Europe's armada

Scenic Tours adds the Scenic Gem to its Seine River cruises and Scenic Jade on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers, and is spending $10 million refurbishing existing ships. Its subsidiary, Emerald Waterways, starts operations in 2014 with two ships, marketed in Australia by Evergreen Tours (evergreentours.com).

APT floats the new AmaSonata and AmaReina on the Rhine and Danube, bringing its European river fleet to 15 (aptouring.com.au). Avalon Waterways adds three new vessels - Avalon Impression, Avalon Poetry II and Avalon Illumination - for a total of 13 European ships operating 26 different itineraries (avalonwaterways.com.au).

Last but far from least, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is launching a new vessel, the Catherine, on its Burgundy and Provence itineraries (uniworldcruises.com.au).

Carrying just 159 passengers, it will nonetheless be the largest of the company's deluxe ships, and boasts a heated swimming pool, outdoor dining area and art-filled interior.

ALL ABOARD

What's striking isn't just the number of new ships, but their ever-increasing luxury. Ship size is constrained by the locks and low bridges of Europe's waterways, yet adroit design changes to vessels coax more interior space. Hair salons, 20-seat cinemas and (in Uniworld and APT's new ships) heated rooftop swimming pools have been added. Retractable floor-to-ceiling windows turn lounges into outdoor decks on new Viking vessels, cabin sunrooms transform to open balconies on key Scenic Tours' ships.

Meantime, cabin sizes on some ships become bigger simply by reducing passenger numbers. With size ultimately limited, however, luxury increasingly expresses itself in the detail, be it a butler service, in-cabin espresso machines, mini-bars and branded toiletries.

Then there's the dining. Scenic's "space-ships" feature degustation dining at Table La Rive restaurant. APT is introducing chef's table dining on its new Royal Experience cruises in 2014. Just 24 guests watch the chef prepare a six-course degustation menu, accompanied by fine wines.

SHIP TO SHORE

The abundance of waterways and itineraries now extends overland, with cruises increasingly becoming one leg of a European holiday. For example, CroisiEurope is starting six- and eight-day cruises from Frankfurt and launching an Amsterdam to Avignon cruise along the Rhine and Rhone, though passengers travel overland between Strasbourg and Chalon-sur-Saone (croisieurope.com). APT is introducing a Spanish land journey to complement its Douro River cruise in Portugal, and a 35-day Baltic states and Russia itinerary that incorporates a river journey between St Petersburg and Moscow. Scenic's new 19-day Treasures of Europe's Waterways cruise links Budapest to Amsterdam, and its new 20-day cruise from Passau, near Munich, travels to Romania's Danube Delta.

As new travel combinations open up, changes are also afoot on established itineraries. Themed journeys are expanding, be it cruises dedicated to music, art, the Dutch tulip season or Christmas markets. Avalon, for example, has introduced cruises that focus on beer tasting, golf and wellness.

Shore excursions are also more creative. For example, Uniworld's Exclusive Epicurean Adventurer option sees food-loving passengers delve into local culinary traditions with cooking demonstrations and private wine tastings. Scenic's FreeChoice experiences include attending a Puszta horse show in Hungary or touring an underground lake near Vienna. APT's 2014 Royal Experiences include private opera recitals, palace cocktail receptions and Michelin-star dinners.

PASSENGER PACE

Cruise passengers are increasingly doing it for themselves, too. Uniworld's Go Active program provides bicycles and Nordic walking sticks to passengers keen to set their own pace on the riverside. APT's new AmaSonata and AmaReina carry electronic bicycles so the energetic can freewheel along bike paths. And Scenic Tours has just unveiled its Tailormade GPS guides which passengers can use to conduct their own tours.

Asia opens up

Cruising China's Yangtze River is well established, as is cruising the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar and the Mekong between Vietnam and Cambodia, but new ships boasting creative itineraries are also cruising less familiar rivers.

Orient-Express has launched the luxury 50-passenger Orcaella and undertakes unique itineraries deep in Myanmar 's north. From Mandalay, the Orcaella cruises up-country on the Chindwin River, towards Myanmar's border with India, exploring ports, villages and ancient Buddhist temples on the way. Orcaella also sails a Gorges of the Far North cruise to Bhamo, near the border with China, visiting Katha, the town made famous by novelist George Orwell in Burmese Days.

CroisiEurope has new vessels on the Mekong and Irrawaddy in 2014, its first foray into Asia. Uniworld is offering a new 12-day Treasures of China itinerary which, in common with most Yangtze cruises, includes land tours to Shanghai, Beijing and Xi'an.

Scenic Tours has launched private charter cruising on the Mekong and Irrawaddy rivers. Passengers board the Mekong Navigator in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City and cruise to Cambodia's Siem Reap. Scenic's Irrawaddy Explorer will cruise between Mandalay and Prome, north of Yangon.

India's Ganges River is the next frontier to watch. Journeys between Calcutta and Varanasi, and shorter itineraries at points in between, are starting to become available.