Megan Singleton: BloggerAtLarge.com writer on the benefits of river cruising

For people wanting to explore the water who don't want the big ocean cruise experience - an intimate river cruise might be the way to go.

River cruises have gotten more popular in recent years, as it allows people to explore places without the intense experience of an ocean cruise.

BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton explains further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talk SEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yes Time to talk travel and Meghan Singleton joins me
now blogger at large dot com.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Good morning, Good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
How amazing is Paris looking?

Speaker 1 (00:21):
No?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
I know, you know, I've got a fifteen year old
who studies classics and art history who is just sitting there,
not watching the sport. She's just sitting there with her
mind boggling at just how incredible and beautiful and stunning
and all history and the architecture and how just amazing
Paris is.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
I've got friends over there at the moment and they're
sending pictures back, you know. They they've managed to get
a whole bunch of tickets. Like they were at the
Athletics est today, needed eyes in the back of their
heads because there's so many events going on at the
same time. They're there with their binoculars trying to keep
their eyes on everything. Amazing to be there, What an
awesome thing.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Absolutely right, Let's talk river cruising. This is becoming really popular,
isn't it hugely.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
I'm a bit of a late comer to river cruising.
I have to say I've done about a dozen ocean
crews US. But last year was my first European river cruise.
I've done the Mississippi and I've done the Murray River,
but I loved it, as you know. I did the
Christmas markets along the Danube. Loved it so much, so
I've decided that I want to do another one next year.
And this year we're going to Next year we're going

(01:21):
to do the Rhine. And there's so many different rivers
you can do, including over in Portugal and just I
mean amazing rivers. So I thought I would just give
a little shout out to river cruising and why people
love it so much, and the kinds of people who
perhaps hate the idea of being on a great, big
cruise ship with a thousand people or five thousand people,

(01:43):
This could be for them. So I look at cruises
like a smallest board. Okay, it's it not literally all. Yes,
it's a little taste of places that you wouldn't otherwise see.
So you total along to different towns and villages and
cities and countries, and then maybe after you've finished your cruise,
you decide, gosh, I really loved that picular place, and

(02:07):
you plan a trip in a couple of years to
go back and slow travel, you know, so then you're
going to dine on the full meal, but this time
you're going to stay in a little French country house
or something like that, because you saw the town on
your river cruise. So cruises to me, yeah, they are
the taster. They are just the synopsis. And use it

(02:28):
as that. Think of it as that. River cruisers small ships. Okay,
so one hundred and twenty to two hundred people max
on a river ship barely moves, you know, you hardly
even know you're gliding. You have to look out the
windows to see if you're actually moving. So for people
who are worried about motion, sickness not even an issue.

(02:49):
They're really fascinating because all day long your view changes,
provided you're not already in a town somewhere, of course,
rolling pastures, vineyards, old buildings like farmhouses and castles and cathedrals,
and sometimes you'll stock and you'll have to go through
a lock, and so you'll sit. You could sit in

(03:10):
your own cabin because your windows of floor to ceiling
and you can watch the whole process of your ship
rising up through the lock. I just love them. I'm
really hooked. So, yeah, you unpack only once and off
you go.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
How do you how would you choose? So I like
the idea that, as you say, you could be on
a boat with only one hundred and twenty two hundred people.
Do you just kind of work out what it's going
to appeal to you and then kind.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Yeah, look, they all offer different packages, they all offer
different daycore. So the next year's one I'm going to
be hosting is on quite an elegant, sort of sumptuous
looking ship with ornate kind of furnishings. It's also all inclusive,
which does make it more expensive, but then you don't

(03:59):
have any you know, booze bills at the end of
the week offer free excursions.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, so that's okay, that's you've given me. You've given
us a few things to think about when we start
reading the info. That is brilliant. Thank you so much,
And of course Megan will have information about Hoo River
Cruises at blogger at large dot com.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.