Cruises
River Cruise Lines
River cruising is a different operating model to the sea. Ships are locked to a common set of dimensions by European lock and bridge clearances, so the differences between brands sit in cabin design, what the fare includes, and how the shore programme is run rather than in ship size or facilities.
Fleet structure matters when you read these profiles. Viking operates more than eighty near-identical Longships, and AmaWaterways and Emerald both run large European fleets built on repeated hull platforms — so we cover each distinct ship type and flagship vessel rather than duplicating a page per hull.
Ocean brands are covered on the Cruise Lines hub, and small-ship luxury on the Luxury Cruise Lines hub.
Viking Holdings Ltd · Basel, Switzerland
Viking River Cruises
The scale player in river cruising — adults-only, culture-led and standardised across more than 80 near-identical Longships.
AmaWaterways · Calabasas, California
AmaWaterways
The active, food-led river line — daily guided cycling and hiking, a Chaîne des Rôtisseurs dining programme and the twin-hull AmaMagna.
Globus family of brands · Littleton, Colorado
Avalon Waterways
Panorama Suite Ships with beds facing wall-to-wall windows and an Avalon Choice programme that lets guests pick classic, active or discovery excursions.
TUI Group · Luton, United Kingdom
TUI River Cruises
The British-market river line — all-in fares, flights and transfers bundled, and a deliberately relaxed onboard style sold through TUI's high-street network.
Scenic Group · Newcastle, Australia
Emerald River Cruises
Engineering-led Star-Ships with indoor pools under retractable glass roofs — the contemporary, better-value sibling to Scenic.
Lüftner Cruises · Innsbruck, Austria
Amadeus River Cruises
Austrian family shipowner with a classical-music signature, panorama window walls and unusually long crew tenure.
River lines compared
| Line | Fleet | Home base | Positioning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viking River Cruises | 80+ Longships plus regional and exotic vessels | Basel, Switzerland | The scale player in river cruising — adults-only, culture-led and standardised across more than 80 near-identical Longships. |
| AmaWaterways | 26 ships across Europe, Africa, Asia and South America | Calabasas, California | The active, food-led river line — daily guided cycling and hiking, a Chaîne des Rôtisseurs dining programme and the twin-hull AmaMagna. |
| Avalon Waterways | 16 Suite Ships plus chartered exotic vessels | Littleton, Colorado | Panorama Suite Ships with beds facing wall-to-wall windows and an Avalon Choice programme that lets guests pick classic, active or discovery excursions. |
| TUI River Cruises | 4 ships | Luton, United Kingdom | The British-market river line — all-in fares, flights and transfers bundled, and a deliberately relaxed onboard style sold through TUI's high-street network. |
| Emerald River Cruises | 9 Star-Ships across Europe, Asia and Egypt | Newcastle, Australia | Engineering-led Star-Ships with indoor pools under retractable glass roofs — the contemporary, better-value sibling to Scenic. |
| Amadeus River Cruises | 15 ships, family-owned and operated | Innsbruck, Austria | Austrian family shipowner with a classical-music signature, panorama window walls and unusually long crew tenure. |
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