$500/day per couple! Am I too cheap for a river cruise?

[Bohemiana]

I've been to Europe many times on my own, without a tour. We just took our first ocean cruise on Celebrity to Alaska in August. That cruise cost us $314/day per couple in peak season. I've been researching river cruises for October 2012 to travel with my husband and my parents. The least expensive quality operator is Grand Circle for $478/day per couple ($100 referral discount, pay-in-cash earlybird special, no airfare). For that particular GCT in France only 7 of 11 nights are on the boat.

 

I've also looked into Viking (2-for-1 special, $100 referral discount, no airfare) $489/day per couple; and Vantage which is more expensive than the other two. Gate 1 is slightly less expensive than GCT and I used them for a package in Thailand but I haven't read good things about their river cruises.

 

My mom would really like to go one a river cruise, which is why I'm researching this. Am I missing something about how great these river cruises are? I felt that are Celebrity Alaska cruise was a great value for the money. I just can't see the value in these river cruises. Or, can I find a better deal than I was quoted by the companies directly?

[Coral]

River cruises are more expensive. They (depending on the line) often include wine/soda/beer with meals and more importantly - most tours are included in the cost.

 

If you look at typical cruise line excursions (Celebrity, Princess, etc..) in Europe, they can be $100-$200 per person for a whole day of touring.

 

Only you can answer is it worth it and it does vary on the destination. For example, some river boat stops are only for a few hours and just include a walking tour that you can do on your own. Others, can include hotel stays at top hotels. Lots of variables here so it is difficult to give you an accurate answer if it is worth it or not based on variables.

[honumaui]

Also keep in mind that river cruises are usually only around 150 passangers......not 2000-3000 ! in my opinion they are worth the extra cost.

[zogrand]

I realize that if you cruise the big cruise ships but do most of your sightseeing independently and don't spend any money on the ship, you can get away with cheaper travel. BUT even independent travel costs money - are you including that cost? Don't forget, big cruise ships don't go on the rivers. Most river cruises include all your sightseeing as well as cultural opportunities. We've traveled with Vantage and sometimes they are more expensive but usually include more excursions as well as home hosted meals and tastings of local items. Some river cruises also include wine with meals. So, you're not exactly comparing apples to apples. You really need to compare exactly what is included. Be cautious of 2 for 1 specials. There is often discussion on these threads about these specials and how much they really save. Some of these companies won't deal with travel agents and you must deal with them directly so you won't find a better price elsewhere. River cruising is a different experience and wonderful in it's own unique way.

[franski]

Bohemiana -

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!!

 

Zogrand is correct when he/she states that it is a different experience.

 

If your mother wants to do a river cruise, then I doubt you will be able to find something cheaper that you could substitute for the experience. If you feel that the costs are a bit steep - then you can look for ways to contain the costs.

 

For example, book lowest category cabin. Be aware that all cabins are not created equal - so look at square footage and bed configuration if cabin space, hotel style beds and/or window size is an issue for you.

 

Look for a company that includes transfers, if you don't book all inclusive.

 

Look for a cruise where all nights are on the boat --> so you won't have extra meals to pay for (extra nights before and after often include breakfast, but you are on your own for lunch and dinner...)

 

Look for a cruise that starts and ends in a major city - your flights may be cheaper that way.

 

Look for a cruise that includes all of your "must see" items. For example - if you really want to see Monet's garden in Giverny, there are a number of cruises that include it.

 

Our 1st cruise was Alaska with Princess --> and while we loved the experience, we did not feel we "used" all of the boat. We didn't like being 2 of 2000 guests - and basically met no-one on board.

 

We have done 4 river cruises so far --> the 5th booked next year - and we love the entire experience. Yes, it is more expensive - at first glance - than big ship cruises, but we feel that the experience is worth the difference in cost. And, when you add up all of the "extras" on a big ship cruise (ie: a glass of wine with dinner, included excursions with tour guides) and add them the cost of the basic cruise - the cost difference isn't always significant.

 

If there is something in particular your Mom wants to see - or a town that she wants to visit - then that is a good place to start. There are lots of people here that can offer opinions on choice of line, or itinerary.

 

Good luck!!

 

Fran

[Coral]

I meant to add about the tours included - they often are full day tours, they can include cultural experiences (ballets, musicals, museums, etc...) along with your normal city tours.

 

Also, while on the ship - they often do cultural experiences that you won't find on a cruise ship. For example, on my Russian River cruise - we had a Professor who did daily lectures on several aspects of Russia, we had Russian language lessons, we had Vodka tasting and cooking demos, etc.... Definitely different than "shopping lectures".

 

They are totally different beasts.....

 

Grand Circle and Vantage must be booked directly. AMA, Viking, Avalon, Tauck can be booked via travel agents. I haven't kept up with this but it is was possible some of those lines allowed agents to discount (not sure how true this still is).

[Yggdrasil98]

I consider that good value for a River Cruise. :) I will be doing 2 more shortly, and only do small ship cruising so had to "bite the bullet" and accept that to get that small ship I need to pay for it. I've never regretted it. In fact, I have paid a lot more, especially with a single supp.

 

Enjoy!

[Bohemiana]

I think we were lucky on our Celebrity Alaska cruise because we had daily lectures about wildlife & nature, which was one of the best parts of the cruise for us. I will have to examine the tours more carefully because they looked mostly to be guided 1/2 day walking tours in town, which I would only value at $75/head. I didn't see anything about dinners in peoples' home or things like that. Yes, you are right about the wine at dinner being included but we aren't big drinkers so I don't value that too much. Personally, I didn't really notice being only 4 out of 2000 on our cruise--the service was great.

 

By the way, those prices I quoted in my original post were for the lowest standard of room. We could stay at Relais & Chateaux properties in France at half board for the same or less than the cost of a river cruise so I will be expecting a lot. This would be by far our most expensive vacation ever by a long shot. (My husband and I spent 5 months going around the world last year for $15k, although I admit that was on a fairly tight budget other than using points to stay in 20 nights of 4-star hotels here and there.)

[Ozjohnno]

My Business Accountant wife opened my eyes when she did our cruise selection spreadsheet. May I suggest:

 

1. Select the itinerary that you really want.

2. Look at ALL the river cruise lines that sail to that itinerary.

3. Break the cruise line down into things like how many passengers, Price, cabin size, amenities, what is included in the overall price, transfers, cost of optional tours, expected gratuities etc.

4. Work out your cost per day.

 

We did this and as I've said many times on this board we were surprised that although the starting prices were very different when you added in the "extras" the costs tend to level out.

 

In the end we opted for an "all inclusive" tour with Tauck not really knowing what that really meant but we found that with Tauck all inclusive meant exactly that. If you preferred not to have a pre-dinner drink then your end of cruise bill was zero. No surprises - what we paid upfront provided us with everything on the holiday. On a per person, per diem basis they were cheaper than two of their main rivals, around the same price as two others with only one being cheaper.

[shoshona2]

Hi Ozjohnn,

 

It sure was great getting off our Tauck river cruise and only paying 7 Euro for something I bought in the gift shop. I'm so glad you enjoyed your river cruise. We just booked a Bucharest to Budapest one for summer 2012. At least with Tauck, you have no extras unless you have drinks at the bar. They even include pickup and dropoff at the airport whichever day you arrive and depart.

 

Sheila

[Bohemiana]

Ozjohnno, that's a good idea to have a spreadsheet for each cruiseline. I'll also have to compare it to independent travel of the same 4/5-star quality doing as many activities. I have already noticed that even when you use some of the online quote systems, you have to add a bunch of port taxes, gratuities, etc. that adds up from the price they hook you with on the first page of their websites. I will check into Tauck. We know we want to travel in France so it is fairly limited.

[Coral]

I think we were lucky on our Celebrity Alaska cruise because we had daily lectures about wildlife & nature, which was one of the best parts of the cruise for us.

 

Alaska cruises are unique in this (IMO). Caribbean cruises often don't have these lectures. I have had some great naturalists on my sailings in Alaska and other times I have had mediocre ones.

[LHT28]

I think we were lucky on our Celebrity Alaska cruise because we had daily lectures about wildlife & nature, which was one of the best parts of the cruise for us. I will have to examine the tours more carefully because they looked mostly to be guided 1/2 day walking tours in town, which I would only value at $75/head. I didn't see anything about dinners in peoples' home or things like that. Yes, you are right about the wine at dinner being included but we aren't big drinkers so I don't value that too much. Personally, I didn't really notice being only 4 out of 2000 on our cruise--the service was great.

 

By the way, those prices I quoted in my original post were for the lowest standard of room. We could stay at Relais & Chateaux properties in France at half board for the same or less than the cost of a river cruise so I will be expecting a lot. This would be by far our most expensive vacation ever by a long shot. (My husband and I spent 5 months going around the world last year for $15k, although I admit that was on a fairly tight budget other than using points to stay in 20 nights of 4-star hotels here and there.)

 

You could always rent a car & tour the area staying at the hotels of your choice or do a bus tour some people love that option

 

 

The river cruises are more expensive for whatever reason doing a spread sheet may find a few exceptions but most come in around the same price point

So it it is something you want to do you have to pay the price ;)

[franski]

 

By the way, those prices I quoted in my original post were for the lowest standard of room. We could stay at Relais & Chateaux properties in France at half board for the same or less than the cost of a river cruise so I will be expecting a lot. This would be by far our most expensive vacation ever by a long shot. (My husband and I spent 5 months going around the world last year for $15k, although I admit that was on a fairly tight budget other than using points to stay in 20 nights of 4-star hotels here and there.)

 

It would appear that you are really don't want to do a river cruise - although you are pricing them out for your Mother. If the price is such a turn off (and it appears that it is...) then maybe your Mother could do the river cruise, and you and DH can do sightseeing on land - and spend time with your Mom before and/or after the cruise.

 

River cruising is a very different experience - and many on this board do not mind paying for the experience. It is no different, imho, than buying a car. There are a number of cars available from the same manufacturer --> some people will pay for the Porsche, and others would sooner have the Jetta. No right or wrong --> just preference.

 

I would be surprised if you could find a cruise that you would enjoy enough to be able to look past the cost. Again, it is all about choice - and what you are willing to pay for the experience. Your Mom wants the experience - but it doesn't appear to be a choice you really want to make for yourself. It does appear that you are comfortable travelling in Europe on your own - so you should be able to arrange something for youself and for your Mother --> even if you aren't together the entire time.

[4774Papa]

I've been to Europe many times on my own, without a tour. We just took our first ocean cruise on Celebrity to Alaska in August. That cruise cost us $314/day per couple in peak season. I've been researching river cruises for October 2012 to travel with my husband and my parents. The least expensive quality operator is Grand Circle for $478/day per couple ($100 referral discount, pay-in-cash earlybird special, no airfare). For that particular GCT in France only 7 of 11 nights are on the boat.

 

I've also looked into Viking (2-for-1 special, $100 referral discount, no airfare) $489/day per couple; and Vantage which is more expensive than the other two. Gate 1 is slightly less expensive than GCT and I used them for a package in Thailand but I haven't read good things about their river cruises.

 

My mom would really like to go one a river cruise, which is why I'm researching this. Am I missing something about how great these river cruises are? I felt that are Celebrity Alaska cruise was a great value for the money. I just can't see the value in these river cruises. Or, can I find a better deal than I was quoted by the companies directly?

We did Vantage's Russian River cruise, as well as the pre and post extensions to Kiev and the Baltics. The base Russian portion of the trip was 14 days, with seven on the riverboat. Vantage provides top hotels near the city center in both Moscow and St. Pete. Vantage was the only tour company that offered the hotels rather than staying on the boat the entire 14 days (avoiding the heavy traffic commuting from the river port).

Our tour of 24 days cost about $ 300 per day and worth every penny. We loved the trip. That cost included airfare.

We are going to China next August and the cost is cheaper per day. Everyone we know that has done Vantage China raves about how good it was. Vantage takes care of you.

[QQRZZA]

I've been to Europe many times on my own, without a tour. We just took our first ocean cruise on Celebrity to Alaska in August. That cruise cost us $314/day per couple in peak season. I've been researching river cruises for October 2012 to travel with my husband and my parents. The least expensive quality operator is Grand Circle for $478/day per couple ($100 referral discount, pay-in-cash earlybird special, no airfare). For that particular GCT in France only 7 of 11 nights are on the boat.

 

I've also looked into Viking (2-for-1 special, $100 referral discount, no airfare) $489/day per couple; and Vantage which is more expensive than the other two. Gate 1 is slightly less expensive than GCT and I used them for a package in Thailand but I haven't read good things about their river cruises.

 

My mom would really like to go one a river cruise, which is why I'm researching this. Am I missing something about how great these river cruises are? I felt that are Celebrity Alaska cruise was a great value for the money. I just can't see the value in these river cruises. Or, can I find a better deal than I was quoted by the companies directly?

 

 

Bottom line, river cruising is expensive, and IMHO an overpriced product. Don't forget to add the cost of tipping the entire staff, as well as paying a daily "tip" fee toward the cruise director's salary.

[Ozjohnno]

Bottom line, river cruising is expensive, and IMHO an overpriced product. Don't forget to add the cost of tipping the entire staff, as well as paying a daily "tip" fee toward the cruise director's salary.

 

NOT if you travel with Tauck ... they have an "all inclusive" price that truly is all inclusive. I've tried many forms of travel and I found that river cruising with the right company is the best and most value for money way to see Europe.

[cb222]

It depends on what you like to do in new towns.

 

River cruising is great for short guided tour days and not having to do any prep on thedetails of the towns.

 

Visiting towns on your own requires lots more prior prep, but you get to know each town more intimately.

 

Hubby prefers the former; I prefer the latter.

 

cb

[franski]

DH and I like the fact that we only unpack once.

 

We did a cruise tour with Princess in Alaska... and although it was great to see some of the state north of Anchorage, we didn't like the frequent packing and unpacking as we moved from hotel to hotel. Much easier once we got on the boat.

 

Once on the boat, however, we realized that we did not use all of the boat. We don't gamble, and the shows were OK --> but not a huge draw for us. I don't want to dress up for dinner - so the formal nights were a turn off. I hated the fact that I had to pay for a specialty coffee - and even one glass of wine with dinner costs extra. And - we didn't enjoy the large crowds.

 

I don't mind paying gratuities - but I resent having them added automatically to my bill at the end of the cruise. With river cruising (if they aren't all inclusive, as with Tauck or Scenic) you tip what you want at the end. So - you tip according to the service you felt you received.

 

Again - not a vacation choice for everyone. But - it would be a boring world if we all liked the same things. I would sooner pay a bit more for this type of holiday than pay a "bargain price" for a holiday in the sun... jmho here...

 

Fran

[EmsMom]

We took an AMA cruise from Budapest to Bucharest in August 2010. We were supposed to be on the April 2010 cruise but the Iceland volcano prevented us from going. Thankfully, we had trip insurance so we were able to rebook...the best part was that when we rebooked, the new trip was $1000 cheaper than the original trip. The costs vary by season and also by popularity so you might want to check various dates and cruise lines for specials. As far as the cruise itself, we found it a little too slow for our taste. There was nothing wrong with the excursions but there were usually at least 20-30 people per group which was too many for us. When we travel abroad we usually either tour on our own or hire a private guide. The river cruise we took would have been more difficult to do on our own as several of the cities required a bus trip to the destination. As mentioned in another post, choosing a river cruise is a matter of taste and preference. Many people love river cruising and feel it's worth the extra expense. Personally, I would rather do a luxury cruise like Seabourne or Oceania if we are going to cruise or do an independent land tour. I think if you are used to traveling independently, you might find the group excursions on the river cruise a little too slow. I'm glad we tried the river cruise as now we know what it's like....I don't think we could have ever known what it was like without trying it but I doubt we will do another one.

[Redtravel]

River cruises and ocean cruises are very different. You will pay more for the riverboat. Ocean cruises can be a lot cheaper. Riverboat cruises are tour inclusive. If you like the slow pace on the river and want to see the places that are on the river, it is a pleasant way to travel. Riverboats attract older people with money. Many are well educated, well traveled people who are looking for a different place to go. It is rare to see kids or young couples on the riverboats. I like both riverboats and ocean cruises. If saving money is an issue, do not take a riverboat cruise. They are expensive.