PHOTO: AmaWaterways’ new AmaSerena and AmaVista are sisters to several existing ships, including the AmaCerto, pictured in Bratislava.

Global expansion of river cruising is leading to exciting new experiences on waterways around the world. Here is an overview of company developments for the new year.

AmaWaterways
www.amawaterways.com | 800-626-0126
AmaWaterways will introduce two new ships this spring, the 164-passenger AmaSerena and AmaVista. They will join their sister ships in the fleet — AmaReina, AmaPrima, AmaCerto and AmaSonata — on Danube, Main and Rhine sailings beginning in spring 2015.

What’s new about the AmaSerena and AmaVista is that each will offer connecting staterooms, something that appeals to families and groups traveling together. Most staterooms will feature the line’s signature Twin Balconies, one a step-out balcony and the other a French-style. Staterooms will also have an entertainment-on-demand system with complimentary access to the Internet, the latest movies, a music library and more.

AmaSerena and AmaVista also will have salon and massage services, fitness rooms, sun decks and heated swimming pools with swim-up bars. AmaWaterways river cruises include complimentary unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, and complimentary bottled water replenished daily in all staterooms

Amras Cruises
www.amrascruises.com | 844-462-6727
This Boston-based company, which represents the ships of Lüftner Cruises, will introduce a new ship in spring 2015. The new Amadeus Silver II will travel through Holland and Belgium and down the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. A sister to the Amadeus Silver introduced in 2013, this vessel will have 72 staterooms that measure 188 square feet in size and 12 larger suites of up to 284 square feet.

All staterooms include a seating area, a flat-screen television, Wi-Fi access and a safe. Staterooms on the Mozart and Strauss Decks include a French balcony with windows that opens at the touch of a button.

The suites have a private walk-out balcony, a bathtub, a separate shower and a minibar.

American Cruise Lines
www.americancruiselines.com | 888-323-4741
This Connecticut-based small-ship specialist will introduce the 150-passenger American Eagle paddlewheeler in the spring on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The vessel is similar to the Queen of the Mississippi, which was introduced in 2012.

The American Eagle will operate mostly seven-night voyages round-trip from New Orleans and between New Orleans and Memphis. Of note are the 14- and 21-night cruises that will sail between New Orleans and St. Paul, Minn., in August and September.

The American Eagle boasts extremely large staterooms of 300 to 600 square feet in size. All have floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass doors opening onto private balconies, as well as wireless Internet service, satellite TV, breakfast room service and coffee brewers. The ship has open-seating dining, an all-American crew and daily educational events.

A-ROSA Cruises
www.arosacruises.com | 855-552-7672
A-ROSA Cruises, represented in North America by David Morris International, will operate more than 200 departures in 2015 on the Rhône/Saône, Rhine, Danube, Moselle and Main rivers in Europe.

What’s new is that the company is expanding the level of inclusiveness for 2015. River cruises will feature an open bar all the time, not just wine and beer during lunch and dinner hours. Also included are sodas, coffee, tea, juices and bottled water.

Also, passengers can choose their own shore excursions with a $200 credit, about $250. Dinner is available as a four-course, plated service or a more casual buffet with cooking stations. A-ROSA river cruise fares again will include pre-paid gratuities, port taxes and fees.

Avalon Waterways
www.avalonwaterways.com | 877-797-8791
The river cruise company that is part of the Globus Family of Brands will introduce two Suite Ships on the rivers in France in 2015 as well as new 36-passenger vessels on the Mekong through Vietnam and Cambodia and the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar.

PHOTO: Avalon’s new Myanmar ship features suites with huge sliding doors that open.

The new Avalon Tranquility II will sail the Rhine and Rhône rivers, while the Avalon Tapestry II will enter service on the Seine River. On these Suite Ships, 80 percent of the staterooms are 200-square-foot Panorama Suites with floor-to-ceiling windows that open 7 feet wide.

The vessels also will feature a complimentary Internet corner, free Wi-Fi access, a fitness center, a hair salon, an elevator and a Sky Deck with shade, a whirlpool, deck games and the Sky Bistro for al fresco lunches of light grilled fare.

Meanwhile, in Asia, the Avalon Siem Reap and Avalon Myanmar will each accommodate 36 passengers on the Mekong and Irrawaddy rivers. Built by local craftsman, the ships reflect the character of the regions as well as modern features travelers expect today.

CroisiEurope
www.croisieuroperivercruises.com | 800-768-7232
In April, CroisiEurope will introduce the Loire Princesse on the Loire River in France. The 96-passenger vessel will operate six- and eight-day cruises in the Pays de la Loire region, visiting places such as Nantes, Saint-Nazaire, Ancenis, Angers, the Castles of the Loire, Saumur and Bouchemaine.

It will be the first vessel to operate overnight passenger cruises on the Loire, thanks to some updated paddlewheels that take up less space underwater so it can safely maneuver in the shallow water.

Also to be christened this spring is the 132-passenger Gil Eanes on the Douro River in Portugal and the newly renovated Camargue on the Rhone and Saone. In addition to free Wi-Fi access, CroisiEurope pricing includes beer and wine at lunch and dinner, as well as an open bar throughout the voyage, onboard entertainment and port taxes.

CroisiEurope also has expanded its operations on the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia with the purchase earlier this year of Compagnie Fluviale du Mékong, or CFM.

Emerald Waterways
www.emeraldwaterways.com | 855-222-3214
This new river cruise line, which began sailing this year, will launch two new ships in 2015 — the Emerald Sun and Emerald Dawn. The 182-passenger vessels will operate an 11-day sailing between Lyon and Arles, France; a 10-day Eastern Europe itinerary that includes Bucharest; and an eight-day cruise through the Netherlands and Belgium.

The ships will have two dining venues, the Horizon Bar and Lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows, a heated swimming pool under a retractable roof that can turn into a cinema in the evenings, a spa, a mini-golf putting green and a walking track.

Haimark
www.haimarktravel.com | 800-798-4223
This fast-growing company, which builds ships that often are booked and chartered by tour operators, plans to launch the 56-passenger Ganges Voyager in India in January. It will operate seven-night roundtrips from Kolkata, India, and offers optional land extensions. (A second vessel, the Ganges Voyager II, is scheduled to enter service on Jan. 6, 2016, for Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection.)

In September, Haimark will launch a 24-guest, all-suite, “spa concept” ship named Mekong Princess. The company says it will have “the most extensive spa menu of any ship on the Mekong River” with massages, facials, scrubs, and body wraps.

The company also is planning a 44-passenger vessel to operate six-night voyages on the Peruvian Amazon.

Scenic Cruises
www.scenictours.com | 855-517-1200
This company will introduce two new “Space Ships” in 2015. The 169-passenger Scenic Opal and Scenic Jasper will have a “split pool” on the sun deck. One side will feature a typical area for cooling down while the other side has a stream for swimming laps while staying in place. Each ship will feature the Portobello Restaurant, equipped with a moveable glass wall that can be opened for al fresco dining or closed off during inclement weather.

The company said 85 percent of cabins and suites will have private walk-out balconies that close off with the push of a button during cool or wet weather.

Scenic river cruise fares include complimentary beverages, wines and spirits, butler service in all cabins, Wi-Fi access, airport transfers and gratuities.

Tauck
www.tauck.com | 800-788-7885
Tauck plans to launch the MS Esprit, the fifth ship in the 118-guest Jewel class, in April. It will operate on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers, offering 14-night cruises between Amsterdam and Budapest, and seven- and 12-night voyages between Basel and Amsterdam.

Tauck river cruises are fully inclusive and include all shore excursions, gratuities, airport transfers, onboard beer, wine and premium spirits and more.

Accommodations on MS Esprit include 14 suites that measure 300 square feet, seven 183-square-foot staterooms and standard 150-square-foot cabins. Eighty-five percent of the accommodations have floor-to-ceiling windows with French balconies that open, in-room movies, a minibar, adjustable heating and cooling and a private bathroom and shower.

Un-Cruise Adventures
www.un-cruise.com | 888-862-8881
This small-ship company’s 88-guest S.S. Legacy will operate four departures of a new wine-centric river cruise itinerary in the Pacific Northwest in 2015. Departing roundtrip from Portland, the itinerary includes visits to nine wineries.

The weeklong “Ameritage! Four Rivers of Wine & History” itinerary will depart Aug. 15, Aug. 22, Aug. 29 and Sept. 5. The inclusive cruise will sail on four rivers — Columbia, Snake, Willamette and Palouse — and highlights the burgeoning wine regions in Washington and Oregon. A local wine expert will join the cruise to make presentations and lead wine tastings.

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Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection
www.uniworld.com | 800-257-2407
Uniworld will introduce another Super Ship in the spring. The S.S. Maria Theresa, named after the Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, will sail those locales on the “European Jewels” itinerary from Budapest to Amsterdam. It also will sail on the springtime tulips cruise and holiday cruises.

Similar to the S.S. Catherine and Antoinette, the new vessel will accommodate 155 passengers. The lavishly furnished staterooms and suites will have handcrafted Savoir of England beds, Egyptian cotton linens, flat-screen TV with infotainment center, bottled mineral water, a safe and a marble bathroom.

The ship also will have several lounges, a heated swimming pool, a fitness center, a spa, a Viennese café, guest laundry, an elevator and free Internet and Wi-Fi access.

Victoria Cruises
www.victoriacruises.com | 800-348-8084
American-managed Victoria is reinstating Shibaozhai, a 12-story wooden pagoda often referred to as “The Pearl of the Yangtze,” as a regular shore excursion. The reinstatement will come with the completion of an extension of the docking facilities at Shibaozhai, expected by year’s end. Shibaozhai will replace the Fengdu excursion though passengers can still visit Fengdu as an optional excursion, weather permitting.

Viking River Cruises
www.vikingcruises.com | 855-884-5464
Showing no signs of slowing its amazing growth, this company plans to introduce 12 new river vessels for 2015 — 10 are 190-passenger Viking Longships and two are 98-guest vessels for the Elbe River. These additions will bring the Viking River fleet to 64 vessels in 2015.

PHOTO: Viking River Cruises plans to introduce 10 more 190-passenger Longships in 2015.

The two smaller ships, the Viking Astrild and Viking Beyla, will double the company’s capacity on the Elbe River in 2015. Though smaller and specially designed to navigate the Elbe, these ships have many of the same features found on the Longships, including the indoor-outdoor Aquavit Terrace, a variety of staterooms and suites, hotel-style beds, onboard solar panels and an organic herb garden.

They will operate the 10-day “Elegant Elbe” cruise-tour with hotel stays in Berlin and Prague.