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River Cruise Holidays Tailor Made
The River Cruise Lines we love....
Welcome to our world of tailor made river cruise holidays....
We don't use every river cruise line and our website isn't a catalogue of dozens of river cruise companies and hundreds of river cruises.
Of the dozens of companies plying the world's rivers, we work with a curated handful, chosen for the quality of their ships, the places they reach, and the way they treat the journey as more than a sailing.
Each one we know intimately, and each earns its place here, cruises we know we can build exceptional journeys around.
How we Design our Cruise Holidays....
Every cruise operator on this page is here for a reason.
We work only with premium and boutique lines - no budget operators, and no packing travellers onto crowded ships. We know these lines inside out - their ships, their routes and who each one truly suits - from years of designing river journeys for our clients.
And we match the cruise to the traveller, because the finest ship in the world is only right if it's right for you. The result is our deliberate collection, not a catalogue of everything afloat.
We design tailor-made river journeys for New Zealand travellers - the cruise at the heart, a hand-built land journey around it, and a specialist who knows every cruise line to guide you.
Not sure which cruise line is for you?
That's exactly what we're here for. Most travellers shouldn't choose the cruise line first - the cruise line follows from the river, the style of journey and the way you like to travel, and matching the two is our craft.
Tell us how you like to travel, and we'll point you to the perfect fit. Let us know if you have plans or dreams for your pre- and post- cruise and we'll create your journey to suit you.
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Call us today on 03 2424 320
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and speak to a River Cruise expert
The Europe focused River Cruise Lines....
The grand names of European river cruising - elegant ships, all-inclusive luxury, and the great waterways of the Continent, from the Rhine and Danube to the rivers of France and Portugal.
Scenic Cruises - The Art of Effortless Luxury
What truly sets Scenic apart is the depth of its all-inclusive promise and the experiences it unlocks.
Through its Scenic Enrich programme, guests are given access money usually cannot buy: a private classical concert in an 18th-century palace, an exclusive dinner in a castle's cellars, moments staged just for those aboard. The signature Sun Lounge, a balcony that encloses at the touch of a button, was a Scenic invention.
A butler looks after every suite, not just the grandest. Founded in Australia in 1986, Scenic has spent decades perfecting a single, seamless idea of luxury.
Rhine | Danube | Rhône | Seine | Bordeaux | Douro | Mekong
Uniworld - Floating Boutique Hotels
What sets Uniworld apart is that each ship is designed as an individual work of art, never a fleet template.
Step aboard the S.S. Catherine and you are greeted by a two-storey lobby built around a specially commissioned Murano glass sculpture; the S.S. Maria Theresa is a Habsburg fantasy of opulent 18th-century décor; the S.S. Joie de Vivre captures the spirit of 1920s Paris.
Genuine antiques from renowned auction houses, original artworks and hand-selected fabrics fill every vessel. No other river line invests in design at this level, or with anything like this much character.
Danube | Rhine | Seine | Rhône | Douro | Mekong | Nile | Ganges | Amazon
AMA Waterways - Where dining meets the river
AmaWaterways' great distinction is its food: it is the only river cruise line ever inducted into La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, the world's oldest gastronomic society.
Every ship carries The Chef's Table, an intimate specialty restaurant serving a multi-course tasting menu, complimentary to all guests, that genuinely no competitor matches.
The line also pioneered the twin-balcony stateroom, pairing a French balcony with a step-out balcony in one room. Add fleetwide wellness, a SIP fitness programme and small-group active excursions, and you have a line built for travellers who want to eat superbly and stay engaged.
Danube | Rhine | Rhône | Douro | Bordeaux | Seine | Mekong | Chobe | Nile
Viking River Cruises - The Trusted Name in River Cruising
Viking's distinction is consistency raised to an art form. Across one of the largest fleets on the rivers, every ship is near-identical, calm and unmistakably Scandinavian, so the experience never varies wherever you sail.
The line deliberately strips away the things that distract: no children under eighteen, no casinos, no umbrella drinks, no nickel-and-diming, just an adult focus on culture, history and destination.
This clarity of purpose, combined with enormous scale and a name New Zealanders trust instinctively, is exactly why Viking has become the most recognised river cruise brand in the world.
Danube | Rhine | Douro | Rhône | Seine | Bordeaux | Mekong | Nile
Avalon Waterways - The River, Your Way
Avalon's defining innovation is the Panorama Suite, and it changed river cruising.
While rival cabins place the bed against a wall, Avalon turned the room to face the river: a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window that slides open seven feet to become the only true Open-Air Balcony on the rivers, with the bed positioned to look straight out at it.
At 200 square feet, the suites run 30 percent larger than the industry standard. It was the first line to build two full decks of them. For the morning view alone, nothing else compares.
Danube | Rhine | Seine | Rhône | Bordeaux | Douro | Mekong
The Mekong & Asia focused River Cruise Lines....
The boutique specialists of the Mekong, India and beyond - characterful, small-ship cruising through India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, where the river is a way into a part of the world we know exceptionally well.
Pandaw - Colonial-era river Pioneers
Pandaw's story is genuinely unique. In 1995 Scottish historian Paul Strachan discovered a derelict Clyde-built steamer, a survivor of the great Irrawaddy Flotilla Company that his own great-grandfather had served, and restored her to sail again.
Every Pandaw since is modelled on those colonial-era originals, hand-finished in teak and brass by local craftspeople, with ultra-shallow drafts that reach rivers no larger ship can.
This is living maritime history, not pastiche. With a 45 percent repeat-guest rate, Pandaw inspires a loyalty almost unheard of in cruising, drawn from its authenticity and pioneering spirit.
Mekong (Lower) | Mekong (Upper / Laos) | Brahmaputra | Ganges | Red River | Kerala
Heritage Line - Floating Works of Art
Heritage Line's distinction lies in ships conceived as floating expressions of the cultures they sail through.
The Jayavarman draws on French-colonial Indochina and Khmer artistry; the Anouvong evokes the spirit of old Laos; the Ylang is a contemporary jewel on the Mekong. Each is richly detailed with local craft, carved timber and original art, designed to feel rooted in place rather than mass-produced.
The ships are deliberately intimate, the atmosphere romantic and unhurried. For travellers who believe the vessel should be every bit as evocative as the destination, few lines anywhere come close to Heritage Line.
Mekong (Lower) | Mekong (Upper / Laos) | Halong Bay
Aqua Expeditions - Five Star Expedition Luxury
What makes Aqua Expeditions exceptional is the marriage of serious design with genuine remoteness.
Its vessels, created by celebrated naval architects, are among the most beautiful small ships afloat, yet they carry guests into the wildest reaches of the Mekong and Amazon, far beyond where larger boats can go.
Cuisine is overseen by internationally renowned chefs who build menus around the regions you explore. Exploration happens by small skiff and on foot, with expert naturalists. The result feels less like a cruise and more like a private expedition with the comforts of a luxury hotel.
Mekong | Amazon
Assam Bengal Navigation - India's Pioneering River Line
Assam Bengal Navigation's distinction is singular focus: it exists for India's great rivers and nothing else.
Long before others arrived, it was sailing the Ganges and the remote Brahmaputra, building the local knowledge and relationships that only a true specialist accumulates. Its ships are small and unpretentious, crewed almost entirely by local people, and designed to reach tea estates, tribal villages and the rhino country of Kaziranga that larger operators cannot.
The experience is intimate and immersive rather than opulent. For the rivers of India, explored with real depth, it has few genuine rivals.
Brahmaputra | Ganges | Hooghly
