The Big Three luxury: longer European cruises

Cruising in Europe, for many travellers, harks back to different time. It is undoubtedly one of the most indulgent ways to spend your holiday, in the finest surroundings, while gently sailing through some of the most sophisticated cities in the world. For our longer European trips we have selected cruises from the new Viking ocean going division, AmaWaterways sailing all the way through to Istanbul and a Swan Hellenic voyage across the Mediterranean to Lisbon.

Following on from the publication of Cruise Adviser’s Luxury guide 2015-16, each week we will be running our Big Three feature, which gives you a trio of cruise options to choose from. This week it’s 15-night and longer cruises to Europe.

To request a copy of Cruise Adviser’s Luxury guide email: info@cruise-adviser.com or read it online here.

Spain 

Line: Viking Cruises
Departure port: Barcelona, Spain
Departure date: February 21, 2016
Destination: Mediterranean
Duration: 15 days
Ship: Star
Balcony price: £3,099 per passenger
Explorer suite price: £6,799 per passenger

Austria 

Line: AmaWaterways
Departure port: Vienna, Austria
Departure date: July 16, 2016
Destination: Danube
Duration: 14 days
Ship: AmaSonata
French balcony price: £3,454 per passenger
French and outside balcony price: £3,757 per passenger

Greece 

Line: Swan Hellenic
Departure port: Piraeus, Greece
Departure date: November 9, 2015
Destination: Mediterranean
Duration: 21 days
Ship: Minerva
Balcony suite price: £2,899 per passenger
Owner’s suite price: £3,660 per passenger

Cruise Adviser top tip

Be aware of a cruise line’s typical clientele and, more importantly, whether your clients fit in with the rest of the ship. Whether that’s age, nationality or even the time of year. If you are booking a cruise that falls within the summer holidays, find out how likely it is that children are going to be on board. And, if that’s a problem for your client,  move them onto an adult-only ship or recommend a cruise that falls outside the school holidays!