Best river cruise line

Been on ocean cruises before but never a river cruise. My husband is never too comfortable on the large liners. We are considering river cruise - Douro/Daunbe/France - which are the best river cruise lines to consider?

Do please start here: http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2233868

As you may imagine you are not the first ocean cruiser to arrive here asking that question, best to read the linked posts and then you'll be better placed to frame a question we can answer :)

Welcome to river cruising! There is a great sticky above called "New to river cruising start here. You will find lots of great info there. As for a "best" line, that is really very subjective and personal. Each person has his or her likes and preferences. I don't think there is any short cut to making your choice. On this board you will get a lot of opinions and a lot of great info. Take the time to read and it will become evident that some lines seem to be a better fit for you. From there, look at the itineraries each offers to make sure you will be seeing what you hope to see. There is also good info on the a River a Cruise Ports board. Once you have narrowed down your choices, posters on this board are more than happy to answer questions about a cruiseline or an itinerary and ports.

The two previous posters have already given you that vital tip for the excellent sticky. :)

Just to add a couple of things as you are in the UK. Several operators charter Dutch boats or offer cruises on Swiss ships. You find them in travel agents. For a more luxury / grand experience I would not choose the Dutch boats, they are smaller and mostly a little older but very good if you go for mid-price, I think.

A river cruise line you will not hear about from North-American cruisers normally is Riviera Travel, they operate in the UK and have great new vessels. I have not been on one but saw them sailing past on the Rhine. Worth looking at IMO.

CroisiEurope is good IMO if you do not need luxury and like international non-native passengers travelling with you.

Lots to look at and read. Have fun planning.

notamermaid

Picking a river cruise is very different from an ocean cruise. First ask yourself why you want to do it. This is very important. River cruising is more about seeing the sights on the river and the port stops/excursions. For me it is the experience of floating along the river. Others like the ports. Some find the type of cabin very important. Most are smaller than ocean cruise cabins. Many have franch balcony cabins. Some have real open balcony cabins. Suites are nice if you can afford them. . Different lines have different ammenities. Decide what ammenities are important for you. For example if you love biking, pick a cruise line that offers bikes on board. While some lines don't have bikes, they may arrange a bike tour for a fee. Some lines will not do bike trips. Food is unlike ocean cruising. Some lines serve 3 meals a day at large common tables for 6-8 people. Some lines offer a mix of table sizes for 2-8. Some lines have daily afternoon tea and late night snacks. Most have nonstop coffee and tea. Some have a pool, hot tub, fitness center, hair salon, movies, etc. more features are being included. Most have free internet which is slow and does not work sometimes. After you read all the brochures, make an honest list of what you want on a ship. Then match it up with the cruise line that comes closest to your list. Read the reviews and ask questions. The best advice that I got before taking my first river cruise was take a short cruise. One week or less. Some people love it. Some people hate it. I usually combine a river cruise with a city stay either before or after the cruise. I pick in the following order: river, time of year, ports, excursions, cruise line, size of ship, and cabin. Airfare is also a big factor. In general river cruises are more expensive than ocean cruises. Good luck.

What is "best" for me won't be the same for others. As everyone else has suggested, do your homework and decide what it is you want from a river cruise.

What are your favorite ocean cruise lines, and why do you prefer them? That would help posters give you ideas about the differences among river cruise lines.

Been on ocean cruises before but never a river cruise. My husband is never too comfortable on the large liners. We are considering river cruise - Douro/Daunbe/France - which are the best river cruise lines to consider?

Many Douro River cruises are on the Portuguese ships owned by Douro Azul.

We had a wonderful cruise with Vantage on one of their ships.

Here is my review.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=535267

We did Southern France with AMA, which was excellent. Here is my review.

AMA Rhone River

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=103733

If you ever decide to do China, Vantage is wonderful and they easily beat Viking for price.

MarielH , We decided where we wanted to go (France) ,looked at the best cruise for us , Cote d`Azur to Paris ,and then found a travel agent who had been on that trip or something similar.We then picked the Cruise line. Cheers Dan

Suggestions about doing the research and making your own decision are right on. Much better than taking a specific recommendation from others that have experienced only one or two lines because people tend to recommend what they have traveled. That is where an experienced travel agent can help, but we can't recommend any here.

MarielH , We decided where we wanted to go (France) ,looked at the best cruise for us , Cote d`Azur to Paris ,and then found a travel agent who had been on that trip or something similar.We then picked the Cruise line. Cheers Dan

That would be an interesting cruise. How do you sail from the Cote all the way to Paris? What rivers? What line?

As to those who keep telling the OP to "Do your research" he or she obviously is - this forum is part of their research!

Balloon Man, the tour gathered in Cannes(Carlton International Hotel) after 2 days there which was our first time and we really enjoyed Cannes and the surrounding area, we were coached to ARLES where we got on our ship.

The itinerary was after ARLES,Aviginon, Viviers, Touron and Vienne, Lyon and then on to Paris. We were on Avalon and would travel with them again. Cheers Dan The rivers we were on the Rhone and the Soane.

SNIP

As to those who keep telling the OP to "Do your research" he or she obviously is - this forum is part of their research!

Even if I had traveled on a lot of river lines, I would be hard pressed to recommend a "best" line. I have no idea what the OP likes or what her expectations are.

Best that she read the stickies and ask more direct questions or if general questions ask about a few specific lines.

When deciding on a line for our first River cruise we read the stickies did our research and decided that we wanted a truly all inclusive line. We ended up choosing Scenic, cruised this past June and were very happy with our choice and plan to cruise with them again either in2017 or 2018. One of the things we really enjoyed about Scenic was the fellow passengers, many Aussies and British who were interesting and fun.

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Been on ocean cruises before but never a river cruise. My husband is never too comfortable on the large liners. We are considering river cruise - Douro/Daunbe/France - which are the best river cruise lines to consider?

Along with the sticky, cruise down through posts from the past month or so. You will find a new thread about first timers gets started about once a week. Lots of good information.

As to the "best" Cruise Line - not an easy answer. Hope you find one that works well for you. You will find the what some call the best, others will call moderate, or even terrible. - LOL!

You mention that your husband "is never too comfortable on the large liners." What is it about them that's the concern? Might help to understand what his concern is to offer recommendations.

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What are your favorite ocean cruise lines, and why do you prefer them? That would help posters give you ideas about the differences among river cruise lines.

Have cruised with a Royal Carribean and Celebrity! Thanks

Have cruised with a Royal Carribean and Celebrity! Thanks

I would say that Avalon is the sorta equivalent to Royal and Ama sorta equivalent to Celebrity. (I've been on all four).

I went to many of the river cruise lines websites and ordered the brochures to be mailed to me so I could look them over and compare. Found that easier to compare dates/itineraries and ships than looking at websites.

I would say that Avalon is the sorta equivalent to Royal and Ama sorta equivalent to Celebrity. (I've been on all four).

Thank you for posting this. We love Celebrity and we have chosen AMA for next year. Haven't been on the other two.

Best is subjective. The top rated river cruise lines tend to always include Tauck , uniworld, AMA, scenic and now I am sure. Crystal. Those are the higher end lines. You may not find that they suit your needs.

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Try looking for contributions from Solent Richard he has recently returned from a cruise with Scenic and has blogged about it, link on one of his posts, okay I am a Scenic fan but this was his first cruise with them from his blog I think! he enjoyed his cruise. CA