The weekends are universally recognised as the best time of week. For many of us, the weekend signals the end of the working week, offering us two glorious days in which to relax and recoup after five days of hard slog. Now, imagine instead of lazing around the house and flicking through the umpteen channels on your television, you had the opportunity to spend your Saturday and Sunday aboard a luxurious river cruise vessel, sailing along the majestic rivers of the world, calling at a selection of diverse and fascinating cruise ports. Wouldn’t that be the ultimate weekend? We think so! And we’ll tell you why!
Entertainment & Dining
Being bored at the weekend, when you have so much free time, is an unfortunate situation, but the kind of situation that would never occur on a river cruise. When you are not in port, exploring exciting new destinations, your feature-packed river cruise vessel will have plenty of facilities to 
keep you thoroughly entertained and occupied. For example, Viking River Cruises offer free ship-wide Wi-Fi to all their guests as well as an on-board library and shopping boutique to help passengers pass the time. Despite being smaller than ocean cruise vessels, river cruise ships still pack a whole lot of entertainment onto their decks to provide the ultimate weekend.
Passengers will also discover a number of sophisticated restaurants and cosy cafes on-board their vessel, where they can purchase a wide range of delicious international and speciality cuisine prepared by top professional chefs. So guests can have their Sunday lunch exactly how they like it, without having to sweat for hours in the kitchen.
Relaxation
Taking the time to relax at the weekend is important to a lot of people. On a river cruise, passengers can indulge in the ultimate in relaxation. AMA Waterways boast a fantastic range of services to help guests relax on their river cruise vessels, especially aboard the AmaPrima which contains a fabulous spa and salon alongside a state-of-the-art fitness centre, so guests can spend their weekend working out or winding down. Aside from the spas and salons found on many river cruise vessels, the ships offer many other ways to relax whilst on board. The vast majority of ships will house at least one comfortable lounge area or bar, serving a variety of enticing drinks. Many river cruise vessels, including Uniworld’s SS Catherine also have a swimming pool, so guests can choose to either swim a few peaceful laps or simply sit in a sun lounger on the pool deck and read their favourite book for the ultimate weekend of relaxation.
Weather
Everyone knows the feeling of making it to the Friday full of enthusiasm, hoping for the ultimate weekend, only for it to start raining and wash away your plans. On a river cruise, you can choose your destinations and itinerary to make sure that you sail to the ports blessed with a warm and wonderful climate, so you can spend your weekend outdoors in the sun. With vessels from the finest river cruise lines sailing to sunny ports in southern Europe including Lisbon, Porto, Salamanca, Venice and Bordeaux, a river cruise is an ideal way to find a spot of sunny weather.
Excursions
Lots of people like to spend their weekend getting out and about, whether they spend a day in the 
park, go shopping or see a film at the cinema. The excursion opportunities on a river cruise holiday, however, are phenomenal. You could find yourself spending a day strolling through a tranquil vineyard, observing ancient architecture in a historic old town, sunbathing on a golden sandy beach or haggling for authentic handicrafts in a bustling bazaar. The possibilities when it comes to day-trips are abundant on a river cruise holiday, enough to blow a normal weekend at home out of the water.
