River Cruise Bulletinbrought to you by Jane Archer on behalf of CLIA UK & IrelandJane Archer is the UK’s leading cruise journalist writing for trade titles including Travel Weekly and Cruise Trade News. She is also the Daily Telegraph Travel’s cruise expert.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING BRITISHRivieRa TRavel is flying The flag foR The UK wiTh The laUnch of ThRee vessels named afTeR gReaT BRiTish aUThoRs.

The Emily Brontë, Thomas Hardy and Oscar Wilde enter service in 2017 on the Rhine and Danube. Each carries 169 passengers and has upper deck cabins that measure 183 square feet to 274 square feet. There are four deluxe balcony suites. The literary names continue a tradition started in 2014 with the launch of Lord Byron. In 2017, that vessel will move from the Rhine to the Rhône.Also next year, Riviera launches the Douro Elegance on the Douro in Portugal. The river only joined Riviera’s programme in 2015 but it has been hugely popular with the company’s predominately British passengers.conTacT: 01283 733370 | RivieRaTRavel.co.UK

New Vessels

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS IN MYANMAR

Belmond is celeBRaTing 20 yeaRs of cRUising in myanmaR (BURma) This aUTUmn wiTh a foUR-nighT

voyage BeTween Bagan and mandalay ThaT follows The RoUTe of The company’s fiRsT depaRTURe on The ayeyaRwady.

The cruise, on the Belmond Road to Mandalay, departs October 1 and includes a ‘rally’ where passengers can try their hand at diving an oxcart, rolling Cheroots (cigars) and learning a Burmese dance.conTacT: 0845 077 2222 | Belmond.com

IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR

caBins wiTh connecTing dooRs and Rooms ThaT sleep Up To foUR people have Been added To amawaTeRways’ newesT vessel, amasTella, as The company looKs To conveRT moRe families To The joys RiveR cRUising.

The 158-passenger vessel launched in early March and is sailing spring-time tulip-themed cruises before moving to the Danube. A sister craft, AmaViola, enters service in April.

Each has 12 cabins for up to three people, while four suites can hold families of four. Both also have more of AmaWaterways’ signature twin-balcony cabins (these have both indoor and outside seating areas). The fitness, massage and salon services have moved to the lower deck.

conTacT: 0808 256 8422amawaTeRways.co.UK

EMERALD EXPANSION

emeRald waTeRways is TaKing iTs foUR-sTaR RiveR cRUising To fRance and poRTUgal nexT yeaR wiTh The laUnch of Two cUsTom-designed vessels.Emerald Liberté will sail the Rhône between Lyon and Arles in France. It will carry 138 passengers and have a heated swimming pool that converts into a cinema – a feature on Emerald’s vessels on the Rhine and Danube.The 112-passenger Emerald Radiance will sail one-week voyages round-trip from Porto that include a day in Salamanca in Spain. The vessel will have a top-deck swimming pool and no cinema.Both will have cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows, the top half of which opens upwards, as well as massage and fitness rooms and complimentary bikes. Prices include flights, transfers, drinks with lunch and dinner, one shore tour per day and gratuities.conTacT: 0800 270 7017 | emeRaldwaTeRways.co.UK

New Itineraries

UNIWORLD BRINGS JOY TO THE SEINEaRT and anTiqUes fRom aUcTion hoUses inclUding soTheBy’s and chRisTies and a swimming pool ThaT conveRTs inTo a cinema aRe highlighTs of a new UniwoRld RiveR cRUises’ vessel laUnching on The seine nexT yeaR.

Called Joie de Vivre, she promises to be a celebration of French food, wine, art and music. She will hold just 128 passengers, have suites attended by butlers trained to ‘Buckingham Palace’ standard and a private dining room for wine-pairing dinners.She will cruise round-trip from Paris to Rouen, for tours to the Normandy beaches, and Caudebec-en-Caux, for trips to Honfleur. The eight-day itinerary also visits Vernon for excursions to Monet’s garden at Giverny and the ruins of Chateau Gaillard at Les Andelys.conTacT: 0808 168 9110UniwoRld.com

WINTER UPGRADES FOR TAUCK FLEET

ThiRTy caBins on TaUcK’s RiveR BoaTs swiss emeRald and swiss sapphiRe aRe Being exTended dURing a RefiT This winTeR.

The work will reduce their passenger count from 118 to 98. At the same time, a second dining venue, Arthur’s, with its own kitchen and chef, will be added and their names will change – most likely dropping the ‘Swiss’ prefix. The upgrades will be made to Tauck’s Swiss Jewel, Esprit and Treasures a year later.conTacT: 0800 810 8020 | TaUcK.co.UK

AMAWATERWAYS GETS ACTIVE

amawaTeRways has laUnched a selecTion of complimenTaRy new hiKing and BiKing ToURs foR clienTs who ThinK a RiveR cRUise is Too sedenTaRy.

Options include an 18km cycle ride in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, and a 15km ride to Baba Vida castle in Vidin, Bulgaria. Both are offered on cruises along the Lower Danube. Clients cruising the Rhône in France can join a 4km guided hike to Mount Pipet in Vienne and a guided bike tour around Arles.

conTacT: 0808 256 8422 | amawaTeRways.co.UK

SAGA UNVEILS A BAKER’S DOZENa visiT To dRacUla’s casTle, a mysTeRy cRUise on The Rhine and a voyage on The elBe aRe among highlighTs of 13 new RiveR cRUises saga TRavel has lined Up foR 2017.

The programme also includes a jazz cruise on the Rhine departing July 27, with music and talks throughout the seven-night voyage round-trip from Cologne. A one-week voyage from Berlin to Kiel combines a cruise on the Elbe with a transit through the Kiel Canal, a 98-km waterway opened in 1914 to provide a short cut from the North Sea into the Baltic. The cruise departs June 10 and includes a day in Hamburg and an afternoon in Kiel.

conTacT: 0800 074 8021 | saga.co.UK/RiveRcRUises

CRYSTAL ADDS ART AND MUSIC IN VIENNA

an evening of aRT and mUsic aT The BelvedeRe palace in vienna will Be among ToURs offeRed By cRysTal RiveR cRUises when iT laUnches This sUmmeR.

The complimentary excursion will include a tour of some of the art displayed in the palace, including works by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, and a classical Mozart and Strauss concert. Crystal’s river cruise arm launches on July 13, offering 10, 11 and 13-night cruises on the Danube round-trip from Vienna on the 160-passenger Crystal Mozart.

conTacT: 020 7399 7601 | cRysTalcRUises.co.UK

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