New to river cruising... need lots of help!

[cayugashue]

My husband and I are experienced cruisers to the Caribbean on mass market lines. We are looking to book our first European river cruise with 2 other couples in 2016. As we are river cruise "virgins", we will contact a travel agent, but would appreciate some feedback/tips from experienced travelers.

 

- what itineraries would you recommend for first timers?

 

- what time of the year would be best weather wise?

 

- tips/tricks?

 

Any and all feedback is most appreciated!

[Hoyaheel]

There's a helpful thread stuck at the top of this forum called "New to River Cruising? Start Here" that could be helpful!

 

There's no "best" answer for your questions, really, just what might work best for your desires and priorities....

[Hydrokitty]

My husband and I are experienced cruisers to the Caribbean on mass market lines. We are looking to book our first European river cruise with 2 other couples in 2016. As we are river cruise "virgins", we will contact a travel agent, but would appreciate some feedback/tips from experienced travelers.

 

- what itineraries would you recommend for first timers?

 

- what time of the year would be best weather wise?

 

- tips/tricks?

 

Any and all feedback is most appreciated!

 

I would also check out Vantage...they do not use travel agents...but I've done many trips with them. If you can be away for 2 weeks Castles on the Rhine is a wonderful initiation. Most run from Amsterdam to Budapest (or reverse) and there are many variations between and within companies. We did it in late August...wonderful. weather fewer crowds...once you've decided where you want to go we'll get into what to bring, etc.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Hydrokitty

[cayugashue]

Wonderful suggestions, thanks so much!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Most lines have a 7-day cruise from Amsterdam to Basel that is often recommended as a great introduction to river cruising. It includes the super-scenic Rhine Castles stretch in Germany and then goes into Alsace and Switzerland [so 4 countries in one week, without the "If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium" treadmill].

[CPT Trips]

If the cruise line you choose offers discounts for cruisers referred by one of their past cruisers, check out the "REFERRALS" stickies at the top of the River Cruising page . . .

 

Grand Circle Cruise Line is another line that sells direct and doesn't book through travel agents.

 

We typically travel off season - less popular, so less expensive and attractions less crowded. If you choose to do this, verify your must sees are open - some or seasonal.

[cayugashue]

Most lines have a 7-day cruise from Amsterdam to Basel that is often recommended as a great introduction to river cruising. It includes the super-scenic Rhine Castles stretch in Germany and then goes into Alsace and Switzerland [so 4 countries in one week, without the "If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium" treadmill].

 

Thank you! Looks amazing!

[Talisker92]

I recommend a 2 week cruise as if you are going to fly to Europe, you might as well be there for 2 weeks.

Below is the story of our cruise with Vantage.

http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/europe2010.pdf

We are always happy to answer questions

[Blondebomb]

I recommend a 2 week cruise as if you are going to fly to Europe, you might as well be there for 2 weeks.

 

While I know you weren't actually comparing the two types of cruises, this is just a tip to think about

 

We also have done many ocean cruises.(18). Last Aug. took our first one week river cruise. Nuremburg to Budapest. We loved it. But we did a week of land touring in Germany before we hopped on the river boat.

Since we hadn't been to any of the stops on our river cruise, we of course got off and walked or took tours.

One of our most enjoyable days was an afternoon sitting on our balcony/and top deck of boat and just relaxing as the boat moved down the river. We passed by castles high on the hill sides and the beautiful countrysides.

 

We leave for a 10 day ocean cruise this week. 2 Sail days before and 2 sail days after the 4 port days. My husband said in a way he wished they had sail days on the river cruise to just relax and soak up the scenery. ( yes, I know you can stay on the boat but for the $$)

Plus the boat is docked and not moving.

 

Enjoy your river cruise, it is wonderful.

 

Susan from Indiana

Edited December 30, 2014 by Blondebomb

[Blondebomb]

I recommend a 2 week cruise as if you are going to fly to Europe, you might as well be there for 2 weeks.

 

While I know you weren't actually comparing the two types of cruises, this is just a tip to think about.

 

We also have done many ocean cruises.(18). Last Aug. took our first one week river cruise. Nuremburg to Budapest. We loved it. But we did a week of land touring in Germany before we hopped on the river boat.

Since we hadn't been to any of the stop on our river cruise we of course got off and walked or took tours.

One of our most enjoyable days was an afternoon sitting on our balcony/and top deck of boat and just relaxing the boat moved down the river. We passed by castles up on the hill sides and beautiful countrysides.

 

We leave for a 10 day ocean cruise this week. 2 Sail days before and 2 sail days after the 4 port days. My husband said in a way he wished they had sail days on the river cruise to just relax and soak up the scenery. ( yes, I know you can stay on the boat but for the $$)

Plus the boat is docked and not moving.

 

Enjoy your river cruise, it is wonderful.

 

Susan from Indiana

[nordski]

I'm certain that Vantage and Grand Circle, as mentioned above, offer a wonderful experience, but if you are not living in the USA both are difficult to access.

 

I agree about the attraction of spending more than 7 days in Europe given the challenges of flying; therefore, I would support the notion of spending extra time in nearbye cities or the embarking or debarking ports.

 

For example, most cruise lines offer extensions to Prague on Danube itineraries, and it's an amazing city. Obviously, you can organize an extension more cheaply on your own.

 

Personally, I would not begin with a cruise longer than 7-10 days given the cost and the very different nature of river cruising compared to the ocean experience.

[cayugashue]

Thank you all, for your valuable feedback! Lot's of good information!

[cbb]

I am going to disagree with the posters who encourage you to go with lines that do not use TAs.

 

In my opinion, you want a TA. They do not cost you anything and they can be a great consumer advocate. I think you always want an independent rep who will be there for YOU not for the cruise company.

 

There are many TAs out there who specialize in river cruising and can guide you.

 

I also suggest, depending on which itinerary you choose, that you sail either in May or in Sept/Oct since those little villages won't be bursting with tourists who travel June-Aug. (If you want to see Giverny at peak flowering, November is probably not a good choice!!!)

 

Many of the cruise lines have put multiple ships on the same river so that it

can become crowded both in town and at the port especially during the summer. "Rafting" (multiple ships tied up to each other so that one walks through those ships to reach the gangplank) happens!! Keep those curtains pulled river/side!!!!

 

I suggest you and your friends sit down and decide what you really want to see. Paris? Lyon & the Provence? DDay beaches, castles, Budapest? Porto? Monet, Van Gogh?

 

It is a great way to travel but very unlike "big ship" cruising on the ocean.

Have fun researching!!!

Edited December 30, 2014 by cbb

[CPT Trips]

Dealing directly with a travel company/cruise line hasn't been a problem for us. The air department of the company we use was there for passengers who booked air through the cruise line flying when a Lufthansa pilots strike messed up return flights home. Nothing the passengers needed to do. I can't imagine having to deal with Lufthansa myself or needing to make phone calls back and forth to my TA. Much better to just get handed an envelop containing your new flight info after dinner the last night.

[Got2Cruise]

Another option for a first river cruise -- Paris/Normandy. There are interesting activities at each stop, and each are very different. Extra days in Paris are wonderful. You can also think about taking the Eurostar to London to extend your trip. This was our first river cruise and we loved it! We also took the Romantic Rhine which was also very lovely.

 

Make sure Monet's gardens in Giverny are open during the dates you select when booking your cruise if you choose the Paris/Normandy itinerary.

[rogerdawhip]

I have been lucky enough to have traveled on eleven river cruises since 2001.

 

My favorite itinerary was Paris to Normandy. The scenery is great and the villages visited cannot be topped (IMO).

 

My favorite time of year is June/July. It is a little more crowded this time of year but I enjoy the sun not setting until after 9 PM. This allows sitting on the sun deck to watch the sun set and/or walking around the town/village nearby if docked overnight.

[Hydrokitty]

Dealing directly with a travel company/cruise line hasn't been a problem for us. The air department of the company we use was there for passengers who booked air through the cruise line flying when a Lufthansa pilots strike messed up return flights home. Nothing the passengers needed to do. I can't imagine having to deal with Lufthansa myself or needing to make phone calls back and forth to my TA. Much better to just get handed an envelop containing your new flight info after dinner the last night.

 

I agree with you completely, CPT! We were coming home from Russia when LH had a cabin attendant "strike"....our flight from St. Petersburg to Frankfort was 4 hours late and before we landed in Frankfurt we were advised that everyone who missed their connection to USA was already rebooked for the morning flight next day, hotel reservations and transportation was arranged and meal vouchers printed. Also, pp isn't 100% correct in stating that travel agents are YOUR advocate. TA's are paid a commission by the airline, hotel, tour company, they book you on, therefore they most certainly do have a vested interest in who you travel with and will try to steer you to the company that pays them the most commission. Nothing wrong with that, it's just something to be taken into consideration. I find in dealing one on one with Vantage I get answers to every question immediately AND my preferences for travel (specifically LH) are always taken into consideration and 99% of the time honored.

[cbb]

I'm glad you all have never had a problem cruising rivers. May that always be true.

[cbb]

BTW, my TA NEVER tells me who to fly/sail/travel with. I tell him/her.

[Hydrokitty]

BTW, my TA NEVER tells me who to fly/sail/travel with. I tell him/her.

 

OK so that was my problem. TA insisted only airline, hotel and rental car could get was the one she booked and she screwed up royally. It was my first and last time using a TA. As I've said, I have control issues and it works best for me to make all the arrangements and then if things go wrong I have only myself to blame and I can handle that! As you said: I'm glad you never had a problem (with a travel agent) may that always be true for you as well.

[Got2Cruise]

BTW, my TA NEVER tells me who to fly/sail/travel with. I tell him/her.

 

 

I only use a large Internet based travel agency so I can get cash discounts or prepaid gratuities.

[cbb]

"I only use a large Internet based travel agency so I can get cash discounts or prepaid gratuities."

 

Same with us. TA is always generous with the gratuities and the cost of the cruise has never been brochure price. We don't need a lot of hand holding just really good service and a large online company works for us.

 

BTW, when I said I hope you all never have a problem cruising, look back at some of the stories that were on here about river flooding and what the cruise companies did or did not do for their passengers.

 

Of course, travel companies accept commissions; that is how they stay in business, but the one I use does not favor a particular cruise line--that would limit their customer base.

[Hydrokitty]

"I only use a large Internet based travel agency so I can get cash discounts or prepaid gratuities."

 

BTW, when I said I hope you all never have a problem cruising, look back at some of the stories that were on here about river flooding and what the cruise companies did or did not do for their passengers.

 

I'm very familiar with all the horror stories about the river levels and lock failures and strikes turning vacations into nightmares. Many of them involve Viking and they use TAs. In the travel agents defense though, what are they supposed to do when the river floods or the lock breaks? The cruise company is the one in charge and it's their corporate office that determines what gets done and what, if any, compensation gets paid. As for using a large Internet based travel agency to book a trip that costs thousands of dollars: if I couldn't deal directly with Vantage, I might use a travel agent with a permanent office in my local area but I would be really hesitant about turning over that amount of money to an internet agency where you have no proof they even exist, unless they came highly recommended by someone I knew and trusted. But that's just me and like I said I have control issues

[CPT Trips]

Do airlines commission TAs?

 

How well do the big internet TAs respond when there is an airline snafu . . . strike or natural disaster that affects your flights?

 

We have experienced travel problems on river cruises. Airline issues were resolved for us by the river cruise company. Rebooked, and printed all documents for us, when there was a strike that grounded Lufthansa. No work at all on our part. And the hotel director made calls to our pick up person informing them of the change in arrival time.

[Got2Cruise]

Do airlines commission TAs?

 

 

 

How well do the big internet TAs respond when there is an airline snafu . . . strike or natural disaster that affects your flights?

 

 

 

We have experienced travel problems on river cruises. Airline issues were resolved for us by the river cruise company. Rebooked, and printed all documents for us, when there was a strike that grounded Lufthansa. No work at all on our part. And the hotel director made calls to our pick up person informing them of the change in arrival time.

 

 

I always book my airline arrangements separately from the cruise. You were fortunate that your airline problem was straightened out. If you read the cruise air board you will find nightmare stories of those who used the cruise line to make arrangements. For example if you get to the airport and find that your flight is cancelled due to mechanical difficulties, cruise air passengers are considered "group" fare passengers and are the lowest on the hierarchy to be assisted. There are other things to be aware of also which can be learned by reading the large sticky on the cruise air board