As the 2019 sailing season gets underway, river cruise lines are looking ahead to 2020 with promotions for new ships and itineraries.
Among the new offerings: shorter sailings from Avalon Waterways aimed at attracting time-starved travelers and those wanting to try river cruising for the first time but maybe not the traditionally longer sailings.
It seems like a smart move by Avalon, given that it also operates several tour operator brands, making it easy for advisors and consumers to book combination land and river packages.
While a number of lines have begun moving away from what used to be almost exclusively 10- and 14-day sailings to also include seven-day trips, Avalon claims to be the first river line to offer cruises of four, five and six days.
Avalon has launched the shorter itineraries in conjunction with its new Your Way program that links Avalon bookings with tours from sisters companies Globus and Monograms.
Also for 2020, Avalon Waterways has unveiled the Tulip Time in Holland and Belgium itinerary, which marks the line's official return to Belgium. The cruise will include classic Dutch experiences like biking along the riverbank in Arnhem, Netherlands, and visiting a family-owned farm and windmill. There are also stops in Antwerp, Brussels and Liege, Belgium.
Crystal and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection are both launching itineraries on the Moselle.
Crystals' 10-night Enchanting Moselle itinerary will take travelers off the regular river cruise path to some of the most picturesque towns in Germany, including Bernkastel, Trier, Cochem and Koblenz (where the Moselle meets the Rhine), and the Rhine, including Dusseldorf and Bonn, Germany; and Arnhem and Amsterdam.
Uniworld is offering a 12-day itinerary on the Moselle that will visit the spa town of Baden-Baden, Germany, along with Frankfurt, Luxembourg and others.
Uniworld will also launch new ships on the Nile in Egypt, the Douro in Portugal and the Mekong in Vietnam in 2020. Uniworld said the new ships will be in line with the "best of the Uniworld's custom-built super ships in Europe, reinforcing the brand's commitment to having the most luxurious cruise fleet on the world's rivers."
Among the new offerings from AmaWaterways for 2020 is a land extension in Istanbul on its Gems of Southeast Europe itinerary that sails the lower Danube between Budapest and Giurgiu, Romania. The three-night add-on is an alternative to its four-night land extension in Bucharest and Brasov, Romania, and includes Istanbul's most iconic spots, such as the Topkapi Palace.
And Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours has a new 12-day sailing in the south of France that focuses on food, wines and iconic sights that includes a visit to the estate of Chateau Meursault, a private classical concert in the historic Palais des Papes and shopping with the chef at an Avignon market followed by a cooking class.