general danube questions

Planning on cruising on the danube next year, will be our first riverboat cruise. I have read lots of the great threads here on cc about riverboats, riverboat cruising, lines, and danube, but still have a few questions:

We haven't chosen our line yet, but we are looking more for the excursions and sightseeing than the cruising, looking at the boat as more of a floating hotel, and most lines seem pretty good at this.

We are late 50s in pretty good shape for walking a few miles a day.

1. Definitely don't want to go during the summer, too hot and too crowded. So mid may to early june or mid sept to mid oct is our time frames. Anyone have pros and cons on this? Specifically, i read last year about too much water on some european rivers and the boats couldn't get under the bridges, so the spring would be worse. Then this year, not enough water, so spring would be better. I know you can't plan for this. But maybe the danube doesn't have as many bridges (i think the flooding was more of an issue in western europe last year?). Not so interested in water level issue unless you believe it is an issue as much as other reasons for spring vs. fall.

Also, i always like late spring as you have huge amount of daylight hours, sun sets after dinner, mid sept it sets at 630-7. But if there are no tours after dinner and you are always back on the boat, this might not make any difference. Any thoughts on this?

2. W to E or E to W? I read somewhere one person saying if going in late oct/early nov, start in prague as they get colder weather earlier, so start there, don't end up there. But if I am not going early Nov, does this make a diff in the direction?

3. Any of the cruise lines do this trip and excursions better or worse than the others? All seem to have the same trips.

4. Anything else worth considering that I have not brought up?

Appreciate any input. Thanks.

1. Definitely don't want to go during the summer, too hot and too crowded. So mid may to early june or mid sept to mid oct is our time frames. Anyone have pros and cons on this?

I have no experience with late spring cruising, we've only gone in fall. Prague, the second week of September 2011 was warm. In 2013, we were on the Danube in early/mid October. We arrived in Munich with snow, 2 days later the sun was out and in the 60's. 2013 was a year of severe flooding in Passau, by October it was ok, although there was still evidence of clean-up going on. We did see gorgeous color in October whereas September was still green.

But if there are no tours after dinner and you are always back on the boat, this might not make any difference. Any thoughts on this?

When we were on the Rhine, we did go out after dinner a few times, but usually we were too tired. If you're on the Danube, there will probably be an evening excursion into Vienna... but you could easily take a cab or metro into the city and do your own thing.

2. W to E or E to W? I read somewhere one person saying if going in late oct/early nov, start in prague as they get colder weather earlier, so start there, don't end up there. But if I am not going early Nov, does this make a diff in the direction?

We've tended to go in the direction based on where we want to end up for an extra day... the first day you'll be jet-lagged (unless you arrive early). I've also been told flowing "with" the river could allow more docked time as you're not sailing against the current, but I think this could be a minimal effect. Look at the itineraries and compare them both directions to see if you have a preference.

I've also read the weather travels from west to east (much like the US). So rain could follow you the entire trip if you're really unlucky. Traveling east to west you would be more likely to pass through rain.

3. Any of the cruise lines do this trip and excursions better or worse than the others? All seem to have the same trips.

I'm partial to Uniworld, but have nothing to compare it to. I do know their guides tend to disburse in town, so you're not constantly running into tour groups. We've been very pleased with *most* of the guides Uniworld has. We've had about 1 lemon per trip. Most tours give you highlights and historical or cultural insight. The guides are also good sources of information if you want to stop for a beer or pastry.

4. Anything else worth considering that I have not brought up? Realize that although Prague is on a river, it is not navigable. You will be bussed from Prague to your starting point -- I just read a review from someone where this appeared to have ruined the trip for them. Not all the docking will be in the middle of town or walkable, but on the Danube, most were. Read your day-to-day guides closely and be aware of words indicating if you're in a coach and driving by stuff (and potentially getting caught in traffic). Uniworld has several options where it's "like locals"... and we've really enjoyed these.

Hi, I'm just finishing up writing my blog about our June 1st cruise down the Danube from Prague (really it is Vilshofen, Germany) to Budapest. You can start here and then just click the "next" to get to the next day. I talk about excursions, the bicycling that my hubby did, the other tours we took, mistakes we made, etc: https://airlandandsea.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/regensburg-germany-the-beginning-of-our-ama-cruise-down-the-danube/

The actual cruise began June 1st and throughout that week it was hot and humid - generally in the mid 80's to low 90's. Each year the weather will be different so I do not think you can pinpoint the exact time when it will be perfect. Apparently our trip began the heat wave and drought that is affecting Europe. We are scheduled for our next cruise Sept. 9th so we'll see what the weather is like.

East or West - we wanted a little more time in the port cities so we went with the flow of the river. Also we made plans to do something after the cruise and with us ending up in Budapest, we were able to go to Italy by train. We had already toured Germany a few years ago and we had done Nuremberg the day before we arrived in Prague.

I think all cruise lines pretty much do the same or similar excursions so that was not a factor for us. What was a factor was if they had bicycle excursions or bicycles that you could sign out for a period of time (like an hour) if we wanted to ride around the area for a little bit.

For us it didn't matter whether tips were included or not - we figured it all came out in the wash. When I was doing my research what was important to me was how the cruise lines handled situations when things did not go as planned such as the flooding in 2013. Viking seemed to get the most negative press on that topic and has continued to this year. For that reason, Viking was out of the equation for me. I liked the extremely large whirlpool (more like a small swimming pool) that AMAWaterways had as well as a private dining room similar to what the ocean liners have where all you need to do is make reservations - no extra charge.

" When I was doing my research what was important to me was how the cruise lines handled situations when things did not go as planned such as the flooding in 2013. Viking seemed to get the most negative press on that topic and has continued to this year. For that reason, Viking was out of the equation for me." End quote.

I think if you read further, you will discover that Viking got many high marks for the way the low water system was handled this year. Because Viking is huge ( the largest River Cruise company?), they have ships going in both directions on the rivers. When the low water caused a blockage, people switched ships. They packed their luggage in the morning, left it in their cabins, went on the planned excursion, drove to the ship on the other side of the blockage and found their luggage waiting for them in the "same" cabin (on the second ship). I understand the Cruise Director made the transfer as well, don't know about the other staff. The staff had to do much more work, but most passengers involved in the transfers though Viking handled the difficult circumstances well.

" When I was doing my research what was important to me was how the cruise lines handled situations when things did not go as planned such as the flooding in 2013. Viking seemed to get the most negative press on that topic and has continued to this year. For that reason, Viking was out of the equation for me." End quote.

 

I think if you read further, you will discover that Viking got many high marks for the way the low water system was handled this year. Because Viking is huge ( the largest River Cruise company?), they have ships going in both directions on the rivers. When the low water caused a blockage, people switched ships. They packed their luggage in the morning, left it in their cabins, went on the planned excursion, drove to the ship on the other side of the blockage and found their luggage waiting for them in the "same" cabin (on the second ship). I understand the Cruise Director made the transfer as well, don't know about the other staff. The staff had to do much more work, but most passengers involved in the transfers though Viking handled the difficult circumstances well.

A lot of what you post is true. However, if I have to pay a year in advance, there are other choices, that I will personally choose.

jc

many thanks for the replies, VA girl, I did read your blog from another thread on the danube. Great stuff, labor of love to write it up!

Maybe I posted this thread too early, I should have waited 6 weeks to see what the fall cruisers say.

Just shaking my head... And gotta wonder !

Just shaking my head... And gotta wonder !

Sorry, don't understand. What do you wonder?

Sorry, don't understand. What do you wonder?

I think she is shaking her head because of a positive review on Viking during the low water situation where many other people have said the opposite.

Jane

I think that Viking did less well than , say ,AmaWaterways ,vis a vis the low water problems in the Danube this summer, because the Viking ships seem to have a lower draft and hence required more bussing of pax. Ama ships, with their shallower drafts, seemed to sail right through the problem areas with no bussing required. That was my experience on AmaDolce in Aug. this year anyway. As for the transfer required from Prague (which we did on our own very inexpensively), it was excellent, allowing us to get to the ship much earlier than the Ama group transferring from Prague via Karlovy Vary. We booked through a private transfer company and the cost was quite reasonable. We arrived at the ship about 1:30pm and for the next 2-3 hrs there was hardly anyone else onboard. Very relaxing, food laid out, etc.

Can you remember the name of the private group you used for the Prague transfer? I'd like to consider similar option next year.

We used prague-airport-transfers.co.uk. We used them for a transfer from the airport to our Prague hotel, a day excursion to Cesky Krumlov and the trip to Nuremberg to board AmaDolce. Very reasonable in cost, prompt and very professional drivers who speak good English. They seem to be the biggest player, but there are many other similar companies.

We paid to make use of AMA's transportation and we thought it was great. We just needed to get to their hotel - Old Town Hilton. On our way to Vilshofen, we had a tour and lunch in Regensburg. I really enjoyed that stop. You can see pictures in my blog of Regensburg. I believe it was about $125 per person. We had a tour guide on the bus, and we were given a handout about the first day on the first day on the ship. The bus left Prague about 8:00 AM but of course we had to be there earlier to drop off our luggage - about 7:30 AM. We did have a stop half way to Regensburg to use restroom and get something to eat or drink at a McDonald's cafe - and it was really nice.

Jane

We lived in Southern Germany for four years and found the summers to be generally mild in Germany. It can get hot, but that is unusual.

Of course, we are from the South and used to more heat.

I would never pay to visit central Europe from November to April. Unless you really like cold and/or cool weather and short days.

Still, the crowds can be worse in Summer.

As for river cruise lines, I always compare pricing with days on tour and find that Vantage beats out Viking and the other main stream lines for price. Also, they provide a great product.

Another thing, no way am I paying for my cruise a year ahead of time (Viking).