Bicycle along castle-studded river banks. Eat local. Burrow inside underground Egyptian tombs.
Maybe even dance the night away at a “silent disco” in a neon-lit ice bar?
The best river cruises have evolved by leaps and bounds in recent years to cater to different guests’ tastes (in the same way as new ocean-going cruises have been revolutionized).
Some are high-tech too.
Take the ms Andorinha.
One of the newest river cruise ships with a techy twist, she features a pop-up restaurant which rises on hydraulic lifts for alfresco dining (more on this ship later under the European river cruises section).
And Avalon Waterways’ newest ships – the Avalon View (2022) and Avalon Envision – have suites with innovative window walls that open completely to the outside, with beds that face the open-air balcony.
Best river cruises
So, which river cruise line is the best? That depends.
Like being active?
Several river cruise lines pack bikes on their boats for cycling cruises where you go pedaling around the countryside, exploring medieval villages and riverbank trails.
Under 45?
Got you covered too.
U by Uniworld (U River Cruises) was the first cruise line to cater to millennials. Their trendy black ships feature funky pod-like bunk beds with private TVs, bartending classes and rooftop ice bars.
Then came the Amadeus Star (2019) from Amadeus River Cruises. It woos millennial cruisers with yoga and a social media “celebrity influencer” on each cruise.
In general, finding the best river cruise for you involves figuring out, one, where you want to go, and two, which cruise line suits your style as a traveler.
Here, we cover the best river cruise lines operating in different river cruise destinations around the world (along with some of the newest river ships).
Contents: Top river cruises in the world
What to expect on a river cruise
One of the finest European river cruises?
2) North America river cruises
4) River cruises in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos
What’s a river cruise experience like?
Let’s start by answering this question.
In general, river cruises are more intimate than ocean cruises.
Ships are smaller (usually between 75 and 200 passengers), and it’s easy to get to know fellow passengers. Typically, you spend lots of time ashore.
As well, river cruise rates are all-inclusive.
Along with cruise accommodation and meals, fares include shore excursions, alcohol (sometimes just wine and beer at lunch and dinner) and cruise gratuities.
One of the best European river cruises?
No, it’s not a Danube River cruise. Or a Rhine River cruise. (Though those are popular, for good reason.) Or even a Douro River cruise in Portugal. (Though those European rivers are popular, for good reason.)
It’s a Seine River cruise in Normandy, France.
Let’s travel back in time to France. The year is 1883.
Claude Monet was clickety-clacking on a train through the quaint village of Giverny when he spotted a charming two-story house through the window.
He instantly fell in love with its pink crushed-brick façade and jaunty green shutters – and moved in.
Here he gardened and painted, and in time created his celebrated water-garden. It served as the inspiration for his series of masterpiece Impressionist paintings on water lilies.
For some 40 years (until his death in 1926), Monet continued to live and paint in this enchanting little slice of Normandy.
Monet picked well.
We too were enchanted by Giverny when cruising the Seine River – one of the best river cruises in the world for a destination-rich itinerary.
A world of river cruises beyond Europe
But, of course, the world is larger than just Europe.
When you think “river cruise,” Europe probably springs to mind first. Europe is, in fact, the biggest destination for river cruising.
Yet it’s also possible to drift on inland waterways in many different countries, including in Egypt (and elsewhere in Africa), China, the U.S., India, the Far East and South America.
You can sail on everything from a six-person luxury barge to a floating river hotel.
We’ve been fortunate to enjoy several of the world’s best river cruises – in China, Egypt (twice), Namibia, Myanmar (twice) and our most recent, in France on the Seine River (with Scenic Cruises).
Indeed, ever since our first river cruise, we’ve been hooked on meandering slowly along rivers, soaking up some of the world’s most historic and cultural sights.
We’re pretty sure that once you take your first river cruise, you too will be seduced by river cruising.
The world’s best river cruises?
So with that introduction behind us, here are the top-rated river cruises in the world – including the scoop on some fabulous new river cruise ships.
1) Top-rated European river cruises
With so many rivers, Europe offers a wide variety of itineraries.
Perhaps you’d be interested in a “Danube Waltz” cruise itinerary from Passau to Budapest? Or maybe you’d like to celebrate Christmas on an Elbe River cruise from Berlin to Prague?
You certainly won’t lack for choice when it comes to luxury Europe river cruises!
Best river cruises in Europe
The following lines serve up the best Europe river cruises, as rated by both Mundy Cruising and Douglas Ward.
He’s a veteran cruise writer and author of the Berlitz guide on “River Cruising in Europe.” (We met him once on a cruise – very nice, and dapper!)
- AmaWaterways (more below)
- Scenic River Cruises
- Tauck (more below)
- Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection
- Viking River Cruises
AmaWaterways
Founded in 2002, AmaWaterways has more than 20 years of experience in the river cruising biz. And they know the rivers in Europe well!
The Danube, Rhine, Seine, Moselle, Dordogne, Douro, Main, Rhone – all are in their repertoire of European river cruises.
Their reduced single supplement on many cruises makes AmaWaterways especially appealing to solo travelers over 40 (the age people usually start to discover cruising as a delightful way to travel).
On European ships which have staterooms specially designed for singles (e.g., AmaCello, AmaLyra, AmaDante and AmaDolce), the single supplement is waived altogether – you just pay the standard p.p. fare.
The 156-passenger AmaLucia (which debuted in 2021) is one of their newest river ships in Europe. Each stateroom is kitted out with both a French balcony and an outside balcony.
Tauck River Cruises
We mentioned the new high-tech ms Andorinha earlier.
Specifically designed for Tauck to cruise Portugal’s Douro River, she debuted in August, 2021.
As well as its unique pop-up alfresco restaurant, the ms Andorinha has canopied Balinese day beds for lounging, a large infinity-style pool and a soaring glass-ceiling atrium.
The décor features Portuguese tiles for a real sense of place.
There are only 42 cabins for 84 guests; most are 225 square feet in size.
Barging in Europe
For floating on a river barge in France, we’d add Belmond to the list of companies offering the best river trips in Europe. They offer barge trips on seven luxurious barges.
Activities include truffle hunting and hot air ballooning – though you may be perfectly content simply to watch the countryside drift by.
European Waterways also offers luxury barge cruises.
2) North America river cruises
Unlike Europe, North America only has two navigable rivers for river cruising – the Mississippi and the Columbia (plus the Snake and Willamette tributaries).
American Queen Steamboat Company
If you’d like to cruise closer to home, American Queen Voyages is one of a handful of river cruise companies operating in the United States.
Their newest river ship is the 245-guest American Countess, which debuted in March, 2021.
A former gambling boat, she’s the largest steamboat ever built.
The main dining room has floor-to-ceiling windows so you can enjoy panoramic riverside scenes while noshing on USDA prime beef and Southern favorites like Louisiana shrimp creole.
And while still a paddlewheeler, the cabins are more modern than those in the line’s other ships (American Queen, the all-suite American Duchess and American Empress).
With the company’s trademark red paddlewheel at the stern, the American Countess offers Mississippi River cruises between New Orleans and Memphis.
Bourbon tasting, Mark Twain river tales and Ragtime piano performances are all part of the onboard experience.
UnCruise Adventures
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UnCruise Adventures – known for their adventurous small ship cruises – offers seven-night river trips from Portland on the Columbia River and Snake River.
The ship? The Wilderness Legacy, a replica of an 1898 gold rush steamer.
We’ve sailed several times with UnCruise in Hawaii (snorkeling with manta rays!), UnCruise in Alaska (fabulous glacier hiking and kayaking) and, most recently, UnCruise in Costa Rica and Panama.
Like the name of the cruise line suggests, don’t expect a typical cruise on an UnCruise trip!
You’ll be hiking, white water rafting, kayaking and wine tasting on the Pacific Northwest “Rivers of Adventure and Wine” cruises.
American Cruise Lines
Then there’s the shiny new American Symphony by American Cruise Lines, which debuted in September, 2022.
She started her inaugural season on the Lower Mississippi River.
A departure from the line’s paddlewheelers that ply American rivers, this new riverboat is modern in design, with a multi-level glass atrium, a glass-walled observation lounge and spacious cabins with furnished balconies.
The 175-passenger American Serenade is expected in 2023.
And like the Symphony, she’ll be totally modern in design. Staterooms will range in size from 250 to 650 square feet, with full-size bathrooms and private balconies.
3) Nile River cruises in Egypt
You definitely want to put a Nile River cruise on your bucket list. The tombs and temples of ancient Egypt are eye-popping!
Feel like Cleopatra (or Julius Caesar) on the Nile when you journey down the same river where they honeymooned on the Egyptian queen’s royal barge.
But they no doubt would be jealous of the vessels you can cruise on today.
Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
Some of the most luxurious Nile cruises are offered by Oberoi Hotels & Resorts.
The Oberoi Zahra river ship has glass showers with full-length view windows and a misting system to keep you cool on the sundeck and outdoor restaurant.
And get this.
A fleet of air-conditioned black Mercedes vans shadows the ship onshore.
When the ship docks, they’re waiting and ready to whisk you away to see the tombs, temples and 5,000 years of Egyptian history.
Sanctuary Retreats
For this company’s Egypt vacations and luxury Nile cruises, see their website.
Viking River Cruises
Viking River Cruises is a giant in the European river cruise industry.
Now they’ve built a ship specifically to cruise the Nile. Meet the Viking Osiris – brand new and christened in Luxor in August, 2022.
We’ve cruised with Viking Ocean Cruises on the Viking Star (hailed as the “world’s best new cruise ship” when it debuted) and the Viking Sea (on an adults-only Caribbean cruise).
If the quality of Viking Osiris is anything like its ocean cruising sister ships, it should give Oberoi and Sanctuary Retreats a run for their money.
Viking says it’s “the most upscale ship in Egypt.”
Accommodating 82 guests, the Osiris ship offers leisurely 11-night cruise tours from Cairo (with seven nights of cruising).
Staterooms and suites are spacious.
The smallest are 232 square feet. Large veranda suites are 409 square feet and have separate sleeping and living areas, a full step-out balcony and another French balcony.
The décor blends the serene Scandinavian design characteristic of Viking ships with geometric Arabic patterns.
On deck, “sail shades” inspired by the dhows that ply the local waters provide shade from the sun. And there’s a pool at the stern.
4) River cruises in Vietnam, Cambodia (and Laos)
See temples, water buffalo working in rice paddies, floating fish markets and local villages when you cruise on the Mekong River, which flows through Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
The newest Mekong River ship is Uniworld’s gorgeous 68-passenger Mekong Jewel, which launched in January, 2020.
The all-suite ship has a pool plus two restaurants (one an alfresco venue on the upper deck).
You can also cruise the Mekong on the new 80-guest Viking Saigon, which began her inaugural season in August, 2022.
From Viking River Cruises, she was purpose built for the Mekong River and features outside verandas and hotel-style beds.
Mekong River cruises
You’ll travel in comfort and style with these companies:
5) Namibia and Botswana
Zambezi Queen Collection
Want to spot mud-splattering elephants and grunting hippos from your king-size bed?
There’s nothing quite like a river safari on the Zambezi Queen (often chartered by AmaWaterways). She potters along the Chobe River between Namibia and Botswana.
The Zambezi Queen Collection also includes three smaller Chobe Princesses (two with four cabins and one with five suites).
CroisiEurope
Also check out CroisiEurope.
It recently launched the new 16-passenger African Dream to sail along Chobe National Park.
6) China river cruises
Yangtze River cruising has changed since the river’s first flooding in 2003 by construction of the Three Gorges Dam.
But the Yangtze still offers scenic cruising through the spectacular Three Gorges and five-stage locks of the Three Gorges Dam.
You can ride in a sampan up a tributary as Tujia boatmen pole.
And, if you peer hard, you can make out a couple of mysterious 2,500-year-old coffins wedged in holes in the cliffs (most of the ones that once hung suspended above deep canyons are now housed in museums).
For river cruises in China, your best best is Sanctuary Retreats’ Yangzi Explorer.
She carries 124 passengers (with a high 1:1 crew to passenger ratio) on her Yangtze River cruises.
7) India river cruises
Kerala with Oberoi
In India, you can meander along the jungly backwaters of Kerala on a deluxe motor vessel operated by Oberoi Hotels & Resorts.
The Oberoi Vrinda has eight king-sized cabins; service is unobtrusive.
Excursions include rides on smaller boats to explore life along the narrow canals in the “Venice of the East.” Local dancers also come onboard for cultural performances.
Ganges River cruises
Six-night cruises on the Ganges River from Kolkata (Calcutta) are offered by Avalon Waterways.
Think temple sightseeing by rickshaw, touring gold and silversmith workshops, and visiting flower markets and Mother Teresa’s home.
These cruises are paired with various India land tours.
Uniworld also packages seven-night Ganges cruises on the beautiful Ganges Voyager II with exploring the Golden Triangle cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur (in total, 11 to 12 nights in India).
8) Myanmar river cruises
Belmond was one of the first companies to offer deluxe river cruises in Myanmar (Burma).
We’ve sailed the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy River) with them twice now – first between Bagan and Mandalay, then more recently from Yangon to Bagan.
There are thousands of beautiful temples and pagodas in Bagan!
(Some day, we’d also like to cruise on the less explored Chindwin River.)
With Myanmar gaining in tourism popularity, other leading companies now also offer deluxe river cruises.
9) South America river cruises
Amazon River cruises tend be expedition-style cruises, where rainforest walks are combined with exploring tributaries in small skiffs, kayaks or dug-out canoes.
Have you taken a river cruise?
What floats your boat, and where would you love to go?
Let us know in the Comments below!
More cruising inspiration!
French Polynesia: Cruising French Polynesia is as romantic as it gets. And it’s one of the best ways to discover this beautiful island nation.
Canary Islands: Hike UNESCO-listed parks, explore one of the most beautiful villages in Spain and taste sweet Malmsey wine. See the secret side of the Canaries on this Canary Islands cruise.
Morocco: Snake Charmers? Harems? What’s a Morocco cruise like?
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Photo credits: 6, 18, 25 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase
About the authors
Luxury travel journalists and SATW, NATJA and TMAC “Best Travel Blog” award winners, Janice and George Mucalov are the publishers of Sand In My Suitcase. Between them, they’ve traveled to all 7 continents. See About.
Find destination guides, global food-and-wine stories, luxury hotel reviews, articles on cultural explorations and soft adventure trips, cruise reviews, insanely useful travel tips and more!
Marlee B.
Tuesday 20th of June 2023
Great post, thank you!
I'm planning a trip with a dear friend who has limited mobility. We thought a river cruise might fit her tolerance for low movement without sacrificing gorgeous sites.
Any suggestions for the best river cruise line or destination? We need to have access to a doctor in case of a health emergency.
Thanks for any thoughts.
Janice and George
Sunday 6th of August 2023
River ships have a small number of passengers compared to larger ocean-going ships, so they don't usually have a doctor onboard.
But the crew is trained in first aid, CPR, etc., and in Europe, you're never far from a doctor onshore. Since the pandemic, Viking River Cruises has launched a 24/7 hotline staffed by doctors specifically for their river cruises.
As for accessibility, Scenic has some "limited mobility suites" near reception on all their ships; other lines also have wheelchair-accessible cabins. A quick Google will yield more info :-).
And pretty well any river cruise in Europe offers gorgeous scenery and sights! The Rhine River offers vineyards, medieval towns and castles galore - it's a popular destination for a first-time European river cruise (most popular option is between Amsterdam and Basel). Nor can you go wrong with a Danube River cruise.
Hope this helps :-).
Mary
Friday 11th of May 2018
What a terrific and helpful post! My husband and I will be taking our first ever river cruise this fall – Crystal Mozart on the Danube – and enjoyed reading about your river experiences and recommendations!
Janice and George
Friday 11th of May 2018
Thanks for your kind words! You'll no doubt love the "Crystal Mozart" :-). Enjoy!
Jina
Monday 30th of April 2018
Excellent experience, great pictures and article you have shared with us! I would go for a long river cruise; that would be my dream.
Janice and George
Friday 4th of May 2018
We prefer longer cruises too :-). Many river cruise itineraries are for 14 days -- hope you get to realize your dream in the not-to-distant-future :-).
Amit Mind
Sunday 29th of April 2018
I really admire your photography and informative blog that explores beautiful river cruises around the world. This information helps visitors to take themselves out on rivers.
Janice and George
Friday 4th of May 2018
Thank you :-). River cruising is certainly one of the best ways to explore a concentrated region in depth :-).
Rekha Rajan
Wednesday 21st of October 2015
Beautiful stuff guys. in fact, i also love the rivers...and was looking for a river cruise in India (only yesterday). The good thing about river cruises is that you don't need onboard entertainment. Whats the point of going on a cruise and then being indoors!