Which co. is the best for European river cruises?

Question

i definitely want to include Prague

Answer 1

If you want to see castles and hills, a cruise on the Rhine in Germany is hard to top.

Then there's the Danube, which crosses several countries, but I don't know about that. It must also be beautiful.

You could also consider a Baltic cruise and stop in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, or some of the above.

Answer 2

The Rhein river and the Danube River are definitely two very good choices. If I remember right, there's even a canal that connects the Main river to the Danube; and the Main river ends up in the Rhein river... which means it's possible to take a cruise starting on the Danube river in some place like Budapest, and end up going all the way to the Netherlands, where the Rhein empties out (the Danube itself flows the other way, and ends up flowing out into the Black Sea, in Romania). Prague sits on the Vltava river, which isn't connected to either the Rhein nor the Danube; not only that, but the boats that cruise around on the stretch of the Vltava in the heart of Prague are kind of stuck there, since there are rocks and other obstacles at points in the river in Prague that prevent larger sightseeing boats from being able to go far--not to say that you shouldn't go on a sightseeing boat if you're in Prague, since the view of the city from the river in one of those boats is gorgeous.

The prettiest stretch of the Rhein river is between Mainz and Koblenz; there are any number of charter boats, tour boats, and regular passenger boats that cruise that stretch, but the KD line (Koln-Dusseldorfer) is the most regular and has arguably the most stops along the Rhein, from Mainz to Dusseldorf. The stretch of the Rhein river between Mainz and Koblenz (especially between Bingen and Koblenz) is so famous and so pretty, because that's where most of the famous castles that line the Rhein river on vineyard-laden bluffs is on that stretch, including very pretty, idyllic little towns like St. Goar, Bingen, Assmanshausen, Lorch, Boppard, Bacharach, and others. The Mosel river is also a pretty, and worth-while side trip--it flows into the Rhein at Koblenz (hence Koblenz's name, which comes from the Latin root for "confluence"). The stretch of the Mosel between Trier and Koblenz is quite pretty; plenty of castles, and great little towns like Cochem.

The Rhein is long--it starts in the Swiss Alps and flows all the way to the Netherlands and the North Sea--but the Danube is even longer and crosses more countries and capitals. The stretch between Vienna and Bratislava is quite pretty, and Budapest shouldn't be missed. The Danube river delta in Romania, where the Danube ends as it flows into the Black Sea, is also pretty and is a protected wildlife preserve with many kinds of resident nesting birds.

There are many more places along both rivers that are worth seeing--all it takes is a map to see what lies along both rivers, and a little research into what those places are like.

Answer 3

Do the river cruise down the Rhine in Germany - I forget where the start, but they usually end in Koblenz. It was gorgeous!