Is a River Cruise Perfect for Your Young Family?

Categories

The AmaWaterways cruise on the Danube that we'll be sharing for weeks proved ideal for active adults who appreciate fine dining.  Linked here is your personal invitation to join us on this virtual cruise.  You'll find great AmaWaterways videos that illustrate how river cruising has changed and which all cruisers should watch.

Following a specific cruise might imply that particular ship is the best solution for everyone, especially because the next installment is called "Why should you cruise on AmaWaterways?"

While most of us can find ways to enjoy any cruise we take, the fact is that different cruise lines and itineraries have been tailored for specific audiences.

Mega-ships serve multiple markets simultaneously, but as ships get smaller, you can be certain that the niche narrows dramatically.

AmaWaterways partners with Disney for a handful of trips geared to families.  As always true with both brands, expect excellence throughout, though not at the lowest prices or with air promotions on a wide variety of choices like Viking River Cruises, which a couple of years ago chose to go adults only and so is no longer a choice for families traveling with kids.

U By Uniworld opened a couple of years back with a unique marketing proposition: river cruises with fewer amenities geared to adults under 40 years-old.

At first, they had a firm age cap of 40, but apparently U didn't attract enough of that Contiki-crowd despite aggressive pricing, so they removed the upper age limit and instead made it clear through marketing that U wasn't ideal for traditional senior river cruisers that this wouldn't be their bag, as we used to say in the sixties.

Next season, U takes another step toward a wider audience in that younger demographic, but this time for the Generation Z travelers who have children of their own.

Having seen Disney's success gearing trips to families with children (younger children may have more fun on a Disney Ocean Cruise), U has a new program called "GenZ on U" aiming to attract young families with teen-aged kids.

It would be an amazing way to share an historic voyage through Europe with your teen as a special birthday or high school graduation gift before they go to college and begin on their adult lives. 

You'll enjoy plenty of fun activities both on and off the ship to enjoy together and, if you choose, occasionally with others your own ages.

Before signing off, let me remind you to click "Why should you cruise on AmaWaterways?"

It's not a generic pitch to cruse on AmaWaterways --- though admittedly it is that too --- but rather the first view of our virtual cruise together that we'll share online over the next few weeks.  Trust me when I say I am reading them before I send them on to you.

If you have any questions about the trip or simply want to know what's happening, feel free to contact me.

Wes