1 ... The Nile

The Nile is the world's longest river and the majority of British visitors to Egypt will include a short cruise on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan during their stay. Cruises of this 140-mile stretch of the Nile in Upper Egypt typically last four or five days.
In 1997 the Foreign Office has lifted the ban on travel in middle Egypt and operators like Swan Hellenic are now reintroducing 600-mile Nile cruises along the full navigable length of the river between Cairo and Aswan.

2 ... The Rhine

The Rhine and its tributaries are the second most popular rivers for British cruise passengers after the Nile. Travellers can join a cruise that begins in Amsterdam and ends in Switzerland.
The Rhine is 1,320 km long and flows through Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
There has been a sharp increase in the number of ships travelling the Rhine over the last five years, and the PSA estimates that the number of Britons now travelling has increased by 20 per cent from 20,000 in 1992 to 27,000 in 1997.

3 ... Russia

The Neva and Volga inland rivers, waterways and lakes of Russia offer a journey linking St Petersburg with Moscow and vice versa.
The deeper rivers of Russia mean that ships tend to be larger than on Western European rivers. Ships carrying 250 to 300 people are common as are five deck ships all offering an excellent quality alternative to local hotels.
Russian river cruises have only been widely available in the UK since 1995 and as many as 15,000 Britonstook a river cruise in Russia in 1997 making Russia the third most popular river cruising destination for the British ahead of the Danube and the Elbe.

4 ...The Danube

In September 1992 a new canal was opened linking Bamberg and Kelheim. This link meant that for the first time ships that cruised the Rhine could also travel to the Danube.
Prior to this, only a few older ships had sailed in the Danube. With the new canal, designed to look just like a river, cruise companies can reposition ships there to offer new itineraries.
There was an enthusiastic response and the number of British holidaymakers taking cruises on the Danube increased from 1,000 to 10,000 in just five years.
One of the longest river cruises currently offered by a member of the Cruise Information Service is KD River Cruises' 15 or 16-night trip from Cologne to Vienna. By the year 2000 KD predicts that river cruises could start in Amsterdam on the North Sea and finish in the Black Sea.
The Danube is actually Europe's second longest river surpassed only by the Volga. It is also the only European waterway which takes its route from East to West. It passes through ten countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldavia and the Ukraine.

5 ... The Yangtse

The Yangtse is the world's third longest river. Most cruises will visit the River Gorges area. The Lesser Three Gorges (or Three Small Gorges) where the Yangtse joins the Danin is one of the most scenic points of the river and can be reached on a separate small boat from Wushan.
Other interesting ports of call and excursions could include Yichang, at the entrance of the Xiling gorge in western Hubei province, Fengdu which houses more than 7600 temples and is known as Ghost City, and Yeuyang on the northern Hunan province where the Yangtse river and the Donging lake merge.

6 ... The Elbe

The dramatic political transformation of Eastern Europe over the past few years has had a significant impact on the popularity of cruises on the Elbe. In just four or five nights passengers can now experience both Prague and Berlin.
The Elbe is 724 miles long and includes Hamburg, Dresden and Prague. Passengers who stop at Wittenburg can also take a day trip to Berlin - just 90 minutes' drive away.
The number of Britons taking cruises on the Elbe increased from 600 in 1992 to more than 4,000 in 1997.

7 ... The Mississippi

The Mississippi stretches through the heartland of America from Minneapolis St Paul in the North down through St Louis and Memphis to New Orleans in the South.
Paddle steamers have been plying the river since the 1800s and with increasing numbers of UK companies offering this very special form of tour, large numbers of Britons are now cruisingthe Mississippi.