German and English spoken on board

Hello,

Can anyone recommend a river cruise in Europe where guests are from Germany and English speaking countries? This is my first post and although I tried searching the forums first, I may have missed information on this topic.

We are looking for a cruise to take with our mothers, one who speaks only German and the other only English. Although we have a built in translator in my partner, our moms are both sociable and would ikely be most comfortable in a setting where each could speak to other travelers.

I find German companies marketing to English markets, but have not found information about a line that caters to both markets on the same voyage.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Maybe this company?

http://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/cruise-companies/croisieurope/

Hello Vermon19,

welcome to cruisecritic! JVilleGals has already provided you with a link to one company. Yes, CroisiEurope has trips that have accommodated speakers of both or either languages on one cruise. CroisiEurope has been the subject of two threads so far, I think, where you can look this up.

The other two lines I can think of are Arosa and Transocean. My cruise on the Belvedere was bi-lingual, so to speak. You might encounter problems finding out about them and booking a cruise with them from the US.

Of the two, it is best to look at Arosa instead then, as they have an American website and office/representative. Arosa specifically states in their brochure that on some cruises on some dates the guests are international. Just enquire with the company or through a TA which ones they might be. The most popular and likely one is the Amsterdam - Basel or vice versa itinerary.

The only thing you might find a problem is the fact that for the land excursions there is normally a minimum number of people of a language required to have guided tours, etc. So, when you book make sure you give the number of speakers of each language, just in case.

CroisiEurope and Arosa have quite different ships and interior designs as well as "company structures". CroisiEurope is based in Strassbourg where as Arosa is German. And the differences only start there. :) Have a close look at what might be best for your whole party.

I very much enjoyed the mixed crowds on my trip. Only drawback was I heard most of the guides explanations twice, as well as comparing the respective information given. Gave me a headache in the end. :D

Have fun planning.

notamermaid

Sure wish CC had a like button! Thanks "notamermaid" I thought you might jump in with your usual wonderful advice :)

So, who got the better information? The Germans or the English speakers? :rolleyes:

A-Rosa's headquarters are in Germany. If you have any slightly out-of-the-ordinary questions, the reps. in the US always have to call you back after they get ahold of the headquarters in Germany. Their US base is not very knowledgeable. That said, they would probably meet your needs. They, as like Croisi, are a very bare-bones kind of cruise experience.

Not a river cruise, but if you are looking for a luxury ocean cruise ship that is English & German (but not a million other languages) you should look into Hapag-Lloyd's Europa 2. It is rated the top luxury ship by the Berlitz Guide.

Thanks for sharing your ideas and advice. I had tried gather information from a local travel agent, but had no luck. I appreciate the leads and will post again if I find anything new to add.

Sure wish CC had a like button! Thanks "notamermaid" I thought you might jump in with your usual wonderful advice :)

Thank you. So much praise. :o

Happy to help. :)

notamermaid

Weather not so nice in the Rhine valley this week. The rain has not been plentiful yet, though, meaning the river has not really risen. Happy sailing for everyone, but keep the umbrellas close by.

So, who got the better information? The Germans or the English speakers? :rolleyes:

:D

From what I remember the guides did really well in keeping the information very similar in both languages. I cannot tell about all tours as a couple of them were split into the language groups. The first tour we had was excellent, the lady, when I commented on her brilliant English, actually told me that she was American. She had lived in Austria for so long that she had lost most of her accent. She managed to fool me into believing she was Austrian. :o :D

notamermaid

I can only speak to my 3 CroisiEurope cruises so far. English was the second language onboard and German the third (after French). On excursions each language group was allocated different coaches to avoid guides duplicating information.