Low Rivers, Refreshed Ships, New Adventures

Cruise travelers are navigating a season of change. Low water on the Danube and Rhine is disrupting peak river cruise sailings, with Avalon Waterways shifting departures from Nuremberg to Passau, AmaWaterways moving guests off the AmaMagna above Budapest, and Viking swapping sister ships to keep itineraries running. On the ocean side, Cunard's Queen Victoria heads to Damen Shiprepair in Rotterdam from October 17 to November 5 for a refit that adds eight new staterooms and refreshes public spaces including the Grand Lobby and Queens Room. And Windstar's newly acquired Star Explorer has arrived at the West Sea shipyard in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, for a conversion that lifts capacity to 224 guests ahead of a December 28 debut.