Cruise lines bring fitness to the river

It’s a trend that has been quietly gaining momentum lately: river cruise lines offering passengers more and better ways to stretch their legs and get their heart rates up while on their river cruise.

Gone are the days (for the most part) of windowless fitness rooms with dated equipment and little opportunity to burn off all the calories gained in the dining room. River cruise lines are amping up their bike excursion options, improving onboard fitness facilities and increasingly giving passengers more rigorous walking tour choices, among other options to incorporate greater fitness and wellness into their river itineraries.

For instance, AmaWaterways this year partnered with hike-and-bike specialist Backroads to create an eight-day Danube River bike-themed river cruise, which includes several biking and walking excursions throughout a sailing from Prague, Czech Republic, to Budapest.

The alliance kicked off with 20 Danube River sailings this year and will be expanded throughout Europe and Asia in 2016 with hike-and-bike cruises along the Rhine, Rhone, Seine, Douro, Garonne and Mekong rivers. The Backroads bike-themed river cruises include a dedicated trip leader, titanium bikes, support vans and flexible itineraries with a range of cycling routes suited for different abilities.

Adventures by Disney, which recently inked a partnership with AmaWaterways to operate six family-friendly Danube river cruises in 2016, has said that it, too, plans on incorporating more biking and active walking options for families, including a biking excursion in every port.

Avalon Waterways recently introduced a wellness-themed river cruise, which has one departure on July 1 and one in 2016, on July 15. The 13-day Danube River wellness cruises feature a daily exercise program each morning, including stretching and yoga, as well as healthy living lectures and nutritious dining options onboard.

They will be hosted by Suzanne Florence, a fitness professional who teaches aerobics, kickboxing, interval training, indoor cycling, aqua aerobics and strength training with a focus on helping people develop a healthy, fit lifestyle and fostering wellness in clients of all ages and fitness levels.

Gyms are improving, too. Tauck’s new Inspiration Class of river cruise vessels features an expanded gym with two new rowing machines, two treadmills and two stationary bikes. For guests who want to ride bikes on shore, Tauck has those available, as well.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has amped up some of its fitness facilities onboard, as well, with several of its newer and recently renovated vessels featuring state-of-the-art fitness equipment. Several Uniworld vessels also house small pools, which are big enough for aqua aerobics or abbreviated lap swimming.

For those who like the idea of swimming to achieve their river cruise fitness goals, Scenic’s two newest river cruise ships, the 169-passenger Scenic Opal and Scenic Jasper, which launched in Europe this year, unveiled a “vitality pool” concept — a relaxation pool on one side and a pool with a jet stream enabling stationary swimming on the other.