By Phil Marino, Owner, Mouse Counselors
My family just returned from the Adventures by Disney Rhine River Cruise, an 8-day sailing from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam aboard an AmaWaterways river cruise ship. This was our sixth Adventures by Disney vacation. We’ve done Costa Rica, the Danube River Cruise, Iceland, Arizona/Utah, and Peru. My wife Bonnie and I also completed a Galapagos Expedition Cruise with National Geographic, which is also under the Disney umbrella. In addition to our personal travel, I’ve booked more than 30 Adventures by Disney vacations across 14 different itineraries for clients through Mouse Counselors.
I share all of that to say: we know this product well. This review comes from a family who loves Adventures by Disney and also understands the difference between a great vacation and a great value. Below, I’ll walk through our experience day by day, compare ABD river cruises to its land adventures, and share some of the tips we wish someone had shared with us.
We traveled as a family of four: me, my wife Bonnie, and our two daughters Kate (21) and Jess (18).
What Is the Adventures by Disney Rhine River Cruise Itinerary?
Our Rhine River Cruise was an 8-day, 7-night sailing that began in Basel, Switzerland and ended in Amsterdam. Along the way, you visit Breisach and the Black Forest in Germany, Strasbourg in France, Heidelberg, Rüdesheim, and Cologne in Germany, and finally Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The ship we sailed on was the AmaSiena (of AmaWaterways, a leader in luxury river cruising) and holds a maximum of 156 guests. Our sailing had 135 guests, of which roughly 25 to 35 were children and teenagers between the ages of 7 and 16.
How Do You Get to Basel for the Cruise?
Guests have two main options: fly directly into Basel Airport, where Adventures by Disney provides a transfer to the ship, or arrive by train. We chose the train. After spending a few days at Disneyland Paris, we took a direct TGV Lyria high-speed train from Paris Gare de Lyon to Basel SBB. The ride was about three hours, nonstop, and incredibly smooth. The only minor stress was finding space for our luggage at the end of the train car but it worked out fine.
From Basel SBB, we took a 20-minute Uber to where the ship was docked along the Rhine. We arrived around 10:30am, well ahead of the 3:30pm all-aboard time. That gave us several hours to take an Uber into Old Town Basel, have lunch, and do some shopping. It was a relaxing way to see the city, and we felt like we got a nice, if not limited, taste of the city.
If you book a pre-night stay through Adventures by Disney, they will transfer you from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the ship. If you arrange your own transportation, as we did by train, you’re on your own for the last leg to the dock, but it’s easy and inexpensive.
What Are the Staterooms Like on an AmaWaterways Ship?
Most staterooms are on the smaller side compared to an ocean cruise ship, but they are very well appointed. There were plenty of outlets and USB plugs for charging phones and devices, and enough storage space to unpack and stow our luggage for the week. One of the real advantages of a river cruise is that you unpack once and your floating hotel follows you from city to city. No repacking, no checking in and out of multiple hotels.
What Are the Public Spaces Like on Board?
These ships are not really built to spend a ton of time on. The ship is primarily a mode of transportation that gets you from one incredible destination to the next. This is one of the main ways a river cruise differs from an ocean cruise. That said, there’s more than enough on board to keep you comfortable.
The main public spaces include a large lounge with a bar and big-screen TV, where they serve early breakfast, afternoon snacks, and evening entertainment. There’s a smaller side room with couches, board games, and books for quieter relaxation. The ship has a small gift shop (they call it the boutique), a 24-hour front desk, and restrooms in the reception area.
The main dining room accommodates the entire ship. Breakfast is a combination of plated options and a buffet with an omelet station. Lunch and dinner are typically à la carte with a buffet set up for salads, breads, and sides. There is also a Chef’s Table restaurant that each party can reserve at least once during the cruise at no additional cost, with the opportunity to book a second time if space allows. The Chef’s Table is a five-course meal with wine pairings included, though the menu stays the same for the entire sailing.
Up on the top deck, you’ll find a small heated pool, a walking track, lounge chairs with umbrellas, and a few games for kids.
The fitness area is modest: two treadmills, two bikes, and limited free weights. A full-time wellness instructor leads at least one class per day (typically a basic boot camp style), and she also offers massage services at an additional cost.
What Is the Alcohol Situation on Board?
This is a question we get from clients constantly, so let me be specific. The bar is a full bar available throughout the day. Beer and wine are complimentary during all meals. In addition, there is a daily Sip & Sail cocktail hour, sometimes before dinner, sometimes after, depending on the day’s schedule, where four or five specialty cocktails are also included.
One important note for families with teenagers: even though many European countries have a drinking age of 18 or lower, Adventures by Disney adheres to the U.S. drinking age of 21. Our 18-year-old Jess could not order alcohol on the ship or participate in the tasting portions of any excursion that included alcohol. This also applied to on-shore wine tastings booked through ABD. Our older daughter Kate had just turned 21 in June, so she was able to join me for the wine cellar visit in Strasbourg.
Can the Ship Accommodate Food Allergies?
Yes, and they handled it beautifully. Our daughter Kate was recently diagnosed with a gluten allergy, and this was our first time navigating that while traveling internationally. AmaWaterways was fantastic. Each morning at breakfast, Kate would place her lunch and dinner orders for the day. She had plenty of choices, including gluten-free bread and rolls prepared just for her. She reports that the gluten-free pasta was excellent. We never had a single concern about her meals throughout the entire cruise.
What Were the Excursions Like?
Every day on the cruise, guests choose from two or three excursion options. These are selected in advance, we were able to choose a couple of days early because we are Adventure Insiders, which gives returning guests a head start before first-time adventurers get access. The process can feel a little stressful since they note that some experiences have limited capacity, but here’s the reality: once on board, it was very easy to switch excursions. I didn’t hear of a single person being told no when they wanted to change their mind. That was also our experience on the Danube seven years ago. I wouldn’t say it’s guaranteed, but it’s been very flexible in our experience.
Here’s what stood out from each day:
Day 2: The Black Forest (Breisach, Germany)
We chose the Black Forest excursion, which included an alpine toboggan run, a visit to an open-air museum showing how people in that region lived in the 14th through 16th centuries, and a woodworking museum where we etched our own wood-burning design into a whistle we built. We also churned our own butter. Lunch was chicken schnitzel, and for Kate, they prepared “naked schnitzel,” which was simply grilled rather than fried.
It was an early morning with a 7:15am meeting time, which got us to the toboggan run before it was busy with the general public. We returned to the ship around 4:30pm. These are long, full days, and that’s something to prepare for. There is not a lot of sleeping in on an ABD river cruise.
Day 3: Strasbourg, France, The Highlight of the Trip
This was the day that stood out for our entire family, and it was the canoeing on the canals of Strasbourg. Another early morning, which worked in our favor: European cities tend to get started later in the day, so by heading out early, we had the canals almost entirely to ourselves.
The canoeing was manageable for all ages and skill levels. Each canoe held one or two people, with the person in the back “steering.” There was a combined weight limit of about 375 pounds per canoe, but beyond that, nothing that would be a concern for most guests. Employees from the canoe company paddled alongside us, pointing out landmarks and sharing local history.
The absolute highlight was going through one of the canal locks. All 25 to 30 canoes squeezed into a single lock. They closed both sides, lowered us down to the next level, and then the doors opened and we all paddled out together. It was an unforgettable, shared experience, the kind of moment that makes Adventures by Disney special.
The alternative to canoeing was a canal boat tour with a narrating guide, which is a great option for anyone not interested in paddling. We did a similar canal boat tour later in the week in Amsterdam, and it’s a wonderful way to see a city from the water.
In the afternoon, the family split up. Kate and I went to the wine cellars of Cave Historique des Hospices, a tasting experience in a medieval hospital with wine barrels dating back to the 1400s. Bonnie and Jess stayed on the ship for a macaron-making demonstration and decorating contest. That flexibility to split up and pursue different interests is one of the things I appreciate about the river cruise format.
Day 4: The Castle Gorge (and the Story of Almost Switching Ships)
This requires some backstory. On the very first evening, during the welcome reception, the captain informed us that the Rhine was experiencing low water levels. There was a possibility that a section of the river would be impassable, which would require us to switch to our ship’s sister ship, an identical vessel traveling the opposite direction. The swap would have happened while all guests were off the ship during excursions in Heidelberg, with the crews of both ships exchanging everyone’s belongings.
For three consecutive days, the captain joined our Sip & Sail cocktail hour with updates. On Day 3, after some afternoon rain raised the river level just enough, he announced that the river was now passable and we would not have to switch ships. The crowd erupted. The transparency and communication throughout this process was impressive, we always knew exactly what was happening and what the contingency plan looked like.
However, the river was still low, which meant the ship had to move more slowly. This created a ripple effect on the itinerary. Guests had to choose: take a bus to Heidelberg for the castle and town visit, or stay on the ship and experience the Rhine Gorge castle cruise, a stretch of river featuring 32 castles, narrated by the ship’s operations manager.
Normally, you’d get both. On our sailing, we had to pick. We chose the castle cruise, mainly because the castles were a highlight of our Danube River Cruise and we didn’t want to miss them. The modified two-and-a-half-hour bus ride from Heidelberg back to the ship at the end of the day, combined with it being a Sunday when many shops would be closed, made the decision easier.
The castle cruise was everything we hoped for. Three hours on the top deck, sweatshirts on against the wind, listening to the history of each fortress as it passed. The stretch is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and you can see why. Standing on the top deck with Bonnie and the girls, a beer and a snack in hand, taking pictures for other families and having them take ours, it was one of those moments that stays with you.
Day 5: Rüdesheim, Germany, Adjusted but Still Enjoyable
Because of the low river levels, the ship couldn’t dock at Rüdesheim and instead docked further upriver. This meant an hour-plus bus ride to town instead of walking right off the ship, and the biking excursion was cancelled entirely since there was no way to transport bikes. This was disappointing, Rüdesheim was the one port on the Rhine where we would have been able to walk directly from the ship into town, which had been a real highlight of our Danube cruise where we were able to do this on three different days.
ABD and AmaWaterways adapted. The Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet Museum, originally an optional early-morning walk-off activity, became a full-ship excursion. It turned out to be a genuine surprise highlight, Bonnie ranked it among her top two or three moments of the entire trip. The museum houses one of the world’s largest private collections of mechanical music boxes, giant pianos, and automated instruments dating back to the 1780s.
The wine tasting in the afternoon was opened up to additional guests beyond what was originally planned and, because we couldn’t head back to the ship, lunch was arranged at a local restaurant (included in the cost, though optional). It wasn’t the day we expected, but it was a good example of how ABD pivots when circumstances change.
Day 6: Cologne, Germany, Cathedral, Chocolate, and Kölsch
After a 30-minute bus ride into the city, we met a local guide for a walking tour that finished at the Cologne Cathedral. The Cathedral took over 620 years to build and was briefly the tallest structure in the world in the 1880s. The stained glass alone is worth the visit.
From there, we split up for afternoon activities. I did the brew house tour, about 25 guests split into two groups of 12. We visited two local brew houses where they serve Kölsch, a beer that is only brewed in Cologne. It’s served in tall, thin glasses of just 8 to 10 ounces because they want you to always have a fresh, cold beer rather than a large one that gets warm. When you’re done, you simply place your coaster on top of your glass, otherwise they will continue bringing you new ones! It was a great way to bond with fellow travelers I hadn’t spent much time with yet.
Bonnie, Kate, and Jess did the Lindt Chocolate Museum, a self-paced tour covering the history and process of chocolate-making with tastings included.
That evening was the Captain’s Farewell Cocktail Party, which also doubled as the disembarkation briefing. They handle this on Day 6 rather than Day 7 because Amsterdam is such a full day. It was a chance to thank the captain, the guides, and the entire crew. After dinner, the highlight for many of the kids and teenagers was Karaoke Night. The big screen came down in the lounge, and it turned into a full ship sing-along. Parents were cheering on their kids, teenagers who might normally be shy were getting up in front of 130 people, and it was one of those magical community moments that ABD does so well.
Day 7: Amsterdam, Beautiful but Not Enough Time
Amsterdam was bittersweet. We started with a canal boat tour led by a local author moonlighting as a guide. Her English was excellent, as was everyone’s throughout the trip. We never had a single language barrier anywhere on this cruise, which was noticeably easier than our experience in Peru the year before.
We chose the Van Gogh Museum for our morning activity. It was self-paced with audio guides, and we saw several of his most famous works including Sunflowers, Irises, and The Bedroom (Starry Night is currently in New York). Between the canal boat and the museum, we had about an hour to an hour and a half to walk around Amsterdam on our own. That’s when it hit us: we wished we had so much more time here. The canals, the shopping, the architecture, it was charming and vibrant and we barely scratched the surface.
In the afternoon, we chose Zaanse Schans, a community of historic windmills, cheese-makers, and clog workshops. We climbed to the top of a windmill, did a cheese tasting, and decorated clogs. But with only 90 minutes and heavy crowds, it felt rushed and a bit stressful. It was fine, but not a highlight.
In hindsight, I would have skipped the afternoon excursion entirely and spent more time exploring Amsterdam independently. Some of our new friends from the ship had done exactly that, they pre-booked tickets to the Anne Frank Museum six weeks in advance and spent their afternoon there instead of doing the organized excursion. I wish we had done the same. This is where it’s important to note that, when possible logistically, there is no requirement to take part in the activities planned by Disney on either a Land or River Adventure.
Day 8: Disembarkation
Smooth and efficient. Our 10am flight was the earliest departure on the ship. We had luggage outside our door by 6am, were picked up at 6:30am in a private van, and were at Schiphol Airport within 30 minutes. Plenty of time to get through security and grab breakfast before our flight.
Adventures by Disney handles all transfers. If you book a post-cruise night through ABD, they transfer you from the ship to the hotel, and then from the hotel to the airport the next day. If you make your own arrangements, you handle your own logistics, but the Day 8 transfer to the airport is included for all guests regardless.
How Does an ABD River Cruise Compare to a Land Adventure?
This is the question we get asked most often, and after four land adventures and two river cruises, here’s how I’d frame it.
When should you choose a river cruise?
A river cruise is ideal when ease of travel is a priority. If you’re traveling with young children, elderly grandparents, or anyone who would benefit from unpacking once and having your hotel follow you from destination to destination, a river cruise is hard to beat. You visit multiple countries and a half dozen towns and cities without the hassle of packing up, checking out, and transferring to a new hotel every two or three days.
A river cruise is also a wonderful way to expose your family to European culture, history, and charming towns that they might never visit otherwise. It’s a sampler, you get a taste of each place in a curated, stress-free way.
When should you choose a land adventure?
If you want that once-in-a-lifetime, marquee experience, land is the way to go. Machu Picchu. The Grand Canyon. Glacier hiking in Iceland. Zip-lining over a Costa Rican rainforest. A river cruise doesn’t have that singular, jaw-dropping centerpiece. What it offers instead is a steady stream of wonderful moments, culture, and history, but nothing that makes your heart pound the way standing at the edge of a canyon or the top of a glacier does.
How do the guides compare?
This is a meaningful difference. On a land adventure, you travel with two Adventure Guides and a group of about 40 guests. You spend every day together. They get to know your family, your kids’ names, their quirks, their Starbucks order. By the end of the trip, you’ve built a genuine relationship, and we’ve stayed in touch with several of our guides over the years.
On a river cruise, there are five or six guides for 130-plus guests. You get to know them a little, but it’s the luck of the draw, you might have four excursions with your favorite guide, or you might get a different one every day. It’s less personal and less intimate when it comes to the guide relationship.
How does the group dynamic differ?
On a land adventure with 40 guests, maybe five to eight families, you know everyone’s story by the end of the week. For better or worse, it’s a tight-knit group. On a river cruise with 130-plus guests and 25 or so families, you have a much wider social pool. For families with kids, this is actually a significant advantage: with 30 to 40 children on board, the chances of your child finding someone their own age with common interests are much higher than on a land trip where there might only be one or two kids in their age range.
The flip side is that you won’t know everyone as deeply. But you will find your people, and the bonds are just as real. There has not been a single Adventures by Disney trip, land or river, where we haven’t stayed in contact with at least one or two families afterward. Traveling with interesting, like-minded people who share a love of seeing the world, it fills my cup, and it’s one of the reasons we keep coming back.
What Should You Know Before Booking an ABD River Cruise? And, specifically, the Rhine?
Here are the tips I’d share with anyone considering this trip:
Book your excursions early. Adventure Insiders (returning ABD guests) get a head start on excursion selection. Some activities note limited capacity. Once on board, switching is generally very flexible, but securing your first choice ahead of time gives you peace of mind.
Prepare for early mornings and long days. This is not a sleep-in vacation. Meeting times of 7 or 7:15am are common, and you might not return to the ship until 4:30 or 5pm. The pace is rewarding but it’s real.
River levels can change your itinerary. This is the nature of river cruising and is completely outside anyone’s control. On our sailing, low water levels affected two days of excursions and nearly required us to switch ships. ABD and AmaWaterways handled it with transparency and creativity, but you should go in knowing that the published itinerary is a plan, not a guarantee.
Consider adding an extra night in Amsterdam. This is my single biggest recommendation. Amsterdam is a large, historic, fascinating city, and the cruise gives you about one full day there. It’s not enough. If you can extend by even one night, do it. Book through Adventures by Disney for seamless transfers, or arrange it on your own.
Buy Anne Frank Museum tickets six weeks in advance. Tickets are released on a rolling six-week window and sell out quickly. If this is important to your family, and it should be on the list, plan ahead and consider skipping the organized afternoon excursion in Amsterdam to visit independently.
The ship is transportation, not the destination. If you’re coming from an ocean cruise mindset, adjust your expectations. The staterooms are smaller, the amenities are more modest, and there’s no rock climbing wall or water slide. The magic of this trip happens on shore.
Food allergies are handled well. AmaWaterways was excellent with our daughter’s gluten allergy. Just communicate your needs, and they’ll take care of it.
U.S. drinking age applies. Even in Europe, Adventures by Disney follows American rules. Guests under 21 cannot order alcohol on the ship or participate in tastings during excursions.
Don’t skip the Sip & Sail. Beyond the complimentary cocktails, this is where the captain shares updates, the guides preview the next day, and, most importantly, where you meet people. Some of our best connections on the trip started with a conversation during cocktail hour.
The Chef’s Table is worth it. Each party can book at least one dinner at the Chef’s Table restaurant, a five-course meal with wine pairings, all included. It’s the best meal on the ship. Reserve early.
Would We Do It Again?
Our four land adventures rank ahead of our two river cruises, but not because the river cruises were bad, the land experiences we’ve chosen have simply been extraordinary. The Rhine River Cruise ranks as a wonderful, enriching family vacation that I would recommend without hesitation to the right family.
As for whether we’re done with river cruising: Bonnie already has her eye on the Belgium and Holland itinerary in the spring to see the tulips, and we keep talking about doing either the Danube or the Rhine again during Christmas market season. So no, we’re not done.
If you’re considering an Adventures by Disney river cruise and want to talk through whether it’s right for your family, we’d love to help. We’ve been there, literally, and we’ll make sure you’re prepared for everything from excursion selection to what to pack.
Contact Mouse Counselors to book your Adventures by Disney vacation.
Phil Marino is a travel advisor and owner of Mouse Counselors, a Disney EarMarked agency. He and his family have completed six Adventures by Disney vacations across three continents.