In the coming months, top river-cruise lines will begin charting a course previously traveled only by oceangoing vessels. AmaWaterways and Uniworld will both launch globe-spanning world cruises that take their peripatetic passengers on voyages best measured not in days but weeks, not in miles but leagues. Each will bring sophisticated travelers on journeys through the planet’s most captivating rivers and canals, making daily stops for intimate shore-side exploration of the villages, cities and countryside along the way.

AmaWaterways

AmaWaterways begins its Seven River Journeys in April, kicking things off with a 45-night European voyage that allows guests to discover the romantic appeal of 14 countries on the Continent. The trip takes maximum advantage of three of the company’s luxe ships: the AmaKristina, through France’s Rhône Valley, which is famed for its scenic vineyards; the AmaCerto, on the Rhine, Scheldt, Maas, Moselle and Main rivers, arriving in the Netherlands in time for the tail end of tulip season and ending in charming Würzburg; and the AmaMagna on the iconic Danube, visiting the treasures of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The trip finishes on the river’s relatively untouristed lower stretches, winding its way through Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. The summer sailing is similar but goes deeper into France, including Normandy, the Rhône Valley, Beaujolais and Burgundy, while the 46-night Seven River Journey in fall makes the most of harvest season around Europe. The 2024 itineraries, meanwhile, in spring and summer, will cross most of Europe, cruising between the Netherlands and the Black Sea. Those 49-night trips will be hosted entirely on one ship, the AmaMora, making the journey even more of a breeze.

Andrew Harper members receive $150 per person shipboard credit (applicable on select voyages).