new to river cruising

[Kylie84]

My husband and I are new to river cruising, and are interested in doing a cruise in Germany in fall of 2011 but I am not sure what cruise line would be best for us.

 

We are interested in a cruise line that has good food, and one where you don't have to do the guided excursions. We would prefer to explore on our own.

 

We are young but are very relaxed and not too concerned with being entertained while on the boat. Give us each a good book and a glass of wine and we are happy.

 

Any advice on which line might be best for us?

[npphotog]

First I would tell you that whatever line you choose you will have a great time. But be very careful in picking travel companies. Make sure you look at each itinerary for each company. Some seem low but hit you with side optional tours where others offer those tours included. All I am sure are very good. I have traveled with only one so I cannot

speak about others. If you read some of the posts here you will be able to get an idea on the differences. Also check out where each one stops and how long they allow in each port. Keep in mind that you will not get the "bog" shows you would get on a large liner. They bring on local talent (usually quite good) at some of the stops. There are a lot of folks on this message board with good information - all very helpful. Willard

[H2Otstr]

Also you need to decide if you want only Americans on your boat, or whether you want a mix of passengers from different countries. We have traveled on 5 different lines, only Grand Circle catered to Americans only.

[diane.in.ny]

I have sailed with Uniworld and Viking. Both include shore excursions in the cost of the trip.

 

As said previously, read about each line carefully to find ones that don't include the excursions.

 

I do want to share with you though, that my husband and I typically like to explore on our own also. For our recent river cruise I had printed out walking tours for some of the cities we visited. I was very pleased that the ship excursions covered the highlights of all of those walking tours, with, of course, added and helpful commentary.

 

Which left us time to shop. :D

[Been There, Planning That]

H2Ostr,

 

For lines that cater to Europeans and Americans, what is the language of the tours? While we could manage in French or basic Spanish, there are many other languages with which we couldn't cope.

 

Do they have one guide using multiple languages? I find that on such tours you only get a bit of information as the guide must speed on to the next language. Or do they send out groups by language?

 

Thanks in advance for any help,

 

Ruth

[Kylie84]

Also you need to decide if you want only Americans on your boat, or whether you want a mix of passengers from different countries. We have traveled on 5 different lines, only Grand Circle catered to Americans only.

 

I would prefer a line that does not cater only to Americans. If I wanted to only meet Americans, I would stay home:-P

[Kylie84]

I have sailed with Uniworld and Viking. Both include shore excursions in the cost of the trip.

 

As said previously, read about each line carefully to find ones that don't include the excursions.

 

I do want to share with you though, that my husband and I typically like to explore on our own also. For our recent river cruise I had printed out walking tours for some of the cities we visited. I was very pleased that the ship excursions covered the highlights of all of those walking tours, with, of course, added and helpful commentary.

 

Which left us time to shop. :D

 

Thanks to your link to the blog post. Very helpful.

[letsgo39]

We cruised on Avalon and met many people from other English speaking countries. The official language on board is English and there is no translations to other languages. We met people from Canada,Great Britian,Australia and New Zealand.We had a great time and leave in 2 days for our next Avalon River cruise in Southern France.I also really enjoy meeting people from other countries.

[Been There, Planning That]

Thanks letsgo39 for your response. I assume that non English speakers had to fend for themselves.

 

When we've travelled independently my husband has taken those 'speaking Spanish/Italian/German for tourists' classes. In 10 weeks he masters a few basics at least in the romantic languages. I don't have his facility with languages and so prefer English tours where I can really learn. But can loosely follow dinner conversations in another language.

[H2Otstr]

Ruth, English is the only spoken language. The largest mix of Americans andtravelers from other countries was on our trip to Portugal. There was one couple who didn't speak English, but they were traveling with another couple who did, so the translations were done by their traveling companions.

[Been There, Planning That]

Interesting, H2ostr how English dominates even in Europe. English certainly was the language on both our Nile and China river cruises, but the boats we were on catered to English speakers.

 

We're really getting excited as we explore options for a European river cruise.

[Been There, Planning That]

Interesting, H2ostr how English dominates even in Europe. English certainly was the language on both our Nile and China river cruises, but the boats we were on catered to English speakers.

 

We're really getting excited as we explore options for a European river cruise.

[MVPinBoynton]

I would prefer a line that does not cater only to Americans. If I wanted to only meet Americans, I would stay home:-P

 

On our last year's AMA Danube cruise, there were a large number of non-USA people. Most were from Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore and Australia; but English was the official language for the ship. You will meet many people from all over the world on a cruise irregardless of the spoken language.