A river cruise is a voyage along inland waterways, often stopping at multiple ports along the way. Since cities and towns often grew up around rivers, river cruise ships frequently dock in the center of cities and towns.
A river cruise is a voyage along inland waterways, often stopping at multiple ports along the way. Since cities and towns often grew up around rivers, river cruise ships frequently dock in the center of cities and towns.
River day cruises are day excursions ranging from 30 minutes to a full day. They can be on boats carrying as few as 10 people or as many as a few hundred. Such a cruise is typically based in a city with a river flowing through the centre (e.g., Amsterdam, Bangkok, London, Paris, Varanasi) or an area of natural beauty, such as on the Hudson River, Rhine Thames and Ganga. Some popular locations include:
River cruise ships with accommodation facilities offer longer cruises.
According to Douglas Ward, "A river cruise represents life in the slow lane, sailing along at a gentle pace, soaking up the scenery, with plentiful opportunities to explore riverside towns and cities en route. It is a supremely calming experience, an antidote to the pressures of life in a fast-paced world, in surroundings that are comfortable without being fussy or pretentious, with good food and enjoyable company." [1]
River cruising is a major tourist industry in many parts of the world. [2]
Yangtze or Yangzi is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows 6,300 km (3,915 mi) in a generally easterly direction to the East China Sea. It is the fifth-largest primary river by discharge volume in the world. Its drainage basin comprises one-fifth of the land area of China, and is home to nearly one-third of the country's population.
Cruising is a maritime activity that involves staying aboard a watercraft for extended periods of time when the vessel is traveling on water at a steady speed. Cruising generally refers to leisurely trips on yachts and luxury cruiseships, with durations varying from day-trips to months-long round-the-world voyages.
Martin Strel, is a Slovenian long-distance swimmer, one of the most elite endurance athletes best known for swimming the entire length of various rivers. Strel holds successive Guinness World Records for swimming the Danube river, the Mississippi River, the Yangtze River, and the Amazon River. His motto is "swimming for peace, friendship and clean waters."
Sir Samuel White Baker was an English explorer, officer, naturalist, big game hunter, engineer, writer and abolitionist. He also held the titles of Pasha and Major-General in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt. He served as the Governor-General of the Equatorial Nile Basin between April 1869 and August 1873, which he established as the Province of Equatoria. He is mostly remembered as the first European to visit Lake Albert, as an explorer of the Nile and interior of central Africa, and for his exploits as a big game hunter in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. Baker wrote a considerable number of books and published articles. He was a friend of King Edward VII, who as Prince of Wales, visited Baker with Queen Alexandra in Egypt. Other friendships were with explorers Henry Morton Stanley, Roderick Murchison, John H. Speke and James A. Grant, with the ruler of Egypt Pasha Ismail The Magnificent, Major-General Charles George Gordon and Maharaja Duleep Singh.
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved with original construction, dockyards are sometimes more linked with maintenance and basing activities. The terms are routinely used interchangeably, in part because the evolution of dockyards and shipyards has often caused them to change or merge roles.
A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such as lake or harbour tour boats. As larger water craft, virtually all riverboats are especially designed and constructed, or alternatively, constructed with special-purpose features that optimize them as riverine or lake service craft, for instance, dredgers, survey boats, fisheries management craft, fireboats and law enforcement patrol craft.
MS Bolette is a cruise ship owned and operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, formerly named the MS Amsterdam after the capital of the Netherlands. The ship is the fourth and last ship of the Rotterdam-class (R-class), which includes MS Rotterdam, MS Volendam, and MS Zaandam. She was co-flagship of the Holland America Line along with her sister ship Rotterdam.
Adventures by Disney Travel Services, Inc. (ABD) provides group guided family vacations to various domestic and international destinations. The company is a subsidiary of Disney Experiences's Signature Experiences division. Disney experiences is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.
Viking is a cruise line providing river, ocean, and expedition cruises. Its operating headquarters are in Basel, Switzerland, and its marketing headquarters are in Los Angeles, California.
The Danube is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important river, it was once a frontier of the Roman Empire. In the 21st century, it connects ten European countries, running through their territories or marking a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for 2,850 km (1,770 mi), passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. Among the many cities on the river are four national capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade. Its drainage basin amounts to 817,000 km2 (315,000 sq mi) and extends into nine more countries.
A hotelship is a passenger ship which is used for a period as a hotel. A botel or boatel is a boat that serves as a hotel or hostel. Currently there are few permanent hotel ships. The word is a portmanteau of boat and hotel. Botels may range from small or larger purpose-built or converted boats or other watercraft, to converted ships. They may be permanently moored or grounded, or spend part of the year taking guests on tours. The most famous examples are the Queen Mary, in Long Beach; and the Queen Elizabeth 2, in Dubai. Both ships were originally part of Cunard line. During the 2022 World Cup, Qatar chartered three cruise ships to mitigate accommodation shortages.
Avalon Waterways is a river cruise company owned by the Globus family of brands and offers cruises in Europe, China, Southeast Asia, South America, India and the Galápagos Islands. The company became a member of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in August 2009.
CroisiEurope is an international river cruise company. It operates a fleet of river cruising vessels along the rivers of Europe, Russia, East Asia, Myanmar, Africa, South America and the United States.
The Four Continents, also known as The Four Rivers of Paradiseor The Four Corners of the World, is a painting by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, made between 1612 and 1615. Rubens painted this piece during a time of truce in the Eighty Years' War known as the Twelve Years' Truce. The painting depicts the female personifications of the four continents with the male personifications of their respective major rivers. The painting also depicts three putti in the foreground along with a crocodile, tigress, and her three cubs. An important figure in this piece is the woman in the middle who personifies Africa. She was one of the two black women Rubens painted at the time.
AmaWaterways is a Calabasas, California based river cruise company that offers cruises in Europe, Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, and Egypt. Its price range is considered "luxury" among river cruises. It had a fleet of 26 ships as of 2022.
Lüftner Cruises, also operating under Amadeus River Cruises, is a cruise operator based in Innsbruck, Austria that offers European river cruises.
MV Ganga Vilas is the world's longest Motor Vessel (MV) river cruise. it was flagged off by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on 13 January 2023 via video conferencing, where the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, and the Union Minister of Port Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal were also present. It is the first cruise ship made in India.
Yangtze River cruise is a river cruise on the Yangtze, the longest river in China and in Asia. It has historically been called the Three Gorges cruise because of the cruise in the Three Gorges, the most exciting part of the river.
The Danube River cruise is a river cruise on Europe's longest river, the Danube River, which is especially popular as a tourist route from Passau in Germany to Budapest in Hungary.
Media related to River tourism at Wikimedia Commons