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and sister vessel AmaVida making its debut on the River Douro in March. The new boats are similar in design to the April 2012-launched AmaCerto; innovative features include twin balconies, a heated swimming pool and a variety of restaurants. Their launch coincides with new Douro and Seine itineraries from Ama. Stuart Perl, Managing Director of UK general sales agency Perl River Cruises, says Portugal’s River Douro will be the rising star of the European river scene in 2013.
“The Douro is attracting a lot of interest from travellers who’ve tried the mainstream European rivers and want something a bit different, without taking a long haul trip,” added Perl.
Big-name operators are certainly piling in. Uniworld River Cruises – represented in the UK by partner Titan Travel – is launching the 118-passenger Queen
Above: The Moselle River and Valley
Isabel on the Douro in 2013, when it will operate seven-night round-trip cruises from Porto.
Viking River Cruises is also operating on the Douro for the fi rst time in 2013, with the Viking Douro offering seven-night cruises combined with stays in Lisbon. And the new AmaVida will enable partner companies AmaWaterways and APT to operate Douro itineraries after a two-year break, offering seven-night round-trip cruises from Porto in 2013. But Portugal isn’t getting all the action; Italy also scores strongly in the 'offbeat’ stakes, and highlights of Titan/ Uniworld’s 'World’s Best River Cruises' brochure for 2013 are two brand-new Italian itineraries aboard the newly- refurbished River Countess. An eight-day 'Venice and the Po River' cruise which includes a stay in Venice, Ravenna (for a pasta-making workshop) and historic Verona and Ravenna will be offered alongside the 13-day 'Splendours of Italy', combining a seven-night Po
RIVER CRUISING: AT A GLANCE
cruise with two nights in Florence and three in Rome.
What else is new for 2012/13? Perl spots a growing demand from British travellers to travel to their European river cruise departure point by rail. And he has encouraging news for agents seeking stronger commission earnings in these diffi cult days; river cruising is holding its value. “ River
cruising is smaller and not as mature as the ocean cruise sector, so there is not the same pressure on price,” he says. “Obviously, tour operators featuring river cruises try to keep prices as low as possible, but there is nowhere near the same price sensitivity as affl icts the ocean cruise sector, so agents can really boost their earnings by becoming expert in rivers.”
AMA Waterways APT River Cruises Avalon Waterways Captain Cook Cruises Hebridean Island Cruises ✓ The River Cruise Line Shearings Holidays Swan Hellenic Tauck Titan/Uniworld Viking River Cruises ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
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From £1136 8-days £1,795 (I) £1565 (I) ✓ ✓ £479 per person cruise only ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ From £2,995 per person £289 pp - 4 day From (l) £99 (coach, air or rail) From £1,495 (I) From £2,780 © From £1699 From £1,795 (I)
32 September/October 2012 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
Cruise Line
Danube - Europe
Douro - Europe Elbe - Eurpoe Main - Europe Moselle - Europe Rhine - Europe Rhone - Europe Seine - Europe Nile - Africa Dnieper - Russia Mekong - South East Asia Couple Family 60+ Budget Luxury Adventure Discovery Mini Cruise
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