Luftner Cruises

Lueftner Cruises ranks among the best-known organisers of river cruises on European waterways. Founded more than 30 years ago, the company has set new standards in luxury river cruising.

Innovative while rich in tradition, this Austrian shipping line with its excellent international reputation offers its passengers

Elegant, friendly, comfortable – you’ll feel completely at home. 
Aboard our AMADEUS ships you appreciate the ease of travel without having to forego any of the elegant comforts of a 5-star hotel. Our main personal concern is to ensure you feel good on board and can enjoy your cruise on Europe’s most beautiful waterways without having to worry about anything at all. You’ll feel at home right away when you see how stylish our luxurious cabins are, and how comfortably equipped. Absolutely all the AMADEUS fleet’s cabins are outside facing and most of them have French balconies. The broad glass frontages provide spectacular views of the scenery passing by, of charming towns and fascinating cultural sights. Travelling and living, revelations and relaxation – where are all these holiday features brought together better than on our very special AMADEUS ships? Your floating 5-star hotel takes you right through Europe and the best thing of all is you only have to unpack your luggage once!

For more than 30 years Austrian hospitality has been our emblem on board. 
Gourmet dishes, choice wines and a fantastic atmosphere await you aboard our AMADEUS ships, on all of which our passengers enjoy exclusive full board catering, allowing them to relax completely and let our attentive dining room staff spoil them from early till late. At every dinner we also serve you superb wines from Europe’s best wine regions. Our ambitious chef conjures up the most delicious dishes, adding his own enthusiasm to the freshest local ingredients. You’ll be surprised by the range of carefully selected menus, our particular Austrian delicacies, and international specialities that allows you to choose between classical haute cuisine, regional dishes and a vegetarian alternative. Only one aspect of the tremendous variety of cooking on board never changes – Austrian hospitality, which characterises your trip from start to finish.

Take time for the most important person on board – you!
There are all sorts of opportunities to design your very own leisure programme aboard our ships. It could include being quite energetic, using our health facilities, having lively conversations, or relaxing with a book on the sun deck. Boredom certainly doesn’t come into the picture.Take time for yourself and profit from having the opportunity to give yourself some “feel good” treatments, like making an appointment with the ship’s hairdresser or treating yourself to a relaxing yet invigorating massage in the ship’s Vital Club. 
If you’d prefer being more active, simply line yourself up for a session in our Fitness Studio, or join the early morning exercise group on the sun deck, or get to know your fellow passengers by taking part in a game of chess or shuffleboard. Our ship’s tour managers arrange interesting informal talks to provide you with more information about the regions and cultures through which we travel. Sometimes we have folklore shows on board that are typical of the country concerned, while in the evenings our ship’s musicians entertain us all with their lively playing and ensure that those taking to the dance floor have a really good time.

The most beautiful cities have always been built on watersides, so all we have to do is go ashore and together see Europe at its most beautiful. 
A wine tasting in France’s Burgundy region, a stroll through the natural beauties of Austria’s Wachau district, sightseeing in a romantic city, or a thorough tour of an exciting metropolis such as Budapest, Vienna or Amsterdam – the choice is yours. Our experienced local tour guides accompany you on inspiring discovery-trips to some of Europe’s most beautiful places and introduce you to new countries and cultures.Our cable-free AMADEUS audio system always goes on these trips too, so you never miss any of the interesting facts and actually acquire valuable knowledge about the regions concerned. Our varied excursion programmes allow you to make personal choices and take your own decisions about excursions. You can take city tours, go on shopping trips, be a culture vulture or see a place at close quarters on a specially planned bicycle route – you’d be surprised at how many facets and inspirations there are to be experienced along Europe’s most beautiful waterways.

Being socially responsible and sparing in our use of resources – that’s the most respectful way to travel. As we ply up and down Europe’s most beautiful waterways we enjoy, day in day out, nature’s glorious green backdrop on either side of us that in turn provides the habitats so vital for all sorts of plants and wildlife. So that it stays just that way we, as a company, are great supporters of sustainable protection of the waterways in that we set great store by moving along them with as little use of natural resources and as sustainably as possible. We are very proud that our company has been the only ship-owner operating river cruises in Europe able to display the much sought-after ecological “Green Certifications” seal of approval awarded by “Green Globe”, the leading world body issuing certificates for sustainable tourism. Not only is the implementation of on-board measures that demonstrably save energy and water necessary for such certification, but also the creation of the comprehensive social and ecological sense of responsibility pervading the company’s day to day operations. In collaboration with the “atmosfair” climate protection organisation, we also offer our passengers an opportunity to make a small donation to contribute to compensating for our CO2 emissions during the cruise - so that we can all derive pleasure from the beauty of our river cruises far into the future.