ITALY RIVER CRUISE

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is offering seven-night Venice and Po River cruises from April through November starting at $2,899 per person, based on double occupancy. Fares include most meals; wine, beer and soft drinks during lunch and dinner; and excursions in ports. Port charges of $172 per person are not included. Uniworld also is selling a 12-night Splendors of Italy trip that pairs the seven-night Venice and Po River cruise with two nights at a hotel in Florence and three nights at a hotel in Rome. Fares start at $5,499 per person, double occupancy. The only other river line regularly offering trips in the region on a similarly sized vessel is a French company, CroisiEurope, which operates a 13-year-old ship called the Michelangelo. U.K.-based European Waterways sells Po River cruises on a much smaller vessel, the 20-passenger La Bella Vita. Details: 800-555-8333, uniworld.com. nies have been reluctant to add trips in Italy because of the unpredictability of its waterways. The Po River is prone to high- and lowwater conditions that make navigating difficult, and vessels that head too far inland risk getting trapped as water levels fluctuate.

Uniworld abandoned an earlier attempt to sell trips on the Po in part because of water-level problems. Between 2000 and 2001, and again from 2003 to 2005, the company chartered local vessels to offer several departures a year on the river, only to give up after the 2005 season.

All aboard ... the bus?