How One River Cruise Proved Me Completely Wrong | Confessions of a Cruise Convert

How One River Cruise Proved Me Completely Wrong | Confessions of a Cruise Convert

I never thought I’d like river cruises. I was never a cruise person. Not even close. Until this happened. I went on one, last Christmas. Last December, I said yes to a river cruise from Germany to France during Christmas season. And let me tell you, it wasn’t just a trip. It was somewhat of a revelation. It completely changed the way I see river cruises. For those new to my channel, I’m Janz. I’m the creator of the travel documentary series, In the Mood for Life. And welcome to my new sub-series, Confessions of a Cruise Convert, where I talk everything about cruises from the perspective of someone who’s never been to river cruises before and had been completely won over. In short, this is all about cruises for non-cruisers. So on the maiden voyage of the series, I’m going to cover a few things such as why I chose to go on the river cruise. The common misconceptions of river cruising. What I find special in river cruises, and why you should go on a river cruise at least once, twice, or maybe a few or many times in your life. So let’s start with this question: Why river cruise? Over the past few years, I’ve been invited to a few cruises, both river and ocean, and I’ve always turned them down. In the past, I didn’t think it was my method of travel. I always like to think of myself as an independent traveller, where I like to organise everything to the last detail. I’ve been in many tours before, and every time I go on trips like this where everything is organised, I always feel like, am I missing a responsibility that I should be doing? And that’s when I met Dave Natale, the River Cruise King whom I’ve known for a few years, and he became a client of mine. I created a few videos for Dave, and he even sponsored my Budapest episode. He invited me to a river cruise before, and unfortunately I couldn’t make it at that time. And when he invited me the second time, being a person with a sense of gratitude, I couldn’t turn it down and I seriously couldn’t miss the opportunity. I welcomed it completely and went finally to the first river cruise in my entire life. And here’s what I think what anyone with no river cruise experience should do. Go and try a river cruise with an open mind and that’s exactly what I did. I went to a themed river cruise, which was a Christmas cruise from Germany to France, from the Main river to the Rhine river, visiting Christmas markets in between and I tried to quell all my expectations and just went along with an open mind like it was a completely new adventure. Number two: misconceptions about river cruises. Why did it take me so long to go on a river cruise? That’s precisely because of a few misconceptions, and I’d like to break a few of them for you. That’s because I used to think river cruises were for the older, more mature crowds. And that’s partly true. Yes, river cruises attract an older demographic, and most people’s assumption is that river cruises are for retirees and that it’s slow, boring, predictable, blah blah blah blah blah. Not true. Listen, I’m in my mid to late 30s and the only real reason why it attracts an older crowd is that regular young people in their 20s or in the 30s like me, don’t really see splashing 3 to 5 grand on a river cruise as the topmost priority in life, or just don’t have the capacity for such luxury expense. Whereas people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, or like some parents who are very comfortable in their lives are capable in doing so. It’s considered a luxury. And let’s face it, river cruises attract a luxury market. But I’ll cover misconceptions about pricings for river cruise on a different video, which would make you think differently about prices and standards. But for now, let’s focus on demographic. I was lucky to have the opportunity to go on a river cruise because as a travel content creator, I was able to exchange my skills and creative expertise for a river cruise experience. So I paid for my first ever river cruise by creating content. So travel content creators out there just sayin’. I brought Salvador the sommelier with me, my wonderful travel companion on this trip, and we thought we were going to be the only thirtysomethings on this cruise. We were wrong. There were a few people in our age demographic on that cruise, and there were even families and teenagers, human beings younger than us. So this misconception about age and river cruise was completely blown out of the water. Another misconception this three-worded deathly knell, slow, boring, predictable. Let me clear that straight away. Yes, it’s slower because it’s considered a form of slow travel, compared to an ocean cruise, which is faster, and river cruises are neither boring nor predictable. Every river cruise has an itinerary, so you can predict the stops, the destinations. But there’s something exciting about waking up every morning in a new location. And every day there’s always excursions or activities to do, exploring the historical sites and the places where the ship docks. And because you are in some of the major European rivers, you always dock somewhere close by. to a city, a town or village. We had our meals on the ship, and right after every breakfast we always go off for excursions, and during Advent season we visited a plethora of magical Christmas markets which drew the crowds. But we also had those really peaceful times and peaceful walks on quiet, sleepy little villages. And it was even more magical. Most of the time, we come back to the ship for lunch, as lunch is always served and available, and if we ever come back in the afternoon, there’s always afternoon tea and we always have dinner on board. Truth be told, there are elements in the river cruises that make it unpredictable, such as weather, water levels and river traffic. And yes, there’s traffic on the river. But cruise companies are always prepared for these events. So we had bus excursions to places where ship couldn’t reach, and our ship even picked us up from another docking station. So no, it’s not predictable at all. It can be an adventure. And river cruises are not boring. Far from it. That also depends on who you go with and river cruise with Dave is never boring. Dave has built a brand from Friends of Dave’s and his escorted cruises are never run-of-the-mill type of cruises. He brings in entertainment and we had so much fun on the ship. Dave is known to bring entertainer friends as guests. And during our Christmas cruise, we had Lindsay Hamilton. She’s a West End musical theater star and comedienne, and she put on a wonderful, wonderful show and all-laughing, all-singing cabaret show, which we all loved. Then we had Sederginne, a renowned Belgian drag queen who’s an international star in both Belgium and Netherlands, and we had the best bingo ever, paired with an amazing cabaret show. I mean, the calibre that Dave brings onto the river cruise is incredible, so I never expected our river cruise to be this much fun. And it truly was. Number three. What I found special in river cruises, specially the one I went on. I can only speak from my experience because I only went to two river cruises so far. The first one was a Christmas cruise and of course it was very special because it was my first time and also because of Dave, the River Cruise King. Dave curates his escorted travel experience from a very personal place. I mean, he’s lived in Europe and Germany for about 25 years, and he took us to places he’s lived before. His favourite markets, his favourite restaurants, his favourite places, even the magical medieval village he’s lived in. Everything in that itinerary was really fabulous and it truly made it super special. Now, in terms of river cruise, I find the unexpected connections you make during the cruise really special. Let’s not forget the river cruises are far smaller than ocean cruises and can only accommodate about 100 to 200 people maximum. On this cruise we had around 150 plus people and that’s considered intimate. And it was. I get to socialise and get to know people, whereas I believe in an ocean cruise, you get surrounded with 700 or 1,000 people, which is very overwhelming sometimes. Honestly speaking, being an independent traveller, I’m not really used to being surrounded by hundreds or thousands of people at the same time. So the thought of sailing with this amount of people intimidated me. But on my first river cruise, it was actually really manageable. I actually got to know people, and since it’s a smaller ship, people get to know you, and on the excursions you get divided to even smaller groups so you can really spend time and get to know people around you. I felt the second, third or fourth night we go to the dining room to have dinner, it always felt like we’re going to friends’ dinner, where you get invited to tables and everything becomes comfortable, and it really helps that everyone is just friendly on a cruise. I mean, these are just a bunch of people who are actually having a great time on a river, visiting Christmas markets, feeling all that festive atmosphere and just having a great time. A lot of guests have already sailed with Dave before, so it really helped as well that there’s this genial atmosphere that people already knew each other. So you always feel welcome. I’m really surprised with the connections we made and the acquaintances we said. Even today, I still message and chat intermittently with the people who I connected with on the cruise, and we even became Facebook friends, sharing each other travel stories and sharing life updates from each other. I mean, it’s amazing what shared travel experience can ignite in people. Number four: that’s why, lastly, why you should go to a river cruise and experience and see it for yourself. It made me realise that river cruises aren’t a niche for retirees. Therefore, anyone who wants to slow down travel in a different method and see Europe from another great perspective, its rivers and appreciate European history, architecture, culture, gastronomy, the wines, the sceneries all curated and tailored into an itinerary based on a major European river. As I mentioned before, I tend to lean into a more of an independent traveller, so I’m so used to organising everything from itineraries, excursions, sightseeing, restaurants, cafes, you name it. But while I was in the river cruise, it was just so nice to be incredibly looked after. Where everything is organised from the get-go to the disembarkation. It was just so refreshing to know that every day there’s an excursion, there’s activities, and all you need to do is just be ready. Excursions are also optional. You don’t need to stick to excursions every day, and if you feel like having a break or wandering on your own or exploring the towns by yourself, you’re free to do so. The great thing about cruises with Amadeus is that, for example, during on our Christmas cruise, all excursions are already included in the price you paid. So having paid for a package gives you that less hassle on this “too many choices” dilemma. There’s a schedule of excursions and it’s up to you whether you go or not. I went on all the excursions. I mean, why would I waste an opportunity to explore parts of Europe I hadn’t explored? So in summary, river cruises are truly perfect for those who want their trips to be completely curated with excursions and itinerary, and wants to have less hassle and less stress with organising things. Where you can just arrive on the ship, unpack, relax, sip wines, enjoy the scenery and views, socialise and have long, wonderful dinners in an elegant dining room and enjoy the rest of the evening’s entertainment and music. I find there’s some real resplendence and just being carried by the flow of the river, if you know what I mean. And I find that really refreshing. So if you’ve ever wondered what river cruising is really like, or is it right for you? Subscribe and come along with me along this series. I’ll dive deeper into river cruises and I’ll share what I’ve learned, what I wish I knew before going, and how these cruises changed the way I travel. Because trust me, if I can fall in love with river cruising, anyone can. Drop your questions in the comments. Anything you’ve been wondering about river cruises. I’m here to help. I’ll see you on the river or maybe on the ocean. Subscribe to In the Mood for Life for more cruise stories and adventure. See you in the next video.

I’ll be honest — I never saw myself on a river cruise. I thought there were not for me — but only something I’d try much later in life. But then I stepped aboard one, and everything changed.

Welcome to my new sub-series, “Confessions of a Cruise Convert”, where I get real on the world of river cruises. On this first video, I share my personal journey from cruise skeptic to cruise convert — and how one magical Christmas river cruise from Germany to France completely redefined the way I see travel. It turned my assumptions upside down — and I’ll tell you why I’ve become an advocate for this different, immersive way of travelling.

💬 If you’ve ever wondered if river cruising is for you — or if you’ve written it off entirely — this video is for you.

This isn’t just a travel vlog. It’s a confession, a transformation, and maybe even an invitation — for anyone who’s ever thought river cruising wasn’t “their thing.”

🎄 BONUS: We’ve just launched our very first hosted cruise — Christmas on the Danube, 2026 aboard the Amadeus Nova — co-hosted by yours truly, Janz, storyteller and video creator of @inthemoodforlife_official, and Salvador, professional Michelin-starred restaurant sommelier @salvadorsommelier — in partnership with The River Cruise King himself, Dave Natale of @rivercruisekingdnatours.

Come with us and see why I fell in love with this style of travel. We’d love to have you join us, and experience a Christmas cruise of a lifetime!

👉 Book your cabin or learn more:
https://christmasdanube2026.inthemoodforlife.com/

📽️ Watch our CHRISTMAS CRUISE ON THE DANUBE 2026 video: https://youtu.be/fDoNJkfwuuI

📽️ Watch IN THE MOOD FOR CHRISTMAS: River Cruise from Germany to France, Visiting Christmas Markets https://youtu.be/lJKd455R2T0

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📌 CHAPTERS:
00:00 I Never Thought I’d Like River Cruises
00:20 “Confessions of a Cruise Convert”
00:49 River cruise topics I cover
01:08 Why river cruise?
02:39 Misconceptions about river cruises
07:22 What I find special about river cruises
10:00 Why you should go on a river cruise at least once, or twice…or many times!
12:24 Follow me on this miniseries “Confessions of a Cruise Convert”

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🔔 Subscribe for more soulful travel stories & immersive adventures
❤️ Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@janzantoniago
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Watch other travel documentaries:

In the Mood for Vienna: Part 1 // https://youtu.be/HhuP2_Cf-54
In the Mood for Vienna: Part 2 // https://youtu.be/aZkulG-jtv8
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In the Mood for Madeira: Part 2 // https://youtu.be/I7SrkhJ3iik
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In the Mood for Azores: Part 2 // https://youtu.be/v2MEtKlTGGI
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In the Mood for Morocco // https://youtu.be/Ou8keNkt98U
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