European river cruises are a sedate alternative to life on the ocean superliners

The cruising boom isn't just about giant floating resorts partying across oceans. There's a more sedate style of cruise that's quietly sailing on a crest of the wave, too. And the rivers and canals of Europe are the perfect spot to experience it.

This year there are more operators, trips and boats to choose from. Here's our pick of the most interesting new developments for 2010 (prices include full-board and return travel from the UK).




New operators

US-based AMA Waterways launched its first dedicated UK brochures this year featuring 20 cruises on the Rhone, Douro, Volga, Danube, Main, Rhine and Mosel. AMA has also teamed up with York-based Great Rail Journeys to offer five holidays that include first- class rail travel from St Pancras. For example, a 16-day railcruise starts with the sleeper train to Warsaw and overnight express to Moscow. From there you board a 12-night cruise to St Petersburg. It costs from £2,975.

Another US-based cruise company, Avalon, also launches its UK operation this year, offering a very modern fleet of cruisers. A five-day cruise on the Danube from Budapest to Vienna costs from £759.



New vessels

This year's new river-cruise ships borrow some of the style and glamour from their ocean-going cousins.

The River Beatrice has a two-storey lobby, marble floors and mahogany panelled walls decorated with prints of works by Picasso, Matisse and Chagall. Contact Elegant River Cruises for more information.

And Avalon is launching two ships this year, including the Felicity in Amsterdam in March. Expect them both to be contemporary and spacious with all-outside cabins. Avalon staterooms are among the largest on European rivers - 172sq ft for standard rooms and 258sq ft for suites.



New destinations

Most operators are adding new cruises to their programmes as demand for river cruising grows.

Some involve different versions of the classic European river journeys. Collette, for example, introduces a 15-day trip from Amsterdam to Budapest taking in five countries, four rivers and two World Heritage Sites costing from £2,969.

And Grand UK now features a new eight-day Danube cruise from £859. One of Saga's new 2010 river cruises includes an excursion to Colditz Castle. The nine-night trip on the MS Koenigstein costs from £1,499. VFB has a new four-night cruise around Venice's lagoon, mooring less than 15 minutes' walk from St Mark's Square, from £499.

And one of Scenic Tours' new routes for 2010 sails through the heart of Western Europe from Amsterdam to Basle for £2,195.

Others are adding less well-known itineraries. ACE Cruises' latest offering is a trip from Avignon to Aigues Mortes in Provence aboard a small boat with just eight cabins. It costs £2,690 including rail transport.

Elegant River Cruises has a new 15-day 'Grand France' itinerary taking travellers the length of France from Monet's garden at Giverny to the lavender fields of Provence, with city tours of Paris, Rouen, Lyon and Avignon from £3,095 with flights.



New ideas

Freedom Treks launch a holiday this year using an unusual mix of river cruising and cycling on Italy's River Po between Padua and Venice.
Stay on a converted Dutch barge at night, waking up to a new part of the river each morning. By day you can take cycling excursions through the countryside. The seven-night trip costs from £659.

Glenton Holidays' 2010 brochure includes 'Romance of the Rhine Valley' - where you sleep in a hotel but enjoy daytime river cruises. Seven days cost from £459.

And DFDS Seaways has a five-night holiday combining two nights on board its ferry from Newcastle with three nights on a river cruiser visiting the tulip fields of Holland. Prices start from £459.