In Prague yesterday morning, a fellow commented that the city had been conquered 4 times in the last 500 years. First by the Habsburg Empire, then by the German Nazis, then by the Soviet Communists, and now by Viking Cruise Lines!
It’s certainly true that the city seems like it’s been overrun by tourists groups doing pre- and post-trip extensions. The Charles Bridge and Easter Markets were teeming with tourists. Our hotel had passengers from 9 different Viking ships checking in & out over the last few days.
It’s not just Prague, either. River cruising across Europe is experiencing a remarkable surge in popularity – particularly among American travelers like us. As we embark on our journey along the Danube, we were surprised when about 75% of our fellow passengers raised their hands when asked if they are on their first-ever river cruise.
The allure of river cruising lies in its ability to offer an intimate, immersive experience through Europe’s quiet inland waterways. The ships reach smaller, more walkable towns like Linz & Bratislava – mixed in with some big-name stops like Vienna & Budapest on our itinerary – the Danube Waltz.
According to Condé Nast Traveler, the Danube is the most popular river for cruising in Europe, followed by the Rhine. These two rivers account for about 60% of passenger numbers in Europe, and both are growing. At the same time, cruise companies are adding boats to rivers in Asia, Egypt, and North America.
In Europe, the number of people they are attracting is remarkable. Over the last 10 years, passengers on river cruises almost doubled from approximately 852 thousand to 1.6 million. And that’s despite the huge pandemic setback starting in 2020. North American travelers are now almost 40% of river cruise passengers in Europe.
We had been interested in trying one of these cruises for a few years. We’ve been on a handful of ocean cruises before. This ship is quite different with only about 250 passengers compared with thousands on an ocean cruise ship.
We just boarded today, but will provide our thoughts on the trip next week.
Have you tried a river cruise yet? Interested?
MrFireStation 
We have done a Danube tour and have another one coming up this summer in Portugal. I was surprised how much I enjoyed our first cruise. Normally not the way i’d prefer to travel, but we were with a group of friends and it was a lot of fun. Our guides were really knowledgeable, so it was a great learning experience (for what it was).
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Portugal is really popular right now, isn’t it? Group travel is fun. We’re in a group of 8 right now, including my brother & sister in law.
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We’re going on our first river cruise this December for Christmas markets in Germany.
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I’d love to do a European Christmas Market trip! My wife doesn’t want to go if it’s cold, though. Lucky us, we found that ‘Easter Markets’ are now becoming a thing. Prague had 4 of them!
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I have not heard of Easter markets – guess that might coincide with tulip season?
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I’m not sure. When we got to Slovakia & Hungary the tulips were past bloom and Easter markets were packed up. Of, course for tourism, “sweets & chocolate” markets were opening!
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I recently read a book about this entitled “Tomorrow Will Be Better: A True Story of Love and One Family’s Triumph over the Horrors of World War II” by Zdena Kapral that was about this. The Kapral’s ended up in Oshkosk, WI to run a paper mill that produced the first coated printer paper. A friend of mine bought their very nice house and turned me onto their story.
My friend and I both agreed that the book should be mandatory reading by all high school students. I am sure the John Dewey miseducation crowd wouldn’t approve though. The book was a real page turner because I kept wanting to find out how they got out the bad situations they were in.
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A Czech family that escaped the Nazis?
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They survived the NAZI invasion of their country. The Russian Communist ‘liberators’ were actually worse. They escaped to India to set up a chemical plant right in time for an Indian Civil War. Next stop, Australia, where they stepped on some good old boys’ toes down under, who didn’t like competition.
Finally they ended up in Chicago, where the husband setup a process for a new paper plant in Neenah. The plant was mismanaged, so the bank foreclosed on it and had the Kaprals take it over. That is how they ended up in Oshkosk, WI.
It is historical and a very good read that I highly recommend.
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Wow – that’s quite a circuitous route!
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Nile River with Viking was wonderful on a small boat of 48 passengers total occupancy 48.
Next month Duoro River
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Wow – only 48 passengers. I have a friend from MN who did the Nile with them and really liked it. Have fun on the Douro- just read about that river.
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We were on Vikings oldest Nile boat but it was like new. The newer boats are large in the 100-120 passenger range. What was nice was that there were only two busses for the entire boat and the guides were with us the entire journey
We would do the Nile trip again, except that there are too many places we want to go before a repeat trip.
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This trip was a good mix of repeats (Prague, Salzburg) and new cities (Vienna, Budapest) for us. We went to Egypt once, but it’s not high on my “repeat” list either!
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Please also keep in mind whether cruise trips are good for the environment (they are not). I was shocked when I saw how much gasoline they burn!
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It looks comparable to a car with two passengers on an energy efficiency per mile per passenger basis. Of course, if you drive a car, you’d have to include the energy used in your the restaurants & hotels you use. Cruise ships are basically 24 hour cities.
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