Nomadic Notes: Real Trips, Real Stories
I'm not a cruise person. Then I spent a week on a river cruise in Bordeaux.
I woke up to vineyards and chateaus drifting past my window. Water swirling against the hull. Birds chirping from the riverbanks. The occasional fish jumping in the water. The scenery rolling effortlessly by on its own.
I had been invited by Avalon Waterways to join a FAM river cruise on their Bonjour Bordeaux itinerary. A FAM trip, or a familiarization trip, is the vendor’s way of letting you experience their offerings firsthand for a discounted price, so you can truly understand the product and position it better. Basically like a Paid POC if you will 😊. I had never been on a river cruise before. Plus there was wine involved 😉. So I jumped at the opportunity.
Let me preface this by saying I’m not an ocean cruise person. For those who know me – I love experiencing culture, eating local food, seeing places, visiting cities. Ocean cruising is great for people with kids or multi-generational groups, but it’s not my vibe. But ever since I attended my first webinar on river cruises and how they are different from ocean cruises, I’ve been curious about them.
Without sounding like a day-by-day journal of my trip, here is what I discovered about river cruises, and why they might be interesting to you as well:
1. Destinations are the star
Before roads and railroads connected regions, rivers were the main transportation routes for goods as well as people. As a result, many of the world’s greatest cities like Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Paris, Amsterdam, and many more, were built along rivers.
The docks from where goods were loaded on boats were in the heart of the city’s commerce districts, and residential areas were built around them. River cruise ships use those same historic docks, bringing you right into the heart of the destination.
In Bordeaux, the place where we docked is where the Sunday Farmers Market is set up. Within minutes of docking, we were able to go and taste cheese, olives, wines, tomatoes and other delicious products that the vendors were selling. We were also able to very conveniently hop on a tram to the old city center and shopping district, just 1 stop away.
With modern ships, most places are only a short sail apart, with sailing times typically averaging no more than 3 hours. This means more time at the destinations to see the places and for excursions. Our Bordeaux itinerary (8 days including check-in/check-out days, meaning 6 full days) included visits to Bordeaux, Pauillac, Blaye, Bourg and Libourne, with excursions to places across the region like Fort Medoc, St Emilion, Arcachon bay, Sauternes and more. Our sailing times were mostly 1.5-2 hours, except for the last day coming back which was about 3.5 hours (time I needed to finish packing 😉)
2. A variety of itineraries across the world
Most people think river cruises are mostly in Europe, and this is not necessarily the case. While cruises on the Seine, Danube, Douro, etc have become very popular of late, there are many other rivers in the world where there are some amazing cruises. You can sail through the rainforests along the Amazon in Peru, or glide past pyramids and ruins along the Nile in Egypt. There are also cruises along the Mekong in Vietnam/Cambodia or the Brahmaputra in India. The one I want to do one day is a cruise along the Yangtze in China that goes along the Three Gorges Dam.
River cruises also offer interest-based itineraries. Whether you’re interested in wine, beer, history, Christmas markets, or flowers, from Provence’s famous lavender fields or spring tulips in Netherlands, there’s probably a river cruise itinerary built around it.
On our Bordeaux cruise, besides all the wineries we visited and the wines we sampled, we also had a sommelier on board one day to teach us how to taste and evaluate Bordeaux wines. A historian gave us a lecture on the history of Bordeaux and its importance in the world wars.
3. The experience feels more personal and intimate
Most river cruise ships tend to be smaller, with a capacity of 120-200 people. This makes the environment more intimate, and also makes boarding, docking, etc much faster and easier. Plus, you get to know your fellow cruisers better.
The smaller capacity also means fewer crew members. There were about a dozen members on the wait staff who served us during the meals as well as tended the bar, and we got to know most of them by their first name and even were able to speak to some of them about their homes, careers and experiences. This I felt was quite special, since you don’t get to do that in bigger ships.
Also, we could choose to eat as a proper sit-down meal in the dining room, or a smaller buffet in the lounge, or even order room service, and it was all included as part of the experience.
4. Choices based on your pace
River cruises often have a variety of activities and excursions based on your fitness and mobility level. We had choices every day of what activity we wanted to do. In Medoc, some of us decided to bike on e-bikes along the vineyards of Margaux, while others chose to directly go to the wineries for wine tasting. Yet others chose chocolate tasting. Even on the days when there was only 1 option, for example the guided walk of Bordeaux, we were able to choose between 3 different groups – the slow paced, the fast paced or the medium paced one.
One thing I do want to point out, because I don’t want to mislead anyone – river cruises are definitely slower paced. Evenings wrap up by 10pm mostly. But you do end up seeing a lot while also getting enough rest. So they can be the perfect balance between walking 18k steps going through European cities, and completely chilling on a cruise.
River cruises might be a great option for a multi-generational trip, or as a group trip, since everyone can pick their own activity level each day.
5. The journey is a big part of the experience
As you sail down the rivers, you go past beautiful countryside – vineyards, chateaus, small villages and picturesque farms. Greenery and wilderness. And you can see this all from the comfort of the ship’s deck, or even from your room. On Avalon, the rooms all have big balcony type doors that slide to open 7 feet, so I could take in the scenery from my bed. It was a very scenic and serene sail.
Final Thoughts
And that, my friends, is what changed my perception of cruising.
What surprised me most about this trip was that I never felt like I was on a cruise. It felt more like a floating boutique hotel that happened to move me from one destination to another and from one excursion to another.
If you have any questions about river cruises, or about the Bordeaux cruise or Avalon Waterways in particular, I’d love to help. Give me a shout!
Thinking about a river cruise to Bordeaux or elsewhere? As your travel advisor, Nomadic Journeys can craft the perfect itinerary for your needs. 📩 Reach me at priya@nomadic-journeys.com and let’s make it happen!