Rhine river cruise

My wife and I are looking to take a 7 day cruise in Europe, in March-April next year - and would like to know:

Who are the best cruise lines? We came across of this offer - https://www.riuscruises.com/river-cruise/rhine-discovery-from-amsterdam-to-basel-1084.html. Anyone experienced it?

Without going into a lot of detail we are 50 but I have health issues so travel is arduous on me. For this reason the only way we travel (which isn't often) is first class all the way.

Thanks in advance....

p.s. Do these boats have reasonably priced WiFi access, or should I buy a GSM-to-USB dongle for $30 and a local SIM?

Welcome to cruise critic!

That looks like a travel agent selling Viking Cruises. There are more luxurious lines out there. The stickies give you some indication.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233868

This will give you info in All the lines and they are all great and all just a little different .

Any line offering 2 for 1 promo, that is the price per person (not 2) and all the companies have special deals you just need to go the their websites.

Hang around and read the board and about all the different river cruise lines :)

Read the "sticky" messages on the front page of the River Cruising board. They'll give you a lot of very good information. Otherwise, you're going to get 10 different answers from 10 different people on which line is "best" (a relative term that no one can accurately describe).

If you want top notch, go with Tauck. Be aware that the Rhine River cruise is strenuous. We're in our low 50's and we were kept on our toes. DH, who is in very good shape, was very sore from all the walking. It's tiring because there isn't a lot of down time. It's great that you get to see so much though!

I would suggest that you look at a Rhine/Moselle cruise. Viking's is the Rhine Rhapsody. It gets you the best part of the Rhine--the gorge with all the castles--as well as the beautiful Moselle valley with its own castles and tons of vineyards. Viking advertises it as a 10-day, but the cruise part is 7 days. the rest is in Paris and Basel before and after the cruise.

FuelScience

Hello coolsten,

welcome to cruisecritic. I also like the suggestion of a Rhine/Moselle cruise. The Viking Rhine Rhapsody sounds more appealing than the Viking Rhine Getaway to me. Interestingly the Rhine Getaway I mean looks like the Rhine Discovery you have linked. Perhaps somebody else knows if Viking has changed something - I am a little confused.

Two companies on the American market that are not so prominent are CroisiEurope, based in Strassbourg/France and Arosa based in Germany. They have the favourite Basel -Amsterdam itinerary and similar ones - please note that CroisiEurope tends to leave from Strasbourg, it being their base rather than from Basel - in their catalogues. You usually mix with non-native English speakers on such an itinerary but might have a sailing solely chartered to an agency which means you are among British and Americans and possibly Australians and New Zealanders.

May I make a suggestion? You have not stated your location, but I gather from your post that you are in the US. Posters on CC find it easier to relate to your questions - I mean mostly in future posts - when you give a rough location like US or Canada. Of course, you are not obliged to give a location.

This year some posters on CC have been on cruises that start or end in Cologne or Bonn. This would cut out the stretch of the Rhine in the Netherlands entirely. But that has its merits. Cologne and Düsseldorf are airports close by. Definitely worth considering.

Riviera Travel is a UK-based company you could look at.

March/April is of course early in the year, meaning the weather varies a lot in the Rhine valley, from snow in the hills (and sometimes the valley itself) to lovely early Spring days. Temperatures range from zero to 20 degrees. I myself would not start a cruise before 28 March. Daylight saving time starts on the last Sunday in March giving you more landscape to look at in daylight.

Please not that around Easter shopping opportunities are reduced, with the public holidays observed both in France and Germany. Churches may be closed to groups during the Easter services.

You might want to consider this: take a cruise along the Rhine finishing off in Amsterdam and then see the tulips in bloom in the Dutch gardens. Or vice versa. There are dedicated cruises for that time of year. You can look up reviews for the "tulip cuises" here on CC.

One more thing: Early Spring is the most likely time for flooding but nobody knows when that will be exactly, never knowing more than 48 hours in advance (as a rule). Be prepared for the possibility.

Hope this has been of help.

notamermaid

Hi guys

Thank you for the replies - I am short with time at the moment and only managed to skim through your messages. Will read them in detail once I get home.

But great to see so many replies! Cheers!

We did Uniworld's Legendary Rhine and Moselle at the beginning of the month and really enjoyed it. Because Uniworld had a special on a date we were able to go, that 12 night cruise ended up being cheaper than a 7 night Rhine only cruise on less inclusive lines. If you can be flexible, there are deals to be had!