It’s not that I don’t enjoy the sight of London traffic or Pentonville Prison’s decaying façade, but if I had to choose between the view from my office window or the one I’m currently enjoying from my stateroom on TUI Skyla, it’s a no-brainer. In fact, the sight of the immense Buda Castle lit by the morning sun as it paints cream and peachy blotches onto the surface of the Danube River would rival most cityscapes.

I have the CLIA RiverView Conference to thank for this welcome change in scenery, where, along with some 400 agents, I’ve spent the last three days listening to lines share their ambitious projections for the sector. While some revealed news of their record-breaking wave period sales, others effused about the soaring popularity of the Douro, the Seine and the Mekong.