When river cruise season kicks off in April, Emerald Waterways will have activity managers on each of its seven European ships to support its "EmeraldActive" shore excursions, which include guided cycle tours, urban and rural hikes and canoeing trips.
Emerald's move makes it the latest river cruise line to add more fitness-related options as the competition to capture a new generation of passengers intensifies.
The activity manager will also coordinate onboard fitness activities including yoga and Pilates classes, aqua aerobics and walks on the ships' open-air tracks.
Most of the major upscale river lines already have or are adding fitness personnel to their ships for personal training and group classes and to help coordinate more active excursions.
AmaWaterways, which until this year has only had fitness instructors on select ships, is upping its game to position itself as the leading active river line by having a dedicated trainer on every ship who will offer up to a half dozen classes throughout the day, every day.
Avalon Waterways, meanwhile, this year will offer three different classes of excursions at every stop: active, classic or discovery. Active, for instance, could be a hiking, biking or canoe trip while classic will focus more on landmarks and discovery will include things like a local market visit and cooking class, a painting workshop or a medieval knights-style tournament.
"River cruisers of all ages are increasingly interested in active, health-conscious travel, and we're committed to offering programming that delivers a wide variety of options," said Lisa Norton, vice president of brand management for Emerald Waterways United States.
Indeed, the more active the better when it comes to attracting the next generation of river cruises.
Backroads, one of the leading adventure tour operators and the company that claims to have pioneered active river cruising in a 2015 partnership with AmaWaterways, says its river and small ship itineraries are among its fastest growing segments.
This year, it doubled its offerings on AmaWaterways' European ships with 68 departures. It will also have two full ship buyouts on the Danube and one on the Douro where all the guests are Backroads travelers.
"There is something very special about exploring a region by both water and land," said Backroads president and founder Tom Hale. "When we first launched our active river cruises, I could never have imagined their popularity with Backroads guests."