The all-inclusive model

VIVA includes drinks in the fare. Not just wine at dinner, but the bar through the day. That is unusual on rivers, where the traditional model gives you wine with meals and charges for everything else.

Meals, wi-fi and onboard entertainment are in as well. Excursions are generally the extra rather than the inclusion, which is the reverse of the usual river arrangement and is the main thing to understand before you compare prices.

For a family that walks around towns by itself rather than following a guide with a flag, that trade is very favourable. You were not going to use the included excursions anyway, and you were going to buy the drinks.

Who is on board

Younger than the river average by a noticeable margin. Still not young in absolute terms, but you will not be the only people under sixty and there will usually be other families in the school holidays.

It is a European operation and the passenger mix reflects that. Announcements and service in multiple languages, a more continental rhythm to the day, and a less scripted feel than the American-market lines.

The atmosphere is casual. No formal nights, no assigned seating, no ceremony. People turn up to dinner in what they wore into town.

The ships

A mix of newer builds and thoroughly refurbished older vessels. The newer ones are genuinely smart, with good cabins and pleasant public space. The older ones are perfectly comfortable and priced accordingly.

As always on rivers, ask which ship and ask which deck. Upper deck cabins have proper windows or French balconies. Lower deck cabins have small high windows and cost considerably less for a reason.

Cabin sizes are standard for the category, which is to say adequate rather than generous. Nobody is river cruising for the room size.

Itineraries

The Rhine, Moselle, Danube, Main and Rhone, plus the Dutch and Belgian waterways, which are underrated and gorgeous in tulip season.

VIVA runs a lot of shorter itineraries, four and five nights, which almost nobody else does properly. For a first river cruise, or for a family testing whether their children will tolerate it, a four night trip is a much smaller bet than a fortnight.

They also do Christmas market sailings, which are the single best introduction to river cruising for a family and sell out early every year.

What you give up for the price

Excursions, mostly. If you want a guided tour in every port included in the fare, the traditional lines do that and VIVA generally does not.

The onboard programming is lighter. There is a musician and there is a lounge and that is broadly it. On the traditional lines there are lectures and demonstrations and a fuller daily programme.

And the polish is a notch below the premium names. Not rough, just less finished. Whether that matters to you is a genuine question and not a rhetorical one.

Who I would book on VIVA

First-time river cruisers who want to try it without committing a fortnight and a large sum. Families with teenagers, because the casual atmosphere and the younger crowd make a real difference to whether a fifteen year old is miserable.

Independent travellers who would rather explore a town themselves than follow a guide, and who would rather have the drinks included than the tours.

I would not book it for someone who wants the full traditional river experience with lectures, included touring and a high level of ceremony. Uniworld or Tauck do that far better.

Questions people actually ask