Oldacura

We did a Rhine cruise on the Viking Hlin leaving Basel on 9/30 arriving in Amsterdam 10/7. We were able to cruise through the Rhine River Gorge on 10/3 (I think) without problems. However, for some reason a sister ship next to us the day before had to do a ship swap. Not sure why we were lucky & they were not but it worked!

We depart the US for Basel - Amsterdam on September 29th. I just got an email from Viking that our ship has been swapped with another (no big deal) and because the water levels are so low, we may have to do a mid-cruise ship swap to avoid the affected area. I hope we don't wind up on a bus for an extended period. Keeping our fingers crossed.

Notamermaid - thanks for all of your local insight!

Thanks - I'll keep monitoring it. Thanks to the veteran cruisers for all the information.

We're scheduled on Viking leaving Basel to Amsterdam on October 1st. Never done a river cruise before. I am very concerned about the water levels. I spoke with Viking and they said they won't know much of anything until right before we leave the US. They said that if they have to cancel, we will get a full refund (true?).

My first choice would be to experience the cruise as we imagined when we booked in February. My second choice would be to have them cancel before we leave. My last choice would be to embark on the cruise and wind up taking a bus through Germany.

Have any here experienced my last choice? How likely is this? Thanks

Ok another question: When is high season? When is low? Why?

So I read the Guide to River Cruising that compares the various lines to each other. Thanks for the reference. If the descriptions of the lines are accurate, I think we would be satisfied with Viking, Avalon or AMA.

Do others think the descriptions of these lines are accurate?

Our interest in river cruising was prompted by a flyer for the Amadeus Sliver with Lueftner Cruises. Is anyone here familiar with this line and how it compares to others on the list?

Also, I can see that there is a wealth of information on this site. I'd like to be able to separate the advertising and hype from the more descriptive information.

Thanks for all of the experienced replies. My expectation of problems with rafting are not having to walk through other ships but having forced face-to-face interaction when you're looking for privacy & a view.

I agree that advantages/disadvantages are in the eye of the beholder. I also agree (somewhat) that you get what you pay for. However, what is important to one is unnecessary to another.

We like nice accommodations, good food, friendly service but I'd rather not think of myself as a snob. What might be a "good value" to us might be unacceptable to another.

I do look for a good value in travel. Comparing to travel lodging, we have found that there is little relationship between price and quality. We have stayed some amazing places that weren't all that expensive. Right nearby were similar accommodations that were 3x the price (seemingly justified by the cache).

Is there a thread on these forums that would give me a correct expectation of price -vs- amenities of cruise lines? Thanks again.

I'd like to know from you experts what you think the advantages and disadvantages of seeing Europe via river cruising versus auto and/or rail.

My guesses to start:

Advantages of river cruising: 1) Unpack & pack only once. 2) You always sleep in the same bed every night. 3) You don't have to seek out breakfast & dinner every day. 4) You don't have to figure out an itinerary - you go where the river goes. 5) Few if any children. 6) Food & accommodations are consistent.

Disadvantages: 1) Inflexible - you only see the continent from the river view. 2) If you don't like the room or the food - you're stuck. 3) You could get bumped to a bus if the water is too high or too low. 4) "Rafting"

I've never been on a river cruise so these are my expectations. I'm sure that what I consider advantages/disadvantages might be seen in the reverse by others.

What else am I missing? What are others opinions?

Thanks

Ok - I have read most of the FAQs and tips for first timers. I will read more as I have time.

Our interest was prompted by a flyer from our Alumni Association for a cruise from Amsterdam to Antwerp on the Amadeus Silver next spring.

As I look into it, this may not be the best first timer cruise.

So - I had a mental image about how idyllic a European river cruise could be but the reality is likely quite different: double docking (rafting) sounds like a real downer. The prospect of too much or too little water and having to bus to destinations sounds horrible. Also, I imagine a pristine countryside but because Europe is a real continent, things like industrial landscapes are the reality. We did an ocean cruise on a small ship in southeast Alaska (which we liked) and another ocean cruise on Carnival along the east coast of the US & Canada (which we hated).

Is there any consensus about what would be the "best" first timer European river cruise?: Least likely bad experiences, good scenery, nice ports, not too long or too short? Are there some threads on this? Thanks in advance.

Never been on a river cruise. Question: Why is cruising done mostly at night? I would think the best views of the countryside would be during the day. Is this because it is what the passengers want, because the ports want people there during the day or some other practical reason that I'm not seeing?