26 Reasons Millennials Love European River Cruises

How many of their contemporaries can say they have explored the Moselle or shopped for wine and cheese in Alsace?

Both young and the young-at-heart can enjoy the interesting mix of European cities and villages that line the great rivers of the continent. One day you're in Paris, and the next you are in a tiny town that nobody at home has ever heard of.

Actually, U by Uniworld accepts guests of all ages, but it is a cruise line designed around the demands of a slightly more active group of passengers with distinct ideas about what they want from a cruise.

If you know very little about a region, a river cruise is the ideal way to get your feet wet. The included tours go a long way toward building your knowledge, making you feel almost like a local if you venture back to the same cities on your own later.

Many Millennials are surprised to learn that they are not locked into port tours. Prefer to sleep late one morning and just walk around port on your own? It's easy; grab a map at the reception desk and off you go.

With a little planning, guests can stay overnight away from the ship, provide their own transportation to the next port, and hop back on. Obviously, the ship's staff needs to be made aware of these plans.

The wines served on board are usually reflective of the region the ship is sailing in and is included in the cost of the cruise during lunch and dinner on most cruise lines.

River cruises pass through some of the most notable wine regions in Europe, providing a backdrop for those social media posts, and a chance to educate both your mind and your wine pallet along the way.

Millennials lean toward doing things their own way. That's easy enough to do when it comes to the relaxed wine policies on most river ships. Buy a bottle and bring it onboard in each port if you like. As your cabin steward for glasses and an opener, and you are all set.

As with wine, beer on board many river ships is included during lunch and dinner, and the choices will most likely be locally-produced beer.

Because beer was invented here. How convenient is it to raise a pint or two in town with the locals before returning to the ship with not a trouble in the world? Or maybe pick up a couple of bottles to enjoy in your stateroom.

Beer. Sausages. Pretzels. Like-minded Millennials. Are there any other reasons to travel?

Amsterdam brings to mind the art of Van Gough and streets lined with coffee shops and bakeries, plus a vibrant bar scene. It's definitely where the cool kids want to begin or end a river cruise.

In France, it's all about wine, romance, and food, with itineraries giving Millennials ample opportunity to enjoy all three.

Cruise lines like Amawaterways, Uniworld, and Tauck, take bicycles along for the ride, even arranging guided bike tours in some ports.

The onboard nightlife might be a bit quiet for some Millennials, but life in some of Europe's capitals certainly is not. Cities like Amsterdam, Prague, and Budapest are often overnight ports of call, allowing plenty of time to explore them by dark.

"It's not exactly like cruising with your grandmother," said one recent young cruising couple on a Viking River cruise. "But everyone is certainly nice to us."

Millennials have discovered that the food scene on most river ships is a far cry from the eat-til-you-explode options on ocean cruises. Because the river cruise scene has always catered to the dietary needs of an older cruise market, requests for vegan or gluten-free options are nothing out of the ordinary.

Child-free Millennials are among those that appreciate the lack of children on board most river cruises. Only a handful of river cruises encourage children, and even on those, tiny tots are not likely among the passengers.

Let's face it. Most of the people on board a river cruise move at a slightly slower pace. While there is always something to do on and off the ship, the pace never seems rushed.

Millennials love the variety of river cruise choices as much as any age traveler. The rivers of Europe are home base to an amazing array of river cruise choices, both in ship style and itinerary options.

With low add-on airfares offered by cruise lines, and with food, tours, and beer and wine with meals included, the cost of a river cruise compares favorably with an individually-priced land-based trip to the same destinations.

Another Millennial couple we spoke to said what they loved most is that the whole trip felt like a splurge, even though it was reasonably priced. "Beats the heck out of backpacking," they laughed.

Nothing about planning a European vacation on your own is quick and easy. For Millennials with hectic jobs, it can feel like they need a vacation from vacation planning. Booking a river cruise is easy, especially with the air options offered by the cruise line.

If you get right down to the nuts and bolts of it, river cruise lines have been in the business of managing an aging population, which makes them experts at simplifying the whole thing from start to finish.

Millennials are particularly fond of shiny new things with plenty of technology already built in-a description that clearly matches today's modern fleet of river ships.