Berlitz River Cruising in Europe Paperback – July 1, 2014

I'm a travel agent specializing exclusively in river cruises, so this book was a must-read for me! I found it to be well-researched, well-organized and engaging. I especially appreciated the ship-by-ship rating section, which was a treasure trove of little tidbits you normally wouldn't know unless you experienced each ship for yourself. I haven't yet sailed on every river and every ship (I'm trying to, trust me!), but Douglas Ward's River Cruising in Europe is, without a doubt, the next best thing.

I have used Berlitz Cruise Ship Rating books for years and found them to be excellent so I was anxious to receive Douglas Ward's new River Cruising in Europe book. This book does a very good job of outlining river boat cruising, what to expect and what to look for in river boats. As always Ward's books are truthful and forthright in their descrilptions. Unfortunately their simple yes or no about elevators in misleading since many elevators only run between a couple decks, forcing people to walk stairs to the remaining decks. Also I would like to know the square footage of the cabins on each ship since I know they vary from 66 sq ft to over 200 sq ft and that would make a difference in my selection. Overall this book is well cross-referenced and very helpful to clients selectinga river boat.

For the first edition of a book that requires assimilating a lot of information I guess this is not a bad effort. The river cruise fleets are increasingly made up of a lot of highly standardised vessels, and describing them all separately when they to all intents and purposes the same is unnecessary. The background information is good and I agree with the author's overall assessment that AMA Waterways is probably top dog in this increasingly crowded market.

This is a comprehensive look at river cruising in Europe. It discusses the ins and outs of river cruising, the various routes, what to expect, and best of all, a rating of the various companies plying the waters of Europe. Although I bought it after booking a cruise, it still provided some crucial information, and best of all, confirmed my choice.

1st edition, needs listing of which cruises are in English.

Well written - subjective about ups and downs about various cruise companies, which is very helpful. Also high marks for pointing to the best of the river cruise agencies.

We are going on a Viking Cruise down the Rhine in a few months and have been doing as much reading up on the Rhine's history as we can. Although this book discusses other rivers as well, it is very informative about the Rhine and we are very glad we purchased it.

Got this to help plan a river cruise on the Danube. It was useful on the ships but little detail on the journeys and in particular the Danube.Once finished I will probably give it to the library.