We have lift-off: The new 'space ship' will have plenty of room for relaxing on deckRiver cruises have never been so popular, or so adventurous. Here we look at some of the latest itineraries - from the Far East to Africa via Europe's most popular waterways - including new boats and destinations.
RHINE ROMANCE: Take a walk in the Black Forest and a train ride through it to Triberg to marvel at the world's biggest cuckoo clock. There you'll have lunch, before watching a classic Black Forest gateau being made. Enjoy a slice at the open-air museum at Vogtsbauernhof.
This excursion is a highlight on a Romantic Rhine & Moselle cruise from Amsterdam to Basel on a new Australian owned, ultra-long 'space-ship' which boasts bigger rooms and larger communal areas than other river cruise boats. The ship stays overnight in Amsterdam, calls at Bonn, sails through the spectacular Rhine Gorge and visits Heidelberg, Baden-Baden and Strasbourg.
The 14-night cruise has six departures between March and October next year. The cost, from £3,195pp, includes all excursions, drinks with lunch and dinner, gratuities and flights - or take the no-fly train option travelling via Eurostar. 0161 236 2444, www.scenictours.co.uk.
THE MIGHTY MEKONG: From Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City. Starting from Siem Reap on Cambodia's Tonie Sap great lake, you will sail all the way to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
The journey will be teeming with birdlife and dotted with fishing villages. One afternoon you take an ox-cart ride to see temple pagodas and the next morning you walk to a silk-weaving village.
Arriving in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penn, where the Mekong is a mile wide, you will take a tour of the city and to the grim Killing Fields. Crossing the border to Vietnam, you will visit floating markets and temples before the cruise ends in Ho Chi Minh City.
The cost, from £967pp for one week, includes excursions, drinks with dinner, but not flights. Departures year-round except May. 0808 223 5009, www.amawaterways.co.uk.
LAP UP THE VIEWS: Launching in May, the Avalon Panorama will have wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling sliding windows in the majority of cabins, so no wonder its 14-night Magnificent Europe cruises from Budapest to Amsterdam (from £2,249pp including sightseeing) are selling out fast.
Those new to river cruising will enjoy the shorter A Taste Of The Danube cruise on Avalon Tapestry. In four days it packs in Vienna, the pretty towns of Melk and Durnstein in the Wachau Valley, the Slovakian capital Bratislava and Budapest.
Cruising can be a great way to explore a new country without the stresses and strains of travelDepartures are May to October from £999pp which includes door-todoor car service, excursions, wine with dinner and flights. 0800 668 1801, www.avaloncruises.co.uk.
DANUBE DELIGHTS: Explore Eastern Europe on a cruise along the Danube topped and tailed with hotel stays in Budapest and Bucharest. In a week you'll visit Kalocsa in Hungary and see a daring display of Puszta horsemanship.
The Croatian city of Osijek and a walk in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, to Kalemegdan Fortress and the Orthodox cathedral are included.
Continuing in Serbia through the spectacular Iron Gate gorge, there is an excursion from Kostolac to see the Roman city of Viminacium. A day in the Bulgarian port of Vidin includes a trip to nearby Belogradchik Fortress and the next day there is a trip inland to the former capital, Veliko Tarnovo.
It ends in Oltenita in Romania for transfers to Bucharest.
Departures are from March to November and cost from £1,795, which includes seven nights on Viking Primadonna, two nights' B&B in Budapest and one in Bucharest, guided tours and flights. 020 8780 7900, www.vikingrivercruises.com.
SECRET NILE: Perfect for second timers to Egypt, a one-week cruise aboard MS Misr plies the same route as countless other tour boats between Luxor and Aswan but the Egyptologists on board will guide you to lesser visited sites.
You will tour the tombs of the Nobles and the monastery of St Simeon, the ancient quarry of Gebel el Silsila and Howard Carter's home while he was searching for Tutankhamun's tomb, now a museum.
The Misr, for a maximum of 46 passengers, is an opulent paddle-steamer, built by the Royal Navy in 1918 and converted into a luxury cruiser for King Farouk in the Thirties.
Departures are from December to April 2011 and cost from £1,695pp, including flights and excursions. 0845 166 7035, www.vjv.com.
FROM THE BALTIC TO MOSCOW:
Cruising from St Petersburg to Moscow becomes more comfortable next year when the newly refurbished Amakatarina sets sail in May. The ship - which claims to be the most spacious and luxurious tourist vessel in Russia - moors in St Petersburg for three days.
It then travels on the Neva river, the vast Lake Ladoga and Svir river, to the village of Svirstroy.
On Lake Onega there is a visit to the island of Kizhi to see historic wooden buildings in the open-air museum. The last two nights are spent in Moscow.
The cost, from £2,610pp, includes excursions, wine with dinner and airport transfers but not flights. 0845 602 1137, www.aptouring.co.uk.
Magnificent: The St Petersburg to Moscow route makes for a truly imperial journeyFOLLOW THE WINDMILLS: A new cruise aboard Regina Rheni II for Saga passengers. The eightnight itinerary, a round trip from Amsterdam, calls at Rotterdam, Antwerp, Liege and Maastricht, sailing through a landscape dotted with windmills.
The cost, from £1,024pp includes travel by air, Eurostar or coach via Eurotunnel, drinks with meals and insurance. Departures on May 6 and July 23. Book by the end of September for a free cabin upgrade. 0800 056 5880, www.sagaholidays.co.uk.
COME RAIN OR SHINE: There will be a new ship on the Rhine next spring offering double value.
Top-category cabins on River Antoinette, launching in March, will have a 'magic' switch. One flick and the glass wall lowers to create an open-air balcony. Flick again when the northern European weather turns brisk and the glass rises to make a closed-in conservatory.
Sailing on the seven-night Castles Along the Rhine itinerary between Basel and Amsterdam, you will be wine-tasting at
Castle Vollrads in historic Rudesheim, take a canal ride through Strasbourg, and a walking tour of Cologne which will include a guided visit to the Gothic cathedral, the largest in Germany.
The cost is from £1,600pp (from £2,385pp in a Category 1 stateroom) if booked by December 31, and includes flights, private car transfer between home and the airport, excursions and drinks with dinner. 0845 678 8558; www.uniworldrivercruises.co.uk.
source: dailymail
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