?s - For those who LIKE ocean cruising and have done a Rhine river cruise.

Okay - this I can address :cool: I do LIKE ocean cruising. In fact, I REALLY LIKE ocean cruising, but I'm not wild about the huge Mega Ship/floating theme park/shopping mall/hotel extravaganzas all the main stream lines seem to do up to these days. I do NOT like traveling with 6000 other people at the same time.

 

We really LOVE the Carnival Pride - nice layout, not bad food, plenty of it, only 2500 people and cheap! And it sails from Baltimore which we can drive to in 3 hours. I do LOVE my sea days. We always get a balcony and I can lay out there and just soak up the views. We do some trivia or games. I like to dance, so the parties are fun. We're not big on the shows, but take them in occasionally. We like sitting at a bar with a drink or two and chatting with the bartenders and other cruisers. I can take or leave the slots in the casino. Once in awhile I visit the spa - but hate the hard sell afterward. We usually do the specialty restaurants. We don't drink enough to get the drink package. We usually have some OBC and spend about $1000 for the 2 of us on an 8 day cruise. I must confess - I do buy photos ;p We usually get a bottle of wine with dinner, and we sometimes book an excursion through the ship.

 

We've been on a fair number of ocean cruise. We took our first river cruise - Viking Rhine Getaway - last August and LOVED it - every minute! MUCH more expensive that an ocean cruise, but a different experience altogether as others have said.

 

We've traveled a lot. We go to Bermuda frequently - flying in and staying. We've been to Europe on our own, and with a group. I really like Europe, and saw the river cruise as a way of seeing a lot of different places without having to pack and unpack or live out of a suitcase. It's my big UGH! I like to stay put as far as that goes, but I want to see a lot of different things - river cruising solved that problem.

 

A lot of people have issues with Viking and I won't go into that here - but they treated us well. The food was great - not 24/7 like on an ocean cruise, but you can have breakfast or lunch in the dining room or hit the buffet and there's a decent period of time to do so. Viking did have a 24/7 coffee station with specialty coffees, tea, juice & water. It was stocked with muffins and pastries in the morning and cookies (cookies to die for!) in the afternoon. They are very generous with the included wine and beer at lunch & dinner - champagne in the morning for mimosas with breakfast if you want.

 

There are no spas, no casinos, no big shows, no photographers popping out to get you to take a photo (but the crew was more than happy to take photos with our camera), no shops, no gold or silver by the inch, no kids screaming and splashing in the pool, or drunk adults who seem to drink all day and never get out of the pool :eek: They did have some trivia contests and local musicians or a piano player at night. With a small number of passengers, you get to know people quite quickly and it sort of felt like being at a house party with a bunch of friends.

 

We did splurge on a balcony. It was small but adequate and we used it enough that we felt it was worth it. I loved going through the locks, and would get up if we went through one at night - out in my pjs with my camera :cool:

 

I LOVE being on the water - I can be on a cruise ship on the ocean or a canoe on a lake. So I got to be on the water AND I got to see a nice chunk of Europe as well.

 

If you are going to do a river cruise, I highly recommend doing pre and/or post cruise stays. We did 3 days in Amsterdam (love that city!) and 2 days in Lucerne - which we fell in love with as well. You're spending big bucks on airfare - take advantage!

 

We have a trip to Bermuda coming up, a cruise on Carnival to Canada/NE, and a Viking Ocean to the West Indies. Looking forward to the last - only 930 passengers! We will probably alternate between Carnival for cheap and Viking because we enjoyed traveling with them. We are currently considering the Viking Grand European Tour - Budapest to Amsterdam with extra days in Amsterdam, and Viking Ocean - Montreal to NYC - something completely different!

 

Hope that helps you decide, but it's really two completely different travel experiences. I like a variety!

Hi Kath....I just have to say that reading this was like reading a description of myself! We LOVE ocean cruising on Celebrity (solstice and millennium classes have about 2500 passengers) and we also LOVED our 8 river cruises! I think you do a disservice to both of them when you compare them because, IMHO, the only thing they both really have in common is they're boat trips. :D

Hi Kath....I just have to say that reading this was like reading a description of myself! We LOVE ocean cruising on Celebrity (solstice and millennium classes have about 2500 passengers) and we also LOVED our 8 river cruises! I think you do a disservice to both of them when you compare them because, IMHO, the only thing they both really have in common is they're boat trips. :D

Ah but see that's what I like "boat trips!" (Why do I keep hearing a voice in my head yelling "Road Trip" in my head [emoji2])

Didn't mean to do any disservice. I like both for different reasons and, yes, they are completely different experiences - except, of course, that boat!

I keep thinking we should try Celebrity 2500 passengers is a workable number. I thought they were going the Mega Ship route along with most other lines.

And I clearly need more river cruises! [emoji7]

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Ah but see that's what I like "boat trips!" (Why do I keep hearing a voice in my head yelling "Road Trip" in my head [emoji2])

 

Didn't mean to do any disservice. I like both for different reasons and, yes, they are completely different experiences - except, of course, that boat!

 

I keep thinking we should try Celebrity 2500 passengers is a workable number. I thought they were going the Mega Ship route along with most other lines.

 

And I clearly need more river cruises! [emoji7]

 

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One can never have too many river cruises! Seriously, look into the Millenium and Solstice class ships on Celebrity. My personal preference is M class because we like the aft cabins and M class has 3 elevator banks. S class has only 2; 1 forward and 1 midship....what were they thinking? Daughter and SIL absolutely LOVE the mega ships but they also like to hit the night club and dance all night....and THAT ship has sailed for us!! :D

We like DIY trips, ocean and river cruises and they are very different. We have a TA who has convinced us by experience that each region of the world has a river cruise line that is premier in that region. At his suggestion, We did Amawaterways in Vietnam/Cambodia, and Uniworld for Bordeaux. We are on Uniworld in Portugal/Spain in September. He has never steered us wrong. He doesn't like Viking but we had a good time on a xmas markets cruise we booked ourselves. We always do our own research too, but now we trust his judgment about which company does it best where we want to go.

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If you run out of rivers and are tired of the big-ship ports on the oceans, another type of travel to consider is small-ship and country-intensive cruises. We are currently booked on Azamara for a Costa Rica-intensive itinerary, and I'm looking at circumnavigations of Iceland on Natl Geographic or Ponant, and Sicily on Noble Caledonia [not the same trip, of course!]

We LOVE ocean cruising and have been on too many to count as there is huge variety for the whole family and reasonably priced (if you don't drink too much). Our preferred line is Celebrity and have status. My husband had talked for many years about doing a river cruise and I was reluctant thinking a river cruise would not be active enough for us. I certainly would not recommend a river cruise for teenagers or children. I did a great deal of research before we booked our 1st river cruise several years ago and we booked with AMA because there were many active excursion options. We have now been on 2 river cruises to include the Rhine & Danube far exceeding my expectations. The 2 experiences ocean vs river are completely different. There are pros and cons to each but our river experiences were fabulous. You cannot compare the experience cruising into Budapest at night (stunning) or cruising the Rhine castles while on the top of a deck with a beer. Our 1st river cruise we booked a balcony as usually an ocean cruise is not complete without a balcony but we found we never used the balcony on the river cruise so the last cruise we had no river balcony and did not miss the balcony because we were never in our cabin. Also, consider your alcohol is included during meals on some river cruises so your alcohol tab should be less and with AMA all tours are included in the price so there will not be any tour costs. We did like the smaller more intimate setting on the river cruise. When we docked in ports on the rivers we would usually go into town instead of staying on the board so we could experience the local bars and communities. Now we are looking at booking our 3rd river cruise with AMA but just can't decide which one. And we also have another ocean cruise booked in Sept. So any cruise is good for us.

Now we are looking at booking our 3rd river cruise with AMA but just can't decide which one.

I highly recommend the Rhone cruise on AMA. You would have very much the same kind of experiences that you enjoyed on the Rhine and Danube.

If you run out of rivers and are tired of the big-ship ports on the oceans, another type of travel to consider is small-ship and country-intensive cruises. We are currently booked on Azamara for a Costa Rica-intensive itinerary, and I'm looking at circumnavigations of Iceland on Natl Geographic or Ponant, and Sicily on Noble Caledonia [not the same trip, of course!]

Jazz if you haven't been to Iceland, might I suggest that you fly from JFK to Reykjavik, rent a car and drive around Iceland. There's so much to see and it's so beautiful that I think you'd miss a lot on a cruise. It's east to rent a car, they drive on the right, the signs are all in English, and there's really only one main road that will take you completely around the island to everything from Vik to the glaciers, geysers and stunning waterfalls.

Jazz if you haven't been to Iceland, might I suggest that you fly from JFK to Reykjavik, rent a car and drive around Iceland. There's so much to see and it's so beautiful that I think you'd miss a lot on a cruise. It's east to rent a car, they drive on the right, the signs are all in English, and there's really only one main road that will take you completely around the island to everything from Vik to the glaciers, geysers and stunning waterfalls.

Thanks. That would be our kind of trip, but it can get tiring. Having Backroads organize all the [very active] shore excursions and Ponant provide a luxury cruise ship to serve as hotel and restaurant lets me just enjoy!

I'm dying to do Ponant in Antarctica!!!

Thanks. That would be our kind of trip, but it can get tiring. Having Backroads organize all the [very active] shore excursions and Ponant provide a luxury cruise ship to serve as hotel and restaurant lets me just enjoy!

Can't argue with that! It's a beautiful country for the nature lover....no matter how you do it, you'll love Iceland...

 

 

We did the Rhine as our first cruise in 2014, on Uniworld's SS Antoinette. I wrote up a picture review that might give you an idea of what we were able to do in each port, how much time you have, etc. There should be a link somewhere in there to a folder on my Google drive where I uploaded the daily programs. If you have any specific questions about this itinerary, I'd be happy to answer if I can still remember.

We have just booked "Legendary Rhine" cruise with Uniword for June 12th 2017. Where can I find the post you referred to? I am new to this forum (first post) so forgive me if I should know where to find it LOL

Here is the link Ladyrider : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2026494

You may also enjoy awcmom's review that she is posting now, as she just returned from the Rhine. The link is here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2479562#post52925453

These should give you great ideas as to what you will be seeing.

There is a search box in the upper right at the top of the forum, you can always key in key words to find reviews etc. Sometimes there is also a link to the review in the signature, just click on the "expand signature" in the lower right corner of the person's comment. As you are new, I suggest you read the stickies posted on the top of the forum, there is lots of useful information posted there as to what to expect.

Enjoy your cruise, I hope it is all you could hope for and more.

We have just booked "Legendary Rhine" cruise with Uniword for June 12th 2017. Where can I find the post you referred to? I am new to this forum (first post) so forgive me if I should know where to find it LOL

That's a nice itinerary! The Rhine ports overlap exactly with our 2014 ports. We've been to Trier and Bernkastel on our own. The Mosel is beautiful!

This link may go directly to the daily programs (can't tell if it works on my phone). Otherwise, the link is around post #200 of my big long review.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7-MF_WeC07jQXJ6UUkyOFNzQ0E

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I have done 4 ocean cruises (Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska and the Mediterranean with RCI) and two river cruises (Century Yangtze River Cruise and Viking Rhine Getaway). I agree with others on here that I have different expectations on ocean and river cruising. On the ocean cruising I not only pick the location but also the type of ship as I want to be entertained on the ship itself with shows, activities, etc. When river cruising, I am going for the location and thoroughly enjoy the daily stops and sightseeing. I expect to learn about the history of the cities we visit and to see their major attractions. We thoroughly enjoyed the small size of the Viking longships and the intimacy we found there. Although the daily sightseeing can wear you out, you can totally relax in the evenings and do not have push yourself on the excursions if you don't want to. This coming year I have another Viking river cruise scheduled and another ocean cruise, so obviously I like both. Consider what is important to you when you vacation, and choose accordingly.

Penny

I'm dying to do Ponant in Antarctica!!!

We are trying Ponant on the Adriatic this year. Ocean cruising only appeals to us on smaller ships; the design of this as an expedition ship, combined with luxury, seems perfect for what we enjoy.

I'm doing a spreadsheet for 50th birthday options - eek - Mekong river cruise (including Angkor Wat), Antarctica, Galapagos + Machu Pichu, and the Baltic for fun. Really trying to do active stuff now while we're able! (eg climb Angkor Wat, climb Machu Pichu, get out of a zodiac etc)

I'm doing a spreadsheet for 50th birthday options - eek - Mekong river cruise, Antarctica, Galapagos + Machu Pichu, and the Baltic for fun. Really trying to do active stuff now while we're able! (eg climb Angkor Wat, climb Machu Pichu, get out of a zodiac etc)

I am trying to figure out my options for my 60th.........:eek: omg.....looking, looking, researching, here...there...no, here......

LOL..........

I'm doing a spreadsheet for 50th birthday options - eek - Mekong river cruise, Antarctica, Galapagos + Machu Pichu, and the Baltic for fun. Really trying to do active stuff now while we're able! (eg climb Angkor Wat, climb Machu Pichu, get out of a zodiac etc)

Out of those, MP (IMO) might be the one to knock off first. There's a lot of climbing that you can do when you visit there.

Antarctica (for us) wasn't as active as you might think...I wish that there were more physical activity, but we found that it wasn't all that challenging. Galapagos can be active. IDK about the Mekong or the Baltics.

Sounds like some great destinations for your milestone birthday, though! I'm looking at a few weeks in Australia for mine, next year...

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It's so much fun to research (for those of us - ME - and many other on this enabling message board) potential trips. Geez, for me, the planning is almost more fun than the travel itself:hearteyes:

(I should note my husband and I are 5 years apart in age - so what we don't do for his 50th might have to happen for mine....And so on:'))

ETA - Went back to add that we would do Angkor Wat with a Mekong visit - I think Angkor Wat would be as challenging to climb (if you actually want to climb) as Machu Picchu, which is why it's on the list.....The ships I like in Antarctica - LePonant - are pretty expensive but look oh so lovely ;-)

Baltics wouldn't be active (beyond my normal roaming around in ports) but it's just a place we've both wanted to visit - well, husband wants to see the northern lights again and the fjords of Norway. I want to visit the Hermitage...)

I speak from personal experience when I advise everyone to do the trips that require strong legs FIRST....I am so glad I did places like Egypt, Russia, Greece, Turkey, etc. because then life intervened and my travel plans had to be changed...I always tell people "you can see the Louvre in a wheelchair, but you have to be able to climb the hill to see the Parthenon"....I envy you planning Machu Pichu and Angkor Wat....they were just a little too far down on my list and now I can't!! :)

I have been to all the places on your list, but then I'm 20 years older than you; all those places are great trips!

...Went back to add that we would do Angkor Wat with a Mekong visit - I think Angkor Wat would be as challenging to climb (if you actually want to climb) as Machu Picchu, which is why it's on the list........)

Machu Picchu is at 8000 feet above sea level, and Cusco is 11,000 feet. Plan on several days to acclimate and even then you might get altitude sickness. If you hike in (not required) you will get above 14,000 feet, and you will have oxygen issues. In order to get the bulk of the effect at MP it is necessary to do some climbing. IMO MP is MUCH more strenuous than AW.

Totally agree - Machu Picchu is way tougher than Angkor Wat! Huayna Picchu, Machu Picchu's sister peak, is seriously scary. http://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/773705/machu-picchu-viral-videos-youtube

I have visited quite a few UNESCO sites in the last few years and I now think 'UNESCO site' is quite often another way of saying 'travellers proceed with caution' - as the custodians need to preserve the site in its original state, there usually are no safety railings since these would damage the site! The only exception so far(from my experience) has been Angkor Wat where they built a much safer wooden staircase over the original stone steps.

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Yes, while I own the book "1000 Places to see before you Die", my real bucket list is the UNESCO World Heritage Site list :*

While I do think we should visit Machu Picchu soon, my dad has been working & traveling all over SE Asia the past few weeks and sharing some amazing photos, making both me & my husband jealous and wanting to go back to Vietnam to explore the country/riverside more. No Angkor Wat photos, at least (I don't think that's on his schedule). So who knows. But I've got a spreadsheet going and am keeping my eye out for amazing bargains - that often makes the decision for us!

I also LOVE the planning and anticipation of travel and find that with the excursions included, I don't tend to learn as much (or remember as much about a place) as I do when I plan the entire trip myself. I also think many ports (esp. in the Mediterranean) are different at night than during the day, and not experiencing them past a late afternoon is missing a LOT. Yet, when I've paid for something (included tours), I tend to feel I must go on them. However, I am guessing we will wander off on our own or skip some of them on our first ever river cruise. On ocean cruising, I still tend to do a lot of research as when we do any type of guided excursion, I rarely book it through our ship.

I think we'll like our upcoming river cruise, and I've always said I never met a cruise I didn't like - though I have so far only been on ocean cruises. Generally I like every trip I've been on. Just like some a lot more than others. Looking forward to the river cruise and hope I am able to say I loved it!