Poulsbo Cruisers

If you have booked a cruise then you can send the copy from the e-mail confirmation message from Princess or a TA

That's very true. But, I never ran across a situation in which any company didn't have a web address for a product they want to sell. The idea of taking a screen shot is a good one though.

We last cruised with Princess in 2012. At that time if I wanted to send the itinerary to others, I could copy the link for the cruise into an email. Now it appears that no matter what cruise is selected, they all have the same link that goes nowhere except to an error page. Princess does provide an email option, but there is no way to include a message in the email. This just doesn't seem right. Why wouldn't Princess want me to be able to include a link to my cruise in an email? Since I haven't been on the Princess website for a couple of years until booking a cruise a couple of days ago, I may be missing something. Please help.

After receiving our Captains Circle magazine we immediately booked a 2015 Med cruise. I loved some of the ports of call. We have been in Venice twice and loved it. But, the last time we were there (2012) we hated the crowds. There were so many mega ships in town, you could hardly move. Something had to be done.

I find it very interesting that Princess has the Emerald doing a lot of different 7 day itineraries, which can be combined for unique 14 day cruises. We had decided to look elsewhere as it seemed as though all the Med cruises were the same old thing. The magazine came just in time.

This seems to be a rhetorical question. How could anyone possibly give an answer to it? People have different financial situations. And people place different values on things like river cruises. You can have a multi millionaire that doesn't feel the extra cost of Tauck is a good value and you can have an average middle class family that likes to splurge every few years. Each of us must decide for ourselves what type of experience we want and what we are willing to pay for it.

We too have sailed the Crown twice. In 2009 we were on her for 16 nights from Rome to London and in 2012 we spent 12 nights on the Crown in the Med. I don't know where the negatives are coming from. We had anytime dining and seldom had to wait more than a few minutes. We would not hesitate to sail on the Crown again.

because I ve see quite a few reviews and comments here.

 

As with all the lines, some really LOVE them ,others not so much.

 

I prefer ones that use TA,as above poster said.Like the discounts,advice,back up etc...so because of that and the cabins,ships,etc with that company(I prefer more luxury,like full balcony,inc.tips,on and on).

 

When I was looking at them,did check BBB site and found many complaints>But that was few yrs.ago and have heard hear its improved now.

 

So check them all very carefully and find out what YOU prefer,we are all very different.;)

I have not read anything negative about either. My DW and I are experienced ocean cruisers and took our first river cruise last year. As experienced travelers, we don't mind doing our own research and like to book our own air. We did a lot of research and decided to use Vantage. We were extremely pleased. Even with a TA discount, the other lines would have cost us more than we paid either Vantage. The ship was new and the cabins were great. We have not used GCT, but they should be similar with older ships.

My response has definitely changed over time. My DW and I used to always dress formally to include renting a tux. Several cruises back we decided we just didn't like dressing up. So we just opted out of eating in the MDR on formal nights. However on our last cruise aboard the Crown some friends wanted us to eat in the MDR and our waitress insisted that it would be no problem to come in dress slacks and a short-sleeved shirt. So we did and no one said a thing.

One thing I know is that enjoyment of any experience comes from within. If one lets the way another dresses keep them from enjoying the experience then there is probably a deeper issue going on. We will continue to not dress formally and will avoid the MDR. But, if circumstances bring is to the MDR I would hope that no one feels I have the power to ruin their experience.

My DW and I have been cruising for 25 years. This was all ocean cruising until last year. About 15 years ago, we first tried a balcony and we vowed we would never cruise without one. However, last year we only had a French balcony on our Vantage river cruise and we never missed the balcony. As others have posted, you would miss a lot of sights by staying on the balcony. Often, while in port, the ship is tied against another ship. We spent most of our cruising hours in the lounge or the sun deck. Now that I have tried river cruising I would still never do an ocean cruise without a balcony, but I would also not spend extra for a balcony on a river cruise.

I struggle understanding concerns such as this one. On every cruise I have taken, river and ocean, there are things that are included in the price that my DW and I don't use, but are paying for. The only concerns should be what one can get for their budget and the itinerary. Even on a river cruise that doesn't serve wine and beer at lunch and dinner or on an ocean cruise, there are free drinks served on a couple of the evenings. Some of the cost of the cruise takes into account those so called "freebies."

Also there are some included excursions that include lunch. Those lunches often include wine. Some excursions may include wine tasting. All of that would be included in the cost of the cruise. There is no way around this.

Last year we took a Vantage cruise that did not include alcohol, but I believe that may have changed. I don't think the cost of including alcohol with dinner and lunch changes the price much. On most lines, it is usually just house wines and beer. No hard alcohol. You can purchase better wines, but they are not included.

My DW and I have sailed on most of the major cruise lines. Our favorite has been Princess. We are platinum with Princess. However by far, the best food IMHO was on our Celebrity cruise.

You can add the suggested gratuities for the staff to your shipboard account and they are charged to your credit card. However, the program managers, or equivalent, are independent contractors and you will need to give them their suggested gratuity in cash.

Whether one likes their policies or not, they are doing something right. I just looked at this board. Eight of the first sixteen posts were Viking topics.

I would be interesting in knowing if anyone didn't get the 2 for 1 pricing from Viking.

I will admit that it was an advertisement from Viking and its 2 for 1 pricing that first got me interested in river cruising. Fortunately, we checked the pricing for other companies and determined that Viking's pricing really wasn't a bargain.

Well, I for one, love Viking. The beauty of competition is that if you don't agree with Viking policies, you have many other choices. Viking has earned my trust and my business and until they prove otherwise, they will have me as a repeat customer!

I'm sure that Viking offers a good product and that is why they have so many repeat customers. But, the one poster probably has it right. Why go to the bank and pay interest on loans for new ships when your customers are willing to give you interest free loans?

This is a tough one to answer as everyone is different. However, I would think that most 20 year olds would be a little bored; not with the sights, but the ship board experience. River cruises tend to draw travelers 60+ years old. Last year we took a river cruise from Budapest to Cologne. At 63 years old, we were among the youngest. There was a couple on board who brought their teenage grandchildren as a high school graduation present. They were nice young adults, but appeared very bored most times.

Don't forget to add Vantage to the list.

My wife and I took our first river cruise last year after years of ocean cruising. After a lot of study we chose Vantage and sailed on the River Splendor from Budapest to Cologne. We thoroughly enjoyed it and plan on booking the French Waterways cruise with Vantage. I can't compare Vantage to other river cruise companies, but I can whole heartedly recommend them.

Maybe I'm missing something, but my wife and I have been looking at a French river cruise with Vantage from Chalon to Marseilles in 2015. It still shows the River Discovery II on the website.

https://www.vantagetravel.com/Trip/2013/French-Waterways--Highlights-of-Burgundy-Beaujolais-and-Provence/Accommodations

Anyone booked on the Majestic Rivers cruise departing from Budapest on July 3rd? Has anyone done this cruise before with Vantage? Pros and cons?

We took our very first river cruise last August. It was this itinerary with Vantage. We couldn't have been more pleased. The ship was new and the cabins were very nice. We were used to ocean cruising and were concerned that the cabins may be too small. But, they were perfectly laid out and met our every need. The showers were better than any we have had on an ocean cruise. The ports were wonderful and the guides extremely knowledgeable. We plan on doing another Vantage cruise next year.

We were on the River Splendor last year. The cabin, while smaller than most on ocean cruise ships, was very comfortable and well laid out. We had everything we needed. The bathroom was very impressive and the shower was larger and had better pressure than all of the ocean cruise ships we have been on. The cabin came with an iPod/iPhone docking station and we also made use of the free wifi.

Any river cruise ship, regardless of the company, must be limited in size due to the locks on the rivers. The Splendor was the maximum size possible. No ship plying the rivers of Europe can be longer than the shortest locks nor can they be taller than the lowest bridges they must travel under. Even then there were times when no one was allowed on the sun deck because it was a stretch with very low bridges and the rails needed to be lowered.

With only three decks (four with the sun deck) you will not be climbing as many stairs and you will need to take more laps to get your walking in. However, you will be in ports on most days and will be walking on most of your tours. There are only a couple of pieces of exercise equipment, but there weren't any lines to use them.

With the price of river cruising, it would be hard to label any river cruise as a "budget" cruise. My wife and I are experienced ocean cruisers. We took our first river cruise this past year with Vantage. We did a lot of research and settled on Vantage. We enjoyed it so much, we plan on doing another river cruise with Vantage. As experienced travelers we are very comfortable making our own travel arrangements so weren't bothered by not have a TA.

We took our first river cruise last year after 14 ocean cruises. We loved it and are looking at itineraries to book another. I think all of the things said here are accurate. We had a French balcony, but seldom used it. There is too much to see on both sides so the sun deck and lounge were better choices. Meals were as good as the ocean cruises, but choices much more limited. Very little entertainment, but that was no big deal for us. Our entertainment were the beautiful ports and tours. We were told before going that the demographics would be mostly well traveled individuals over 50. This proved to be very true. We met many wonderful people.

Try it, you'll like it!

Enjoy your cruise. We were on the River Splendor in August and loved every minute of our cruise.