New to river cruising, what is the experience like?
Our Head of Cruises, Caroline shares her insights on river cruising and how this cruising experience can be really different from ocean voyages.
View this post on Instagram
For someone who hasn’t done river cruising before, what is the experience like? Caroline says:
The experience is amazing. With river cruises, because they are smaller ships there’s a more intimate feel onboard.
You are right in the heart of cities so you get to explore them a lot easier, you’re not having to get on buses or trains because you travel right to the centre of the city.
There is generally a very relaxed atmosphere onboard, with beautiful lounge spaces along with beautiful views from the upper decks of either side of the river, especially on The Rhine.
The food is exceptional and normally whatever region you’re in, the chef will prepare food from the region and source local wines, so you will taste and get a feel for the culture.
The entertainment is lowkey, for instance you might have a singer or a pianist onboard so it is a very relaxed atmosphere. It is very popular with solo guests.
At the moment there are some fantastic offers to be had for this year and early bookings for 2027.
Where to go? Caroline says:
Top destinations always for anybody on their first river cruise experience is usually the Rhine or the Danube; followed by the French rivers. The Douro in Portugal is very, very popular and then of course you’ve got Asia, India and other spectacular rivers of the world.
I got to experience the Nile in Egypt last year which was always on my bucket list to do. I got to experience it and had so many pinch-me moments, the scenery, every day I had pinch-me moments because it was absolutely fantastic.
You also have the Mekong across Vietnam and Cambodia, which is going to be one of my next river cruise experiences and I’m really looking forward to that. There’s some amazing, amazing bucket list worldwide river experiences available.
Another river cruise experience that is not one of the obvious is actually Venice. I actually did Venice myself recently and the ship was stunning, an amazing experience. One of the highlights for me was an after hours visit of St. Marks Basilica and that was just beautiful. Because it was a private tour, we were the only ones there. Staying right in the heart of Venice, literally you were just a few meters away from St. Mark’s square, it was just beautiful so it’s another river people might not think of doing and I would highly recommend it, it’s absolutely beautiful.
If you have questions you’d like to answer as part of our Cruise Chats series, let us know! Send us an email to marketing@jwttravel.ie or cruises@jwttravel.ie.
Contact Us
