Family Time on the Rhine

There was never much doubt that HEIDI SARNA would enjoy her weeklong river cruise in Germany, but it proved a surprise hit with her kids, too.

By the end of our week long Rhine River cruise last July, we had forgotten that months earlier my 13-year-old twin boys had grumbled and pleaded for us to do a big ship cruise where they could play ping pong, shoot hoops on a basketball court, and zip down a water slide with other teens.

Their transformation started within minutes of arriving at the 130-passenger River Empress , when a smiling crewmember (who we later realised was the captain himself!) trotted up to our taxi the moment we reached the pier to whisk our suitcases onto the vessel, while we were shown to the main lounge to enjoy a drink and some snacks while our cabins were made ready.

It was clear from the get-go that this river cruise was an intimate, friendly, high quality operation – a small community that would welcome us like family for the week.

My boys loved their cabin, situated across the hall from our identical 151-square-foot room, with its large windows peering out just a few feet above the river and nest-like beds covered in thick European-style duvets and huge pillows. Over the week, they enjoyed many on-demand movies on the TV, from Ant Man to Meet the Parents – welcome consolation for the weakness of the onboard Wi-Fi that ruled out playing on their phones or laptops. Though they were definitely not happy about this initially, it wound up being a blessing as it pushed them to socialise the old fashioned way.

Until fairly recently, river cruises in Europe were strictly a seniors-only affair – older couples planted on deck watching the scenery float by with a cup of tea or a glass of rosé. Not anymore. On our sailing there were 39 kids under 18 years of age. Uniworld, like some other companies, including Disney Cruise Line, is offering more special family cruises than ever before, mostly during the summer. For 2017, Uniworld has scheduled 22 of these.