River Cruise Comparable to Regent?

[Shawski]

We've cruised on Regent three times and loved it. Now we're planning a river cruise and we'd like something just as nice as Regent, if such a thing exists. As of now we're looking at Tauck, Uniworld and AMA (formerly Amadeus). Have any of you Regent cruisers had experience with these?

 

Thanks,

Shawski

[Dreps]

We don't have first-hand experience yet, but this information may be useful. Our terrific TA, who is a high-volume Regent agent, investigated a number river cruise companies and has selected AMA as the first river cruise company on which she will escort a couple of upcoming trips. We have enough confidence in her, that we've signed on for a Prague-Budapest cruise next September. We're not expecting the same as a big-ship experience on a boat that holds about 150 people, but we're really looking forward to it.

[PJLDAWN]

Coincidentally, have been thinking about this in reverse. We've never been on Regent and have never been on anything except a river cruise since 1973. Have been on 2 Vantage river cruises in Europe in last 18 months or so. Loved them ! This past Oct we cruised from Amsterdam to Budapest over a 15 day period. Haven't been able to imagine anything more enjoyable, however, will give my honest reaction after this PG cruise we're taking 3 Oct.

 

Pat

[old grump]

We did the Budapest- Amsterdam on AMA two years ago and have did Tauck land tours as well. I would vote for Tauck! Their ships are maxed out at 118 pax vs 140+ for AMA. Tauck is more all inclusive, no tipping or optional excursions.

Don't get me wrong:)AMA is not chopped liver, the ship was clean, food was good. I just prefer Tauck for the reasons listed above.

[Travelcat2]

We have not done this and don't have much interest, however, I had to do some research out of curiousity.

 

AMA -- looked at newest ship. 82% of cabins/staterooms have french balconies 170 sq. ft.) Only 3 Jr. Suites -- 225 sq. ft. Wine with dinner (champagne breakast). They have an elevator which "very few river cruise ships feature".

 

Tauck -- just picked a ship to look at. 118 guests. Gratuities included. "Most meals are included as specified in the itinerary". Buffet for breakfast and lunch. Wine at dinner. 45 Jr. suites and cabins at 150 - 183 sq. ft.. There is at least one 300 sq. ft. cabin.

 

Uniworld -- newest ship "River Beatrice". 80% french balconies. 160 passenger. Butler service -- free laundry. Standard cabin 150 sq. ft., 14 suites - 225 sq. ft., 1 Owners suite - 402 sq. ft. Wine and beer included at night.

 

Not sure how you compare this to a luxury ocean liner -- totally different experience. If I were to do a river cruise, I would compare the above -- check reviews, etc. At first glance, I liked the award-winning Uniworld.

[poss]

I'm happy to see this thread. Like OP, we've done some wonderful cruises on Regent, but we've also always been interested in doing a river cruise, especially the kind where there's plenty of time to get off and do excursions, a la Regent.

 

Thing I'd be most interested in hearing about is what the excursions are like. I assume there are bicycles available, e.g.?

 

Main sticking point for us: We need king bed; queen too narrow. I don't mind the smaller cabins at all-- but I wonder whether any of these boats have king beds. (Fun to be saying "boat" instead of "ship.")

 

Look forward to lots of input on this topic. Thanks.

[AtMaui]

I've done many cruises with Radisson/Regent as well as two cruises on Uniworld (Rhine and Danube), with a Douro River cruise with Uniworld booked for 7/10. River cruises are a totally different experience but, IMHO, wonderful. I love Regent but am also a fan of Uniworld. I can't comment on AMA, Avalon, Viking or any of the others, other than to say they looked nice when they were either tied up at the same dock or we had to walk thru them to get to the dock. Ships tie up side by side in some stops and you walk thru the lobbies of the various ships.

 

You will be in a different city/town/village every day with a tour included, plus some free time. You may have lunch or dinner off the ship at a castle, a palace, a farm, or any other type of place. We attended a wonderful concert in a palace in Vienna and had a great meal in a castle in Prague. There isn't a lot to do at night on a river cruise. We would usually get off and walk around the place we were docked or just sit on the upper deck and look at the scenery. On a couple of nights there might be local entertainment in the lounge. And there might be a piano player. I think it's worth a try!

[hondorner]

I've looked at several river cruises, mostly with Viking since we got on their mailing list somehow, and the one thing I have noticed is that many, if not most, of the bathrooms are "yacht style", meaning that that shower, toilet and sink are all in the same small, waterproof compartment. I don't mind that for a night or two. Our Class B RV has a similar bath arrangement. However, in the RV, I can walk over to the shower house at the RV park if I like, and that's a little difficult on a river boat.

 

I'm sure that some of the larger cabins mentioned in this thread do not suffer drom that limitation, but it's something to watch.

[seattlesloop]

Good topic of discussion.

I have river cruised with AMA, Uniworld and Tauck. I have ocean cruised with Regent and Crystal. AMA and Uniworld are third rate in several areas. Tauck runs circles around AMA and Uniworld. You do get what you pay for.

[Rickey 88]

I've looked at several river cruises, mostly with Viking since we got on their mailing list somehow, and the one thing I have noticed is that many, if not most, of the bathrooms are "yacht style", meaning that that shower, toilet and sink are all in the same small, waterproof compartment. I don't mind that for a night or two. Our Class B RV has a similar bath arrangement. However, in the RV, I can walk over to the shower house at the RV park if I like, and that's a little difficult on a river boat.

 

I'm sure that some of the larger cabins mentioned in this thread do not suffer drom that limitation, but it's something to watch.

 

After several river cruises on Uniworld, Viking and Peter Deilmann, I really don't believe one can really "compare" these to Oceania, Regent or other lines of the Luxury category. (Whatever "that" means)

Peter Deilmann has gone under, but the other two continue to operate and are excellent in their way. However, they sail "River" boats and rooms and even suites are small. Bathrooms are "efficient" - but that too means small. Usually there are no elevators to get from deck to deck. Service is usually excellent and dining is comparable to any good hotel, but as the ships are small, compromises have been made. Dining selections are no where as elaborate as a medium sized ocean liner and buffet service is often used at breakfast and lunch.

However, you are cruising on a river, and there's no better way to experience all the wonders of the towns and villages along the way. Shore excursions are good and each day, there's a new site to see.

(By the way, neither Germany or Austria seem to have a shower house in the RV Park.)

In other words, both cruise lines and river lines offer a good product - but there ARE differences and one needs to be aware of those and to make adjustments.

[Shawski]

I'm happy to get so many responses, although I was hoping everyone would have the same recommendation. Fat chance:D This is what my research has turned up so far for a Prague/Budapest Danube cruise.

 

Cabins:

Tauck's boats have 14 suites that are 300 square feet, comparable to Regent's cabins. However, Tauck's non suites are only 150 square feet. AMA has the largest non-suites at 170 square feet and their boats have only 4 suites at 225 square feet. Uniworld has several 225 square foot suites (with butler) and 150 square foot non suites.

 

Included

Tauck's includes everything -- all excursions, port fees and gratuities. AMA and Uniworld have those added to their prices. All three include wine with dinner and free bicycles.

 

Ships

All three lines have relatively new ships - launched in 2007 or later. As an earlier poster said, Tauck carries fewer passengers on the same size ships.

 

Prices

 

As expected, Tauck's are considerably more than the other two, even if you add the gratuities, etc. to the prices of Uniworld and AMA. For example, I calculated that Tauck's price per person per day for a suite is about $675, while Uniworld's is $475. I know that price certainly isn't everything, but that's a big difference.

 

 

 

Hope this is helpful to anyone else trying to make the same decision I'm making. Any other opinions to help me decide will certainly be appreciated.

[Ste. Michelle]

Good topic of discussion.

 

I have river cruised with AMA, Uniworld and Tauck. I have ocean cruised with Regent and Crystal. AMA and Uniworld are third rate in several areas. Tauck runs circles around AMA and Uniworld. You do get what you pay for.

 

 

 

We are booked on a Tauck land/river cruise next year. As Regent enthusiasts, we hope that we can have a similar (albeit "different") experience with Tauck. Thank you for your input.

[old grump]

When you compare the cruises, you really have to fine tune your spread sheet. On the 12 day cruises, some of the lines will have 2 night hotel stays on both the start and end of cruise with only breakfast included in the cruise price, as I posted earlier some lines include all excrusions, some don't, some lines include landing and port fees, some don't, some lines include all or part of the gratuities, some don't. When I did my spread sheet tauck was at the top of heap, price wise,but just barely. As the earlier poster said, " you get what you pay for".

[seattlesloop]

Tauck's fares may come out higher, but Tauck is well worth the difference, river or land trips. Our friends river cruised with us on Tauck, AMA and Uniworld. We unanimously agreed that Tauck came out the winner. Additionally, we concurred that we would never cruise AMA or Uniworld again.

 

Good move, Ste. Michelle. You're gonna love Tauck. There's a reason Tauck always comes out on top.

[newlondon]

I've cruised Regent, SS and Tauck. While the cruise experience is quite different the quality on all three is almost equal. If you want the quintessential river cruise I recommend Tauck's Amsterdam to Budapest, in that direction. The price when all is included in a standard cabin is not significantly higher. In addition the boats are siimilar in amenities to R&SS while the other lines don' quite match up.

[Ste. Michelle]

We've looked at Abercrombie and Kent, as well. Any thoughts on that? (My understanding is that Tauck uses A&K Boats.)

[newlondon]

Ste. Michelle, Tauck uses leased boats built especially for them. The owner is a Swiss company called Scylla. I have no knowledge of A&K river tours. Their land programs are top-notch.

[Shawski]

Tauck's fares may come out higher, but Tauck is well worth the difference, river or land trips. Our friends river cruised with us on Tauck, AMA and Uniworld. We unanimously agreed that Tauck came out the winner. Additionally, we concurred that we would never cruise AMA or Uniworld again.

 

Good move, Ste. Michelle. You're gonna love Tauck. There's a reason Tauck always comes out on top.

 

 

Seattlesloop,

 

Was there anything in particular about Uniworld that you didn't like, or was it just that Tauck was a great experience?

 

Still trying to decide,

Shawski

[Paolosmom]

We have cruised on Regent 10 times. By far the best river cruise line, and the one that compares with Regent is the Premicon Queen. Anything Tauck does is good, and yes the AMA is nice but nothing compares to the Premicon in food, service, and the ship itself.

Have a wonderful cruise; the experience is far different from ocean cruising

[seattlesloop]

Seattlesloop,

 

Was there anything in particular about Uniworld that you didn't like, or was it just that Tauck was a great experience?

 

Still trying to decide,

Shawski

 

Overall, Tauck is a superior product.

 

River cruising is different than ocean cruising. Both are pleasureable in different ways. Choose wisely.

 

Friends have spoken highly of Premicon. Hope to give it a try in the near future.

[Host Dan]

I have sailed with Tauck and Uniworld. The level of service etc. on Tauck is far superior to Uniworld. Tauck also attracts a more well traveled, well heeled passenger base. I would never consider another Uniworld cruise. (solely based on the passenger mix, service and ambiance)

 

Host Dan

[Shorex]

This subject has been discussed in depth on the River and Canal Cruises section of Special Interest Cruising. Here is a quote from one of my posts there:

 

"Ocean cruise lines sort themselves into categories of mass market, premium, and luxury -- with some fuzzy edges. It's not so clear with river cruise lines. However, there are several threads on this board about the high end river cruise lines (and also one on the Crystal board). Premicon Queen and Tauck are the most luxurious and most expensive."

[dg110270]

I'm looking at a Viking air, land, river cruise tour. It starts in Shanghai and the middle is a 4-5 day cruise on the Yangtze and ends in Beijing. What months would be the best chance of no rain and temps about 60F degree to 80F degree?

[easy dad]

We have cruised Uniworld and Amadeus (AMA). Both are great river cruise companies, and I'd say the river equivalent to Regent (three times). The dining room on Amadeus was much noiser than on Uniworld. Otherwise they were very much the same. Between the two, choose the best itinerary.

[petlover]

We were on AMA in December visiting the beautiful, magical Christmas markets. We spent 3 nights in Paris than got on the riverboat in Trier and cruised to Amsterdam. We were with a fun group of friends and enjoyed the trip.

 

If you choose AMA I would definitely recommend the 250 sq. ft. Jr. Suite. It felt so much more spacious than the standard cabin. We had a large bathroom with separate tub and shower, plenty of storage space, on par with the Voyager bathroom. We had a King bed (or 2 twins pushed together). The beds are the same in standard and Jr. Suite. The big difference is more floor space, more storage and counter area. There was a piano player/singer where we danced a few evenings but mostly we just had fun chatting with our friends at night. The crew went out of their way to make us feel welcome. Including wine with dinner was nice and the food was fine. The tours were a mixed bag. Some were excellent and some guides just talked and talked on the bus and were a bore. No reflection on AMA, I can say the same about tours anywhere in the world.

 

We didn't use the bikes (nor the pool deck) It was too cold but it would be fun in warmer weather. We have many nights on Regent ships and this was our first riverboat trip. It was nice (and different) always being able to see land. With the right group of friends and the right itinerary we'd definitely do it again (in the Jr. Suite). Trying to compare our riverboat experience with a Regent trip is like trying to compare apples and oranges....just two completely different experiences. Personally, I think 7 nights is just right for the riverboat...many more than that and I'd want more dining venues.