Do You Need to Know Wine to Enjoy a Wine Cruise?
You do not need tasting notes to enjoy a wine cruise. The recorded sailings are river routes with a wine title, and a knowledge test is Not listed.
It’s All Cruises · October 25, 2026
You do not need to know wine to enjoy a wine cruise! Go for the river and the towns if that is the week you want. A required tasting level, exam or dress code is Not listed.
Quick facts
| Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Bookable wine-tagged itineraries | 54 |
| Lines in that tag | Avalon Waterways |
| A knowledge requirement | Not listed |
| A tasting count | Not listed |
| Another wine title outside the tag | Viking Chateaux, Rivers & Wine, from Bordeaux |
| What is recorded | Ports, nights, ship and a sample fare |
Wine routes with a fare and a port list
| Route | Ship | Nights | Ports | Sample fare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romantic Rhine For Wine Lovers Northbound | Avalon Envision | 7 | Basel, Breisach, Kehl, Ludwigshafen, Rüdesheim, Rhine Gorge, Koblenz, Cologne, Amsterdam | $3,551, deluxe stateroom, departure October 24, 2028, checked October 13, 2026 |
| Danube Dreams For Wine Lovers Westbound | Avalon Illumination | 7 | Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Dürnstein, Wachau Valley, Ybbs, Linz, Schlögen Oxbow, Passau, Vilshofen | $4,701, deluxe stateroom, departure October 31, 2027, checked October 13, 2026 |
| The Rhine Moselle For Wine Lovers With 2 Nights In Lucerne Southbound | Avalon Imagery II | 12 | Amsterdam, Cologne, Cochem, Trier, Bernkastel, Koblenz, Rhine Gorge, Rüdesheim, Ludwigshafen, Strasbourg, Breisach, Basel, Swiss Alps, Lucerne | Not listed |
| Chateaux, Rivers & Wine | Viking Forseti | 7 | Not listed | $2,999, standard, departure March 21, 2027, checked October 13, 2026 |
Enjoy it without performing
- Read the ports. If you want the Rhine Gorge or Budapest, the wine title is an extra, not an entrance exam.
- Ask which tastings are included. That list is Not listed in these summaries, so the honest answer is to ask the line.
- A non-drinker can still use the towns. Nothing in the tag says the sailing is closed to them.
- Wine with dinner on an ordinary river fare is a different product from a for-wine-lovers title.
- Avalon Envision lists 47 crew and 83 cabins, length 135 m. Gross tonnage is Not listed. The ship is not a classroom.
- Skip a wine sailing if the dates only work for you on a standard departure of the same river. The theme is optional.
Fares are marketing prices, confirmed when you book.
Frequently asked questions
Will I be quizzed?
No quiz is listed. Do not expect one, and do not expect a certificate either. Both are Not listed.
Are all 54 wine sailings Avalon?
The bookable wine tag count is 54, and among these sailings they are Avalon. Viking's Bordeaux wine title sits outside that tag.
Do I have to attend every tasting?
Attendance rules are Not listed. Ask. A title is not a mandatory schedule.
Is the Douro included in the wine tag?
No Douro itinerary carries the wine tag. A Douro vineyard sailing is recorded separately under Avalon Alegria.
Filed under river, wine