2018 has seen continued growth for river cruising – and not just for the UK market. Many people are seeing value of a cruise holiday that allows you to sail into the heart of every destination and things are only going to go in one direction. So, with yet more passengers due to climb on board for the first time in 2019, could next year be one of the biggest yet for river cruising?

Here are just a few reasons why the next 12 months will have a major importance throughout Europe, the US, South-East Asia and in other regions where river cruising continues to be popular.

AmaMagna

The forthcoming AmaMagna may not be the first double-width river ship to grace European waterways, that honoured belongs to Crystal Mozart, but her arrival does offer the chance to cruise on a vessel like this at a more ‘mass market’ price point. With almost twice as much deck space as the other ships in the fleet, AmaMagna will be the first river vessel to have its own sports marina at the aft and will bring an emphasis on ‘play’.

As well as water sports like kayaking, guests can look forward to plenty of other fantastic facilities as they enjoy a Danube River cruise. There will be two new dining venues to go along with the main restaurant and the Chef’s Table, an expansive wellness studio will give you the chance to truly relax and spacious suites will feature twin sinks and walk-in showers. And, who knows, maybe we’ll see more extra-large river ships announced in 2019.

World’s First Fully Electric River Ship

The cruising world is slowly getting better at implementing environmentally friendly initiatives (removing single-use plastic, using LNG fuel), but a giant leap is set to take place in 2019. The first-ever river ship to be completely powered by electricity will be launched by Douro Azul in March. Making use of strategically placed charging points along the banks of the river, the new vessel will increase fleet capacity in the popular Douro valley.

Few details have been released about the ship as yet, but it’s safe to say that we are all excited to see whether others follow suit soon.

Returning Routes

Europe has always been the most popular region for river cruising but that doesn’t mean there’s no space for alternatives. US rivers like the Mississippi and Asian waterways such as the Mekong also have universal appeal and capacity in these areas will increase in 2019. American Cruise Lines has just launched their first modern riverboat in America’s heartland and a second is set to join early next year. Likewise, Pandaw will launch Sabei Pandaw to take travellers along the Northern Mekong and into China, whilst also adding three new routes on the Upper Ganges, Lower Ganges and Brahmaputra respectively.

However, the biggest growth will arguably be seen in areas that have returned from the wilderness. For various reasons, river cruisers lost confidence in Nile River cruises and sailing through Russia a few years ago, but these are both back and better than ever. Uniworld will launch a new ship in Egypt and the desire to sail with Volga Dream continues to grow, enhancing a comeback for these regions that already started at the back end of 2018.

If you would like the team at GoRiverCruise to help you plan your 2019 river cruise, we can talk you through the options available and answer all your questions. Call us on 0800 954 0064 or click here to contact us via the website.