In a bid to attract regular cruisers back to classic routes like Amsterdam to Basel, river lines are including new ports of call and offering shorter cruises in 2021.
Lines like Viking and APT have changed the routes of their classic โRomantic Danubeโ and โMagnificent Europeโ itineraries. For example, APT in 2021 will visit the charming German city of Koblenz instead of Cologne and Bonn.
Meanwhile, lines like Travelmarvel will explore many new ports on the Rhine, Moselle and the lower Danube, giving regular river cruisers, new itinerary options.
Uniworld and APT are also offering more options for guests to sail shorter week-long segments of their full 15-day itineraries.
Scenic is launching two new French culinary cruises aimed at foodies and Riviera Travel is adding many more departures throughout the season for their Holland and Belgium cruises due to guest demand.
See what the lines are rolling out in 2021.
Viking
Viking is launching a new eight-day cruise-only Portugal itinerary. The โDouroโs Valley & Vineyardsโ Porto roundtrip is identical to the lineโs โPortugalโs River of Goldโ itinerary but with the two-night land portion in Lisbon.
The lineโs eight-day โRomantic Danubeโ itinerary is also updated to feature two full days in Vienna and will sail to and from Regensburg and Budapest in 2021 rather than Nuremberg and Budapest.
APT
The line has made quite a few updates to their popular โMagnificent Europeโ Amsterdam to Budapest itinerary as well as itineraries in the Balkans and France. The 15-day โMagnificent Europeโ now visits Koblenz in lieu of Cologne and Bonn. The Namedy Castle visit will alsoย feature a cocktail reception or morning tea.
The Grand Empress Steam Train experience will take a different route in 2021, travelling the scenic Danube Bend from Esztergom to Budapest (or vice versa), with touring in Esztergom instead of visiting Gรถdรถllล Palace. The Grand Empress Steam Train will operate on cruise departures between April and September in 2021.
The line is also offering the โMagnificent Europeโ as two shorter segments, seven-night โHighlights of the Rhine & Mainโ and โDanube Discoveryโ.
In the Balkan itineraries, Bratislava and Vienna have been removed from the itinerary, giving passengers more time in the Balkan countries. Their โGrand Voyage of Europeโ itinerary, the combination of seven-night โBalkansโ and โMagnificent Europeโ cruise are also now offered in both directions.
In France, their itineraries now operate Arles to Chalon-sur-Saone rather than Arles to Lyon.
Travelmarvel
Travelmarvel is sailing to new ports in the Rhine, Moselle and the lower Danube in 2021. The right-day โRhine & Moselleโ classic Amsterdam to Basel route is now visiting Cochem, Strasbourg, and Breisach the Black Forest region where guests can experience a Black Forest cake demonstration and tasting at Black Forest Museum Vogtsbauernhof.
The 15-day โBest of the Balkansโ Budapest roundtrip also features nine new ports for the line. They include Mohacs, Vukovar, Belgrade, one of Bulgariaโs most elegant cities Rousse, Giugiu, Vidin, Novi Sad, Kalocsa and Puszta. On this sailing, guests will also get to cruise through the famous Iron Gates and visit a local Serbian family at their village home. At Puszta, they can catch the traditional horse show, featuring the Magyar cowboys.
The lower Danube itinerary is also offered in an eight-day one-way variation with โBalkan Adventureโ from Budapest to Bucharest and โLegends of the Balkansโ from Bucharest to Budapest.
Scenic
Scenic is launching two new culinary cruises sailing France in 2021. The first one is a 12-day โTastes of Southern Franceโ Paris to Lyon itineraryย with gastronomic highlights such as a welcome dinner featuring regionally sourced truffles, a dinner featuring Bresse and joined by a Michelin starred chef and onboard tastings. For excursions, guests will get to visit a local Cooperage for a barrel making demonstration, attend a cooking class in Vonnas at the acclaimed restaurant of three Michelin starred chef Georges Blanc and gain after hours access to the Valrhona Chocolate museum.
The second itinerary is the 12-day โFlavours of Bordeauxโ Paris to Bordeaux itinerary takes guests to the finest vineyards in the world. Itinerary highlights include a welcome dinner with featuring regionally sourced truffles, oyster and champagne cocktail reception, seafood dinner sourced fresh from Arcachon Bay and onboard tasting. Onshore, they will experience a tasting at a Lillet producer, visit Moon Harbour in Bordeaux to view whisky production, take an excursion to the Pomerol wine growing region and enjoy dinner at Chateau dโAgassac.
Uniworld
The line has two new itineraries and a luxury train journey extension offered in Europe in 2021. The first new itinerary is an eight-day โClassic Germany & Amsterdamโ from Amsterdam to Nuremberg aboard River Princess. The line has also combined this new itinerary with their popular โAuthentic Danubeโ to create a new long itinerary, the 15-day โRhine, Maine & Danube Discoveryโ from Amsterdam to Vienna.
They will also be offering a new luxury train journey as an extension on select sailings of the โVenice & the Gems of Northern Italyโ itinerary. Complete your voyage on the luxurious Golden Eagle Danube Express train travelling from Venice to Zurich.
Riviera Travel
The line has introduced a new seven-night โAmsterdam, Cologne and the Best of Holland & Flandersโ itinerary which is available throughout the season, following feedback from guests who have enjoyed cruising around Holland and Belgium in spring. This new itinerary will visit Cologne, Amsterdam, Ghent and Antwerp.
