Adventures by Disney,
Walt Disney Company’s tour operator brand, on Monday said that it is
getting into the river cruise game through a partnership with
AmaWaterways.
Starting in 2016,
Adventures by Disney will offer four sailings along the Danube River during the
summer months, and one holiday-themed sailing in December 2016. The
itineraries travel through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.
Adventures by Disney
will charter the 170-passenger AmaViola, a ship that is
launching in 2016 and is being custom-built to cater to families. Family-friendly features on the AmaViola will be six sets of connecting staterooms,
as well as some rooms and suites that can accommodate families of three or four
people. Shipboard spaces are being reimagined to allow for
activities geared towards passengers of all ages.
Bookings on the five cruises open Tuesday to past Adventures by Disney guests and members of the Disney Vacation Club. Bookings to the general public open Wednesday.
At an event in New York to introduce the cruises, executives from Adventures by Disney and Ama Waterways said the partnership had been two years in the making.
"We're constantly on the lookout for ... new destinations and new formats," said Ken Potrock, senior vice president and general manager for Adventures by Disney. Two trends they identified, he said, were multigenerational travel and river cruising.
For Ama's part, the line has already been accommodating families, particularly on its Christmas markets cruises, Schreiner said.
On the Adventures by Disney sailings there will be wine tastings,
fine dining, music, dancing and an onboard fitness center geared toward
adults, and movies, karaoke, relay games, chess lessons on an oversized board,
video games and themed nights for children and teens.
There will be eight
Adventures by Disney guides on each sailing in addition to the existing
AmaWaterways crew.
Unlike the oceangoing Disney Cruise Line, however, the river product will not carry a complement of Disney characters, and there will not be character- or movie-themed excursions. "We bring the stories of Europe to life," but not the stories of Disney, Potrock told the audience.
The Adventures by Disney
sailings will take place July 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2016, and will include
a nighttime illuminations cruise through Budapest; a horse show at the Lazar
Equestrian Park in Hungary; a visit to the Devin Castle in Bratislava,
Slovakia; a private marionette performance and strudel making demonstration at
the Schonbrunn Palace in Austria; a falconry show at the Hohenwerfen castle in
Austria; an Oktoberfest event at a German brewery; and biking in every port.
The holiday-themed
sailing, departing Dec. 22, 2016, will include visits to the Christmas
markets in Budapest and Vienna, and a boys choir Christmas performance at the
Hofburg Palace Chapel in Vienna.
Potrock said the company would gauge interest with the first five cruises but said it was "in a position to very quickly expand."
Passengers can add
a three-day pre- or post-cruise extension in Prague.
Adventures by Disney,
which launched in 2005, offers 30 guided vacations on six continents.
This report was updated on April 13 to include additional information about the river cruise product.