Experience family fun on Disney's new river cruise

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- A medieval fair of sorts is underway as Danube River cruiser Christine Laronga, 53, and her two teenage girls arrive under the ramparts of Devin Castle.

In one corner, a traditionally-garbed maiden demonstrates candle making to a cluster of families, while a few steps away two blue-robed peasants offer lessons in calligraphy and coin making. Nearby, elaborately-dressed knights engage with children and their parents in mock swordplay.

Perched over the confluence of the Danube and Morava Rivers, the ancient fortress near Bratislava, Slovakia is a popular stop for passengers on Danube cruises. But such family-friendly activities aren’t normally part of a tour. They were arranged exclusively for Laronga and her traveling companions by the company that brought them here: Family vacation giant Disney.

Through its fast-growing touring arm, Adventures by Disney, the Mouse House this summer is dipping a toe into river cruising for the first time, offering family-focused voyages on the Danube that some say could usher in a new era for a type of travel long relegated to older couples and retirees.

Photo tour: Inside the new river ship making Disney magic

“You always can count on Disney to have something for all ages,” says Laronga, a Tampa-based surgeon who also is traveling with her mother. Speaking while her children give archery a try at another station, the self-described Disney fan says she never considered a river cruise before for a family trip. But it was a “no-brainer” once Disney announced plans to get into the business.

“Disney is great with kids," she says.

Disney is partnering with AmaWaterways, a seasoned river cruise operator, to offer the sailings. Covering nearly 450 miles of the Danube between Vilshofen, Germany and Budapest, Hungary, the one-way, seven-night voyages take place on AmaWaterways’ new AmaViola, which has been custom built for the family market with cabin configurations that can hold three or four people -- a rarity in river cruising. The ship has sets of connecting cabins that allow for even bigger family groups.

Like cruises along the Danube offered by such lines as Viking and Avalon, Disney’s new trips provide an opportunity to explore the history-rich Central European capitals of Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna, which are strung like pearls along the Danube. Austria’s vineyard-lined Wachau Valley and the postcard-perfect Bavarian town of Passau, Germany are other highlights.

Still, the trips differ significantly from those offered by traditional river lines.

During the tours included at every stop, Disney’s family focus comes through with specific activities for “junior adventurers” – passengers under the age of 13. An overnight visit to Budapest brings an outing to the nearby Lazar Equestrian Center, where the family-friendly allures include wagon rides and goulash-making lessons as well as a small zoo area with farm animals. The highlight of the excursion is a 30-minute horse show with Hungarian cowboys in period costumes.

A stop in Melk, Austria features such activities as marmalade making and traditional Austrian dancing as well as a tour through the town’s famed Benedictine Abbey.

River cruising never has been a big draw for families, and convincing more families to give it a try hasn't been a big priority at most lines. Indeed, the biggest river ship operator catering to North Americans, Viking River Cruises, hasn’t been shy about saying it’s primarily a product geared to couples without kids.

Disney, by contrast, set out to create something that was all about the family.

In a key differentiator to other river cruise operators, Disney staffs its ship with eight “adventure guides,” several of whom are dedicated each day to the children on board. Accompanying passengers on every excursion, the guides sometimes lead the youngest children away for separate, kid-focused allures, giving their parents time to explore more adult-oriented attractions. During a visit to Schloss Hof, an imperial palace near the Austria-Slovakia border, the guides take the little ones to a petting zoo on the grounds and then on to cookie making and dress-up play. That gives the adults time to tour the palace’s stately rooms without distraction and even stop for a schnapps tasting.

“It’s very helpful,” says Yvette Brown, a 48-year-old doctor from Chambersburg, Pa., who is here with her mother and six-year-old daughter. “Kids are not so much interested in all the historic (sites) unless it’s done in a fun way.”

Parents also get a break at dinnertime, when the guides oversee a separate dining experience for junior adventurers in the ship’s lounge. Teens also have their own nook for dining, located in a walled-off corner of the dining room, though they’re free to dine with their parents, too.

The guides also organize on-board kiddie activities in the evenings, and on-board entertainment in general is custom-designed with families in mind. On the night the ship docks in Budapest, a blue-shirted team of Rubik’s Cube experts appear in the lounge for a demonstration that involves interacting with parents and their kids. The Cube was invented by a local Hungarian.

Such activities contribute to an on-board vibe that is noticeably more child-friendly than on many other river voyages. On this sailing, there are at least two dozen children on board, many under the age of 13, and they are welcomed with the same enthusiasm as the parents and grandparents accompanying them (nearly all of the passengers on board are part of family groups). In typical Disney fashion, this is a vacation designed to be fun for all.

The AmaViola’s family-friendly touches include a large pool on its top deck, something that is far from de rigueur in river cruising. On other river ships with pools, it’s not all that common to find people in them. But most evenings on this sailing end with a dozen or more children up on the top deck in their bathing suits splashing and playing in the pool as their parents savor a glass of wine at a nearby table.

One thing you don’t find on the ship is the sort of over-the-top Disney theming that’s found at Disney parks. While donuts at the breakfast buffet are shaped like Mickey ears, there are no Disney characters marauding around the vessel. Disney tunes don’t play endlessly in hallways.

As is typical for Adventures by Disney trips, the sailings are heavily structured with an almost non-stop series of activities – almost too many, some say. A visit to the sprawling Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna at times feels like a forced marched as a 45-minute swirl through the Imperial Apartments is wedged between a 20-minute marionette show and separate 20-minute demonstration of apple strudel making. Just 10 minutes are allotted to ramble through the vast gardens.

Disney isn’t the first company to try to lure families to river cruising. Upscale tour operator Tauck has pursued the market since 2010 with a handful of family-focused sailings annually. This year they have 10 of the departures on three rivers: The Danube, Rhine and Rhone.

Still, Disney’s entry into river trips could be a watershed moment. Never before has a company with Disney’s family bona fides entered the market.

For longtime Disney fans such as Kelly Wilkerson, 39, of Tulsa, Okla., who is here with her husband and three kids, Mickey’s involvement means all the difference.

“We’ve wanted to river cruise for a long time,” she says. “Now that they’re here, we jumped on it … and I’m sure we’ll do it again.”

If you go ...

Adventures by Disney offers seven-night Danube River cruises on the 170-passenger AmaViola from June through August. The one-way voyages between Budapest and Vilshofen, Germany start at $4,719 per adult, based on double occupancy, including all tours; meals; wine, beer and soft drinks during lunch and dinner; and gratuities. Child rates are slightly less.

Passengers also can add a two-night, Disney guide-led visit to Prague to the beginning or end of the sailing, creating a nine-night trip.

Beginning in 2017, Disney also will offer seven-night sailings on the Rhine River between Amsterdam and Basel, Switzerland starting at $4,719 per person. The voyages feature stops in Strasbourg, France; and Speyer, Rüdesheim and Cologne, Germany.

Information: 800-543-0865; adventuresbydisney.com.