All the rivers running hot as APT reveals new ships to keep up with demand for river cruising

AUSTRALIA’S fascination with river cruising shows no sign of abating. Now extra ships are being added to cater to demand.

Captain Tom Buining with the newly christened AmaReina.

RIVER cruise leader APT has announced it will boost its fleet to 30 ships by 2016.

The announcement was made as APT’s latest ship - the 25 million euro MS AmaReina - was christened in the Danube River town of Vilshofen, Germany.

Australia’s fascination with river cruising shows no sign of abating. APT chief executive Chris Hall said the Melbourne-based company expected to achieve 30 per cent growth in river cruising in each of the past two years.

APT will be not only be running river cruise ships in Europe but also Russia, Burma and India. The company in 2015 will exclusively charter the RV Ganges Voyager and expectations are high that Australians will see this as a safe and comfortable way to visit India.

Dancers celebrate the launch of the MS AmaReina, in Vilshofen, Germany.

In Europe in 2015 APT will launch another two new ships - the MS AmaVista and the MS AmaSerena - to sail on the Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers.

The hero of the company continues to be its 15-day Magnificent Europe tours which sail between Budapest and Amsterdam. This year there will be 95 of these departures by APT and another 48 by APT’s sister brand Travelmarvel.

In Russia APT will launch the MS Anastasia in 2015 and in a further collaboration with celebrity chef Luke Nguyen that ship will include an Indochine dining option. Nguyen, who was in Vilshofen for the launch of the AmaReina, is a brand ambassador with the company.

Captain Tom Buining with the newly christened AmaReina.

Mr Hall said the company’s return traveller rate was sitting at 40 per cent but it was important to keep offering guests new frontiers and destinations.

“We tend to blend travel products together by combining river, rail and land,” he said.

“Our new products are expanding the type of customer we are appealing to. We offer a total holiday experience and that’s our point of difference.”

APT general manager marketing and sales Debra Fox also highlighted the growth, and potential, of small ship expedition cruising as a drive to further expansion of the company’s business.

“Since we launched the Luxury Small Ships product in 2011 it has gone from strength to strength, and as a result in the last 12 months we have increased our number of charter nights by well over 300 per cent,’’ she said.

“We’ve got the whole world covered - from colourful Cuba to India’s iconic Taj Mahal, the fjords of Norway, the rich wildlife haven of Antarctica, local culture in PNG and even island hoping in Greece.’’

Entertainers help launch APT’s latest ship, the MS AmaReina, in Vilshofen, Germany.

By 2015, to cater for the growth, APT will have eight vessels involved in small ship programs.

The AmaReina, from the hull upwards, was built in the Netherlands and it is the 13th ship in APT’s Europe fleet cruising sailing on 14 waterways.

The AmaReina can carry 164 passengers and offers a significant leap forward in on-board river cruise luxury.

The ship was christened by its godmother Princess Heide von Hohenzollern. Princess Heide is an integral part of APT’s “royal experience” with cruise guests visiting her home Burg Namedy castle in Andernach.

The new MS AmaReina’s godmother, Princess Heide von Hohenzollern.