Thinking about river cruising

[beverlyjack]

Having dug out the prior trip report from 2007 on Grand Circle's China & the Yangtze River, I am going to expand it as a blog, adding photos. The blog will take a while to complete, but it will be up there as a work in process this evening. The URL is jackthetravelingman-china.blogspot.com

 

Jack

[ClassyGal]

So many wonderful commentaries about river cruising, I feel I can hardly add anything to the discussion. However, I will try by pointing out that the beauty of river cruising is it takes you into the heart of a country rather than only the coast, as ocean cruising does. In addition, since the boat usually docks right in the city, you have the option of going ashore on your own, strolling the city, visiting the sights, finding a special restaurant and acting like a local....my husband and I like this so much.

 

On board the atmosphere is definitely kicked back casual and a great opportunity to relax.The food is always good and many of the cruise lines include complimentary wine with dinner...another plus!

Viking has been mentioned several times...but don't overlook Avalon Waterways (part of the Globus Family), and AMA Waterways..the newest cruise line which, as the youngster in the group, seem to be trying harder. Both Avalon and AMA are outstanding lines and have some creative itineraries that include pre and post city visits.

We have cruised on Viking, Uniworld, Avalon and AMA in Europe, Russia and China. On the Volga River Cruise the Cruise Director gave me a wonderful birthday party with a special cake and champagne because we are long time passengers.....very nice! They all have an excellent product....trick is finding the itinerary you want. Our next cruise will be in August on the Viking Primadonna, (a catamaran), Bucharest to Budapest. Can't wait to visit the land of Count Dracula!

[RvrCrzr]

Now see, you did have something great to add. Nicely done as well! :)

 

So many wonderful commentaries about river cruising, I feel I can hardly add anything to the discussion. However, I will try by pointing out that the beauty of river cruising is it takes you into the heart of a country rather than only the coast, as ocean cruising does. In addition, since the boat usually docks right in the city, you have the option of going ashore on your own, strolling the city, visiting the sights, finding a special restaurant and acting like a local....my husband and I like this so much.

 

On board the atmosphere is definitely kicked back casual and a great opportunity to relax.The food is always good and many of the cruise lines include complimentary wine with dinner...another plus!

Viking has been mentioned several times...but don't overlook Avalon Waterways (part of the Globus Family), and AMA Waterways..the newest cruise line which, as the youngster in the group, seem to be trying harder. Both Avalon and AMA are outstanding lines and have some creative itineraries that include pre and post city visits.

We have cruised on Viking, Uniworld, Avalon and AMA in Europe, Russia and China. On the Volga River Cruise the Cruise Director gave me a wonderful birthday party with a special cake and champagne because we are long time passengers.....very nice! They all have an excellent product....trick is finding the itinerary you want. Our next cruise will be in August on the Viking Primadonna, (a catamaran), Bucharest to Budapest. Can't wait to visit the land of Count Dracula!

[Kohola]

As I don't know how to post to this thread I am just replying to "a message". We are considering a Viking River Cruise....never river cruised before....Beijing to Shanghai. Has anyone done this cruise? Any input about Viking or this specific cruise is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

If you're thinking about a Viking River Cruise itinerary for China I suggest you check out the Viking China Part 2 thread at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=30850222#post30850222 This links you to the start of the thread in Oct 2011 and some 37 pages later you'll be current.

[maddawg69]

Having dug out the prior trip report from 2007 on Grand Circle's China & the Yangtze River, I am going to expand it as a blog, adding photos. The blog will take a while to complete, but it will be up there as a work in process this evening. The URL is jackthetravelingman-china.blogspot.com

 

Jack

 

Please let us know when it is completed.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It was just picked one of the top 5 things to do by Cruise Critic...

[Sabdan]

Does anyone have experience or knowledge about European Waterways, especially the Scottish Highlander, a modified "luxery" barge on the Caledonian Canal?

[beverlyjack]

Thankyou,

 

Jacqui, Jennifer and Shane

 

Jack

[KCcruisin07]

Just chiming in to say: we loved our first river cruise. My husband was really skeptical about the difference with ocean cruises. For one thing he really likes to walk the decks at night and wasn't sure if he could do that. He did hike off on his own during the day and walked the decks a little at night. He now has a strong preference for river cruises.

I am trip planner in chief, and what I liked was that all the excursions were so well planned and coordinated, and I didn't have to do research about the towns we would see or about transportation to and from the port. All of that was done by the AMA Cruise Director, and most of the expenses were covered. The individual tour guides in each port did a great job of showing us around, and it was such a great review of world history.

Also as ClassyGal mentioned river cruising does get you inland to places you can't visit on a sea cruise.

We're spending a lot of time on family events currently, but when there is a lull we plan to be back, probably doing both, but there are a couple of river cruises at the top of my list.

[RvrCrzr]

Well said KC,

The only time you cannot walk the upper deck is when passing a low bridge or during a couple of lock transits. It's not usually closed very long though.

 

Just chiming in to say: we loved our first river cruise. My husband was really skeptical about the difference with ocean cruises. For one thing he really likes to walk the decks at night and wasn't sure if he could do that. He did hike off on his own during the day and walked the decks a little at night. He now has a strong preference for river cruises.

I am trip planner in chief, and what I liked was that all the excursions were so well planned and coordinated, and I didn't have to do research about the towns we would see or about transportation to and from the port. All of that was done by the AMA Cruise Director, and most of the expenses were covered. The individual tour guides in each port did a great job of showing us around, and it was such a great review of world history.

Also as ClassyGal mentioned river cruising does get you inland to places you can't visit on a sea cruise.

We're spending a lot of time on family events currently, but when there is a lull we plan to be back, probably doing both, but there are a couple of river cruises at the top of my list.

[newlondon]

Sabdan, We did the Caledonian canal on Lord of the Glens not a barge but a cruise boat specially designed for the canal and then further cruising in the Inner Hebrides. We can't give a high enough review to this trip; it was over the top! The boat was outstanding, the food excellent and of course Scotland is the best--our 10th trip. We did not visit any new site but had a wonderful journey down memory lane. Be aware we went on a cruise sponsored by Ace Cutural Cruises a Brit outfit so we as Americans were way in the minority, not a problem for us; but it was a slightly stuffy crowd, except for a guy I met who was a rabid Aston Villa supporter, we had a lot of fun.

To repeat, can't recommend it more highly. BTW I do recommend going for the top end cabins. On a boat this size they are all small but the extra space and better bathroom makes a difference.

[newlondon]

Sabdan, Ace doesn't do this tour any longer but the home company's itinerary is basically what we did. Let me say the dollar was a lot weaker 3 years ago and you would be getting a great deal!

[K922]

HI

 

My parents are looking at taking a river cruise next year down the Rhine. They had a few questions. At dinner can you wear jeans or do you need to wear at least khakis? How are the excursions can you pick different ones or is everyone going on all the same. I think they are looking between Viking and Avalon.

Thanks for any help I can get for them.

Karen