AmaWaterways has added two new 2023 river cruise dates for guests to experience Heritage on the River; Your Personalized Ancestry Experience.

These special itineraries, conducted in collaboration with AmaWaterways’ partner Ancestry, will provide guests exclusive opportunities to explore their heritage with tailored experiences that educate and immerse them in the destinations their ancestors once called home.

Both seven-night cruises -- the Legendary Danube cruise embarking June 17, 2023 travelling from Nuremberg, Germany to Budapest, Hungary, and the Captivating Rhine cruise embarking November 2, 2023 travelling from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Basel, Switzerland -- will welcome guests onboard for dedicated Heritage on the River experiences, uncovering their family’s history while sailing along two of Europe’s most renowned rivers.

“Following the success of our first Heritage on the River cruise in 2022, we are thrilled to expand our partnership with Ancestry and Ancestry Pro Genealogists as the desire for immersive and enriching travel experiences continues to grow,” said Kristin Karst, EVP and co-founder of AmaWaterways.

“These very special sailings combine our companies’ shared passions for family, heritage and travel, and we look forward to helping our guests forge a deeply personal connection to their European roots while creating new memories that will truly last a lifetime.”

Guests signing up for AmaWaterways’ exclusive heritage-focused program start their experience with a pre-journey welcome call with an expert genealogist, an AncestryDNA Kit and a five-hour Ancestry research and consultation package.

Once their river cruise begins, guests will be accompanied by a genealogist throughout their entire journey, providing two historical and genealogical presentations, a private consultation, a hosted lunch or dinner plus a curated excursion delving further into the heritage of the region.

During the Captivating Rhine cruise, guests will gain a deeper understanding of their ancestors’ challenging journey to the new world through an exclusive excursion to the historic Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp, Belgium.

On the Legendary Danube sailing, the expert genealogist offers guests a unique perspective on the Jewish and Hungarian migration experiences with exclusive enhancements to Budapest and Vienna city tours. Guests on either cruise can choose to expand their Heritage on the River journey with private ancestral home visits to the spots their families once lived, worked, attended school or worshipped. One such life-changing visit was captured in a short video filmed during the 2022 Heritage on the River cruise.

To further enhance the European immersion, optional pre- and post-cruise land packages are also available and fully escorted by AmaWaterways Cruise Managers:

Legendary Danube – June 17, 2023

-- Pre-cruise: 3 nights in Prague, Czech Republic

-- New for 2023 post-cruise: 3 nights in Kraków, Poland

Captivating Rhine – November 2, 2023

-- Pre-cruise: 2 nights in Amsterdam, Netherlands

-- Post-cruise: 2 nights in Lucerne, Switzerland and 2 nights in Zurich, Switzerland

The two additional sailings in 2023 are now available for booking. Travel advisors can access AmaWaterways’ new Ancestry Marketing Toolkit on the TA Portal, featuring information about the experiences that guests will have throughout the sailing, how guests can further personalize their experience and collateral including images, a guest testimonial video, flyers and blogs.