For a long time, river cruising shied away from the family market, like a disapproving uncle that doesn't want to have rug-rats disturbing the peace. In fairness, it has valid reasons for its reliance on couples and retirees. River-cruise ships are compact and lack the space to accommodate the kids' clubs, waterslides and child-oriented entertainments of ocean-going vessels. And, until recently, river cruises were small-scale operations that could rely on their traditional customer base to fill cabins.
But times they are a-changin', although at a sedate float rather than a fast flow.
"As the number of river-cruise ships and itineraries grows, it's only natural that some cruise lines may seek to broaden their offering. Attracting more family groups would be one way of doing this," Cruise Lines International Association (Australasia) general manager Brett Jardine says.
While many big operators such as Viking, Scenic and APT still have no specifically child-oriented amenities or shore excursions, other companies are now offering family cruises that finally give young passengers a good reason to river cruise.
"Multigenerational river cruising is an emerging travel trend and continues to go from strength to strength,' Uniworld general manager John Molinaro says. "It's the perfect blend of adventure, historical insight and quality family time incorporated into a cruise."
If you're considering taking the kids on a river cruise, here's what you need to know:
All river-cruise companies have age restrictions that range from four to 12 years old. River ships will have, at most, a single lounge, a small library and perhaps two dining venues. A large, open-air roof deck is the only place young kids can run about, but this can sometimes be closed due to inclement weather and low bridges. Public areas simply aren't suitable for rambunctious children, even on dedicated family cruises.
River-ship cabins are cramped and only sleep two. Interconnecting cabins have, until now, been virtually non-existent. But AmaWaterways' AmaViola, designed with families in mind, offers cabins that sleep three or four, plus a limited number of interconnecting cabins. Tauck's MS Joy and MS Savor also have triple and quad cabins, although only in their top category; a few others can be interconnected.
Don't dismiss taking your kids on a regular river cruise. They can be perfectly agreeable for older, quieter children with a lively interest in history and culture and sufficient maturity to interact with adults. It might be wise to avoid cruises in Portugal, Bordeaux and Provence, since these tend to emphasise vineyard visits. The Rhine and Danube cruises provide more variety and dock in larger towns and cities that offer more for families.
Christmas market cruises are another good choice. "Many people choose to get away at Christmas and New Year so they don't have to worry about anything," Aleisha Fittler, general manager of product for Scenic, says. "It's particularly popular for families and we often have multiple generations travelling with us at Christmas, so we go out of our way to make their festive experience extra special."
Your best bet, especially if you have younger children, is to choose a dedicated family cruise. US company Tauck was first to establish multigenerational river cruises and, for a while, was the only name in the game.
"Parents wish for their children to develop an appreciation of diverse cultures and a love of discovery," Tauck's head of sales and marketing, Deb Corbett, says. "We create itineraries which deliver insider access and immersive activities that suit everyone from toddler to grandparent."
This year, Tauck has three multigenerational itineraries, although its "Castles of the Rhine" between Amsterdam and Budapest is already sold out – a good indication of the surging demand for family river cruises. "Bon Voyage" travels between Paris and Lyon and is the only dedicated family river cruise in France.
The "Blue Danube" itinerary between Budapest and Regensburg nicely demonstrates how children are now being catered to on river cruises. It's light on museums and focuses on varied activities appealing to kids. Young passengers return to the Middle Ages at Devin Castle in Slovakia, for example, where they're treated to a fencing show, medieval dancing and games, and a tournament of knights. In Vienna, a tour of St Stephen's Cathedral takes kids into its catacombs, with its royal tombs and eerie tales of the Black Death. In the evening, meanwhile, families are taken to the Prater amusement park for a ride on its iconic Ferris wheel, which adults might remember from its appearance in the classic movie The Third Man. The Prater also has a haunted house, go-kart track, merry-go-rounds and extreme-speed rides.
By day five of their Danube holiday, the kids will be cycling along the riverside at Durnstein in Austria, where they can also hike up to a ruined castle that once imprisoned Richard the Lionheart. In Salzburg, a visit to Hellbrunn Palace gardens amuses visitors of all ages, thanks to its trick fountains and 18th-century animatronics.
Tauck might have been the innovator, but Uniworld is now offering considerably more family products. The company has expanded its multigenerational itineraries for 2016, tripling the number of its departures and rolling out nine family itineraries on Europe's rivers, including a "Classic Christmas Markets" cruise in Germany and a "Castles Along the Rhine" itinerary between Basel and Amsterdam.
Family shore excursions are aimed either at younger children or tweens and teens. They include such activities as hands-on pasta making in Bologna in Italy, treasure hunting for chocolate in Heidelberg in Germany, and a visit to the dinosaur exhibit at Frankfurt's paleontological museum. In Venice, a treasure hunt leads kids from glass-blowing to a mask-making workshop and tower for a bird's-eye view over St Mark's Square, and includes a tartufo dessert tasting. Kids can get active with biking and hiking, kayaking, Segway rides and white-water rafting, depending on the destination.
Uniworld's ships on these family itineraries carry two hosts, one for Junior Cruisers (aged four to 11) and one for Young Cruisers (aged 12 to 18), allowing parents some adult downtime. There's a "Curious Minds" cultural chat from a local junior guest, while on-board activities include language lessons, games, a behind-the-scenes ship tour and cooking classes that might see the kids baking strudels or pizza.
Pandaw River Cruises, which sails boutique ships in Asia, has just introduced family-friendly departures on the Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers, although so far with only two departures each, timed for summer and Christmas holidays. They feature revised shore excursions to appeal to children, city cycle tours, and on-board cooking lessons and movie nights. The "Mandalay Pagan Packet" itinerary in Myanmar offers mountain-bike riding amid the temple ruins of Pagan.
Back in Europe, Adventures by Disney has partnered with US-based river-cruise company AmaWaterways to offer three eight-day Danube River itineraries in 2016 for families, a move so successful that wait lists have already formed for all July and August departures (there are still cabins available in December). Among its shore excursions are a falconry display at Hohenwerfen Castle in Austria, bike excursions along the Danube riverfront, archery at a Slovakian castle and a Salzburg tour that takes in movie locations from The Sound of Music. Now that's something to sing about.
SHIP Tauck's MS Joy or MS Savor.
ITINERARY Eight days from Budapest to Regensburg (Germany), including Bratislava, Vienna, Durnstein, Salzburg and Passau.
WHY Medieval games at Devin Castle near Bratislava, marzipan and strudel making, cycling along the Danube and visits to the Prater amusement park in Vienna, plus Salzburg's amusing Hellbrunn Palace with its trick fountains.
WHEN Departures July 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. Prices from $US3690 ($5250) a person. Phone 1300 732 300, see tauck.com.au.
SHIP Uniworld's River Countess.
ITINERARY 15 days from Milan to Rome, including Venice, Padua, Bologna or Ferrara, Verona and Florence.
WHY Italian, pizza-making and arts-and-crafts lessons on board, plus excursions that feature gondola rowing, glass blowing, a ghost walk, Renaissance dressing up, gladiator school and pasta making.
WHEN Departures June 24 , July 1 and 8, 2016. Prices from $9129 a person, kids half price on cruise-only fare. Phone 1300 780 231. See uniworldcruises.com/au.
SHIP Pandaw's Mekong Pandaw.
ITINERARY Seven nights from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap, including Cai Be, Chau Doc, Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham.
WHY Sampan boat excursions, floating markets and a catfish farm, a cycle tour and a village school visit, and tomb raiding at Angkor Wat will fascinate inquisitive kids.
WHEN Departures on August 6, 2016 and January 7, 2017. Prices from $US1560 ($2220) a person, kids half price. Phone 1300 783 188. See activetravel.com.au.
SHIP AmaWaterway's AmaViola.
ITINERARY Eight days from Vilshofen (Germany) to Vienna, including Passau, Salzburg, Durnstein or Krems, Vienna and Bratislava.
WHY Rubik's Cube magic, costumed castle storytellers, Christmas markets, strudel making and dress-up at Schonbrunn Palace, riverside cycling, salt mine tours and a treetop rope experience will all appeal to kids.
WHEN Departures on December 15 and 22, 2016. Prices from $US4669 a person ($6640), kids from $US4439 ($6313). See adventuresbydisney.com.
SHIP Uniworld's River Ambassador.
ITINERARY 15 days from Basel to Vienna, including Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Nierstein, Bamberg, Nuremberg and Passau.
WHY German, dessert-making and arts-and-crafts lessons on board, plus excursions that feature biking, white-water rafting, an amusement park, a visit to BMW's manufacturing plant and a toy museum, and a cathedral climb.
WHEN Departure July 24, 2016. Prices from $8999 a person, kids half price. Phone 1300 780 231. See uniworldcruises.com/au.
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