All the headlines in Europe this year seem to center around water. River cruising has new ships, as usual lately. This year there will be a groundbreaker in River Cruising. At least one luxury River Cruise Line is building ships for Ocean Cruising in a big way. Areas of Europe and Asia are exploding with new choices for visitors. With the signing of a new Brexit agreement we expect the recent emergence of specialty airlines to increase. As airports in Europe expand, new slots are opening for these carriers that may bring a whole new choice for travelers. When it comes to air travel, one thing is certain. You better have a source of education on new carriers, rules, and routes, or you will end up joining the thousands of citizens looking for resolution for “airrors”.
River cruising started out years ago as a necessary means of travel between cities along a river, when paved roads were in short supply. Over the last 10 years the industry has seen a fabulous growth. This has benefited the consumer almost as much as the River Cruise companies. The boon has had it’s shortfalls, most due to the very nature of European River Cruising. River ships have had to be built narrow to navigate locks and river bends. They have had to be shallow because of the changes in water levels during a typical season. This leads to designs that stretch ships to maximum length, yet still limits passenger capacity. Some ships have passed the 200 passenger mark, but most max out at 165. If you double the number of passengers willing to book, you have to double the number of ships or berths. Ship cabins on River Cruise ships are small by design, most under 175 sq. feet. Once the industry started to double the numbers of ships every season, they soon ran into a new problem. At the most popular stops, 5 and 6 ships wanted to stop every day. That created the practice of tandem tying where multiple ships tied up at the same dock, side to side. If you were unfortunate to be on the last ship tied off, you had to walk across 4 other ship decks to go ashore. There Has never been a problem humans faced that someone did not try an innovative solution. I think we have all seen the cartoons about solutions that went awry. Someone once said necessity is the Mother of invention. There was a need to put more people on the same number of ships, but how? In 2019 we will all either read about, or enjoy, an innovative attempt to resolve the problem. AMA waterways will debut the AM<A Magma. This River Cruise ship will be twice as wide as any other ship on any river today. Twice as wide could mean twice as many passengers. The 2 owners of AMA Waterways, along with the design team, kept the number of cabins below double and added some luxury suites up to 350 sq, feet, connecting suites for families, and more dining choices and public areas. I would have expected several other River Cruise companies to jump on this design concept and announce new builds before the Magma hit the water. That has not happened and conjecture is everyone wants to wait and see how the ship operates, how popular it is, and if the stops can accommodate all those passengers off 1 ship. Initial reservation levels are very high as many want to experience the newest technology. For those skeptics who were waiting, many sailings are already sold out. We still have some Corporate Group staterooms available this coming season on almost any River Cruise ship including Magma.
Check back next week for Part 2.
