new to River Cruises

[xrayvin]

Hello

 

I have spent several months (on and off) looking at river cruising. I am surprised at how little information I can actually find. Is there a way to understand the "flow" of how river cruising works?

 

I am currently following the live from Bordeaux, which is helping ALOT! But I think I need a River Cruising 101 class. The rates include tours, but if you want to explore on your own I assume you can. Is there a set time schedule you are "in port" I have noticed you might be somewhere and then leave during the day, sail a while and then you are somewhere new during the same day. How does this work for exploring? Is there set times for dining? Are all meals, that are included, onboard or do they sometime have a meal that is part of a tour? I am sure I have more questions, but this gives you an idea I know NOTHING about river cruising and I am looking for any information.

 

My sister and I want to do a "wine exploring" trip for her 40th birthday (I will be 46 at that time) We have thought about a land tour, in Italy, but we really do not want to drive plus it would be the first time we would be in Europe....it is OVERWHELMING! I know we can not explore Tuscany on a river cruise, but is there a river cruise that someone would suggest?

 

The idea of exploring vineyards, shops, beautiful scenery, and local markets during the day and then relaxing with a bottle of wine on a warm night appeals to us. Am I looking at the right kind of vacation?

 

I don't know if it matters or not but we have cruised several times on Ocean cruises.

 

Thanks again for any and all help!

[Talisker92]

May I suggest Vantage's Culinary French Waterways, which sails up the Rhone River through Beaujolais, Burgundy and Provence.

We took this cruise a year or so ago and loved it! We bought a bunch of local French wine at a market to enjoy on the ship.

There are only 2 departures-Oct 23 and Nov 1.

There is also a French Waterways cruise that hits the same cities that has many more departure dates. Check their website and see if either of these meets your needs.

The story and pictures are on our website. We are always happy to answer questions.

[Ozjohnno]

This is always a tough question to answer because there are so many facets to consider when choosing a cruise. May I suggest you have a look at this cruise and perhaps start your adventure of finding the cruise for you.....

 

http://www.tauck.com.au/tours/europe-tours/france-tour/rhone-river-cruise-rof-2015.aspx

 

Have fun with your research.

 

Rod

[FuelScience]

Is there a set time schedule you are "in port" I have noticed you might be somewhere and then leave during the day, sail a while and then you are somewhere new during the same day.

There are typically very clear schedules for port visits. ON cruises we have taken, one is usually free to take the included tour (typically walking for a smaller town and bus tour for a big city like Vienna, Amsterdam, Budapest, Paris, etc.) or to strike out on one's own. Just make sure that you get back to the ship before the stated departure time.

 

At other times you might get off the ship at a small town and the ship would leave immediately. After the tour or time on your own, you would board a bus and catch up with the ship downstream (or upstream).

 

Is there set times for dining?

Yes. One seating, although there are usually early and late options from breakfast, although the selection is limited. All meals are open seating, and some new ships have outdoor casual dining or other options.

 

Are all meals, that are included, onboard or do they sometime have a meal that is part of a tour?

Usually meals are onboard, but occasionally a you may eat on shore--ex. an excursion that involves a significant bus ride might stretch over lunch, and you would either be given cash or arrangement would be made with a local restaurant.

 

Hope this is helpful. These are just my experiences. Your mileage may vary!

 

FuelScience

[Got2Cruise]

Yes, it is very overwhelming, so many rivers, so many itineraries.:) All of the cruise lines have special sailings that offer special excursions to wineries. I would visit each website and look specifically for these tours. Usually offered in the shoulder season, not in the peak season.

 

Some cruise lines are "all inclusive", including all excursions. Others, offer "included tours", which are in most cases in the a.m.; and in the p.m. you are free to explore on your own or take an optional excursion which you pay extra for.

Of course, you get what you pay for, the the "all inclusive" river cruise lines fare reflects that.

[purduemom1]

Xrayvin, I know how you feel! We have booked our first river cruise for later this year. It happens to be an AMA Waterways In Exploration of Wine" themed cruise. Their web site will give you more info if you are interested. Unfortunately, I doubt there will be any warm nights during these cruises as they are in November.

 

We started looking at river cruises a few years ago after attending a travel show where one of the companies did a presentation. Since then we have gone to several travel shows and listened to the presentations of other companies. Then we would ask questions of the rep that was at the show. We would pick up their lovely brochures (actually more like books) and one company sends us a smaller brochure a few times a week. Reading the posts here on CC has been a big help. Little by little we learned. At first it seems overwhelming but if you keep reading and learning, it becomes easier. Of course, nothing will be as good a learning experience as actually taking the cruise. There are many people on this board who have and are eager to help. I'm willing to bet that some of them will post in reply to your post and their experiences will help you figure out in which direction you would like to go.

 

Good luck!

[nana541]

Go online and order brochures from various River Cruise companies. I found it very helpful to look at similar cruises offerings side by side and it was just easier than trying to do it online!

 

Those brochures are big and glossy with gorgeous pictures. So much fun to look at....

 

Have fun researching!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited May 15, 2014 by nana541

[aquilegia]

The included tours always have some free time; sometimes they are coach tours, at other ports they are just walking tours. I only have experience of Viking, but they would often have one group for people who wanted to do less walking or avoid steps etc. But you are under no obligation to go on any of the tours, you can just get off the ship and wander around. One advantage of river tours is that the small vessels can often dock right in the city centre, so that makes exploring very easy.

 

Meals are set times but open seating on most lines, although on some of the cheaper ones they aren't. They do not normally do tables for two in the main dining room, which I know is important for some people. Some of the newer vessels have a buffet option as well. Wine and beer are often included with main meals and you can bring wine onboard from any of the stops, without corkage fees (on Viking anyway). If you are looking for a cruise through wine growing regions, I would think the Rhine or Rhone would be good, also Portugal if you like port wine.

[alexandra cruiser]

Try this link.http://www.cruisecritic.com/river.

They SHOULD have this above under Sticky or ANNouncements,but have asked several times and still not done.

Good overview and helps newbies.

Everyone has their favorite,choose whats right for YOU.Then if not perfect.TRY ANOTHER.;)

[seabreezer]

Have you considered a canal boat in a French wine region? That's on my bucket list so I haven't experienced it yet but perhaps there are other posters here who have done it and can comment. The impression I get is that the accommodations on board are comparable to a nice B&B and the food can be quite good. I would think it could be easy to hire local guides to take you wine tasting along the route. I also think it would be more quiet and relaxing which may or may not be a good thing, depending upon what you're looking for.

[dingy]

I am also new to River Cruises and just starting research for a Spring 2015 Europe adventure. I need to find out the basics before I can even begin to ask relevant questions. But one comes to mind that would help. Ocean cruises have a "luxury" classification. Oceanana, Crystal, etc. Does the River cruise industry have a similar classification and ,if they do, which lines would fall into that group? Thank you.

[nana541]

I am also new to River Cruises and just starting research for a Spring 2015 Europe adventure. I need to find out the basics before I can even begin to ask relevant questions. But one comes to mind that would help. Ocean cruises have a "luxury" classification. Oceanana, Crystal, etc. Does the River cruise industry have a similar classification and ,if they do, which lines would fall into that group? Thank you.

 

 

Everyone has a different measurement for luxury. But from all I have read on CC and I suggest you just start reading thru this board, the amount of info you will receive should give you a great understanding of River cruising which is soooo different from ocean cruising.

 

Go online and order up the current brochures from the majors players and after reading this board maybe even some of the newers players.

 

All (or most)seem to agree that Tauck is the top And considered Lux by many. They are truly All Inclusive so don't pass out when you see the pricing!

 

Majors players seem to be:

AMA - Avalon - Uniworld - Scenic - Viking

These seem to be the ones most often mentioned on CC but there are some others and ones new to the North American market.

 

Good luck with your research, now go order a bunch of brochures and start comparing pricing (what it incl) ships and itineraries. Pay attn to passenger count on ships and cabin sizes....

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[xrayvin]

Thank you everyone!! Your replies will help as a pick away at the mystery of river cruising!

 

I have never heard of canal boat through the French wine country. Something I will look into more.

 

I was looking at AMA and noticed all wine sailings were in November, not the time of year we were hoping to go, but I really liked the idea of the wine intensive itinerary!

 

I have LOTS of time to explore and research and appreciate all the ideas.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nana541]

Thank you everyone!! Your replies will help as a pick away at the mystery of river cruising!

 

I have never heard of canal boat through the French wine country. Something I will look into more.

 

I was looking at AMA and noticed all wine sailings were in November, not the time of year we were hoping to go, but I really liked the idea of the wine intensive itinerary!

 

I have LOTS of time to explore and research and appreciate all the ideas.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

I think the name of the Barge company is "French Country Waterways"... I had a brochure a couple years ago and it looking very good.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[xrayvin]

That looks amazing!!! Thanks for the link.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk