Danube (Donau) River cruise vacations depart from Passau, Vienna, or Budapest with stops at Melk, Linz, and Bratislava. Cruise extensions via the Main up to the Rhine River are possible.
MS Mozart on the Danube River (Photo: Peter Deilmann River Cruises)
The Danube River competes with the Rhine for being Europe’s most popular waterways for riverboat cruises. With up to a hundred river passenger boats cruising on the Danube each year, many routings are available for cruise vacations. Up and downstream cruises are usually of similar length but more time will be spent cruising when going upstream. The Danube River is particularly popular with American travelers.
The Danube is Donau in German, Duna in Hungarian, and Dunare in Romanian.
Cheap European Cruise Vacations on Luxurious German Donau Boats
Booking luxury Danube (Donau) River cruise vacations on German boats operated by A-Rosa, Peter Deilmann, and Viking can save money if less inclusive packages are preferred.
Arosa Daunbe Riverboat (Photo: A-ROSA Reisen)
Luxury Danube riverboat cruises marketed in international markets often include more meals and excursions and may therefore seem more expensive than cruise vacations sold in the European market. For travelers keen on arranging their own shore excursions, booking such riverboat cruises can save money. Popular rivers for riverboat cruises in central Europe include the Danube (Donau), Rhine (Rhein), Moselle (Mosel), Main, and Elbe with boats available from luxury to rather basic.
Tauck World Discovery, Peter Deilmann Cruises, Amadeus Waterways, and Viking River Cruises are well-known riverboat cruise line operators with excellent reputations. All these companies market extensively in international markets and sell luxury cruises not only on the Danube but on the Rhine River as well. A-rosa is a fairly new German company currently selling riverboat cruises mostly in the German market while Peter Deilmann and Viking River Cruises also sell riverboat cruises in some markets without including transfers, shore excursions, and some onboard services. Booking such cruises can save money but remember to include additional expenses in the budget before comparing final special offers.
Online reservations services often cannot book special discounts (such as child fares and special anniversaries) making it sensible to compare what is available at different service providers.
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