Europe river cruises

[Jay79]

Am interested in taking a European river cruise this august. Would like recommendations on cruise lines, ships and specific cruises. Thanks

[npphotog]

We have been on 4 river cruises and 2 land tours with Vantage World Travel and have been well pleased. Big thing you have to check is the schedule for a few travel companies. Check where they go and the cost. Some offer lower prices but they have many optional tours you have to pay for. Vantage includes many tours. Npphotog

[Shmoo here]

Also, be aware river cruises tend to book up early. It's possible that there may not be many openings this close to cruising.

 

Not impossible, but limited choices.

[CaroleSS]

Not sure why, but our cruise through Germany in July still has 9 cabins available!

[pacmom]

It is very difficult to recommend a line when one does not know your likes and dislikes. We first pick an itinerary sometimes more than a year in advance. Then scope out the lines offering the trip, look at the included items. e.g. bikes, winr and beer with lunch and dinner, number of pax on board and how many ships sailing at that particular time. When we started river cruising 14 years ago it was easy to find the ship and cabin desired.

 

To us it is also important to figure out the daily cost--lines will say for example $100 per person per day, then add port costs, gratuities and optional trips. They all have a daily tour included--usually very good to excellent.

 

Some lines Grand Circle and Vantage are for US citizens only. Grand Circle still has day beds. Think all the other lines have hotel style beds. Some have Cruise directors and program managers, other only cruise directors and local guides. Some have regional food and wine, others don't.

 

As previously mentioned, you might be hard pressed to find a trip for this Aug. That's where a good TA is helpful. Good luck finding the perfect trip for you.., but take care river cruising can be very addicting--number 20 for us is in Dec. Pat

[cole]

Am interested in taking a European river cruise this august. Would like recommendations on cruise lines, ships and specific cruises. Thanks

 

We have been on 4 and our new favorite is the Douro. Just returned from traveling with Uniworld the second time and have loved their customer service and "all inclusive" fare. Second favorite is the Rhine. Everyone will have their own favorite rivers and companies. I am sure that no matter what you choose you will love it, but as someone mentioned - booking this late might limit your options, so don't wait much longer! ;)

Cole

[H2Otstr]

Sign up with a travel agent or the cruise lines directly to get last minute deals or specials.

[id est]

Also, be aware river cruises tend to book up early. It's possible that there may not be many openings this close to cruising.

 

Not impossible, but limited choices.

They tend to, but there is always something available. We booked our recent Elbe cruise only 2 months before it. Same with "Tulips and windmills": only 1 month before the cruise and exactly the cabin we wanted.

[cruiserfromalabama]

We booked our river cruise for August in late December. I was talking to my travel agent about my final payment due in mid June and she said that a lot of cruise companies start seeing cancellations really close to when final payments are due. Our final payment has to be paid 60 days out and I am not sure when other companies have to be paid in full, but you probably could get on a wait list and hope someone cancels. She told me that usually there are chances that a person on a wait list can get on a river cruise this way. I hope you find a river cruise that you can get on!

[Checkmate1955]

I have been reading the river cruise forums and am finding that some cruisers have been unhappy with different things on river cruises... One is that the ship they were on docked away from the town... The company implies that they dock right in town near shops and cafes... Is that true?

 

Some of the posters have indicated that the meals and servings at meal time are not up to the standards that again is indicated by the cruise companies... How did you find the food service on your river cruises?

 

Thanks... Richard

[Host Jazzbeau]

I have been reading the river cruise forums and am finding that some cruisers have been unhappy with different things on river cruises... One is that the ship they were on docked away from the town... The company implies that they dock right in town near shops and cafes... Is that true?

 

Some of the posters have indicated that the meals and servings at meal time are not up to the standards that again is indicated by the cruise companies... How did you find the food service on your river cruises?

 

Thanks... Richard

 

The smaller the town the more likely you will be docked close to the center. Strasbourg you are docked far away. If it's not an easy walk, they will arrange buses.

 

We found the food and wine on AMA to be excellent. The number of choices is smaller than on an ocean cruise, but we felt the quality was equal or better. AMA has wine and beer included at lunch and dinner only (plus sparkling wine for mimosas at breakfast). Some high-end lines now include unlimited wine and beer (and even spirits) in the lounge as well.

[alexandra cruiser]

Can CC put the river cruise info for above posters on a sticky or somewhere easy to access.So many ask similar questions about WHICH cruise and if they had a central spot to check them out it would be helpful.

Have seen this before but not sure how to direct them there ?:confused:

[Dem920]

We are going on arosa Bella on The Danube in August. So excited. We did a ton of research before picking river and cities and then ship. There are 5 of us going. And from my research it fit what we wanted and the TA we were working with got everything included including our drinks on the ship. It is a German cruise line so will probably be mostly foreigners but that is part of the adventure for us. We have guides planned in most of our ports. The cruise line includes a walking tour at most stops but I want an English speaking guide and want to see certain things so we got our own. Our flights are booked, we are going in to Munich a few days early and will take a day trip to Dacchau. Can't wait to try this new form of cruising for us.

 

 

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[Checkmate1955]

Thanks for the replies.... I have been reading as much as possible and am wondering is there a daily time schedule posted somewhere that will indicate how much time you spend in each port and how much time is spent cruising... i.e. ... are you docked at 8 a.m. each morning and do you remain in that port until 8 p.m., etc.... ?

[alexandra cruiser]

It varies with ea.port.You can get some idea from itinerary in brochure or website,but always depends on so many things.Cant count on certain times,due to weather,locks,ship traffic,etc.

Therefore, I never book a guide or tour that requires me to pay up front.Have missed entire ports and then had no luck collecting for missed tours.

[cbb]

jay79....notice this is your 1st post!! Welcome to cc. On the upper right hand side of the page right underneath the blue bar that says "cruise forum: river cruising" is a pale yellow tab that says "search this forum"

 

click on it and type in what you'd like to know and you'll hopefully get some more info. Your topic is a popular one and there have been several threads.

It is also a good way to find info on particular cruise line, port, etc.

 

Good luck researching!

[cbb]

Re: time in port. For most of our cruises we've been in port most of the day; that said, there are times when we haven't arrived in port when itinerary says we should have.

 

One time was because of trouble with the locks which was quickly fixed but put us behind schedule a little, and another time it was heavy river traffic and we simply had to wait our turn.

 

River cruising is a gentle, lovely way of traveling but is not quite as punctual as a bus tour is--literally go with the flow!!

[Checkmate1955]

Thanks to all who replied.

[4774Papa]

For cruise lines, there are many good choices. I suggest that you carefully compare prices per day for what is offered.

 

We have done two with Vantage and one with AMA. Vantage will almost always beat the Viking prices.

 

AMA is usually a bit more expensive, but excellent.

 

For location, the main river cruises are in central Europe and include Germany with some Danube cruises including Austria, Hungary and the Balkans. Other cruises include Netherlands.

 

We are planning a Douro river cruise in Northern Portugal, which should not be ignored, as well as France, with its excellent cruises on the Rhone and Seine.

 

You might go for the Rhone (Southern France) for the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel as first choices.