Photo of the ms Inspire river ship courtesy of Tauck.
What's the difference between an ocean cruise and a vacation on the rivers of Europe? Quite a bit, actually, so Tauck, a tour operator with its own river fleet, created a 24-page guide that explains the ins and outs of river cruising.
The "First-Timer's Guide to River Cruising" answers many questions posed by prospective cruisers and is available at no cost, in digital and print versions, through the Tauck website.
Organized into Who, Why, What, Where and When sections, the guide explains river cruising's popularity and what a river cruise experience is like, from the meals to excursions to accommodations.
Tauck CEO Dan Mahar emphasized that the primary goal of the guide was to educate rather than simply promote Tauck.
"The guide has nearly 6,200 words of text, and the word Tauck appears just 34 times," Mahar said, "so I think it's obvious that our goal is education."
For example, the guide includes a list of 10 reasons travelers choose a river cruise. No. 1 is the all-inclusive nature of river cruising, with virtually everything bundled into the fare - including drniks, shore excursions and tips - on Tauck trips. No. 5 notes that river cruising is a relaxing vacation "without sea sickness."
Another section is titled "What Can You Expect Ashore and Onboard." Includes this passage: "Evening activities onboard are not the kind of glamorous productions you'll find on ocean liners. Rather, they may include lectures, artisan demonstrations and regionally inspired cultural entertainment in more intimate lounge settings."
The guide also notes that river boats in Europe are all virtually the same size, which is determined by locks and bridges. So check the number of passengers - more people in the same space could mean smaller cabins and fewer public areas.
The book also lists what Tauck says are the Top 5 river cruises for first-timers - "Rendezvous on the Seine" north from Paris, "French Waterways" in Southern France, Amsterdam to Budapest, "The Blue Danube," and "The Romantic Rhine" between Amsterdam and Basel.
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