What Are Avalon Waterways Special Interest Cruises? A Guide to the Themes

Avalon Waterways special interest cruises are European river cruises built around a theme, from wine, beer and jazz to tulip season and Christmas markets. Most pair a river itinerary with experiences shaped around what you love most, with onboard experts and hosts on select sailings.

Here's a guide to the themes, so you can find the one that fits how you like to travel.

Avalon Waterways Special Interest Cruises at a Glance

How Avalon's Special Interest Cruises Work

A special interest cruise takes one of Avalon's European river itineraries and builds a theme around it. The route stays familiar: the same Danube itinerary, for example, is offered as a wine, culinary, music or festive season sailing. What changes is the experience layered on top, from tastings and lectures to performances and themed excursions.

On select sailings, Avalon brings experts and hosts on board to lead the theme, such as wine and beer experts, WWII history buffs and celebrity hosts. Many themed itineraries also come in versions with extra nights in a city such as Prague, Paris or Lucerne.

We've grouped the themes three ways:

• Passion themes: sailings centered on an interest, such as wine, history, music or gardens.
• Holiday themes: Christmas market sailings timed to the holiday season.
• Seasons and formats: cruises shaped by the time of year or the length of the trip, from summer sailings to short cruises and land tour pairings.

Cruises Built Around a Passion

These themes start with something you already love and build the sailing around it.

Active & Discovery

Active & Discovery cruises are for travelers who like to do as much as they see. Each port offers a mix of active outings, hands-on experiences, and traditional sightseeing, so you can set the pace to suit your energy level.

Avalon highlights excursions such as a castle visit, a painting class, a medieval knights' tournament, a chocolate museum, an underground salt mine and a guided mountain climb. Itineraries sail the Danube, Rhine, Rhône and Seine, plus a route through Holland & Belgium.

Storyteller Series

Authors, actors, artists, and musicians host these Suite Ship® sailings and share the stories behind the books, songs, and films you know. Sailings can include meet-and-greets, intimate lectures and performances, all set against the river scenery that inspired many of those stories.

Tip: Each Storyteller sailing has its own host and its own river, so the lineup changes from season to season. Our Cruise Experts can check who's hosting before you plan around a favorite name.

Wine

Fine wines are readily available in the dining rooms.

Wine cruises pair Europe's esteemed vineyard regions with tastings, cellar visits and wine pairings, with an onboard wine expert leading the conversation on select sailings. You'll also have the chance to match local vintages with artisan cheeses and chocolates.

Wine itineraries cover the Danube, Rhine, Rhône, Saône, Moselle and Seine, and autumn harvest sailings add golden vineyards and the scent of the season to the experience.

Beer

Beer cruises trade the wine cellar for the brewery. On select sailings, expert brewers and beer sommeliers join the voyage to share the story behind the craft, with onboard tastings and stops at historic beer halls and gardens, well-known breweries and local microbreweries.

Itineraries travel through Switzerland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, so you can toast with Prost in Germany and Proost in the Netherlands.

Culinary

Culinary cruises treat food as the way into a place. Avalon highlights cooking experiences, regional tastings and food-and-wine pairings with local chefs, from fondue and fromage to croissants and crepes in Burgundy and Provence. On the Danube, the menu leans toward goulash and pastry, with cooking skills to sharpen at a Viennese culinary school and Sachertorte and Apfelstrudel to find room for.

Itineraries sail Burgundy & Provence and the Danube.

History

History cruises are WWII remembrance sailings, with a history expert on board to share stories of courage, both epic and personal, and the lives and legacies the war changed. Onboard lectures and visits to historic sites and monuments bring that history into focus, including the Normandy beaches, Dieppe and the Les Invalides Museum in Paris.

Itineraries cover the Seine, Rhône, Saône and Rhine, from a Paris to Normandy sailing to longer journeys across France.

Music & Jazz

Music cruises put the soundtrack at the center of the sailing, with two versions to choose from. Jazz sailings travel through France with onboard performances and, depending on the sailing, a chance to hear jazz at the festival in Vienne's Roman theater. On the Danube, music sailings fill the air with the melodies of Strauss, Mozart and Beethoven, from symphonies and waltzes to performances in concert halls.

Garden & Nature

Keukenhof is one of the world's largest flower gardens.

Garden & Nature cruises are built around tulip season in Holland and Belgium. Spring arrives with crocus, daffodils and hyacinths, followed by the tulips, and these sailings glide through the canals and past windmills standing over fields of color. Stops include Keukenhof Gardens, Amsterdam's hidden gardens and a flower auction.

Cruises Built Around the Holidays

Both holiday themes center on Europe's Christmas markets, and what sets them apart is when in the season they sail.

Festive Season

Festive Season cruises sail as the first Christmas markets begin to open, when villages and cities are just starting to glow with holiday cheer. Avalon highlights markets in Germany, Austria, France and beyond, with itineraries on the Rhine and Danube plus a Douro option through Portugal and Spain. You'll board a festively decorated ship and sail into the holidays with anticipation building at every stop.

Christmastime

Mulled wine is a must-try when visiting European Christmas Markets.

Christmastime cruises are built around the markets themselves: wooden stalls with handmade ornaments, mulled wine, grand cathedrals and glistening lights. Itineraries sail the Danube, Main and Rhine, with highlights such as Rüdesheim, where musical instruments come to life, Austrian Christmas cookies on the way to Vienna and Melk's Benedictine Abbey with its frescoed ceilings. Markets in Budapest, Prague and Strasbourg round out the choices.

These itineraries come in several lengths, including versions with extra nights in Prague, so you can keep exploring.

More Ways to Shape Your Sailing

These themes follow the time of year or the shape of the trip rather than a single interest.

Summer

Summer cruises pair long days and golden-hour views with village stops and excursions built around local culture and cuisine. Avalon's summer collection covers the Danube, Rhine, Moselle, Rhône, Seine and Saône, and Active & Discovery sailings are available in summer too.

Each river has its own character:

• Danube: Europe's second-longest river and a vital waterway for 2,000 years
• Rhine: Lorelei rock and medieval castles
• Moselle: Wine country and medieval castles
• Rhône: Burgundy vineyards to the hills of Provence
• Seine: Paris's Left Bank, art and history
• Saône: Storybook villages in Burgundy and Beaujolais

Cozy Fall/Winter

Cozy Fall/Winter is a collection that gathers three kinds of sailing: autumn harvest cruises, off-season cruises and Christmastime cruises. Harvest sailings pair golden vineyards with tastings and expert-led pairings in wine and beer country. Off-season sailings run in the stretch between autumn and the holidays, with castle towns, riverside villages, fewer crowds and lower fares than peak season, on itineraries such as Romantic Rhine, Danube Dreams, Paris to Normandy and Bordeaux. The collection ends with Christmastime sailings, so some cruises appear under more than one theme.

Cruise & Tour

Explore deeper and further with Globus Tours.

Cruise & Tour pairs your river cruise with a Globus escorted tour before or after the sailing, so the week on the river becomes the centerpiece of a longer trip. Globus packages are designed to fit select Avalon sailings, with city stays in places such as Lucerne, London, Salzburg, Vienna and Zurich. Globus tours use expert local guides who live in the destinations you visit, so you can be sure you are getting a real local experience.

For a closer look at how Globus tours are put together, see our guide to Globus touring styles.

Short River Cruises

Short River Cruises are itineraries of 8 days or less, a good fit when your calendar is tight but you still want a full river cruise experience. Avalon sails shorter itineraries on the Rhine, Seine, Moselle, Danube and Main, from a Heart-of-Germany sailing to a Danube cruise between Budapest and Vienna or a Rhine itinerary of castles, canals and vineyards.

Many also carry a theme, including Active & Discovery, History and Christmas sailings, so a shorter trip doesn't mean skipping the theme.

How to Choose a Theme

Start with what you'd happily build a day around, then think about timing.

• If you want to taste your way through a region, look at Wine, Beer or Culinary.
• If you'd rather learn the story behind a place, look at History, Music & Jazz or Storyteller.
• If you like to stay on the move, look at Active & Discovery.
• If you're planning around the time of year, look at Garden & Nature for spring, Summer for long days on the river, Cozy Fall/Winter for harvest and off-season sailings, or Festive Season and Christmastime for the holidays.
• If your calendar is tight, look at Short River Cruises.
• If you'd like to see more of Europe, look at Cruise & Tour.

Important: Themes overlap more than you might expect. The same river itinerary can carry a different theme depending on the departure, and some sailings combine two, such as a tulip season cruise with a beer focus. Because themes are tied to specific departures, it's worth confirming which one your sailing carries before you book.

Whichever theme you choose, the foundation is the same. For what's already built into an Avalon fare, see our guide to what's included on an Avalon Waterways river cruise.

Ready to Sail Your Passion?

Avalon Waterways special interest cruises let you choose a river cruise by what you love most, whether that's a glass of Riesling, a field of tulips or a Christmas market after dark. With themes tied to specific departures, the right match comes down to the river, the sailing and the timing.

Our Cruise Experts can help you:

• Match a theme to the right river, departure and trip length
• Confirm which sailings carry the theme and onboard hosts you want
• Coordinate flights, transfers and pre- or post-cruise stays
• Access exclusive Avalon Waterways offers

Call us at 1-800-377-9383 or visit CruiseWeb.com to start planning your Avalon Waterways river cruise today.

Note: The contents of this article are accurate as of the publication date. Avalon Waterways themes, itineraries, onboard hosts and prices are subject to change at any time, and themes may be added or retired between seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are Avalon Waterways special interest cruises?

Avalon Waterways special interest cruises are European river cruises built around a theme, such as wine, beer, culinary, history, music, gardens or the holiday season. The route follows an Avalon river itinerary, with themed experiences layered on top and onboard experts and hosts joining select sailings.

What themes do Avalon Waterways special interest cruises cover?

Passion themes include Active & Discovery, Storyteller Series, Wine, Beer, Culinary, History, Music & Jazz and Garden & Nature. Holiday themes include Festive Season and Christmastime. Avalon also offers Summer and Cozy Fall/Winter collections, Cruise & Tour pairings with Globus and Short River Cruises of 8 days or less. The lineup can change between seasons.

Does Avalon Waterways offer wine cruises?

Yes. Wine cruises include vineyard and cellar visits, tastings and food-and-wine pairing, with an onboard wine expert on select sailings. Itineraries cover the Danube, Rhine, Rhône, Saône, Moselle and Seine, and autumn harvest sailings add the season's golden vineyards.

Does Avalon Waterways offer beer cruises?

Yes. Beer cruises travel through Switzerland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, with expert brewers and beer sommeliers on select sailings. Itineraries include onboard tastings and visits to historic beer halls and gardens, well-known breweries and local microbreweries.

What is the Avalon Waterways Storyteller Series?

The Storyteller Series is a set of Suite Ship® sailings hosted by authors, actors, artists and musicians. Sailings can include meet-and-greets, lectures and performances, and each one has its own host and river. Because hosts change from season to season, it's worth checking who is hosting before you plan around a favorite name.

Which rivers do Avalon Waterways Christmas market cruises sail?

Christmastime cruises sail the Danube, Main and Rhine, with markets in cities such as Budapest, Prague and Strasbourg. Festive Season cruises sail as the first markets begin to open and cover the Rhine and Danube, plus a Douro option through Portugal and Spain.

Does Avalon Waterways offer short river cruises?

Yes. Short River Cruises are itineraries of 8 days or less on the Rhine, Seine, Moselle, Danube and Main. Several carry a theme, including Active & Discovery, History and Christmas sailings.

Can I add a land tour to an Avalon Waterways cruise?

Yes. Avalon offers Cruise & Tour pairings that add a Globus escorted tour before or after select river cruises, with stays in cities such as Lucerne, London, Salzburg, Vienna and Zurich. Many themed itineraries also come in versions with extra nights in a city such as Prague, Paris or Lucerne.

Why book Avalon Waterways with The Cruise Web?

Booking through The Cruise Web costs nothing extra, and there are no booking fees. You'll work with a Cruise Expert who can match a theme to the right river, departure and trip length, confirm which sailings carry the theme you want, and coordinate flights, transfers and pre- or post-cruise stays. Your Cruise Expert stays with you from first inquiry through the day you return home, and beyond. The Cruise Web has been booking cruises since 1994 and is affiliated with CLIA, ASTA and IATAN.