The river cruise line industry offers a uniquely intimate and immersive travel experience, combining sightseeing, comfort, and fine dining. Companies operating in this sector provide clients with a variety of river cruises on major waterways around the globe. They offer exclusive amenities such as spa treatments, luxurious accommodations, and exotic cuisine. The industry is experiencing significant growth with a rising trend towards personalized experiences and destination-focused itineraries. The future could see even more innovative approaches to river cruising, creating unique, on-water travel experiences that appeal to an even broader range of clientele.


Top 21 River Cruise Line Companies

1. Scenic - Luxury Cruises & Tours

  • Website: scenic.com.au
  • Headquarters: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Founded: 1986
  • Headcount: 201-500
  • LinkedIn

Scenic.com.au offers river cruises and land journeys to various destinations worldwide. They provide 5-star ships, spa, health, and well-being services, and a range of dining and beverage options. Their all-inclusive packages include Scenic Freechoice activities and Scenic Tailormade options. They also specialize in speciality cruises, such as culinary cruises and Christmas cruises. Scenic.com.au offers flexible booking policies and deposit protection plans to ensure a hassle-free experience for their customers.


2. BB Riverboats

BB Riverboats offers a variety of sightseeing, dining, and specialty cruises on the Ohio River. They provide entertainment options and cater to group events such as weddings, corporate gatherings, and social events. With a fleet of riverboats, they have been Cincinnati's official riverboat cruise line since 1979.


3. Viking River Cruises, Ocean Voyages & Expedition - Cruise Planners

Viking River Cruises offers state-of-the-art vessels that provide luxurious river and ocean cruise experiences. With their award-winning Viking Longships, guests can enjoy the amenities of a fine hotel while being transported to exciting destinations. The company offers a variety of cruises, including in Europe, Asia, Egypt, and the Mississippi River. They pride themselves on their Scandinavian design and innovative approach to river cruising.


4. Lueftner Cruises

Lueftner Cruises offers river cruises along Europe's most beautiful rivers, providing a luxurious and carefree travel experience. With over 40 years of experience, they are experts in river cruising, offering authentic and culturally engaging cruises. Their elegant ships, experienced guides, and personalized hospitality ensure a memorable journey.


5. Club Cruise Travel & Entertainment

Club Cruise and Travel is a full-service travel agency that specializes in group travel, incentive travel, cruises, land tours, and independent travel reservations. They provide hand-selected trips curated for clients and have exclusive offers through their longstanding contracts and relationships with major cruise lines and tour operators.


6. New York Cruise Lines, Inc.

  • Website: nycl.com
  • Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
  • Founded: 1945
  • Headcount: 201-500
  • LinkedIn

New York Cruise Lines is an industry-leading maritime sightseeing, entertainment, dining and transportation company. Since our founding in 1945, we have delighted over 85 million guests from around the globe. We currently maintain and operate a fleet of over 25 state-of-the-art boats from our offices in midtown Manhattan, in the heart of the Hudson River Park.


7. Strand Cruise

The Strand Cruise offers luxury river cruises in Myanmar, with routes covering the famous U-bein Bridge, Mahamuni Pagoda, Mingun Bell, Hsinbyume Pagoda, and more. The cabins, restaurants, and public areas are stylishly furnished and catered by a welcoming crew, while the ship features traditional wooden games and a well-stocked bar to relax and unwind.


8. Travelsand Trip

Travels and Trip is a travel agency that provides a variety of travel services to help you book your dream vacation and make your travel experience an unforgettable one.


9. YMT Vacations

YMT Vacations is a travel company that offers guided tours and cruise vacations to various destinations worldwide. With a focus on providing peace of mind to travelers, YMT Vacations ensures safety and satisfaction through its health and safety guidelines. The company offers a wide range of vacation options, including land tours, cruise and land tours, and river cruises.


10. HollandTravelGroup

HollandTravelGroup is the largest online terminal for sellers of day tours, boat, groups, sport groups tours or airport transfers. Specialized in sports groups, foreign football clubs that take those with coaches to their training camp and guide them during their stay in the Netherlands. With about 65,000 airport transfers, day tours and boat tours, we are the largest in the Netherlands. So we are executors. Active on this busy tourist market since 1996, but managed to grow every year. We were able to achieve our growth by having the honor of working with the biggest on this planet. Working with Hotelbeds and HTG UK has brought and shaped us where we are today. With the great efforts of our team, we have grown into the largest in the Netherlands. HTG is a real family business where we go to great lengths to guarantee the highest quality of HTG, service, friendliness, correctness and honesty.


11. CruisePlus Travel & Tours

  • Website: cruiseplus.ca
  • Headquarters: Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
  • Founded: 1991
  • Headcount: 11-50
  • LinkedIn

CruisePlus Travel & Tours is a trusted company specializing in cruises, offering a wide range of ocean cruises, river cruises, tours, hotels, resorts, and more. With over 22 years of experience, CruisePlus provides top-notch customer service and value to thousands of Canadians and Americans.


12. Cruise Connections Canada

Cruise-Connections.com offers cruise vacations with up to 60% off and various amenities such as prepaid gratuities and free shore excursions. They have a wide selection of over 900 destinations to choose from.


13. Mundomar Cruceros

Mundomar Cruceros is a company that offers a wide range of cruises and travel experiences to various destinations around the world. With a focus on providing exceptional service, their offerings include complete travel packages, optional excursions, and pre and post-cruise tours. Whether it's exploring the Mediterranean, Caribbean, or exotic destinations, Mundomar Cruceros aims to create unforgettable experiences for their customers.


14. Alex Travel

Alex Travel Agency is a full-service travel agency located in Alexandria, MN. They offer a wide range of travel services including air, cruise, rail, hotel, and car reservations. They specialize in organizing escorted tours and cruises in North America, including destinations like Alaska, U.S. & Canada, Caribbean, Hawaii, and Mexico. With their experienced travel agents and extensive travel experience, they help customers plan and book their dream vacations.


15. Craig Travel

Craig Travel is a travel company specializing in unique group journeys for the 50+ traveler. With a focus on European river cruises, African safaris, and exceptional cruises to smaller ports of call, Craig Travel designs authentic adventures that immerse customers in the history, culture, and cuisine of their dream destinations.


16. Tennessee Riverboat Company

Tennessee Riverboat Company offers sightseeing, lunch and dinner cruises on the Tennessee River in Knoxville. Cruises are available for special occasions or for private charters.


17. DiveSafariMaster LTD

divesafarimaster.com offers high-quality and affordable diving cruise tours in the Red Sea, Egypt, Sudan, and Maldives. Their comfortable boats provide safe and fun diving experiences with passionate and motivated guides.


18. Kuoni Cruises

Kuoni Cruises is a specialist provider of ship-based travel experiences to a wide range of destinations worldwide.


19. Vietnamdreams Co., Ltd.

Vietnamdreams Travel Service offers personalized travel and tour services in Vietnam with a focus on German-speaking customers, including customized tours and excursions for cruise ship travelers.


20. MSC Cruises Israel

MSC Cruises offers a range of cruise holidays to destinations including the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the Caribbean with state-of-the-art technology and fitness facilities.


21. River Cruises Holding B.V.

River Cruises Holding B.V. is a young passenger shipping company which has five river cruise ships offering bike-boat tours on the European inland waters, mainly in the Netherlands. They specialize in combining cycling and sailing.


Want to find more river cruise line companies?


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