easyCruise Going Up the River

Thursday April 13, 2006

The Easy group, purveyors of all things orange for European budget travelers (easyJet, easyHotel, easyCruise, easyInternet), will soon be announcing plans to launch a riverboat ferry from Brussels to Amsterdam as a cheap travel alternative to European budget airlines, according to the UK's TravelWeekly. EasyGroup founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou is quoted today as saying that more passengers choose cheap flights to Amsterdam than any other European city, and that a river ferry alternative will provide travelers with a new perspective on Belgium and Holland.

No word on a start date, but easy.com is in talks with a Holland riverboat operator, according to the story. Possible pricing is also under wraps; an easyJet ticket London-Amsterdam checks out at about $80; a Rail Europe train ticket Brussels-Amsterdam comes in at around $43.

Taking the train from Brussels to Amsterdam is a terrific travel option -- passengers land at the very central Amsterdam Centraal, which is extremely easy and the train station is near some hot hostels; any easyRiver ops docking

that close to downtown could give train service a run for its money, but service would be the operative word: tooling into the Netherlands on the train, especially coming from London via Brussels on the Eurostar (photo at left), which speeds under the English Channel, is very pleasant because of a train's superlative service and amenities, like lounges. Not to mention that knowing many tons of water are just meters from crushing your train can be rather exhilarating if such a thing floats your boat.

easyCruises are noted for catering to less traditional tourists than a tradtional cruise -- Mediterranean easyCruises stay docked until 2:00 a.m. at calls like Nice to provide port partying opportunities for the 18-40 crowd. Other easy.com arms, like easyHotel, are simply cheap travel options decorated in the company's signature orange.

^{Travelweekly.co.uk}
^{Photos: Top - easy.com; bottom - Kathleen Crislip}