European Cruises
Tour Europe by Ship - 2
Continued from page 1
ABOVE: Cunard's Queen Mary 2
passes Liberty Island at the end of a transatlantic crossing from Southampton to
New York.
Four ways to cruise
European cruises fall into four categories:
Sea cruises
Dozens of ships offer cruising in the
Mediterranean, the Baltic, the North Sea, and other coastal regions of Europe. These vessels
are similar in concept to the transatlantic ocean liners of yesteryear, and they
carry anywhere from 100 to 3,000 or more passengers in cabins and suites. Many
newer ships offer private balconies, and nearly all have amenities such as
swimming pools and nightly entertainment.
River cruises
On the Rhine, the Danube, and other great rivers of Europe,
luxurious cruise boats glide past the local scenery and stop often to allow
sightseeing on shore. These boats are low in profile, to fit under bridges, and
they typically carry 50 to 200 passengers. (See our
illustrated Viking Burgundy and
Casanova reviews.)
Barge cruises
From the 1800s through the mid-20th
Century, small barges hauled freight over a vast network of canals and secondary
rivers in Europe. Today, many of those barges have been converted into luxury
cruise vessels. Because the typical "hotel barge" carries only 6 to 12 guests,
barge cruising is more intimate than a ship or a riverboat. It's also
slower-paced, with daytime stops and overnight mooring at small villages.
Yacht cruises
A few companies offer cruises aboard large
sailing yachts in the Mediterranean and Aegean. These "soft adventure" cruises
appeal to sailors and would-be yachtsmen.
Because most first-time cruisers prefer seagoing ships,
mainstream cruising--especially "port-intensive" cruising--is the focus of this
article.
Page 3: Port-intensive
cruising
Photo copyright ©
Cunard Line. | 
Durant
& Cheryl Imboden's
