury river cruising, and their ships are spacious and well-appointed, with everything guests need for a comfortable and enjoyable experience. Activities onboard may include cooking classes, wine tastings, dancing, and live entertainment.
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It’s easily possible to consume three or four substantial glasses of wine at a meal if you don’t police the server’s pours. Additionally, there are various non-meal receptions and events on board with free flowing beer or champagne. The river cruise typically has just one set time for lunch and dinner, with slightly more flexibility during breakfast. Also bear in mind that on the river cruise you’re likely to be less than a 5-10 minute walk away from a land-based cafe or restaurant, so if you really want something different to eat, it’s easy enough to venture out into the world to get it.
What is the best time of year for a European river cruise?
If you want to extend your stay, consider the options offered by the cruise line and compare them with the costs and flexibility of planning that additional time on your own. On every adventure, guests are invited to tap into all the senses, including taking part in hands-on culinary activities for a true flavor of the destination. In Vienna, Austria, a traditional apple strudel tasting transforms into a cooking demonstration and baking lesson.
The authenticity and immersion in the places and cultures visited, plus insider access and activities, are at the heart of every Adventures by Disney vacation. While an Adventures by Disney river cruise isn’t in your face with the branding, the well-oiled machine that is Disney is clearly there, working behind the scenes to provide an enviable level of efficiency and service. And when Disney sets its sights on providing a magical experience, it consistently delivers. When three out of four members of our family felt like staying on board as the ship cruised between two ports, Cameron joined a four-hour bike trip to the next port. When he returned to the ship, he shared some of the adventure with us over dinner, before the boys took off for late night shenanigans with some of the other teens in the lounge. That’s where the pixie dust comes in, creating a relaxed and seamless “something for everyone” experience.
Adventures by Disney river cruise trip add-ons
They've considered this for their Adventures by Disney river cruises, just in a different way than their DCL sailings since the ship situation is drastically different. Absent are characters autographing books, like Goofy or Mickey Mouse would at the Theme Parks. However, there is a themed night on ABD river cruises, where guests can dress up as their favorite Disney character. Additionally, there were a few times when we “double parked” at a dock with another river cruise ship. This meant that to exit our ship, we had to actually walk through theirs, in one case crossing from the sundeck of our ship to the sundeck of our neighbor, and then down their internal stairs to a gangplank. Exiting the ship in this way would be all but impossible for a guest with restricted mobility.
Lauded as the first to offer a family river cruise in 2010, Tauck sticks to cruises in its family-friendly Bridges portfolio that run during school breaks and holidays and host a maximum of 130 passengers. Your fare includes all transfers to and from airports and hotels, gratuities, and even some off-ship meals and special events (in addition to all on-board meals, adult and kid-friendly drinks, and all shore excursions). Newer ships have game spaces (there are board games are on all cruises and select cruises have video game options as well), a hot tub and small pool, and a small putting green.
Inside Look: River Cruise Inventory Available Into 2026 - TravelAge West
Inside Look: River Cruise Inventory Available Into 2026.
Posted: Thu, 11 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
European River Cruises Info: Where they Sail, Cruise Lines to Consider, and More
Since we realize that their partnership with AmaWaterways may be confusing in terms of who you book with, the official word from Adventures by Disney is that you book with Disney or a travel agent. Also, all the river cruise bathrooms I saw would pose problematic for wheelchair users. The Disney Cruise Line ships have large gyms with cardio equipment, weight machines and free weights, and scheduled classes.
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I was fine with them having sips at the wine and beer tastings, but if you have a teen that you want to have avoid all alcohol consumption, this is not the trip for you. There were 90 passengers on our sailing, from kindergarten-age kids to grandparents (kids must be at least 5 years old to sail). Also on offer were more active endeavors, such as biking to Klosterneuburg Abbey in Vienna or hiking to castle ruins in Durnstein. Even if you're on a child-friendly sailing, there are likely to be activities geared towards adults during your family river cruise, like wine tastings and daily cocktail hours. You’ll typically find up to eight well-trained and friendly Adventure Guides leading the tours on each Adventures by Disney river cruise.
There were several times that the river ship had set sail and I was completely unaware that we were moving. Due to size constraints related to the Danube River and river lock system, the AmaViola is necessarily much smaller – just 443 long and three decks high. Stateroom sizes are comparable on the two types of ships, which means that it’s the public spaces that are more limited on the river cruise. By contrast, the AbD Danube River cruise is all about where you’re going. There are no sea days and there’s not much to do on board during the day.
While we visited many of the same ports as we did on our original sailing, that’s about where the similarities ended. This time, we were sailing with Adventures by Disney, Disney’s tour operating arm, which has been partnering with river cruise line AmaWaterways since 2016 on family-focused itineraries. We were comfortably within the age range of the adults on board (a far younger average than our original cruise), and most, like us, were traveling with their kids or grandchildren. There are no dedicated child spaces on the Adventures by Disney river ships.
This includes things like access to small port cities and a more favorable guest-to-crew ratio – all with the added benefit of the famous name behind the ship's programming. Unlike DCL, where WiFi is spotty and comes with a hefty fee, there is free WiFi on AbD river cruise ships. I was easily able to check email, post photos to Facebook, and surf the web. I’m not sure you’d be able to stream Netflix without a few hiccups, but my daughters did watch several YouTube videos on board with no problems. The smallest dining table was for four, meaning that couples would nearly always be sharing. The excursions too are group affairs in which nearly everyone participates.
Bookings for the Adventures by Disney river cruises open to the public on Jan. 20; check out the itineraries here. For these sailings, Adventures by Disney charters ships from the upscale river cruise line AmaWaterways, a family-owned business that has a fleet of 22 river ships in Europe, plus vessels in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and Egypt. There’s a misconception that river cruising tends to cater almost exclusively to an older crowd. That couldn't have been further from the truth — in fact, our adults-only sailing of about 100 people had passengers ranging from twenty-somethings to retirees, and Disney often welcomes kids as young as 4. On average, ABD river cruise rates are around $5,350, per adult (based on double occupancy), and children are priced at $4,800. These prices do fluctuate and differ depending on the exact itinerary you book, but overall that's the price we've seen most.
AmaWaterways owns the ships and will use them for other purposes when they’re not running AbD programs. You won’t find any mouse images hiding in your bed linens or see dozens of Disney-owned entertainment stations on your cabin television. There was literally nothing Disney-themed sold in the small onboard gift shop.
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