Finding a river cruise, in the Northwest and beyond

Going on a cruise doesn't have to mean going out to sea aboard a ship that's bigger than your home town. A little shopping around on the Internet can set you up on a relaxing voyage on any number of scenic rivers.

They're not inexpensive, but these inland voyages can give you a unique view of the scenery, with atmosphere running the gamut from luxury to laid-back ease.

Probably the best-known passenger vessel on U.S. rivers is the sternwheel Delta Queen — www.deltaqueen.com/ — the floating historical monument that preserves the era when steam powered commerce and travel. Check out "Scheduled Departures" for voyages on the Delta Queen and her sister ships, the Mississippi Queen and the American Queen. They sail in the New Orleans area, up the Mississippi as far as St. Paul, Minn., on the Ohio as far as Pittsburgh, and as far afield as Galveston, Texas, and Pensacola, Fla.

In the Pacific Northwest, the American West Steamboat Co. — www.columbiarivercruise.com/ — advertises seven-night sternwheeler cruises up the Columbia River Gorge with stops at attractions such as Multnomah Falls and side trips into Hells Canyon and up to Mount St. Helens. And this year, they're offering a four-night cruise around Puget Sound. (The company also offeres cruises to Alaska from Seattle.)

Columbia River cruises also are offered by Cruise West — www.cruisewest.com/ — which also offers California wine country cruises in the San Francisco Bay area. Click on the names of the ships to see the layout of their cabins.

On the other side of the continent, St. Lawrence Cruise Lines — www.stlawrencecruiselines.com/ — offers a three-day cruise on the St. Lawrence River through the Thousand Islands that sit between New York state and Ontario, or longer voyages that range from the islands up to Quebec City. Keep them in mind for early autumn when fall foliage brightens the riverside.

River cruises abroad

For one-stop shopping, industry giant Viking River Cruises — www.rivercruises.com/ — has riverboats on the major rivers of China, Russia and western Europe. With the help of a canal in Germany, you can even sail from Amsterdam to Budapest by way of the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers, past castles, vineyards and picturesque towns and bustling cities.

A company that calls itself "the small ship experts," World Waterways — www.worldwaterways.com/ — advertises accommodations on everything from European canal barges to bigger river boats. In Great Britain, you can ride the eight-passenger Magna Carta on the Thames, or you can go to Australia and board the 120-passenger Murray Princess, a paddlewheeler cruising through the outback.