About Cologne
Cologne's twin-spired Gothic cathedral rises directly above the cruise berths, making it the most photographed skyline on the Lower Rhine. The Altstadt's brewhouses serve the city's pale Kölsch beer in slim 0.2 L glasses, and the Roman-Germanic Museum next to the cathedral houses the Dionysus mosaic and other artefacts from the Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium settlement. From mid-November the Christmas markets clustered around the cathedral square draw enough demand that most operators add a second overnight specifically to take advantage of them.
River cruise ships that call at Cologne
132 vessels from 13 operators include Cologne in their published itineraries:
…and 72 more vessels.
Itineraries that include Cologne
- Romantic Rhine
- Rhine Highlights
- Tulip Time on the Rhine
- Castles of the Rhine
Operators serving Cologne
Viking River Cruises
Scandinavian-styled Longships exploring Europe's great waterways.
AmaWaterways
Boutique river ships with twin balconies and onboard bicycles.
Avalon Waterways
Suite Ships with beds that face the river.
Scenic Luxury Cruises
All-inclusive Space-Ships with butler-served suites.
Emerald Cruises
Star-Ships with an indoor pool that converts to a cinema.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises
Floating boutique hotels with hand-curated antiques.
CroisiEurope
Family-owned French line covering Europe's lesser-known rivers.
Tauck
Family-owned American operator with multi-generational departures.
A-ROSA River Cruises
Lifestyle river cruising for a German-speaking market.
Riviera Travel
British operator with single-supplement cabins on every ship.
Amadeus River Cruises
Family-owned Austrian line with classic European itineraries.
Grand Circle Cruise Line
Small-ship river cruises for active North American travellers.
Riverside Luxury Cruises
New ultra-luxury entrant with all-suite ships.
Rivers reached from Cologne
Rhine
The Rhine is the busiest river-cruise corridor in the world. Its Middle-Rhine gorge between Bingen and Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage…
Danube
The Danube is Europe's second-longest river and the only one that flows from west to east across the continent. Classic itineraries run…
Main & Moselle
The Main and Moselle are the most picturesque tributaries of the Rhine. The Moselle in particular — a thirty-mile sequence of horseshoe…