Sailor Buries a Myth

Hi everyone, Sailor here. Had a little “mal de mer” this week, so I’ve been resting a lot.  (Don’t worry, my Dorothy is taking great care of me – she takes the term “pampered pooch” to an extreme level. Cookies on my pillow at night, really?)  Anyway, it gave me time to think and do a little research.  Do you know that most people think river cruising is only for older people?  And I’m not talking in dog years.  Popular opinion among humans is that river cruises are only for the 55+, one-foot-in-the-grave, eligible-for-Medicare, orthopedic-stocking set.  River cruises are not good family vacations.  Well that’s become another myth that I’d like to bury.

Think about this: would you go on a family vacation to walk the Freedom Trail in Boston?  Would you take your family to Colonial Williamsburg?  How about a vacation to see the Statue of Liberty or the Smithsonian Museum?  If your answer is yes to the above, then why not take them on a river cruise in Europe?

Making Strudel in Germany During a River Cruise

With the explosive growth of river cruising in the last few years some of the cruise lines have developed specially designated “family friendly” cruises.  In fact, I just looked yesterday and these are already SOLD OUT for June and July with just a few cabins remaining in August and on some of the Christmas Cruises.  Okay, so you may be too late for 2013, but there will be more family cruises in 2014 – let’s start planning!

When my Dorothy was barely a teenager her parents took the family on an oceangoing cruise.  Back then in the Dark Ages ocean cruises had no children’s programs.  There were only four children on a ship of about 800 passengers.  The glamorous activities were shuffleboard, ping pong and an indoor pool (NO DIVING!).  There were no teen discos, “Coke-tail” parties, scavenger hunts or pizza-pajama-trivia fests.   Yet that vacation is one of the strongest and most influential memories of her life!  She can’t tell you what she did on any given week in school when she was 13, but she sure can tell you about the ship she was on, the cable car to the top of the mountain in Caracas, the gorgeous hills and beautiful harbors of St. Thomas, the “natural bridge” in Aruba and the prisoner who was the only survivor of the eruption of Mt. Pelee in Martinique in 1902.  

Did you know that  at least 60% of adults, if asked what their happiest childhood memories are, will recount something to do with a family vacation?  What better reason to take your family on an educational and enriching vacation along a European River?  Madonna took her kids on a river cruise along the Seine, but being a rock star is not a pre-requisite!

So give family cruising along the rivers of Europe a thought - but think fast because these sell out.  Just might be a howling good time!

Dorothy Flannery is president of Top Sail Journeys, Sailor C. Flannery is Director of Public Relations and all around dogsbody.  If you would like to learn more about European river cruises, check out their sites at http://cruisethedanube.com and http://cruisetherhine.com or for special event cruises go to http://eventcruises.co.