The Joy of River Cruising

AmaWaterways is a proud sponsor of Samantha Brown’s Places to Love.

I took my first river cruise in 2018, and I am hooked.

Since Covid hit, we’ve been hosting weekly Facebook Live chats, talking about episodes of Places to Love. On this chat, we were thrilled to discuss the wonderful Rhine River Cruise episode. We were thrilled to be joined by Kristin Karst, co-founder of AmaWaterways!

In 2018, Kevin and I brought the kids and our parents on their Rhine River cruise. It ended up being one of the best travel experiences of our lives. A whirlwind tour of Europe, while fun, is hardly ever easy (especially with kids). For every Instagrammed photo of a family jumping gleefully in the foreground of a gothic church, there is a real-life hunger-and-jet-lagged fueled tantrum to go with it… and often it’s the adults, not the kids.

With the framework our ship provided, the trip was magical. The multi-generational trip allowed us an opportunity to create memories together without the stress of getting from A to B. We explored Heidelberg castle; learned about Gutenberg’s printing press in Mainz, Germany; and pretended we were the stars of our own fairytale on the cobblestone streets of Strasbourg, France. And the adults got to drink —er— study the region’s fabulous wines and beer.

River cruising is growing in popularity, and it’s easy to see why.

Unlike ocean liners, the ships are small and contained. It’s not an overwhelming experience where the first half of your trip is spent just orientating yourself. Instead of days at sea, serenely sailing from one destination to another is an absolute treat, with beautiful vistas you can only see from the water. Plus, you only have to unpack once! And if you’re like me, you love the peace of mind knowing you’re always close to the shore in case of an emergency.

You can tell every little detail, from the full balconies to the personalized and thoughtful service, is well-considered. The AmaWaterways team has spent nearly two decades perfecting the experience. Since their founding 18 years ago, the family-run business has grown to a fleet of 25 ships. From the 14-suite Zambezi Queen sailing in Africa, to the largest river ship in Europe, the AmaMagna (which still only hosts 196 guests), they pride themselves on providing guests with a unique and personalized trip they’ll never forget.

A few highlights from our conversation with Kristin:

She pointed out that AmaWaterways offers both excursions in the cities/towns, along with those that get you into nature. Think hiking, biking, that kind of thing. So whether you’re a history buff, or someone who’d prefer to climb to the tallest point in town than see their 18th church, AmaWaterways has you covered.

And if you worry about sea sickness: me too! Because rivers are shallow, you get stability you’re not going to find on an ocean liner. I tend to get very sea sick, and I felt great throughout my entire trip.

I guarantee our conversation with Kristin will leave you dreaming of your own river cruise. Where would you like to go? Their Nile trip certainly piqued my interest.

Pssst! Want to join me in Bordeaux this summer? Learn more here!