New European River Cruise Ships Launching in 2014

MORE LUXURY RIVER CRUISE SHIPS JOINING THE RIVERS OF EUROPE IN 2014:

With more travellers discovering the pleasures of cruising the rivers of Europe and with the keen competition amongst operators, river cruise companies are launching more luxurious riverboats to meet this growth market.

In 2014 the latest and best river cruise ships being launched by leading cruise operators are:

APT

APT’s adds two “Concerto” class ships, the Amasonata and AmaReina in April and July and these will sail the Rhine and Danube.
Balconies – The 164-passenger Concerto class ships feature twin balconies – a conservatory-style area and an outside balcony.
Other amenities – There’s a heated pool with swim-up bar and the 5 specialty restaurants sounds interesting.

Avalon Waterways

Avalon is adding three more “Suite ships” to cruise the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. The 166-passenger Avalon Impression and 128-passenger Avalon Poetry II are being launched this month, with the 166-passenger Avalon Illumination following in June.
Balconies – Suite ships feature Avalon’s panoramic windows that transform the living room space into an open-air balcony, i.e. instead of allocating room space for outdoor balconies, Avalon’s Suite ships have sliding glass doors which allow passengers to open up their doors for a full view. We had this in 2005, but the rooms and windows were smaller then.

Scenic Tours

Scenic Tours will launch two more “Space Ships” in May and July. The 169-passenger Scenic Jade will cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest whereas the 126-passenger Scenic Gem will be plying the Seine River.

Balconies – Space Ships have private balconies
Other Amenities – Both these ships offer butler service and complimentary mini-bar.

Evergreen Tours

Evergreen, a sister company of Scenic Tours, will be launching two ships in April. The 182-passenger Emerald Star and Emerald Sky will cruise the Rhine, Main, Moselle and Danube rivers.
New amenities – An all-weather pool that converts into a cinema by night is a new river cruise offering. There’s also an open-air terrace.

Tauck

Tauck is adding two new “Inspiration-class” vessels in June to sail the Rhine and Moselle rivers. The 130-passenger MS Inspire and MS Savor are bigger than the other sister ships, but carry fewer passengers.
New Design – 8 “loft” cabins are built over two decks.

Uniworld

Uniworld adds another stylish “Super Ship” to its fleet at the end of March. The S.S. Catherine is one of Uniworld’s largest ships and is a sister ship to the S.S. Antoinette. Although the ship is larger, it will carry less passengers, giving guests more space. S.S. Catherine will cruise the Rhone and Saone rivers.

Balconies – The suites have a full open-air balcony as well as French balcony.

Viking

Viking continues to expand its “Longship” fleet at an amazing rate. Another 12 190-passenger Viking Longships will take to the rivers in Europe this year, making Viking the largest fleet operator.

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