So confused Help please what company to use????

Since all the companies seem to have about the same price point I have been going crazy trying to figure what would be the best for my husband and me for our 50 wedding anniversary cruise. Have cruise ocean but never river. Leaning toward the Danube, on Sceinic, new ship with the itinerary that we want. Now Scenic is where we have focus on. Alma is the cruise line that have had friends traveled on and loved it. But Alma won't have the new ship. Than there is uniworld, Avalon which have friends travel also everyone loves the one they have been on??? Is there away to narrow it down??

I presume you mean AMA when you say "Alma".

Read the "sticky" at the very top of this forum--it describes most of the main lines, and how the compare to each other.

Everyone here has their favourite lines. I would say pick your itinerary first, then focus on the line.

Is there away to narrow it down??

How about your first choice? :)

Since all the companies seem to have about the same price point I have been going crazy trying to figure what would be the best for my husband and me for our 50 wedding anniversary cruise. Have cruise ocean but never river. Leaning toward the Danube, on Sceinic, new ship with the itinerary that we want. Now Scenic is where we have focus on. Alma is the cruise line that have had friends traveled on and loved it. But Alma won't have the new ship. Than there is uniworld, Avalon which have friends travel also everyone loves the one they have been on??? Is there away to narrow it down??

Scenic has good reviews, just because your friends didn't choose them, doesn't make it not a good fit for you.

First find one that goes where and when you want to go. Then start looking at the "other" stuff, like shore excursions, food, size of cabin, french balcony, age of passengers, number of passengers....I've done 7 trips with Vantage...6 of them cruises. I like them because:

1. they don't deal with travel agents but with customer directly.....being a control freak, that's important to me.

2. 95% of shore excursions are included and the ones that aren't tend to include things like a chartered bus, local guide, admission to a palace, castle, or some other special place, and lunch in a restaurant. We usually take the optional excursions (Schoenbrun Palace, Peterhof, etc.) and have never been disappointed.

3. Wine is included at dinner on most cruises.

4. Cabin size ranges from 150 sq. ft. for all but suites on Navigator to 165-170 on the new ships;

5. French balconies on all but lowest deck on new ships and only on top deck for Navigator;

6. Passenger capacity ranges from 134-176 depending on ship;

7. Average age of passengers is 55 and up, mostly retired professionals;

8. Food is buffet at breakfast; buffet/served at lunch and full service dinner....and the food is excellent.

9. The first price you see (lower one) does NOT include air; the higher price will include air and will vary depending on departure city.

Ships tend to be beautiful without being over-done. Very little gold, glitz or chandeliers.

Biggest difference between river cruises and large ships (aside from where they go) is the entertainment.....most river boats do NOT have pools, casinos, or theaters. Entertainment tends to be local groups that sing, dance, entertain for an hour or two and/or lectures or lessons on things like cooking, glass blowing, etc.

It's a lot to process, but the most important criteria of all is to find a ship that goes where you want to go, when you want to go and fits within your budget.

And we're all here to help and answer questions :D

We have done river cruises on AMA and Vantage.

Both are excellent, but Vantage is always cheaper.

I suggest that you go to some of the websites for Vantage, Viking, AMA, Uniworld, GCT and others and compare the cost per day for the total tour, not just the cruise.

Pick your cruise, then determine what each cruiseline has to offer for the same level of cabin.

There are also sales from time to time on many cruise lines. I just got an email from Vantage announcing a sale:

http://www.vantagetravel.com/Independence-Day-2015-EM?_vsrefdom=sundayemail&UTM_MEDIUM=EMAIL&UTM_SOURCE=Email&UTM_CAMPAIGN=EM49170&PROMO=EM49170&SOURCE=EM49170&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=EM49170

Hi, the attached site attempts to objectively compare river cruise lines.

http://riverboatratings.com/

David

Just note that this review while very good was written in 2011. There have been changes and new bots since then.

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We have done 2 Avalon cruises that were outstanding

Some fact to consider

All but lowest deck are 200sqft rooms with French balconies

Beds face towards the sliding windows

Refrigerators in rooms, many don't have this

One of the best, if not the best for looking after customers if there any issues on the river. This may not sound important, but there has been some major issues over the last 2 or 3 years and some cruise lines have been extremely poor in this area. Some are still fighting class actions against them.

Lower number of passengers compared to some cruise line (due to cabins being bigger, there is less cabins)

What is it that draws you to Scenic? It might very well be the best choice for you (pretty much any trip is going to be great if the conditions are good and you have a positive attitude :p) I usually do decision matrices so I can compare tangible & also subjective issues (reviews, things that matter to me but might mean nothing to you). I find laying out all the variables of interest helps me figure out the best choice *for me & my husband*. You will find good and bad reviews of pretty much every line out there. It can be daunting when you're new to river cruising (as I was). Do some research & reading, make your pick - then have fun & don't look back or second guess:D

It can be daunting when you're new to river cruising (as I was). Do some research & reading, make your pick - then have fun & don't look back or second guess:D

Good advice....especially that what makes one person delighted leaves another one cold. That's why there's so many different companies and opinions.

Hi, the attached site attempts to objectively compare river cruise lines.

 

 

http://riverboatratings.com/

 

David

This website really is not subjective. They are a travel agency and rate the lines that don't TAs low.

This website really is not subjective. They are a travel agency and rate the lines that don't TAs low.

Roger,

I did think about whether I should post the link or not & in the end I thought that it contained a number of interesting points of view.

I would hope that no one ever takes things too literally & I think that exposure to multiple view points is useful so that we can all decide on what is important to each of us.

I would never book something just based on a ranking, however sometimes comments help crystallise what we each want from a cruise line & I am sure that differs.

I just like having multiple points of view to consider.

David

I wouldn't make a new ship a major consideration. We've done three river cruises with Viking and we're getting ready to do another next month with Vantage. Two of the Viking cruises were on older ships (Sky and the MS Vienna, a leased ship).

Since river cruise ships don't operate in the winter, the lines have the opportunity to make repairs and keep the ships in good condition. The Viking Sky didn't have French balconies, but other than that, its condition was as nice as the new long ship we sailed on last year (and the stateroom on the Sky was larger). Our trip next month will be on the Vantage River Navigator, commissioned in 2000, but updated just a few years ago. And it only carries 134 passengers, making for a little more intimate trip.

So in summary, I think that you'll be disappointed if your ship isn't brand new!

FuelScience

 

So in summary, I think that you'll be disappointed if your ship isn't brand new!

 

Our last cruise in November was on the oldest vessel in the AMA fleet and she was in lovely condition! Some of the newer ship amenities were missing but I would not hesitate to choose an older vessel on AMA.

We have just returned from a Scenic land tour to South America and would use them for a river cruise. It is an Australian company and a big advantage for us Aussies is that all tipping is included. We find tipping such a headache even if we are really trying to fit in with the local custom. But I have read reviews from some Americans who were not really happy with the food, whether that is a cultural difference I couldn't say. We know many people who love Scenic river cruises and I am not sure whether the food is more geared to our tastes, but the attraction for me is the all inclusive part.

Definitely Avalon cruises! I have been on 4 of them! Tried Uniworld, Viking and Scenic before and Avalon staff is going just above and beyond! Best Cruise Directors ( Really recommend finding out where Sabine or Kathy are and just go book them ).

When Uniworld is saying all inclusive, they mean you are paying more money, but having Grey Goose and all the other drinks have been removed from free to Premium - extra pay. So, calculate how much you will drink and spend this all inclusive feature. Also you will pay tours like with any other lines, but they keep inclusive tours in the booking price ( so as Avalon ). On Avalon is not all inclusive but i have saved at least $1000 on my booking and believe me, me and my husband drink every night at least 3, 4 drinks each.

Avalon is my choice!

Just note that this review while very good was written in 2011. There have been changes and new bots since then.

 

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

The ratings were updated in March 2015.

And I concur with rating Tauck at the top of the list. Excellent boats run with precision and quality by a Swiss company (who knows more about hospitality and running hotels and restaurants than the Swiss?) and complemented with Tauck tour guides.

The ratings were updated in March 2015.

 

And I concur with rating Tauck at the top of the list. Excellent boats run with precision and quality by a Swiss company (who knows more about hospitality and running hotels and restaurants than the Swiss?) and complemented with Tauck tour guides.

Correct me if i am wrong, but Tauck is not being managed by a Swiss hospitality group. Only the ship is registered in Swiss, so as Viking, Uniworld, Avalon, Scenic... Tauck is being managed by a Cyprus Catering company! Viking, Uniworld and Avalon are managed by an origin Swiss Hospitality! They do not hire other company for catering, but they are managing themselves, in compare to Scylla, Tauck, Ama, Scenic...

Just a hint :)

You are going to get lots of comments, many are biased towards their favorite company-and that's OK. suggest as someone else mentioned to pick where you want to go then see which companies have this basic itinlerary (Rhine vs Rhone vs Danube, etc,), then see where each company & ship stops, because this should be your main criteria. There are some differences, but consider the "add-ons" like prices if any for shore excursions, liquor, etc.. I bet you find not a major difference. Keep in mind that you will only be on the ship in the late afternoon and evening than it's off to bed. Main amount of time should be exploring the various towns each ship stops at and the offered shore excursions to nearby areas. When you get home I bet the places you saw and experienced will be your main memories--not how cool your cabin was or what you had to eat on board--most are probably pretty similar in these areas.

Bottom line--- Just get out there and have a good time!!

Correct me if i am wrong, but Tauck is not being managed by a Swiss hospitality group. Only the ship is registered in Swiss, so as Viking, Uniworld, Avalon, Scenic... Tauck is being managed by a Cyprus Catering company! Viking, Uniworld and Avalon are managed by an origin Swiss Hospitality! They do not hire other company for catering, but they are managing themselves, in compare to Scylla, Tauck, Ama, Scenic...

 

Just a hint :)

I'm sorry but I just can't find where you got your information on Tauck from. Now I'm an Australian and not affiliated in any way with Tauck but they get their fair share of misinformation on some of these threads. Tauck is a wholly owned American family company that has been in the travel industry for over 60+ years. When it comes to river cruising they are in partnership with the Swiss ship building company Scylla. Scylla builds the boats to Tauck requirements and crews those boats and that includes the catering. Tauck has a CD and three TD's on every boat. Neither Tauck nor Scylla is managed by a Cyprus Catering company.

I may never be able to afford another Tauck river cruise but I can honestly say that the two cruises I took with them were everything that we wanted and much, much more. For a completely all inclusive river cruise I believe you can't do better than Tauck.

Now I hope that clears up the misinformation above.

Hi Ozjohnno,

Please find the link below:

http://edelweissgastro.com/about-us/

"From 2014 and onwards, Edelweiss Gastro Ltd will increase our business, handling catering as well as human resources in regards to the recruitment and management of the crew aboard all vessels owned, chartered, or operated by SCYLLA AG, EDW Travel AG, TAUCK and others."

Edelweiss Gastro is based in Cyprus and managed from there. They do not have their own Catering such as Viking, Uniworld and Avalon - where they recruit their own crew, without external agencies and other catering company.

Trish

515kitty,

From your post on the Roll Calls page, it looks like you've decided on Scenic. I know you'll have a GREAT river cruise. The hard part will be waiting!!

FuelScience

Thanks fuelscience

I had a hard time deciding. But there were a few things that made my decision. The route was the most important, yes and second was the new ship. Also read an article in the USA today about how people are choosing the all inclusive as the way to go. Now I know that this line is almost all Aussies and Brits which is fine with me. The only thing that made it so hard was that everyone has a certain company they like to sail with. I have had someone who did this route a few years ago and thought they Scenic was extremely good. But I still can't forget the flood of a couple of years ago when Scenic was anything but great in the PR department. They let a lot of people travel thousands of miles to get bus from one location to another for the Danube and not cancelling so the travelers could get decide to get a refund or make the trip. They just let them come so they would not loss the revenue. I to am very excited and will turn to all our good friend in the next coming months to help with questions and help.