River cruising is likely one of the fastest-growing segments of the journey business. In slightly over a decade, a river cruise has gone from being a distinct segment expertise to a mainstream one, with voyages provided on rivers like Europe’s Danube, the Mississippi within the U.S. and Southeast Asia’s Mekong.
However river cruising has a stereotype it simply can not seem to shake: The common demographic veers towards retirees.
In some ways, this is not shocking. River cruises are usually longer than their oceangoing counterparts, and a few include in depth precruise and postcruise stays in main cities. It isn’t unusual, with flights and motels, for a weeklong river cruise to balloon to 12 or extra days.
Spending extra days cruising additionally means spending more cash, which limits the typical age of vacationers who may probably get into the river cruise market.
However that is to not say that river cruises are strictly for older, retired vacationers. Listed here are our favourite exceptions to the rule.
Carry the children — we’re not kidding
Most river cruises are decidedly grownup experiences, however a number of corporations really provide kid-friendly river cruises designed particularly for multigenerational households seeking to cruise collectively.
Adventures by Disney, Tauck and Uniworld all provide particular multigenerational cruises through the summer season and winter vacation months. These vary from explorations of the Rhine in summer season to voyages down the Danube in winter, simply in time for the festive Christmas markets that usually run between Nov. 25 and Dec. 24 every year.
Adventures by Disney is especially noteworthy, due to its partnership with AmaWaterways. Fairly than being a real Disney cruise (Adventures by Disney is a separate firm altogether), the main target right here is on related household actions each on and off the ship.
The identical could be mentioned of Tauck’s Bridges program, which presents choose family-friendly voyages all year long. This program applies to the road’s river and small-ship voyages, too, making it simple to take the little ones on an unforgettable expertise.
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Uniworld’s Generations program operates in a similar way, permitting youngsters as younger as 4 to set sail. Uniworld usually consists of youth and exercise packages on these sailings, with devoted household hosts on board to cater to junior cruisers (4 to 12) and teenage cruisers (ages 13 to 17).
Lively river cruises are all the trend
River cruises that appeal to younger (and young-at-heart) vacationers typically have designated “lively” elements.
Avalon Waterways is a pacesetter on this space. Its “Lively and Discovery” river cruises mix extra lively, bodily demanding shore excursions, akin to hikes, biking excursions or much more “on the market” adventures like archery lessons and cave explorations.
And when you can nonetheless relax and calm down at your personal tempo, these lively river cruises provide the power to do extra whereas ashore within the firm of like-minded people. It may not take the typical age of your fellow visitors down any, however these looking for a bit extra journey versus the usual “Panoramic Metropolis Tour” (that is code for a motorcoach tour) will discover loads to like about these lively river voyages.
Strive a themed river cruise
When you’re seeking to sail with youthful passengers, themed river cruises are often a protected wager. Many river cruise strains provide particular themed cruises, however AmaWaterways is especially noteworthy on this enviornment. The road presents particular cruises that target wine appreciation, beer, music and wellness; golf-focused voyages; and even journeys curated together with the Smithsonian.
AmaWaterways can be doing an outstanding job of interesting to a less-traditional cruise passenger, with immensely widespread “Soulful Journeys” river cruises that cater to Black historical past and heritage on the waterways of Europe. These unbelievable voyages skew youthful, and so they typically appeal to solo vacationers, {couples} and even multigenerational households desirous to expertise the often-hidden Black historical past and tradition that is current alongside Europe’s most famed waterways.
Set out on an journey
One other method to roll again the typical age in your subsequent river journey is to select a distant vacation spot. As a rule of thumb, river cruises which are tougher to achieve draw barely youthful visitors who’re lively sufficient to maintain up with the rigorous pacing, a number of flights and sophisticated overland journeys needed to achieve these particular locations.
Rivers just like the Ganges in India, the Mekong in Cambodia and Vietnam, and the Amazon in Brazil, Peru and Colombia are all wonderful examples of off-the-beaten-path river cruise adventures. As a result of giant quantities of journey concerned with the itineraries, they’re prone to skew a bit youthful on the age scale.
Sail with a cheaper line
When you’re seeking to sail with a youthful river cruise crowd, selecting a cheaper line is typically a great way to roll the median age down — although, let’s be trustworthy, your fellow passengers are nonetheless doubtless going to be effectively traveled and older than 55.
Some leaders by way of worth for cash are Emerald Waterways and French river cruising juggernaut CroisiEurope. The previous caters to North American, Australian and U.Okay. passengers by providing acquainted comforts and practically all of the inclusions of different river cruise strains; the latter is a bare-bones providing that’s decidedly French however welcoming to English-speaking visitors as effectively. Consider Emerald Waterways as a Courtyard by Marriott, and CroisiEurope as an Ibis Kinds.
Cheaper strains additionally enchantment to first-time cruisers seeking to dip their collective toes into the waterways of Europe. However that does not imply they provide a lesser product: The usual of service, delicacies and lodging on board are nonetheless superior to what most land-based motels would provide, particularly at this value level in Europe.
And since these strains do not focus as a lot on “luxurious” choices, they’re priced at such a degree that many 40-somethings can afford to splash out on a European river cruise.
Backside line
River cruising in Europe tends to skew towards an older crowd. Longer voyages and better value factors than many ocean cruises imply the parents touring on these voyages are sometimes retirees seeking to discover the world in consolation.
However do not let that put you off. River cruising is a tremendous expertise that gives the power to go to a few of the world’s most historic locations with like-minded folks, no matter age. You by no means know what new mates you may make in your subsequent river cruise, so go in with a way of journey, and bear in mind: Age is only a quantity.
