Think a river cruise is a pale shadow of an ocean cruise? Think again

Some ocean cruisers have no truck with river cruising. Fair enough, if you love big ships with water slides, spa facilities and glitzy shows, then river ships won’t float your boat.

Nor do they suit children, although Disney, Tauck and Uniworld do operate limited family-oriented cruises.

But if you like the ease, organisation and sociability of cruising, you get the same trouble-free holiday. And although the experience is otherwise different, so what? You don’t likely confine yourself to one type of hotel or one type of holiday, so why limit your cruising?

Credit: Greg Straight

River ships get you to places you’ll never see on ocean ships: continental interiors, fabulous gorges, pretty towns so small they’d never feature on ocean itineraries, even if they were on the ocean.

Some destinations such as the Yangtze Gorges and Amazon aren’t accessible any other way than by river. And since rivers have always been vital to settlement and trade, you get a glut of magnificent architecture, art and culture as you sail, too.

There’s no such thing as a day of sea, when all you have to stare at is waves. You’re never short of sights. They scroll past in a 360-degree panorama from the deck of a river ship, all day, every day.

Golden-tipped temples, tumbledown castles, Gothic cathedrals, vineyards, floating markets, bell-tinkling monasteries, skyscrapers and the occasional nuclear power plant are all on view, and closer than anything you see from an ocean ship.

Scenic Azure sails into Porto on the Douro River in Portugal. River cruise ships can take you places ocean ships can’t go.

Another way that river cruises have the edge is that ships are in port much of the day and often in the evening, leaving you ample time to explore. They most often dock right downtown, with none of the rigmarole of transfers by shuttle or tender.

That means you can come and go at will and don’t have to depend on shore excursions, although river companies are offering an expanding range of excursion options for those who want them.

So, while limited on-board facilities are a downside for some travellers – you’ll have at most a couple of dining venues, a small gym, one-room wellness suite, hot tub and puddle-sized swimming pool – you won’t be spending as much time on board as you would on the ocean.

Another welcome advantage of river ships is that they offer more regional cuisine and wine choices. River-ship menus have international fare too, but local dishes might include the likes of pho on the Mekong, coq-au-vin and cheese platters in France or sausages and sauerkraut in Germany.

Themed cruises are more common than on oceans, so gourmets will find interesting food-and-wine-oriented itineraries, particularly in famous wine-producing areas in France, Portugal and Germany.

Other cruises might be themed around beer, Jewish heritage, the American Civil War, art, music and opera, or timed for seasonal events such as tulip time in the Netherlands or Christmas markets in Central Europe.

There are plenty of reasons to consider the river next time you cruise, so go with the flow.