At first blush, river cruising doesn’t sound family-friendly. The small ships don’t offer kids’ clubs, pools, or arcade rooms, like you might expect on ocean liners. Aside from a tiny library and the occasional lecture by crew members, there is little onboard entertainment for anyone, regardless of age. There are no accommodations for the younger set when it comes to meals, either: Dinnertime is a two-hour, sit-down affair—there is no bellying up to the buffet—and there aren’t kids’ menus to please fussy eaters. Indeed, there aren’t a lot of kids onboard who need to be pleased, anyhow: River cruising tends to attract an older clientele, well past child-rearing age.
The Viking Burgundy on the Rhone River. Photo: Debbie K. Hardin
So why did my husband and I pack up our 13-year-old daughter for a river cruise through the South of France? We wanted to see the countryside, visit tiny hamlets that aren’t easily accessed via railway, and introduce our daughter to Europe without worrying about the costs of hotels and meals. Most of all, we wanted time to enjoy each other as a family, away from the distractions that keep us preoccupied the rest of the year.
Robust cruise itineraries make it possible to squeeze in a lot in a relatively short time away from home—perfect for families vacationing during school holidays. Unpack once and move from city to city without lugging suitcases or shuffling through train stations. Once onboard, the pace of river cruising is supremely relaxed, which means plenty of time for exploring the port of the day, with energy left over for a game of Scrabble before bedtime.
We chose a seven-day cruise aboard the Viking Burgundy (“Portraits of Southern France”), which sailed through charming Provençe and the idyllic wine country. We toured the Papal Palace at Avignon, visited the spectacular cathedrals in Lyon, and hiked through Roman ruins in Arles. These architectural wonders opened our daughter’s eyes to the beauty of Western culture—as did our relentless pursuit of the best sorbet in France.
Photo: Debbie K. Hardin.
Viking Cruises offers a number of European itineraries that are appropriate for families with children 12 and older, including an eight-day “Rhine Getaway”; a ten-day “Elegant Elbe” cruise from Berlin to Prague; and a 15-day “Grand Tour” along the Rhine, Main, and Danube Rivers.
Europe was transformative, which gives us the inspiration and confidence to plan our next family river cruise to an exotic locale, such as Uniworld’s thirteen-day trek, “Splendors of Egypt and the Nile,” or a twelve-day “Highlights of China and the Yangtze.” With destinations like these, we won’t even miss the buffet line.
