“European river cruising continues to be among the fastest-growing segments of our business, and we’re boosting capacity and expanding our offerings to better serve our guests and our agents,” said Tauck CEO Dan Mahar.

In 2011, Tauck will have 12 itineraries aboard a fleet of its four leased ships, including the Swiss Jewel (launched in 2009), Swiss Sapphire (launched in 2008), Swiss Emerald (launched in 2006) and a new ship set to launch in summer 2011. Tauck will be announcing additional details on the newbuild in the coming months, as well as enhancements to its other river cruise ships for next year, the company said.

Tauck’s two new Rhone River itineraries are the 10-day French Waterways & Vineyards (from $4,490 per person, cruise only, based on double occupancy); and the 14-day French Escapade: Monte-Carlo to Paris (from $5,990 per person, cruise only, based on double occupancy).

French Waterways & Vineyards begins with an included two-night stay in Paris. Guests then board the high-speed TGV train to Lyon to begin their seven-day cruise, which includes stops in Vienne, Tournon, Valence, Viviers, Avignon, Roussillon and Arles.

The French Escapade: Monte-Carlo to Paris itinerary begins with two days in Monte-Carlo and Nice. Guests then travel to Arles to begin their nine-day cruise on the Rhone and Saone rivers that explores Viviers, Tournon, Vienne, Lyon, Macon, Chalon-sur-Saone and Beaune. The trip concludes with two nights in Paris.

The art-themed cruise will set sail on the 140-passenger Avalon Creativity in November 2011.

The Art & Impressionist river cruise through Northern France, will include a visit to the  Musée d’Orsay in Paris, Claude Monet’s Giverny home, and the Musée des Beaux‐Arts André Malraux in Le Havre.

“Our cruise directors and special guest lectures offer a vast onboard education experience, giving cruisers the chance to soak in the history, culture and in this case, the art of a region as they drift from village to village,” said Patrick Clark, managing director of Avalon Waterways.

Avalon’s 8‐day Art & Impressionist cruise is priced from $2,349. For more information about Avalon Waterways’ 2011 themed vacations, please visit www.avalonwaterways.com.

Luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent is enhancing its European canal cruising program for 2010 with a new barge as well as several new food and wine-themed sailings.

Barging or canal cruising is the more intimate alternative to river cruising. Depending on the barge, they can accommodate anywhere between four and 18 passengers, and the number of crew vary according to the size of the barge. The barges, charming sailing vessels with cabins and cozy common spaces, are intended to travel along the calmer canals of Europe, namely in France, Belgium, Holland, Ireland and the U.K.

With a newly added eight-passenger barge, Enchanté, A&K has 23 barge ships on offer for 2010. The Enchante was refurbished in 2009 and will sail the Canal du Midi in the South of France next year. It has Internet connection and a guest computer on board, as well as air conditioning. An on-board chef will prepare gourmet meals in a demonstration kitchen, and meals can be served al fresco on the deck. For larger groups of up to 16, Enchanté can be chartered in tandem with the eight-passenger barge Anjodi. Six-night canal cruises start at $5,890, per person, cruise only. Private charters start at $45,000 for up to eight guests.

Additionally, A&K has introduced several new themed canal cruises for 2010.

A new culinary cruise is being introduced on the four-passenger Alouette (pictured below), which also sales on the Canal de Midi. The itinerary includes cooking lessons as well as accompanying the chef to local markets. Six-night charters start at $25,000.

A Wines of Burgundy (Grand Cru) cruise is being offered on the eight-passenger Amaryllis barge, part of the Orient-Express collection of cruises. The wine cruise includes tastings of 33 Grand Crus of Burgundy, including Bonne Mares, Montrachet and Romanée Conti during France’s “Semaine des Grands Crus.” The cruise takes place July 18 to 24, and starts at $9,800 per person.

Additionally, a chocolate and wine cruise is being offered on the six-passenger Elisabeth, which sails the Canal du Nivernais in Burgundy. Included in the cruise are wine tastings and dessert-making demonstrations. Six nights start at $4,300 per person.

Lastly, a bike and barge charter is being offered on the 18-passenger Le Phenicien. The summertime itinerary along the Canal du Nivernais includes a different bike ride each day, ranging from 19-mile to 32-mile rides, with the assistance of a cycling specialist. The Bike & Barge itinerary is only available by charter. Six-night charters start at $54,460.

For additional information visit Abercrombie & Kent.

“Attention ladies and gentlemen. We are approaching a very low bridge, and we kindly ask that you vacate the Sun Deck until we have passed.”

Welcome to river cruising in Europe, where the experience is unlike any other you’ve ever encountered.

Floating down the Moselle River toward Germany’s border with Luxembourg and France, Peter Deilmann River Cruises’ Heidelberg is passing under a bridge — a low bridge. The crew moves to remove not only all tables and deck chairs from the Sun Deck but also the side railings, and even the captain’s pilot house must be lowered so that it is flush with the upper deck.

With the bridge only 100 yards away, I squeeze my head through a canopy draped over the stairwell to the Sun Deck, completely flush except for the captain’s bald crown poking above the deck from the pilot house.

We make it under with only two inches to spare. “The captain has been with us a very long time,” jokes Wilhelm Bahrs, Heidelberg’s affable hotel manager. When I fail to get the joke, he rubs his head to indicate that the low bridges have scraped the captain’s noggin bare.

Crossing The Divide

Cruising Europe’s rivers is a relatively new phenomenon that began in 1992. The completion of the Main-Danube Canal that year meant that river cruisers could travel, via locks, from the North Sea to the Black Sea, opening up 2,200 miles of river through 13 countries, and allowing itineraries from Amsterdam to Budapest.

The manmade channel crosses the Franconian Alps to link the Main and Danube rivers. Transiting the canal, river vessels cross Europe’s Continental Divide, which requires a series of locks to lift the ships approximately 1,400 feet above sea level.

A bit less than 40 feet wide, the canal’s locks restrict the width of river cruisers, which are essentially barges with rooms and other amenities above. River cruisers are, in fact, little more than floating hotels.

Night and Day

Some river cruise itineraries allow ships to overnight in ports and cruise during the day; others require that ships cruise during the night and tie up in port during the day.

Peter Deilmann’s Heidelberg, for example, transited the Rhine and Moselle rivers during the day, passing beautiful countryside characterized by vineyards, ancient castles and small towns. The ship remained docked in charming villages overnight.

On the Danube during a Christmas Market’s cruise in December, AMAWATERWAYS’ Amadagio cruised between destinations during the night and spent much of the daylight hours docked in cities and towns.

Uniworld’s River Empress overnights in Budapest and in Passau at the beginning and end of its Danube cruises and sails between destinations during the daylight hours and overnight.

Both approaches allow for dinners ashore and late-evening strolls into town. And both beat motorcoach tours of Europe hands down. On river cruises, you pack and unpack only once; there’s no need to get up at unspeakable hours in the morning to board a bus for the next destination. You and your hotel cruise along together.

First-Time Cruisers

Europe has more navigable rivers than any other region in the world — and arguably more diverse cultures along its river banks than any place else. A cruise along the entire length of the Rhine and Danube rivers exposes travelers to 10 countries in Eastern and Western Europe.

First-time river cruisers typically begin with the Danube, according to Rudi Schreiner, president of California-based Amadeus Waterways, founded in 2002. “The Rhine River seems to be one river that is mentioned worldwide,” he says, “but the majority of cruises in Europe actually take place on the Danube.”

You may be familiar with the names of some of the cities along the Danube: Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria; and Passau, Germany.

“With the Moselle and Rhine river towns, however, even some Europeans are not familiar with the names,” Schreiner says. “So the typical first-time cruiser goes on the Danube, sees the beauty there, then wants to go on other rivers: the Moselle, the lower Danube, and to Holland and Belgium for tulip cruises in the spring.”

Of course, you can always opt for the grand tour of Europe, cruising from Amsterdam to Budapest — and beyond. Along the way, you’ll look out on charming villages, storied cities, fairy tale castles, vineyards and the slow pace of life along the river — all from your floating hotel.