Disney river cruises to have 'Beauty and the Beast' theme

Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" river cruise features a tour of Riquewihr, a French village that evokes Belle's hometown from the movie. Photo Credit: Yoshihiro Takada

Adventures by Disney is amping up its themed river cruise experiences for 2018, adding "Beauty and the Beast" themed sailings along the Rhine River.

On six departures in 2018, Adventures by Disney will pay tribute to the villages and culture that inspired Disney's Beauty and the Beast films. The sailings will feature a Beauty and the Beast-themed dinner as well as other culinary experiences inspired by the film.

There will be screenings of both the live-action and animated versions of the film on the ship and a tour of Riquewihr, a French village that evokes Belle's hometown from the movie.

Adventures by Disney is also offering two epicurean Rhine cruises during the fall. Hosted by chefs and sommeliers, these adult-only sailings will highlight food and beverage experiences both on and off the ship. Activities will include wine tasting, gourmet food and wine demonstrations and workshops, culinary walking tours in several ports, a French patisserie class, local beer and wine pairings, and craft cocktail seminars.

Adventures by Disney's eight-day Rhine river cruises will sail on AmaWaterways' 158-passenger AmaKristina, cruising through France, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands.

For 2018, Adventures by Disney will also offer six Danube sailings aboard AmaWaterways' 170-passenger AmaViola.

The departures will include a new adults-only Oktoberfest sailing in September 2018, which will visit Germany during the annual Oktoberfest celebration, and will include themed parties and festive culinary offerings both on and off the ship.

The eight-day Danube cruises sail through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. They include visiting scenes from the movie "The Sound of Music" in Salzburg, exploring Devin Castle in Bratislava, and taking a traditional Austrian folk dancing lesson in Melk.

Adventures by Disney entered the river cruise market last year when it partnered with AmaWaterways on family-focused river cruise itineraries. AmaWaterways thus has designed its newest vessels to better accommodate families, including providing sets of connecting staterooms and suites.

Adventures by Disney worked closely with AmaWaterways to reimagine shipboard spaces and activities to offer programming for kids, teens and adults.

Bookings for Adventures by Disney's 2018 river cruise vacations open on March 2.

Disney to expand and tweak its river cruise program

Adventures by Disney (ABD) dove into the family river cruise market this year, offering departures on the Danube in partnership with AmaWaterways. How did their early sailings go? Well enough that ABD already announced that it will expand its river trips next year to the Rhine. 

However, there will be one notable change in 2017 when the AmaViola and AmaKristina sail the Danube and Rhine respectively: No 4- or 5-year-olds. 

In its first year of family river cruising, ABD set the minimum passenger age at 4 with a recommended age of 8, but that minimum has been boosted to 6 for year two.

"We continually review our policies and make adjustments from time-to-time as needed," said Amanda Adler, public relations manager for Disney Destinations. "The level of activity on these itineraries is more suitable to children who are eight and older."

Those itineraries include excursions like bike rides, walking tours and sledding into a mine. On a recent ABD Danube sailing, Travel Weekly writer Paul Heney found the company making some adjustments on the fly, like raising the minimum age from 12 to 14 on particularly challenging bike excursions and procuring appropriately-sized cycles for younger guests when the onboard options weren't a great fit. 

Accommodating a virtually all-ages clientele adds extra layers of difficulty to many aspects of a cruise, from designing excursions to crafting dinner menus. But Disney isn't alone in trying to cater to a wide range of clients aboard family sailings. Tauck's family river cruises also set the recommended age at 8, though passengers 4 and up are permitted, and Uniworld's Family Adventures also have a minimum age of 4, with some activities specifically geared toward tweens or teens. 

Uniworld began its multi-generational departures in 2010, and this year it more than doubled its family sailings from five departures to 13 cruises. 

"Uniworld is in touch with its customers and listened to the need for more multigenerational family itineraries," said Ellen Bettridge, Uniworld's CEO. "These departures are designed for families of all ages to participate in programming like hiking, biking, cooking demonstrations, language lessons and more."

As ABD gains more experience on Europe's rivers, we can expect that it will fine-tune its itineraries and excursions to better entertain and accommodate all of its young passengers just as it does on its ocean cruises and in its parks. Ages 6-plus, of course.

Disney successfully adds its character to river cruise market

Adventures by Disney’s cruises on the AmaViola sail by Budapest’s Parliament building.

ABOARD THE AMAVIOLA — Adventures by Disney’s first river cruising season is nearly halfway over, and so far, it has proved a successful move into a market generally overlooked by family travelers.

On this seven-day Danube sailing on the 170-passenger AmaViola from Vilshofen to Budapest, Ken Potrock, senior vice president of Adventures by Disney (ABD), said the company was already looking forward to its expansion to a second river, the Rhine, next summer, and that Disney was broadening river cruising’s demographic.

“[We’re] bringing new people into the river cruise category,” Potrock said. “They’re kind of locked into a segment of the population, and we can expand that segment by bringing families into the equation.”

ABD made its foray into river cruising in partnership with AmaWaterways, which purpose-built the AmaViola with family-friendly design details, including connecting staterooms and suites suitable for three- and four-member families, a rare feature on river cruise ships.

As you would expect with Disney, cruisers will find a family-friendly experience onboard, with movie nights and dance parties for kids. Disney Cruise Line fans will recognize the pirate party with face painting.

Kid-friendly excursions include a walking tour of Bratislava, Slovakia, where kids can complete a puzzle of landmarks; a salt mine tour in Salzburg, Austria, with train rides and wooden slides going into the mine; an Austrian park where kids can walk above the treetops on wooden ledges; and a marionette show offering children a chance to go backstage and try manipulating the dolls themselves.

Parents will appreciate touches such as the tour of Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, where Adventure Guides take the kids through garden mazes and to an onsite children’s museum, enabling adults to explore on their own.

Launching the first of this kind of product has been a learning process, and Disney said it would continue to tweak the programming and dining to make it better for both adults and children.

The biggest change so far is the minimum age for its cruises: next year, Disney raised it from 4 to 6, but it still recommends 8, based on feedback and “seeing how the different aged kids were dealing with the river cruise experience,” said Terry Brinkoetter, public relations director for Disney Destinations.

The line also adjusted its dining options. Previously, everyone ate dinner together in the dining room. Now, kids can choose to eat in the lounge, supervised by Adventure Guides who hang out and play games, giving parents a chance to dine alone. Teens may eat together in the wine cellar, and many on my cruise chose to do so. The main dining room has a kids menu for when families wish to dine together.

Disney also learned on the go with its increasing the minimum age from 12 to 14 years after seeing how challenging the tour was, with rough roads (think cobblestone streets) and non-English street signs. An example of the high level of onboard service is that with no bikes suitable for younger kids such as my 9-year-old for the “ride on your own” option, the cruise director had local bikes delivered to use.

Future plans

Potrock, who was also onboard with his family, said over dinner at the ship’s Chef’s Table Restaurant that next year’s expansion to the Rhine on the upcoming 170-passenger AmaKristina made a lot of sense.

“There’s a lot of culture and character in that region of the world,” he said. “And we think there’s a lot of connection to classic Disney lore and stories there. … We think it’s going to play really wonderfully.”

With ABD expanding to two rivers for summer 2017, the next area of growth might be cruise timing, Potrock said, possibly expanding into May or September. Disney currently only offers the cruises from June through August, which works well for ABD and AmaWaterways, he said, because summer is not the strongest market for older couples, the mainstay clients for river cruises, due to the heat and crowds in Europe, but is perfect for Disney’s family-oriented approach.

Beyond that, he said he sees an opportunity to focus on the adult-only market and get “creative in terms of thematics.” With the popularity of wine cruises, he said, Disney could possibly find a tie-in with the Epcot Food and Wine Festival to create a new river cruise product.

ABD’s Danube river cruise fares include daily shore excursions; WiFi; gratuities; all onboard and some off-ship meals; unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks with every lunch and dinner; and onboard entertainment, including classes for the kids.

Ports include Vilshofen and Passau in Germany and Linz, Melk, Krems and Vienna in Austria, as well as Bratislava and Budapest.

The basic cruise price starts at $4,719 for adults and $4,489 for children. A three-day Prague extension package bumps the total to $6,008 for adults and $5,708 for children.

Disney river cruise starts with a party in a beer tent

Disney Adventure Guides were resplendent in traditional German outfits and happily got many of the kids up and moving. Photo Credit: Paul Heney

This summer, Adventures by Disney is offering river cruises for the first time. Paul Heney and his son are on the AmaViola, experiencing the new product. 

VILSHOFEN, GERMANY — Adventures by Disney’s inaugural season of European river cruising is proceeding with the start of the company’s fourth river cruise today aboard the AmaViola.

The company, in partnership with AmaWaterways, is offering five cruises on the Danube between Vilshofen and Budapest, Hungary, this summer, plus a sixth holiday-themed cruise in December.

My son, Matthew, 9 and I spent a day in Prague on our own, adjusting to the time zone, before taking a luxury coach to this tiny southwestern German town this morning, along with 34 other adventurers. Most of the 140 passengers aboard the ship are from the U.S., with just a handful of Canadian guests and a couple from the U.K.

The cruise started off interestingly, with everyone getting OFF of the ship (after the mandatory safety drill) and enjoying what Disney called “Vilshofenfest,” an Oktoberfest-type celebration held in a small dockside tent.

The writer's son wearing a lederhosen apron.Photo Credit: Paul Heney

While a five-piece German band played, we snacked on beer, sodas and German pretzels. Four male dancers treated us to traditional dances, as well as a fascinating synchronized performance with whips. A young woman who was introduced as the local “beer queen” explained the cultural aspects of the evening.

Disney Adventure Guides were resplendent in traditional German outfits and happily got many of the kids up and moving. Children were given aprons to wear that made them appear to be dressed in similar German outfits — my son needed some convincing to keep his on!

Afterward, the Adventure Guides encouraged the children — there are roughly a couple dozen on board — to eat a more casual kids-only dinner upstairs in the lounge area, leaving us adults time to chat about destinations, politics, and other less-interesting-than-Pokemon topics. My son gladly complied, as did most of the kids I noticed.

While the ship, which I found bright and cheery, does not have “Disney” plastered on it literally or figuratively, there were touches to be found. Our welcome snacks included sandwiches in the familiar shape of Mickey Mouse’s head. I noticed “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” from the Lion King playing in the hallway. One young traveler who ventured to the adults’ dinner was referred to as “princess.”

Tomorrow, the ship docks in picturesque Passau, Germany, and excursions include a walking tour, a tree top adventure and a hike to a castle overlooking the city.

AmaWaterways christens AmaSerena in Germany

From left: AmaWaterways' Kristin Karst and Rudi Schreiner; Cruise Planners' Michelle Fee; Vilshofen Mayor Florian Gams; and 2nd County Commissioner Rainmund Kneidinger.

By Michelle Baran

Michelle Fee, co-founder and CEO of Cruise Planners, served as the godmother for the christening of AmaWaterways’ newest 164-passenger vessel AmaSerena, which took place this week in Vilshofen, Germany.

Fee was joined by Ama co-founders Rudi Schreiner and Kristin Karst.

The launch of AmaSerena brings the company’s 2015 fleet size to 16 vessels, with two additional launches planned for next year — the 158-passenger sister ships AmaViola and AmaStella.

The AmaSerena features the line’s first-ever connecting staterooms, designed to better accommodate families and groups traveling together. The majority of the staterooms on the vessel’s upper two decks have been outfitted with Ama’s signature twin balcony concept (an adjoining indoor and outdoor balcony). The AmaSerena also features salon and spa services; a sun deck; multiple dining venues, including The Chef’s Table restaurant; an intimate wine room; a fitness room; and a heated swimming pool with swim-up bar on the sun deck.

Future itineraries for the AmaSerena include the Enchanting Rhine, Magnificent Europe and the Romantic Danube.

Adventures by Disney to offer river cruising

River cruises a big hit, so Disney adds sailings

Adventures by Disney river cruises will be operated by AmaWaterways.

After announcing last month that it is launching river cruises through a partnership with AmaWaterways, Adventures by Disney has already added two more departures "due to popularity and mass interest in the program."

Originally, Disney’s tour operator arm said it would offer four sailings along the Danube River during summer 2016, and one holiday-themed sailing in December 2016. There will now be five sailings in the summer, as well as two sailings in December of 2016. The itineraries will travel through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.

Adventures by Disney will charter the 170-passenger AmaViola, a ship that is launching in 2016 and is being custom-built to cater to families. Family-friendly features on the AmaViola will be six sets of connecting staterooms, as well as some rooms and suites that can accommodate families of three or four people.

There will be wine tastings, fine dining, music, dancing and an onboard fitness center geared toward adults, and movies, karaoke, relay games, chess lessons on an oversized board, video games and themed nights for young children and teens.

There will be eight Adventures by Disney guides on each sailing in addition to the AmaWaterways crew.

The Adventures by Disney sailings will take place July 7, 14, 21, 28, Aug. 4, Dec. 15 and 22.

Adventures by Disney, which launched in 2005, offers 30 guided vacations on six continents. 

Adventures by Disney to offer river cruising

Adventures by Disney, on Monday said that it is getting into the river cruise game through a partnership with AmaWaterways. 

Starting in 2016, Adventures by Disney will offer four sailings along the Danube River during the summer months, and one holiday-themed sailing in December 2016. The itineraries travel through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.

Adventures by Disney will charter the 170-passenger AmaViola, a ship that is launching in 2016 and is being custom-built to cater to families. Family-friendly features on the AmaViola will be six sets of connecting staterooms, as well as some rooms and suites that can accommodate families of three or four people. Shipboard spaces are being reimagined to allow for activities geared towards passengers of all ages.

Bookings on the five cruises open Tuesday to past Adventures by Disney guests and members of the Disney Vacation Club. Bookings to the general public open Wednesday.

At an event in New York to introduce the cruises, executives from Adventures by Disney and Ama Waterways said the partnership had been two years in the making.

"We're constantly on the lookout for ... new destinations and new formats," said Ken Potrock, senior vice president and general manager for Adventures by Disney. Two trends they identified, he said, were multigenerational travel and river cruising.

For Ama's part, the line has already been accommodating families, particularly on its Christmas markets cruises, Schreiner said.

On the Adventures by Disney sailings there will be wine tastings, fine dining, music, dancing and an onboard fitness center geared toward adults, and movies, karaoke, relay games, chess lessons on an oversized board, video games and themed nights for children and teens.

There will be eight Adventures by Disney guides on each sailing in addition to the existing AmaWaterways crew.

Unlike the oceangoing Disney Cruise Line, however, the river product will not carry a complement of Disney characters, and there will not be character- or movie-themed excursions. "We bring the stories of Europe to life," but not the stories of Disney, Potrock told the audience.

The Adventures by Disney sailings will take place July 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2016, and will include a nighttime illuminations cruise through Budapest; a horse show at the Lazar Equestrian Park in Hungary; a visit to the Devin Castle in Bratislava, Slovakia; a private marionette performance and strudel making demonstration at the Schonbrunn Palace in Austria; a falconry show at the Hohenwerfen castle in Austria; an Oktoberfest event at a German brewery; and biking in every port.

The holiday-themed sailing, departing Dec. 22, 2016, will include visits to the Christmas markets in Budapest and Vienna, and a boys choir Christmas performance at the Hofburg Palace Chapel in Vienna.

Potrock said the company would gauge interest with the first five cruises but said it was "in a position to very quickly expand."

Passengers can add a three-day pre- or post-cruise extension in Prague.

Adventures by Disney, which launched in 2005, offers 30 guided vacations on six continents.