A-ROSA River Cruises

A'Rosa, a division of P&O Princess Cruises, entered the river cruise market in 2001. It began operating with three ships: A'Rosa Blu, A'Rosa Bella and A'Rosa Donna. In 2003 A-ROSA Flussschiff purchased the brand and has owned it ever since.

In its early years, A-ROSA served the German cruise market. As time went by, the company decided to branch out to the North American market to include the United States and Canada. A partnership was formed in 2013 with David Morris International - the company that was responsible for A-ROSA's North American launch and currently oversees its operations.

There are some differences between the European and North American division. The same vessels are not used for both markets, and itineraries are not exactly the same for the European and North American branch.

A-ROSA Aqua

A-ROSA Aqua

Rolf Heinrich, Köln [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

A-ROSA - European River Cruises

A-ROSA offers river cruises in Europe only. Its itineraries, particularly for the Rhine River, are different than what’s offered by most companies. A list of rivers and destinations for A-ROSA's river cruise packages are listed below. They are designed for A-ROSA's North American market.

Destinations Visited: Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Eastern Europe, Belgium and Netherlands.

Rivers & Waterways: Rhine, Main, Danube, Dutch & Belgian Waterways, Rhône and Saône

Rhine

There are six packages available ranging in length from 5 to 8 days. This includes the Rhine River only - not combined with other waterways.

Round Trip from Cologne to Basel
Round Trip from Cologne to Amsterdam
Round Trip from Cologne to Strasbourg
Basel to Amsterdam or Reverse

Rhine & Dutch & Belgian Waterways

Two packages are offered. There is an 8-day cruise and a 10-day cruise.

Round Trip from Cologne to Amsterdam

Moselle River in Cochem, Germany

Rhine & Moselle

An 8-day package is available.

Round Trip from Cologne to Trier

Main & Danube

There are two 8-day itineraries available. Although, the Danube River is listed, this cruise takes place on the Main River during most of the trip.

Frankfurt to Passau
Passau to Frankfurt

Danube

A-ROSA has features six different packages that are between 6 and 12 days long. Most are Danube River cruises round trip from Passau.

Round Trip from Passau to Bratislava
Passau to Oltenita
Tulcea (Bucharest) to Passau

Palace of the Popes in Avignon, France

Rhône

There are two itineraries offered on just the Rhône River - does not include the Saône. Cruise length is 8 or 10 days.

Round Trip from Lyon to Arles

Rhône & Saône

An 8-day river cruise is available round trip from Lyon. However, this itinerary travels northward on the Saône from Lyon to Chalon-sur-Saône before traveling southward to Arles from Lyon.

Round Trip from Lyon to Arles

A-ROSA - European River Cruise Fleet

It can be a little confusing when you look at the vessels listed on A-ROSA's website for the North American market. The company has designated certain ships for travelers from the United States and Canada. These vessels are listed beneath the tab for Rhine/Main/Moselle, Danube and Rhône/Saône. However, if you look at the available cruise dates for each itinerary, there are usually additional ships listed. Although, these are ships you can sail on, they serve the European market, which means you may not be met by an English-speaking crew or passengers.

The following river cruise ships serve travelers from North America:

Rhine River Vessels

A-ROSA Aqua - has 99 outside staterooms and carries up to 202 passengers. Similar ships that serve the European market, include A-ROSA Viva and A-ROSA Brava.
A-ROSA Silva listed below. Also travels on the Rhine River.

Danube River Vessels

A-ROSA Silva - has 83 outside staterooms, 4 junior suites and 2 balcony suites. Carries up to 186 passengers. Similar ships that serves the European market - A-ROSA Flora and A-ROSA Donna.

Rhône River Vessels

A-ROSA Stella - has 86 outside cabins. Carries up to 174 passengers.

A-ROSA - A Few Differences

A-ROSA is one of the more all-inclusive river cruise companies. Some of the items that are included:

Airport transfer fees
Prepaid gratuities
Open bar throughout the ship
Port Charges, Taxes and Fees
Most ships have a spa, sauna, gym and pool or whirlpool
Bicycles for time spent ashore

The company is more family-friendly than most river cruise lines, especially with regard to young children. It's even gone so far as to offer free river cruises in 2015 for children between the ages of 2 and 15 years old. Although, young children are allowed, it doesn't mean that this is a good choice for bringing them on a river cruise. There aren't children's programs or activities onboard A-ROSA ships and it's likely that there will also not be other children onboard. It's nice to know that the company is opening river cruises up for young travelers, though.

If you enjoyed reading this page, please share it with other people you think would also enjoy reading it. Thank you! :)