River Cruise vs Windstar vs Seabourn

[acruisefan]

I posted this on the Windstar site, but thought I'd post here as well, since today, I am more intrigued with the river cruise option.

 

I'm looking at taking a Europe cruise in late Sept/early Oct timeframe. We have been on Windstar twice and really loved it. I'm not thrilled with the cruise options for the Windstar fleet in this timeframe. I would love the 'Islands of Spain' cruise, but it is not offered until Nov - a little beyond our timeframe. The 'Glitz & Glam Riviera' cruise does not appeal. Maybe the cruise that includes Croatia and Dubrovnik, but DH is not so keen on it. We went to Istanbul/Athens last year with Windstar, so not interested in that again, although it was wonderful!

 

I'm also looking at Seabourn that has a cruise option or two that I like although it's a lot more expensive and I am not thrilled with the dress up nights. I have done big cruises before where we had the dress up nights, but have gotten used to Windstar's casual elegance...and friendliness.

 

A River Cruise on Viking or Uniworld is also a possibility, but I'm not finding itineraries that I love during that time although a Paris to Prague trip on Viking is a possibility. Maybe a Danube cruise? I am a little worried about the feeling of being in a big group, exploring each stop... I often prefer an independent type of excursion and when not cruising do not take escorted tours in Europe, just opt for a day tour when I want it for a specific site.

 

Any thoughts on these options?

[honumaui]

We have been on Windstar but not in Europe...Love Windstar in the Carib. & Costa Rica....Did u know that Windstar has purchased Seabourn's 3 smaller ships ..Anyway..depending on what you are looking for...try Avalon & some of the other river boat lines too...We have been on both Viking & Avalon and are going again on Avalon next year...If you like to visit lots of different European towns i believe nothing beats a river boat cruise..You always dock near an interesting place...Easy to walk to main sites..usually only around 150 psgs. Time to explore on your own too...Do you know what countries you want to go to?

[Ozjohnno]

If you're looking for a little luxury, an all-inclusive cruise including all alcohol in 2014 and a maximum of only 118 passengers may I suggest you have a look at the Tauck web site. We sailed with them from Amsterdam to Budapest in Sept 2011 and I don't think another line will sway us away from Tauck for our next river cruise. They also offer small ship sailings that have received very good reviews.

[twoboys]

We were on the Seabourn Quest a couple of summers ago. I think it was one of their first outings. It was magnificent! There were a few different dining options so you dont have to get all dressed up if you do not want to. The service was impeccable, the gym was really nice, the food amazing, the drinks and wine fantastic, and the cabin was luxurious. We were going to go on another Seabourn this summer, but we are trying out Uniworld for the Douro River. We have never been to Portugal, so that was one of our deciding factors. I hope we love Uniworld as much. we will probably go on another Seabourn cruise again in the near future

[caviargal]

I posted this on the Windstar site, but thought I'd post here as well, since today, I am more intrigued with the river cruise option.

 

A River Cruise on Viking or Uniworld is also a possibility, but I'm not finding itineraries that I love during that time although a Paris to Prague trip on Viking is a possibility. Maybe a Danube cruise? I am a little worried about the feeling of being in a big group, exploring each stop... I often prefer an independent type of excursion and when not cruising do not take escorted tours in Europe, just opt for a day tour when I want it for a specific site.

 

Any thoughts on these options?

 

Windstar is on my to do list and I have never done Seabourn.

 

My comment is that we are also independent travelers and it is very easy to opt of scheduled and included tours. We choose DIY at least 75% of the time when on a river cruise. We look for itineraries with extended times in port and overnight stays as we like to be out and about as much as possible.

 

We also travel independently to Europe often and when we book a river cruise, we add our own pre and post stays depending on our interests. That gives us a nice mix and we do not need to be escorted as we are very comfortable using public transport and traveling on our own within Europe.

 

We learned early on that we do not care for day time cruising as we are active travelers and not interested in simply enjoying the view for hours at at a time. We are definitely in the younger range of river cruises so also look for active excursion options, good entertainment and a younger onboard vibe and demographic. We found that AMA suits us very well and they are our go to line for river cruising.

[alexandra cruiser]

have done BOTH and no comparison. But that said LOVE BOTH,just DIFFERENT.You will not be happy with river cruises if you expect the luxury and all the perks of SB.Have Not been on Windstar,but have taken all the river lines ,ex.Scenic(which I ll try next June),Agree with Caviargirl,love AMA the best SO FAR.

But check out all the websites,reviews,TA advice,etc.then TRY one river cruise with itinerary,ship,date,etc.you want.If you like it can do more(go for 7 day with day or so in ea.departure,arrival city).

Just be aware of differences ahead of time.;)

[acruisefan]

Thanks for all of your comments, lots more food for thought! I need to keep thinking about this, I think they are all good options, just different. I will look at Avalon and AMA cruises as well and am still considering the Windstar Adriatic cruise.

Caviargal- it sounds like we have a similar vacation style - I really like independent exploration although sometimes I will book a ship excursion as well, but do not typically use a tour group for land travel. I like to do a lot of research, develop my own itinerary, stay in apartments if feasible. Israel was the exception - only way I could get DH to go and in retrospect, it was the best way for us to explore that country for the first time. I do love cruises though, and we have been on 5 big ship cruises and now 2 Windstars and we love the small ship experience. Which is why I was branching out to look at River Cruises, Seabourn and other lines.

[Talisker92]

Dear Cruisefan,

You are looking at apples, oranges and grapes. Seabourn is a high end classic cruise line. Windstar is a more laid back informal line featuring their sailing ships.

A river cruise is more informal and very destination oriented.

There are a number of companies offering river cruises, from Tauck at the top, down through AMA, Vantage, and IMO Viking at the bottom.

[caviargal]

Caviargal- it sounds like we have a similar vacation style - I really like independent exploration although sometimes I will book a ship excursion as well, but do not typically use a tour group for land travel. I like to do a lot of research, develop my own itinerary, stay in apartments if feasible. Israel was the exception - only way I could get DH to go and in retrospect, it was the best way for us to explore that country for the first time. I do love cruises though, and we have been on 5 big ship cruises and now 2 Windstars and we love the small ship experience. Which is why I was branching out to look at River Cruises, Seabourn and other lines.

 

We also enjoy renting serviced apartments or boutique hotels and I research and plan our trips. It is something I enjoy and I am good at it, which helps.:)

 

We have enjoyed wonderful adventures in Europe using their excellent train system and that is really our first choice for travel. River cruises are our choice when traveling with extended family or groups of friends. I am always the one that does all the work for those trips as well and river cruising is a really nice way to spend some time together. On those trips, I also plan our pre and post visits and travel.

 

We prefer to invest in private guides in cities of particular interest so we can learn more about what we are interested in rather than what a tour guide thinks we should be interested in.

 

I research restaurants as well as points of interests and am busy now working on our Oceania Med cruise this fall. Oceania is the largest ship I will now travel on. I hate the crowds, lines, nickel and diming and lack of quality on the mass market lines. For us, independent travel, a river cruise (our favorites are themed cruises, focused on wine) and the occasional small ship cruise keep us happy.

 

Good luck with your research.:)

[jafslg1]

Don't discount Dubrovnik or Hvar. The Windstar agenda which also included Malta was spectacular.

However, after 70 some "sea-type" cruises, we did the AMA Budapest to Prague river cruise. We'd rate it #2 to our Windstar Greek Isle venture.

We researched river cruises for 2 years before settling on AMA. Would highly recommend.

[whatnot]

I agree! The ports in Croatia are outstanding. I would certainly not rule them out. I did them on Sea Dream but I have also done Windstar in Costa Rica so I am sure Windstar would do a great job in Croatia!