WHY IT RATES: Families can enjoy an all-inclusive river cruise along two of Europe's most scenic river cruises on two special departures this year. — Lacey Pfalz, Associate Writer, TravelPulse

Traveling abroad with the kids can be an incredibly rewarding and enjoyable experience…but it can also feel daunting to navigate the maze of logistics required to plan a week’s vacation for a family of four to see the highlights of Europe. This summer, Emerald Cruises is offering an easier way to take the kids, and even extended family to Europe: A Family River Cruise onboard one of their award-winning Star-Ships.

After hearing from guests that they would like the opportunity for multi-generational families to explore Europe in the summer months, the journey designers at Emerald Cruises created two dedicated family cruises departing this July on their most popular itineraries along the Danube and Rhine rivers. These sailings, which have been carefully crafted with guests ages 10 to 18 in mind, can be enjoyed across the generations. Special pricing on these two departures allows families traveling together to book two adjacent cabins and save 50% on the second cabin.

The eight-day Family Rhine River Cruise, sailing on the recently-launched Emerald Luna from Basel, Switzerland on July 17, 2023, calls on ports in Germany, France and the Netherlands. Special family-friendly excursions that include a canoe trip on the Rhine, geocaching in Heidelberg, and an optional educational visit to Anne Frank House in Amsterdam offer chances to explore and learn while in a new destination. This itinerary is an excellent choice for those wishing to visit the historic castles and fortresses situated along the beautiful Rhine. It also offers the unique opportunity to sail with Emerald Luna’s godmother, travel advisor and advocate Vanessa McGovern and her family. Total starting fare for a family of four is $2,771 per person inclusive of savings and gratuities.

“I am counting the days until I can share my love of Emerald Cruises with my family on the beautiful Rhine this summer,” said McGovern, who is co-founder of Gifted Travel Network. “I know my family is going to adore sailing on Emerald Luna and getting to know the attentive and friendly crew. I’m impressed with the level of detail that has gone into these family-friendly itineraries, and I am eager to see the looks on my children’s faces as they experience river cruising for the first time.”

The eight-day Family Danube River Cruise departs from Budapest, Hungary on July 15, 2023 onboard Emerald Dawn, and sails west along one of Europe’s most popular rivers—the blue Danube—through Slovakia, Austria and Germany. In Budapest, families can opt to visit the AM 3D gallery, a quirky museum where guests are encouraged to interact and pose with the art; while in Bratislava budding chefs will enjoy taking part in a cooking class on a local Slovakian farm. A geocaching outing in Passau and an archery lesson at Schallaburg Castle in Austria ensure kids get an opportunity to immerse themselves in this picturesque part of the world. This sailing can be booked for a family of four at a starting fare of $2,546 per person, inclusive of savings and gratuities.

Onboard, guests ages 10 to 18 and over can look forward to dedicated pool activities with the ship’s wellness coach (Emerald Cruises is the only river cruise line that features a heated pool with retractable roof at the ship’s aft), wheelhouse tours with the Captain where they can learn about what it takes to navigate these great rivers, a selection of kid-friendly movies in the ship’s cinema, cooking demos with the chef, and even mocktail lessons with the bar team. The locally-inspired dinner menus will feature options modified for younger guests’ tastes, breakfast and lunch buffets will include plenty of kid-friendly choices alongside adult favorites, and afternoon snacks and poolside ice cream will be served daily.

Emerald Cruises’ generously-inclusive pricing includes all onboard meals, wine and beer with lunch and dinner for the adults and soft drinks for the kids, airport transfers to and from the ship, gratuities, port charges and daily excursions.

Guests who book their family river cruise by March 31 can also take advantage of the current river cruise offer with savings up to $1,000 per couple on the first cabin, and when paying in full within 72 hours of booking, they can add free or reduced air or additional savings. For those that travel as a family of four—two adults with two children—the second cabin would be eligible for 50% savings on the full fare.

Emerald Cruises offers a diverse lineup of river and yacht cruises on three continents. Emerald Azzurra, the line’s first ocean-going vessel which debuted in March 2022, is a 100-guest, luxury yacht sailing the warm waters of the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Red Seas, and new for the 2023/2024 season, the Caribbean and Central America. In November 2022, Emerald Azzurra was named Best New Luxury Ship in Cruise Critic’s 2022 Editors’ Picks Awards. Emerald Sakara, the brand’s second luxury yacht, launches in 2023. On the rivers, Emerald Cruises sails eight branded Star-Ships in Europe and one on the Mekong. The brand offers innovatively-designed ships, outstanding service and a focus on active shore excursions and onboard wellness offerings through their signature EmeraldACTIVE program. Emerald Cruises is part of Scenic Group, which includes Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Mayflower Cruises & Tours and Evergreen Tours in Australia.

Emerald Cruises can be found on Twitter at @emerald_cruises, on Facebook as EmeraldCruisesGlobal and on Instagram as @EmeraldCruises.global.

Additional information can be found by contacting your local travel advisor; on Emerald Cruises’ website, www.emeraldcruises.com; or by calling the consumer/travel agent reservations line at 844-428-8389. Digital brochure downloads are available on the website.

SOURCE: Emerald Cruises press release.