River Cruise Excursions

Hello! We are seasoned "big ship" cruiser and are just starting to look into a river cruise for 2016 or 2017. Initially we are looking at the Viking Grand European Tour but we are not set on this itinerary or even this cruiseline.

Can you please help me figure out how the excursions work? We like to tour independently, but it seems like at least Viking includes some/all excursions?

I guess my questions are -

For river cruising in general, are excursions included? Is there usually more than one option in each port? Are some included with some upgrade costs for others?

Are there none/few/some/many cruises that tour on their own in port?

Do you have a suggested river cruise line for me? I am 31 years and travel with my mom who is about to turn 60. We are pretty fit and like to walk and take public transit around cities rather than a big group tour.

Thank you!

We went on a river cruise last year with Avalon and enjoyed it thoroughly ... Amsterdam to Budapest.... first thing you have to do is get out of big ship mode .... which is hard...

Our first shock was that at every port you may only be there for 4 - 5 hours... but you soon realise that these places are usually small towns and can easily be covered by these stops

With Avalon you either walked into town or you were bussed .. depending where you are... The excursion that is offered in each port is a walking tour that usually lasts for hour and half. We collected a whisper set each morning as we exited the boat. Depending on which colour box you took the head sets from that was the group you moved around with. There was the white box which was the easy walkers so those with mobility issues had an option too

we would generally start with the walking group but probably didn't finish with them. Sometimes we would break away before they finished depending if we felt we wanted to see something different.. there was always and hour or two of free time to do what you wanted.

At some ports .. not all, they offered extra excursions that you paid for... The best one we did was to Cesky Kremlov our Passau.

my husband has started putting up our video's if you want to check it out and get a feel....https://vimeo.com/album/3334071

joanne

Hello Kryssa,

hostjazzbeau has put together an excellent overview with lots of suggestions for those starting to look into river cruising. It is the sticky on the front page of the river cruise board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2046067

A few things that spring to mind, having read you post: You are certainly in the younger demographic range of river cruisers. You might like to have a look at the company Arosa (based in Germany). They have a young-ish image in Germany. Past cruisers have mentioned that overall Viking seems to have the older demographic range. With the other companies being anywhere inbetween. Arosa is relatively new to the North-American market, so there might be a change in the age range in the coming years. there are not many English reviews of their itineraries yet.

If you are very active and into cycling you might even try CroisiEurope with their unusual itineraries. It is a French company.

Weather and your comfort zone can be an important factor in choosing a river cruise in Europe. Think boiling hot in the South of France in Summer to freezing cold temperatures with rain, snow and ice in Germany and the Netherlands in November and December.

Any buildings or landmarks you have been wanting to see from a young age? Like the Eiffel Tower or ...

The Rhine has been mentioned here on CC to be a great river for first time cruisers, usually posters mean an 8-day-cruise from Basel to Amsterdam or vice versa. But there are all sorts of combinations and also shorter cruises available.

Choosing the excursions is a tricky business, the companies vary so much in what they offer and even what they mean by "all-inclusive". However, the ports of the typical Rhine itinerary are very similar among the companies that are on the North-American market. I would also look at the terms and conditions of the various companies. They differ.

Have fun planning.

notamermaid

I agree that you are on the young side for a river cruiser and may be frustrated by the slower pace. My husband and I have been on several river cruises and all had excursions included at every port of call. Of course you do not need to take the excursion, such as a walking tour of the town. Just head off on your own and know when to be back at the ship or bus meeting point.

We started river cruising when we were not as young as you are, but definitely younger (then and now) to the average age aboard.

For us, we often do our own thing in port, as we like to go at our own pace and focus on what interests us. We often travel with my mom and she is happy on the gentle walker tours.

Our line of preference is AmaWaterways. They offer long distance, escorted bike tours (included) as well as use of their bikes in port. They also offer a very nice choice of tours in each port for various fitness levels and interests. While a few optional ($$) tours have been offered on each of our cruises, we have never opted to go as there is plenty to do otherwise.

After 9 river cruises, we have found the demographic to skew younger on our Christmas market cruises (lots of mother-daughter) and their wine cruises. These are both off season which is when we prefer to travel due to cost savings and fewer crowds.

<Think boiling hot in the South of France in Summer to freezing cold temperatures with rain, snow and ice in Germany and the Netherlands in November and December.>

We have been to Germany at least a dozen times in Nov/Dec and have had some rainy days and some very cold days, but many that were not. And we totally enjoy the snow when we visit the Christmas markets so that is a plus for us. Mother Nature is at best unpredictable.

We live in Florida and it was 93 yesterday so boiling hot is yet to come here and once it does, it will stay for a long time. The average high for Provence in July is 81 - for us that will be a cold snap :).

We rarely choose to travel to Europe in warm weather as we have enough of that where we live and prefer a change of pace. Others like to leave the boots at home.

You will find it varies quite considerably between cruise lines.

Almost all of them have a choice of several excursions in each stop, but some (e.g. Scenic) have them all included, while others only have 1 included choice with others you can pay extra for.

It seems that most lines now have some form of "box" which you take with you to hear what the tour guide is saying through headphones. These boxes go by a variety of names (e.g,. "whisper" in the post above).

The Scenic one also includes self-guided options in each port, where you just take the box (which has GPS), and it will tell you about the significant things you see.

 

The Scenic one also includes self-guided options in each port, where you just take the box (which has GPS), and it will tell you about the significant things you see.

I have read about this and think it is fantastic!

I have read about this and think it is fantastic!

I'll let you know how well it works during or after our trip.

The Scenic one also includes self-guided options in each port, where you just take the box (which has GPS), and it will tell you about the significant things you see.

This gizmo sounds interesting. Does anyone know if these are available for purchase by individuals and, if so, where to find them?

This gizmo sounds interesting. Does anyone know if these are available for purchase by individuals and, if so, where to find them?

Isn't this what my iphone does? I use it all the time in Europe, I just never thought to use it in ports on river cruise.....FANTASTIC idea.....why didn't I think of it? :D

Kryssa, what ocean lines do you sail?

We did our first River cruise last summer, also the Viking Grand European. We enjoyed the overall experience but the food was not as good or as varied as on ocean cruise ships.

Crew staff was very professional, tours well organized and we loved the QuietVox listening devices. Some ports had optional or extra excursions for a fee. Budapest offered several including a trip to a horse farm and a trip to the Jewish quarter. Vienna offered a trip to Shoenbrun palace and an evening concert which was wonderful. We upgraded our Nuremberg excursion to the one more in depth for historical content. A couple German towns offered upgraded tours. All upgrades are done on board the ship. Before the cruise we received a detailed accurate cruise booklet specific to included and optional tours which was very helpful to make decisions.

The included tour generally lasted a couple hours and there was free time after. There is an onboard concierge to help planning independent things to do.

From memory the Scenic devices are called TailorMaid and these ones are specific to Scenic. They are pre-loaded with guided walks around the areas you visit and also if you sit in the lounge they start up as you pass points of interest. When you are on a tour you link with your guide, very easy, it means you can be some distance from your guide and still hear perfectly what is said, great for photographers. Then of course they get you back to the boat GPS works. It hangs on a lanyard or put in a pocket only one ear piece is needed new when you get on board, you put them into the charger in your cabin each evening then they are ready for use the next day. When we first went with Scenic they had different sets the news ones are vastly superior this will be our third cruise with them. I usually hate these kind of gizmos but I am happy with these.

CA📷

From Scenic's web site:

Our new and independent free choice tour enhanced by GPS-activated directions and commentary. A Scenic Tailormade app can be downloaded whilst on board for free to your apple iPhone or iPad, or you can take one of our pre-loaded devices.Complimentary electrical-assisted bicycles are also available which include special mounts to hold your personal GPS-guided tour system device. Discover extraordinary sights off the beaten track or follow well-trod paths at your own pace.

http://www.scenictours.com/scenic-cruises/all-inclusive-luxury/

FuelScience

From memory the Scenic devices are called TailorMaid and these ones are specific to Scenic. They are pre-loaded with guided walks around the areas you visit and also if you sit in the lounge they start up as you pass points of interest. When you are on a tour you link with your guide, very easy, it means you can be some distance from your guide and still hear perfectly what is said, great for photographers. Then of course they get you back to the boat GPS works. It hangs on a lanyard or put in a pocket only one ear piece is needed new when you get on board, you put them into the charger in your cabin each evening then they are ready for use the next day. When we first went with Scenic they had different sets the news ones are vastly superior this will be our third cruise with them. I usually hate these kind of gizmos but I am happy with these.

CA📷

We have those on Vantage, called "whispers" and you wear it around your neck with an ear piece and can hear the guide even when she's out of sight.

and then you charge it every night. But this thing with the GPS sounds wonderful. I'm thinking I can use my phone with google maps in each port.

Isn't this what my iphone does? I use it all the time in Europe, I just never thought to use it in ports on river cruise.....FANTASTIC idea.....why didn't I think of it? :D

Seems there would be app for that, isn't there one for everything short of brain surgery and fusion weapons? :D

I have a dumb phone that I use for texting in Europe, and an iPad for FaceTime to family via wifi. Do smartphone apps require special cell services when out of the US?

The problem with using your smartphone is you will be paying an arm and a leg for the data use that the GPS and map need. The Scenic device is paid for by them. Sounds like a wonderful innovation, and I hope other lines copy it soon.

Seems there would be app for that, isn't there one for everything short of brain surgery and fusion weapons? :D

I have a dumb phone that I use for texting in Europe, and an iPad for FaceTime to family via wifi. Do smartphone apps require special cell services when out of the US?

My smart phone is relatively new, so it's still smarter than I am, but I believe I will need a monthly international rider added to my Verizon bill for when I'm in Europe. I don't plan to phone home, that's what facebook is for, but I will want to use google maps so I'll need internet service.

As for the brain surgery and fusion weapons...somewhere there is an app for that, only problem is we don't know where to look for it, only the bad guys have that information! :D

The problem with using your smartphone is you will be paying an arm and a leg for the data use that the GPS and map need. The Scenic device is paid for by them. Sounds like a wonderful innovation, and I hope other lines copy it soon.

I do too...and if it's there program it will probably run a lot better

in Europe than the one I use from Verizon.

The problem with using your smartphone is you will be paying an arm and a leg for the data use that the GPS and map need. The Scenic device is paid for by them. Sounds like a wonderful innovation, and I hope other lines copy it soon.

You can always download the maps while on board (i.e. using the WiFi). The GPS doesn't need data.

Though with some UK phone networks such as mine (O2), it only costs £1.99 per day for data use anywhere in Europe. IIRC that is for up to 100Mb per day.

The problem with using your smartphone is you will be paying an arm and a leg for the data use that the GPS and map need. The Scenic device is paid for by them. Sounds like a wonderful innovation, and I hope other lines copy it soon.

Yes, I hope so too, and I hope that we get to the point soon where we can get cheap data plans for our phones while travelling.

The way Google has screwed up Maps, it is of limited use without data turned on.

But there are great apps you can get for various cities and regions that have tons of information and don't require turning on data.

Yes, I hope so too, and I hope that we get to the point soon where we can get cheap data plans for our phones while travelling.

 

The way Google has screwed up Maps, it is of limited use without data turned on.

 

But there are great apps you can get for various cities and regions that have tons of information and don't require turning on data.

A thread with these apps would be extremely helpful to some of us Luddites!

Yes, I hope so too, and I hope that we get to the point soon where we can get cheap data plans for our phones while travelling.

 

The way Google has screwed up Maps, it is of limited use without data turned on.

 

But there are great apps you can get for various cities and regions that have tons of information and don't require turning on data.

I won't hold my breath waiting for cheap global data plans but I sure agree that it would be nice!

In the last month or two, Google has made it much easier and more intuitive to cache large segments of Google Maps for offline use. We made extensive use of that on our last two Europe trips.

I signed into my Google account on my laptop, before we left home, and saved favorites for everything we wanted to see. Then I cached the map on my phone, for offline use - on our most recent river cruise, I'd do this using the ship's WiFi. Or you can do it at home before you leave.

Then once I arrived at the destination, just open up Google Maps on your phone and the map data is there. You can zoom to a very high level of detail, and all the favorite places that you've saved appear as gold stars. So by combining this with your phone's GPS unit, you can get to anywhere you want to visit. AND - if you drop a pin in your current location as you exit the ship, while you're still within WiFi range - you can save your dock location, so you shouldn't get lost!

This system is not perfect; when you're offline, you can't get a new set of directions (though you can generate a set of directions while you're still in WiFi range, and follow them). And you can't get real-time data about the POIs that you've saved. But it's not a bad compromise for free.

One caveat - even if you have Global/Mobile data turned off, the GPS on some phones may try to download location data from the cellular network to more accurately map your location. Be careful! That will prompt a roaming data charge, even if you think your data is turned off... At least on my Android phones, in addition to turning off mobile data, I have to take the additional step of setting my Location mode to "GPS Only" instead of "High Accuracy" in order to avoid having this happen.

Yes, there are some nice apps that don't require you to be online. Ingo_e's River Cruise app includes many nice city maps. They worked with my phone's built-in GPS, to help me see where I was on the map.

I am upgrading this week to an iphone 6 plus. I buy the unlocked version so I can use a local SIM card and not rack up costs on data.

I travel enough that it pays for itself in about a year.

Another option for better data access on and off the ship is to rent a wireless hotspot. The TEP device rents for about $7 per day, and XCom Global is a little more.

FuelScience

Another option for better data access on and off the ship is to rent a wireless hotspot. The TEP device rents for about $7 per day, and XCom Global is a little more.

 

FuelScience

Holy Cow....I just realized that I know basically NOTHING about my iphone!!! :D