What is the"Crystal" of the river cruise world? The "Oceania" ? the "Celebrity" the

[stipmom]

'NCL" Am doing river cruise research for a Danube cruise Interested in making sure I see Vienna , Prague and Budapest. . I have had alot of experience with standard cruise ships but no nothing about river cruising. Have seen AMA waterways, Avalon, Vantage, Uniworld and Tauck mentioned but have no idea how they compare in price and quality. Any other suggestions please add them to the list.Please help! Thanks

[caviargal]

I have only done one river cruise but lots of ocean cruising. I would say Avalon is the equivalent of Celebrity or HAL and after seeing a Tauck ship while we were in port, it was definitely closer to a Crystal. Wow!

 

This is an interesting thread and I look forward to reading the responses of those with more river cruising experience.

[Lair Bear]

'NCL" Am doing river cruise research for a Danube cruise Interested in making sure I see Vienna , Prague and Budapest.

 

The title of this thread is interesting. Are you looking for a good river cruise or comparing apples and oranges?

Mentioning Oceania is like comparing a tugboat with a river cruise ship. Meaning that our experience with the crew of the Regatta, for example, and their dining room service and boarding procedures were absolutely horrendous.

If you want to see the three cities you mentioned you could consider Viking with their three day extension to Prague before going to Budapest, etc.

[shoshona2]

We also have been on Crystal! When you look at river cruising, get all the brochures and compare them with all the perks that are offered. Everyone says that Tauck is too expensive, but when you add in all the extras the other river boat lines charge, you can see for yourself. Tauck is all inclusive -- pickup at airport and return to airport, all tips, all tours, and wine at dinner. We are looking forward to our Rhine/Moselle river cruise with Tauck in July. Go to their website and view their video.

 

Sheila

[Coral]

I have done Crystal and then AMA (Amadeus) and I did not think Amadeus was of the same quality as Crystal. I would guess Tauck would be of equal quality.

[ddschur]

Tauck is the Crystal by any and all measures!

 

Oh, when on our Tauck Tour from BUD to AMS last Fall, all happy hour drinks were complimentary...don't know if they still do that or not but it sure was nice!!!

[Meg]

Hi,

Although we have never sailed a Tauck river cruise, I imagine that they are wonderful. We are loyal Crystal passengers and also love Oceania and have extensively sailed on HAL. We just got home from our second river cruise with Uniworld. I am being completely honest with you in telling you that if I tried to find something wrong with our entire trip, I couldn't. It was absolutely wonderful from the booking process all the way till the day we disembarked. We were on the Tulips and Windmills cruise. Over 60% of the passengers were repeaters (which says alot) and of the people we talked to who had never been on a river cruise before, all couldn't wait to do it again. I think if we ever try another line, for us it would most likely be Tauck, but my satisfaction with Uniworld is so great right now, why switch? Hope this helps!

[Nippy Sweetie]

Tauck is the Crystal by any and all measures!

 

Oh, when on our Tauck Tour from BUD to AMS last Fall, all happy hour drinks were complimentary...don't know if they still do that or not but it sure was nice!!!

 

Wow! A very happy hour!

[mugeda]

What is the snob level on Tauck, I suspect it is much than higher other lines.

[caviargal]

What is the snob level on Tauck, I suspect it is much than higher other lines.

 

 

Quite judgemental, aren't you?:cool:

 

I would love to experience Tauck one day and the last thing I would be concerned about is "snob level", whatever that means.

[ddschur]

Quite judgemental, aren't you?:cool:

 

I would love to experience Tauck one day and the last thing I would be concerned about is "snob level", whatever that means.

 

 

I agree with you caviargal, the one's who are concerned with things like "snob level" are extremely judgmental...who's the snob here? LOL

[Mickie]

'NCL" Am doing river cruise research for a Danube cruise Interested in making sure I see Vienna , Prague and Budapest. . I have had alot of experience with standard cruise ships but no nothing about river cruising. Have seen AMA waterways, Avalon, Vantage, Uniworld and Tauck mentioned but have no idea how they compare in price and quality. Any other suggestions please add them to the list.Please help! Thanks

 

We traveled two years ago to Vienna, Prague and Budapest and did part of it on land and 7 days on a Uniworld river cruise. It was done through Insight, who are considered a "high end" tour company. Although we were not entirely thrilled with being on a bus for part of the time (about 7 days), the Uniworld ship experience for the final 7 days was wonderful.

 

mb

[Shawski]

'NCL" Am doing river cruise research for a Danube cruise Interested in making sure I see Vienna , Prague and Budapest. . I have had alot of experience with standard cruise ships but no nothing about river cruising. Have seen AMA waterways, Avalon, Vantage, Uniworld and Tauck mentioned but have no idea how they compare in price and quality. Any other suggestions please add them to the list.Please help! Thanks

 

Last year, I was doing the same research you are doing now. I had done ocean cruises on Regent and was looking for a comparable experience for a river cruise. I started a thread on the Regent board and had a lot of responses. Here is the link if you are interested:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1067765&highlight=

 

(I've never try to use a link before. If that doesn't work, do an advanced search on the Regent board with "river" in the title.)

 

 

The consensus seemed to be that Tauck was the Regent of the river cruise lines. We ended up booking AMA because we could get a suite for the price of a regular cabin on Tauck and also because the Tauck itinerary did not include a stop at the Melk Abbey which I have always wanted to see. Our cruise is in five weeks, and I hope to post a review when we return.

 

Shawski

[MVPinBoynton]

Last year, I was doing the same research you are doing now. I had done ocean cruises on Regent and was looking for a comparable experience for a river cruise. I started a thread on the Regent board and had a lot of responses. Here is the link if you are interested:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1067765&highlight=

 

(I've never try to use a link before. If that doesn't work, do an advanced search on the Regent board with "river" in the title.)

 

 

The consensus seemed to be that Tauck was the Regent of the river cruise lines. We ended up booking AMA because we could get a suite for the price of a regular cabin on Tauck and also because the Tauck itinerary did not include a stop at the Melk Abbey which I have always wanted to see. Our cruise is in five weeks, and I hope to post a review when we return.

 

Shawski

 

You made the right choice. The Melk Abbey is amazing. There are so many gorgeous churches on a Danube cruise. I hope you like AMA, we loved it.

[Margate Cruiser]

And we just came off of Uniworld. And we gave it very high marks. Taulk is very good but you have to take the land sea package. No river boat will compare with Seabourn Crystal or Regent. But Uniworld n my opinion had the best service over an above AMA./ Don't even consider Viking. The people I found on the river cruies very educated and the age group on the whole 60 and over. Very few under 60. River cruising is at a very slow pace.

[pacmom]

stipmom,

No river boat is ever going to be like an ocean liner. It is like comparing apples and oranges. Most of us research the itinerary, the time of year you can go, and the cost. Some put one of the three first. We have cruised with 5 river cruise companies, using those 3 criteria. There are three lines considered to be more luxorious: Scenic, Premicon Queen and Tauck. The luxury lines are Uniworld,AMAwaterways and Avalon. Mass market appeal are GCT, Vantage and Viking. Many will travel with only one line, no matter what. I have probably forgotten to mention someone's favorite line. We have 2 more cruises booked for this year bringing our total to 15. Also will add a new line Amadeus--booked because it is an Alumni cruise. Pat

[shoshona2]

Hi Pat,

 

So where and when are you going on the alumni river cruise?????

 

Sheila

[pacmom]

Sheila,

We are going from Budapest to Passau and then on to Omberammagu (sp). We leave on the 9th of June and return on the 20th. It is a cruise with Alumni of Villanova. We are both Alums. The only new port will be Bratislava. We awill be on the Amadeus Symphony, so no included tours. Should be a fun time. Pat

[Toranut97]

We have cruised HAL and Oceania, and enjoyed both. We especially liked Oceania. We have taken 5 Vantage river cruises but - and this is important -- we always took the President's River Cruise. This ups the ante considerably, as wine is then included along with a number of other special features, including a President's Gala event on each cruise. Cannot say enough good about Vantage personnel and attention to detail!

[yorkiemomjn]

The title of this thread is interesting. Are you looking for a good river cruise or comparing apples and oranges?

Mentioning Oceania is like comparing a tugboat with a river cruise ship. Meaning that our experience with the crew of the Regatta, for example, and their dining room service and boarding procedures were absolutely horrendous.

If you want to see the three cities you mentioned you could consider Viking with their three day extension to Prague before going to Budapest, etc.

 

This thread got my attention because we have never taken a river cruise and it is high on our To Do list. However, I just have to comment about this post about Oceania.

 

 

We took our first Oceania cruise on the Regatta this past April and we loved everything about it! We loved the food, the service, the beds, the strict nonsmoking policy, the country club casual dress code and atmosphere, the friendliness of the staff, and we had absolutely no boarding problems!

[shoshona2]

Hi Pat,

 

I know you will have a good time. Yesterday, we booked AMA's newest ship for Russia for September 8, 2011. Hope the rebuild goes well.

 

Sheila

[stipmom]

Thnaks pacmom for putting the lines in categories. Now I know where to start looking.

[newlondon]

Hi Stipmom, My DW and I have done a lot of cruising, so I feel qualified to respond to your inquiry. On the oceans we will not cruise Crystal because it is not all inclusive, nor do we like their dining policy. We have cruised on both Siverseas and Regent-- we prefer the formality of SS--but both are outstanding.

We have only done one river cruise and it was on Tauck. We chose it specifically because it was as close as possible to what we enjoy on the larger ships. The all inclusive policy does not actually tell all. Tauck adds extras at no more money and they are surprises in smaller stops or planned spectaculars in places like Vienna. I suggest you go to the Tauck website and look at their preview of River Cruising. This was filmed on our cruise and I am interviewed; this, however, has nothing to do with my enthusiasm. As has been previously mentioned, Tauck is slightly more expensive on an all inclusive basis, but so is Crystal.

If you want the best for your itinerary I would choose Tauck.

As you surf this thread, or these boards, you will see that every one has favorites. That's ok, but I would tell you that I looked at many other boats as we cruised the Rhine and Danube and none compared to the upscale experience of Tauck. If you want to do your itinerary as luxury go with Tauck.

I would point out that at an even higher level is the PREMICON QUEEN. Unfortunately their cruises IMO are too short and would not take you to your points of interest. For high price point river cruising go with Tauck.

[Lair Bear]

This thread got my attention because we have never taken a river cruise and it is high on our To Do list. However, I just have to comment about this post about Oceania.

 

 

We took our first Oceania cruise on the Regatta this past April and we loved everything about it! We loved the food, the service, the beds, the strict nonsmoking policy, the country club casual dress code and atmosphere, the friendliness of the staff, and we had absolutely no boarding problems!

 

This goes to show you that different folks have different strokes.

 

Perhaps it was a bad two weeks for the crew, but I have never been told by a dining room staff person: 'You are taking too long, I need to clear the table'. This was a young lady who was from Rumania. She glared at us as if we were dirt. We were having desert and a nice conversation (six of us), but it stopped us in our tracks. I made mention of this to the dining room host, who smiled and just shrugged his shoulders.

 

Similar treatments happened a few more times, but the worst was the unruly behaviour during the disembarcation in St. Petersburg. We were a 'private party' and were absolutely refused to leave the ship until the ship's tours had left. That meant a delay of more than one hour while our host was waiting at the dock. The fault was with 'Passport Control' we were told afterwards. But then I found that others had just walked off the ship with no problems.

 

You want me to go on with my complaints about the ship and crew (such as the strange layout on top deck that you have to reserve with big bucks in order to look forward)? Please don't.

[emckeeve]

Margate - why did you say "don't consider Viking? We are Tauck loyalists, but they don't do the southern France itinerary so we booked with Viking.