What to Pack On Your European River Cruise

If you are reading this, I’m guessing you are getting ready for a river cruise! How exciting! You’re about to experience the ultimate immersive vacation full of incredible excursions and top-notch service. Plus, speaking of packing, one of the best parts of a river cruise is you only have to unpack once! I’m sharing more about my experience below so you are prepared and ready for your next river cruise adventure.

What to Expect on a River Cruise

I sailed with AmaWaterways in March of 2024 on their Colors of Provence itinerary from Lyon to Arles and you can read more about my full river cruise experience here. In this post, I talk about everything that’s included on a river cruise, from the food, the cabins, onboard activities and share a few tips so you can take full advantage of everything that AmaWaterways provides. The highlight for me were the immersive excursions that are included with your river cruise sailing and I detail everything I experienced in this post.

What to Wear On a European River Cruise

River cruising is all about being immersed in the destination and I wanted to see as much as possible. I planned on being very active during my cruise and so athleisure wear worked well for me. As I cruised during the shoulder season, I focused on laying, being comfortable and was prepared for rain. Plan on wrinkle resistant fabrics, comfortable shoes, and the overall vibe I would describe as casual or casual elegant for meal times. Neutral colored options, scarfs and vests came in handy to mix and match throughout the trip. My cruise experience was in mid-March and we had wonderful spring like weather with hardly any rain. Temperatures ranged from the lower 60’s/high 50’s during the day to lower 40’s in the evening. If you’re cruising in the summer months, you’ll obviously need to be prepared for warmer weather and Christmas Market cruises will have you layering up and packing gloves, hats and a warm jacket.

Dinner

Dressing for dinner probably generates the most questions when deciding what to pack for your river cruise. When you return back from your excursions, you have some down time to enjoy the ship, take a nap and then get ready for the Sip and Sail Hour which takes place an hour before dinner. During our cruise, the ladies wore blouses or sweaters with pants or skirts or casual dresses and the men wore button up shirts or light sweaters with jeans or slacks. AmaWaterways does feature a Captain’s Dinner and fine dining attire is recommended. Nobody was wearing a tux, but a few did wear a suit jacket. During the Chef’s Tasting Meal (remember to sign up for this once onboard) people also did tend to dress a little nicer. There is no formal dress code, so again my advice is to be comfortable, but not too casual.

Clothing

I found the the storage space in the cabin to be a little small, but there are several shelfs in the closet and four bedside drawers. Don’t forget to look under the bed for drawers that pull out. I discovered these late on my sailing and if I had had a cabin mate, this extra space would have been very handy. What worked best for me for keeping my clothes organized was having everything sorted within packing cubes and then arranging on the closet shelves. Some people like to pack outfits by day, but I prefer to pack all of my shirts together, pants together, workout gear, socks, underwear, etc. There is also a closet with plenty of hangers and AmaWaterways does offer laundry service and the prices per item of clothing are very reasonable, so packing light is a great option. Within your closet you’ll find a laundry bag with a sheet to fill out your requests. Simply leave this on your bed and you’ll have your items back within 24 hours.

Underwear and bras
Pajamas
Socks (I planned on two pair per day knowing excursions would be active)
Swimsuit and coverup for the sun deck
Athletic clothing. AmaWaterways offers several fitness classes (yoga, circuit training, etc) as well as active excursions including walking, hiking and bike tours. Think comfortable, sweat-wicking fabric. I did pack a pair of bike shorts and next time I would leave those at home. This isn’t the Tour de France (ha)!
Dressy blouse or light sweater
Casual dresses
Pants (excursions I loved leggings or joggers) and then had linen pants or something a little dressier than jeans for dinners
Shoes: an athletic or hiking pair, walking sandals for warmer weather excursions, flip flops for pool time and a pair of fashionable sandals
Rain jacket
Jacket (I packed a lightweight down coat for chilly mornings/evenings that could easily pack down in my backpack)
Vests for layering
Scarfs (different colors to mix up the outfits). These are also nice to cover your shoulders if visiting a place of worship for example.
Light sweater or sweatshirt
Ball cap if that’s your thing for shade and a packable sun hat for deck time
Sunglasses with case
Jewelry

Clearly I’m a packing “influencer”. Ha! But you get the drift on space.

Toiletries & Cabin Essentials

AmaWaterways provides high quality bath products including shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion (plus it smells wonderful!) They also provide Q-tips, cotton swaps and hair dryers in the rooms, along with robes and slippers.

Laundry bag to keep things organized
International travel adapter (especially one that has USC and USB-C ports)
Sound machine (I like the BetterSleep App and you can make your own playlist)
Prescription medication (make sure you plan on a few extra days just in case of any delays)
Any over the counter medications (colds, tummy issues, ibuprofen or Tylenol, allergy relief and sleep meds)
Sunscreen and lip balm
Face cleanser and moisturizer
Toothpase and toothbrush
Hair brush and any products
Deodorant
Contact lens/solution
Glasses (extra pair of readers)
Make up
Shaving supplies

Documents & Electronics

Passports with extra copies stored on your phone (I have a travel document folder in my photo album) and keep a hard copy stored separately from your original
Any important health forms
Credit Card
Phone company
Small change in the local currency. We tipped our drivers and tour guides 2 to 5 euros
Phone chargers (plus ear buds, watch, etc)
Battery charger
Refillable water bottle
Download your river cruise app
Airlines App
Copies of all travel documents including confirmations and meeting locations for airlines, trains, transfers, etc
Belt bag and backpack. During excursions I carried a rain jacket, water bottle, battery charger, and snacks.

Things to leave at home

Alcohol. Beer and wine is included with lunch and dinner and the complimentary cocktails are offered each evening during the Sip and Sail hour. You can also purchase wine/beer during port excursions and your server can cork them for you on board.
Umbrellas. You’re covered by AmaWaterways if it does rain.
Hiking poles. These are easily accessible on your way off the ship.
Bike helmets. Not saying you were planning to make room for one in your carry on, but just know helmets and really comfortable bikes are available throughout your cruise. Even outside of planned excursions.
Travel steamer or iron. Heating elements are a fire hazard so if you need anything ironed, you can request this through AmaWaterways laundry service.

Are you curious about river cruising? You can view all of the amazing itineraries here and I am an AmaWaterways Certified Advisor and would love to help you! I am an Certified Travel Advisor and would love to work with you. Reach out to me at [email protected] or fill out a quote request here.