sueswny

I love river cruising, and I've been on almost all the European itineraries--some more than once! Next year I'm trying something different. It's a 7-night trip on a luxury TRAIN in Northern Spain. The Transcantabrico Gran Lujo. It operates like a river cruise, with sleeping accommodations on the train, included sightseeing most of the day, meals included (in local restaurants), and more. Only 28 people on the entire train. I talked to someone who did this trip a couple of years ago and he RAVED about it--so I'm giving it a try. There are 10 of us going in September 2016, so it this interests you, you might want to join us? (It's probably nicer if you know there will be a group of English-speaking guests, since the trip is sold internationally.)

Hi. I haven't been on Cruise Critic for a while. I just tried to do a search in the River Cruise forum. But it looks like the search option is no longer available. Is this true? Or am I missing something??

I'm going on this itinerary next year, April 23-30. I will be with a group on Lueftner Cruises. It's my first time on Lueftner, but I understand that it is very nice and comparable to AMA, etc. Brand new ship, too. Price very good, lower than the others for a comparable trip. I usually go on AMA, which I love. But my TA has a group on the Lueftner cruise and I am giving it a try.

This might be just what you're looking for...Lueftner Cruises. It's an Austrian company, high end, lovely ships, good food. They do all excursions a la carte. English and German used on the ship. No way to know in advance how many Americans/Brits/Europeans will be on a given cruise, but you'll have no language problem. If you don't need a shpi full of Americans, and you are ok with dual language, it would be a great choice for you. Or.... Some cruises do have a group of Americans. ( I'm going on this cruise line late next April with a large group of USA friends on a Rhine cruise organized by my travel agent. Good price, too!)

Note that Gate 1 books Lueftner cruises, but they add a package of excursions and you can't book it without these (I think). I think some other USA companies also book Lueftner, but with excursions packages. My agent does it a la carte. (If you want her contact info, just let me know your email and I'll send it to you)

Happy sailing. Sue

Thanks so much. this is just what I needed to know.

It's too bad that there isn't a dedicated card room, but it looks like we would be able to find a place to play. I need to decide if this will work, or whether we should go on Celebrity or RCCL on a ship with dedicated room. We like the itineraries on Princess, so we have to weigh the options.

Again, thanks for the help.

A group of us are thinking about taking a short cruise on either the Ruby Princess or Caribbean Princess. We are all Bridge players, and surely we'll want to play some cards on the cruise. Can you tell me if either (both?) of these ships have a nice card room? With a view? Or...are there places on the ship that would be comfortable for playing cards (other than in stateroom or on the balcony)??

Thanks.

I just got a brochure in the mail. It offers a cruise on the Sea Explorer ship. Company is Enrichment Journeys. I can't find any reviews of the company or the ship. The cruises are all inclusive and a good price, but I would like to know more about this. It is NOT the same as Enrichment Voyages and the MV Explorer.

Anyone know about this company??

Thanks for your review. I'm also going to do this cruise in 2010, and your feedback heps. I seriously thought about doing it on Croisieurope, but my travel buddy wants to use AMA (Amadeus) Waterways. So I guess we'll go with AMA, and my travel agent is giving us a nice discount. I know that Uniworld is also a great company, and it sounds like you have a wonderful time. I think the AMA trip is pretty much the same itinerary.

My only question is this--Can you briefly tell me what the towns along the river are like? I don't think there are any that qualify as big towns except perhaps Salamanca, and that's not a huge metropolis. Are the towns you visit all small historic towns? Any hightlight?

Thanks.