Aboard the *AmaMagna* on the Danube in Budapest, Hungary

This month (September 2025) we did the difficult work of testing out European river cruising in order to better serve our Jetsettery customers. Ok, so it wasn’t exactly difficult. It was actually quite the opposite. We spent a beautiful week cruising the Danube from Budapest, Hungary, to Vilshofen, Germany, on AmaWaterways’ ship the AmaMagna. Throughout our time, we paid close attention in order to gain insight to help you all decide if European river cruising is a good fit for you.

What exactly is a river cruise?

The simple explanation is that you are traveling on a ship along a river to various destinations, typically over a week. River cruises are available all over the world, from the Nile to the Amazon to the Mekong, but European river cruising is the most popular. For this article, we’re focusing on European river cruising (if you are interested in information on Amazon river cruising, see our post). Most European river cruise ships hold anywhere from 100 to 200 people. This is in contrast to ocean cruising where even the smaller ships have 500+ people and most hold thousands. River ships are smaller because they have to fit under bridges and through locks. The most common European rivers for cruising are the Danube and the Rhine, but there are many others including the Rhone, Main, Moselle, Seine, Dordogne, and the Douro. All meals are included and served on board. There is typically on-board entertainment, like a piano player and singer, and the occasional local performer; some lines offer on-board enrichment lectures about the local culture. Amenities on river cruises differ between cruise lines and individual ships but can include a spa, salon, workout facilities, pickleball, pool, and hot tub. With a river cruise you typically stop at a new town daily, sometimes even multiple towns in a day. Cruising between stops can occur during the day or at night. Excursions are offered at each stop, ranging from walking tours to biking tours, wine tastings, hikes or bus tours. Viking is probably the most well-known river cruise line, but there are an ever-growing number of lines including AmaWaterways (which we did), Avalon, Riverside, Emerald, Uniworld, Tauck, etc.

Isn’t river cruising just for old people looking to watch the world go by?

We’ll admit we had an image in our mind about European river cruising. However, the industry has been changing post-Covid. Demographics are shifting with a noticeable trend towards a younger demographic. Some cruise lines are responding by offering more active excursions (think hiking, biking, kayaking, etc.), better culinary programs, and more active-focused amenities on board such as gyms and pools. For example, our ship, the AmaMagna, had a pool, hot tub, pickleball court, large gym, spin classes, other exercise and yoga classes, bikes for our own use on shore, etc. Most days we either took a hike or bike ride, and David could be found in the pool and hot tub pre-dinner. We definitely weren’t bored and stayed active every day.

How is a river cruise different from an ocean cruise or escorted land tours?

Compared to ocean cruising, river cruise ships hold fewer people, there are more stops (no “days at sea”), fewer entertainment options on board (no musicals, casinos, waterslides, etc) and fewer dining options. Staterooms all have windows or balconies and are typically larger than ocean cruise rooms. River cruises also have a more casual feel than ocean cruises - there are no dress-up dinners. Time spent cruising is a highlight of the trip as you pass villages, castles, vineyards, etc. and lots of other interesting sights, which is in sharp contrast to ocean cruises where you just have the open sea to look at when not at port.

Compared to escorted land tours, you may visit the same number of cities, but it’s a very different style. With river cruising you unpack once, and daily excursions are optional. On a river cruise travel happens mostly overnight when you sleep and daytime travel (cruising) is scenic, especially watching the scenery from the upper balcony. With a land tour you’re on a bus for a good part of the day taking time away from sightseeing and being subject to traffic. River cruises tend to be more all-inclusive than land tours (e.g. you may be on your own for lunch with a land tour whereas lunches are always included with river cruises). Also, river cruises tend to have a more relaxed pace than land tours. With a river cruise you typically have one, occasionally two, 3-hour excursions per day, whereas with a land tour you are typically scheduled for the entire day.

What is a typical day like on a river cruise?

David on the upper deck while the ship enters a lock

Using our recent trip on the Danube as an example, specifically our stop in Bratislava, let’s walk through a typical day. Prior to Bratislava, we had spent the day in Budapest, leaving Budapest around 8:00 p.m. and heading up the Danube to Bratislava, cruising all night. We awoke around 8:00 a.m. to an announcement from the cruise director (yes, there is a cruise director, just like Julie on The Love Boat) that we were about to enter a major lock. We quickly grabbed cappuccinos from the ship’s coffee station and headed up to the upper deck for a great view. We experienced the ship rising in a 60’ lock. Pretty cool! Once through the lock it was about another four hours to Bratislava. We spent that time getting ready and then hanging out on the upper deck taking in the views of the Slovakian countryside and playing a bit of pickleball (yes, our ship had pickleball!). [Note that we didn’t typically have breakfast because a) we aren’t huge breakfast people, we prefer a coffee-only morning diet and b) lunch was typically at noon, so you didn’t have to wait long for food. However, a full breakfast was available for those that wanted it.] At noon we had lunch, served in two dining rooms offering slightly different menus, one with just an à la carte menu, the other main dining room with a buffet (excellent, in my opinion with great salads and the most delicious herb salad dressing) and an à la carte menu. Beer, wine and soft drinks were complimentary with lunch (and dinner too). After lunch, Katie attended an apple strudel workshop presented by two of the ship’s cooks. We docked in Bratislava around 2:00 p.m. and promptly exited the ship for our excursion, a 2-hour walking tour and beer tasting. Afterwards, we walked around the town on our own and returned to the ship just before our 5:30 departure. Once back on the ship we got ready for dinner, grabbed free drinks during the daily happy hour, listened to the piano player and singer in the lounge for a bit, then headed with our drinks to the upper deck to take in the passing sights. Dinner was served from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., and we would typically head back to our room after dinner although they did have nightly entertainment and activities (music trivia, karaoke, dance party, etc.). That evening we cruised through the night, arriving in Vienna around 6:00 a.m. the next morning.

Durnstein, Austria - very popular river cruise stop

What is the typical demographic of river cruisers?

Most river cruisers are in the 55-75 age range, with the average being in their mid 60s. At the ages of 51 and 52, we were definitely the youngest on our ship. There was another woman who was with her 80 year-old mom who was our age. Otherwise, the nearest to us were a group of friends in their late 50s. Different lines have different policies about kids on board. Although AmaWaterways does permit kids on board there were none on our cruise. Also, almost all on our ship were American. We had a few Canadians and Chinese, but 95% from the US. Most river cruise lines cater to certain countries, for example we saw several German ships and French ships. Many of the passengers were traveling in a group (several women, several couples or extended families), though there were couples traveling by themselves as well.

What types of towns are visited?

There is a wide range from large capital cities like Vienna, Amsterdam, Budapest, and Paris to small villages that seem to exist for the river cruise industry like Durnstein (Austria), Rudesheim (Germany) and Tournon-sur-Rhône (France). There are also towns where the ships dock that don’t offer much, but are near other major cities, so guests take buses to the major cities. For example, we stopped in Linz, Austria and though there was a walking tour available, most guests opted for a day trip to Salzburg (2 hours away by bus) where they left at 9:00 a.m. and returned at 5:00 p.m. Also note that in some towns the ships dock right in the town center, where in others it is slightly outside of town. For example, in Vienna, ships dock about 3 miles from the city center, so shuttles are available.

What is the dining like?

Dining options definitely vary from cruise line to cruise line. They all offer breakfast, lunch, dinner and multiple snack options (i.e. food is always available). Buffets are quite common for breakfast and lunch and at least on our ship, they were quite good (often better than the à la carte offerings). Many ships have more than one restaurant option for every meal, but you aren’t going to find as many restaurant options as on an ocean cruise. It’s open seating at most restaurants (our ship had a few restaurants where reservations could be made, but the largest restaurant was open seating). Guests can sit on their own or join others at their tables. We saw that a lot, people getting a big table then just inviting people walking by to join them. Some lines have more tables reserved for couples than others.

What is the dress code?

Most cruise lines give guidance for how to dress, but there are no “formal nights” like on many ocean cruises. During the day people dress casually and comfortably as they’re typically sightseeing or doing excursions. We were there in early September; men wore shorts or jeans with a polo or t-shirt; women wore athleisure wear or capris and a t-shirt with a light jacket. For dinners, some people did dress up (men in button-up shirts and pants; women in pants and nice blouses or dresses) but there were also people that were pretty casual (men in polos and shorts; women in sundresses). We advise you to wear whatever you’ll be comfortable in during the day and get a bit dressier in the evenings. Also, be sure to bring comfortable shoes, especially if you plan to do walking tours.

What’s included in the price?

It is very important you pay close attention to what’s included in the price of your river cruise as each cruise line is different and although many say they are “all-inclusive”, amazingly, there is no standard definition of that term. To our knowledge, the base fare always includes your cabin and your meals. However, there are many other costs to consider, some or all of which are included with some lines. It is quite challenging to understand all these variances, yet at Jetsettery (remember we are CPAs!), we have mapped all of this out across the various lines.

Transfers to the ship on the first day and transfers from the ship on the last day. Some lines include transfers only to/from the closest airport while others include hotels and train stations as well. Others will allow you to purchase transfers at a discounted price. We purchased an AmaWaterways transfer for $30 per person from the Budapest airport to the ship which worked great at a reasonable price.
Excursions. Some lines include all the excursions, some include one per day, and others charge a la carte for each excursion. Note that you always have the option of not doing any of the cruise provided excursions and instead going out on your own or booking your own private excursions. AmaWaterways included all excursions except for a special evening concert in Vienna.
Dining. Although all cruise lines include breakfast, lunch and dinner some lines charge extra for special dining experiences (e.g. a tasting menu meal). AmaWaterways included all our dining even their special Chef’s Table tasting menu restaurant.
Drinks. Some cruise lines include all drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) while others have a drinks package or free drinks at certain times (lunch, dinner and/or happy hour). AmaWaterways included beer and wine with lunch and dinner and all drinks at the happy hour “Sip & Sail”.
Gratuities. There are many different folks to tip while on a river cruise including the cruise director, crew, drivers, and guides. Some lines include gratuities, others allow you to pre-purchase some or all of the gratuities and others have you pay during the trip. We prepaid our gratuities for the cruise director and crew for $177 per person; drivers and excursion guides were not included so we tipped them in cash after each excursion.
Laundry. Some lines include laundry, others have self-laundry facilities and others charge for it while aboard. AmaWaterways had free self-laundry facilities on board the AmaMagna as well as a reasonably priced laundry service.
Pre- and Post-Cruise Options. Most people pair their river cruise experience with additional traveling nearby before and/or after the cruise. Most of the cruise lines offer such packages available for purchase which include transfers, hotels, breakfast, and tours. This would be very similar to other escorted land tours. On our cruise, AmaWaterways offered a few days before in Budapest and a few days after in Prague. You could also choose to travel on your own, which Jetsettery could plan for you.

What other things should I know?

*AmaMagna* rafted to another ship (*AmaMora*) in Budapest

There were two main things that we discovered that you really don’t hear about in any of the marketing brochures. First is that ships typically “raft” next to other ships when docked. There is limited docking space, and when there are a lot of ships, they pull up next to each other. Therefore, that balcony that you were dreaming of sitting on with your morning coffee while gazing out at a riverside castle: you’re staring into the room of another river cruise ship.

Secondly, water levels of the rivers can have a big effect on your cruising. If the water level is too high, the ships can’t fit under bridges, and therefore you aren’t cruising from destination A to B but rather taking a bus. Similar thing if the water level gets too low. There are certain routes and times of year where there is a higher chance of this happening, but with changing weather patterns in recent years, it’s getting increasingly harder to predict.

Is river cruising for you?

River cruising is definitely great for the right person, in the right situation.

Here’s who we think it is great for:

If you find planning a European trip stressful. The cruise does it all for you including itinerary, excursions, restaurants, etc.
If you are new to European travel. In addition to the cruise planning everything for you, it also provides a sense of security.
If you are of an older age. In addition to the points noted above, you can opt to skip excursions and spend your day gazing at towns from the ship. Plus you will be traveling with mostly people of your same age group.

If you enjoy the ease of unpacking once during your trip. If you do a week-long escorted land tour you will most likely be unpacking and repacking every day or two, the river cruise eliminates that.
If you are traveling with a group of family or friends. Individuals can do the excursion of their choice during the day and then the group can meet up for dinner. Also no figuring out how to split the tab at meals.
If you want to visit a bunch of different cities in a short period of time, cruising offers that variety.
If you love waking up and having the water outside of your window.
If you are social and looking to meet others throughout your trip.
If you enjoy ocean cruising or escorted land tours yet looking for something different.

Here’s who we think it’s not the best option for:

If you are particular about what sites to visit. The cruise excursions may or may not go where you want to visit. Excursions are primarily walking tours, there isn’t much opportunity for visiting museums or exploring historic sites in detail. Now you can always plan something on your own, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having the cruise be one-stop-shopping.
If you like to go at your own pace. The cruise is very scheduled. You must meet excursion groups on time or they leave, the ship leaves port at a certain time, meals are served at a certain time.
If local food is really important to you. All meals are included with the cruise and though there are a few local delicacies served, the food skews more mainstream (think pasta bar at lunch, steak at dinner). You can always go off the ship and eat in town, but many nights the ship is already cruising by dinner time.
If you prefer keeping to yourself and are less social. Being on a cruise, even a smaller river cruise, can be a lot. People tend to be very social, there are lots of announcements, meals can be bustling. Especially on river cruises, since it is a smaller group (our cruise was 190 people) you meet people on excursions or at meals, then keep seeing them and have to stop and chit chat.
If you are traveling with kids or young adults. While some lines don’t even allow those under 18, even the ones that do really don’t cater to kids. Like I said before, on our cruise we were the youngest and we’re in our early 50s.

View from Durnstein Castle of Durnstein, Danube and Wachau Valley

River cruising isn't just travel; it's effortless access to the heart of Europe. It eliminates the daily stress of packing, unpacking, and navigating foreign logistics, allowing you to simply step ashore and soak up Europe's most beautiful destinations. If this intimate, all-inclusive style of exploration speaks to your inner traveler, we're ready to help. Let Jetsettery guide you to the perfect river cruise line and itinerary.

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