First Timers

There was a very negative post about River Cruising last year. The poster expected River Cruising to have the same after hours entertainment and multi restaurants as the ocean liners. As long you don’t expect a river cruise to replicate an ocean cruise you will adore river cruising

It has already been pointed out that ocean cruising and river cruising are very different animals. Your daughter uses a good analogy with the Eurail suggestion. Ocean cruising is very much destination driven and the ports are like airports: often busy and not necessarily representative of the country and culture. River cruising is more like “riding the rails” where getting there can be a huge part of the fun. Ocean cruises are desperate to keep people busy on board with casinos, clubs, entertainers and shows while river boats cannot supply all that and expect travellers to sometimes entertain themselves.

We did three weeks on the Viking Embla in 2015 sailing from Amsterdam to Bucharest and in addition to having a great time with their wonderful crew we had constant, daily scenery with daily stops, often in places we would never have otherwise visited. Slovakia, Bulgaria, Slovenia — meeting people along the way who made the trip memorable in places we would never have otherwise visited.

Don’t get me wrong here as I love long ocean voyages too, but as they say, “happiness is not the destination, it is the voyage.”

As for the season, I prefer spring and fall but I am heat adverse and crowd phobic. We were in Budapest in April and there were two other ships docked. My friend on board mentioned that in July there would be 30+! It is nicer travelling when people have time for you.

Hope you have a great time wherever you go; going by boat is as good as it gets.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

It has already been pointed out that ocean cruising and river cruising are very different animals. Your daughter uses a good analogy with the Eurail suggestion. Ocean cruising is very much destination driven and the ports are like airports: often busy and not necessarily representative of the country and culture. River cruising is more like “riding the rails” where getting there can be a huge part of the fun. Ocean cruises are desperate to keep people busy on board with casinos, clubs, entertainers and shows while river boats cannot supply all that and expect travellers to sometimes entertain themselves.

We did three weeks on the Viking Embla in 2015 sailing from Amsterdam to Bucharest and in addition to having a great time with their wonderful crew we had constant, daily scenery with daily stops, often in places we would never have otherwise visited. Slovakia, Bulgaria, Slovenia — meeting people along the way who made the trip memorable in places we would never have otherwise visited.

Don’t get me wrong here as I love long ocean voyages too, but as they say, “happiness is not the destination, it is the voyage.”

As for the season, I prefer spring and fall but I am heat adverse and crowd phobic. We were in Budapest in April and there were two other ships docked. My friend on board mentioned that in July there would be 30+! It is nicer travelling when people have time for you.

Hope you have a great time wherever you go; going by boat is as good as it gets.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks for your reply. This is exactly what appeals to hubby & I. :D

I would just say that, as you have no time restrictions, go for anything between mid-May to end of June or anytime in September. Should you also be free to go for more than 9 days look at cruises on the Rhine and Moselle that are from 10 to 13 days long. Or just do the Rhine with a pre- or post- cruise and leave the Moselle as your cruise after that. After all, you might enjoy your first cruise so much that you will want to go again!

Thanks for the advice. :)

Don't worry about age, it's only a number. My hubbie & I have done 2 river cruises-both on Uniworld. On our first he was 46 & I was 43 & on our second he was 49 & I was 46. We were the youngest by a few years on each but that didn't stop us from having a good time. We got along great with others on board because we were all on the trip to see the same cities/country & it was fun each evening to compare what we thought of the day & what they thought of it. Enjoy your trip!!

Thank you.

If you are looking for a crowd closer to your age, you may want to look into Emerald. My wife and I have our first river cruise coming up in a few months

If you are looking for a crowd closer to your age, you may want to look into Emerald. My wife and I have our first river cruise coming up in a few months

Thank you. I'm researching all angles! :D

For those of you who said you have your 1st river cruise coming up - I'd love to hear how you got on.

To everyone who took the time to reply - thank you. Your posts have been very helpful.