Uniworld adds Jewish Heritage program on Germany cruises

Uniworld’s river cruise options in 2017 will include a new Jewish Heritage program of excursions that will steep travelers in the historic roots of Judaism in Germany from the pre-World War II period until today.

All departures on the "Rhine-Main Discovery & Munich" itinerary will feature the Jewish Heritage excursions, as well as alternative tours. Guests choosing the Jewish Heritage tours will get a guided half-day tour of the Dachau prison camp outside of Munich, among other excursions.

Although some of the activities will focus on cemeteries, memorials and camps, Uniworld said the goal is to tell a larger story of how Jewish people thrived for centuries in Germany before the Nazi rise to power.

Uniworld said its tour is the only Jewish heritage tour offered on the Rhine and that Uniworld is the only Jewish-owned river cruise company.

For guests who don’t want to take the Jewish Heritage excursions, alternatives will include a tour of “Mad” King Ludwig’s Castle Neuschwanstein, the model for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, or a hike through the Tauberhase vineyard.

The 10-day Rhine-Main itinerary on the 116-passenger River Ambassador runs between Munich and Cologne.  Prices start at $3,649 per person.

Tom Stieghorst covers cruises for Travel Weekly magazine.