Newbie Questions

[SuzCruise]

My husband and I are thinking of a trip around Germany and the possibility of including a river cruise as part of our vacation. We have done several ocean cruises and enjoy them for a laid back way to travel. We are not organized excursion fans and prefer to explore on our own. I'm a bit confused but it seems that most of the lines I have researched include what would be called a pre and/or post cruise tour as part of the cruise. Can I book the cruise alone? Do we have to do the excursions in each port, or can we strike out on our own as we do on ocean cruises?

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

[LoneStarCruisinCouple]

My husband and I are thinking of a trip around Germany and the possibility of including a river cruise as part of our vacation. We have done several ocean cruises and enjoy them for a laid back way to travel. We are not organized excursion fans and prefer to explore on our own. I'm a bit confused but it seems that most of the lines I have researched include what would be called a pre and/or post cruise tour as part of the cruise. Can I book the cruise alone? Do we have to do the excursions in each port, or can we strike out on our own as we do on ocean cruises?

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Howdy there SuzCruise,

looks to be that you are a fellow Texan. We are Lisa and Gary LoneStarCruisinCouple from Sugar Land.

To answer your question yes you can strike out on your own as most but not all European River Cruise lines offer a GPS system that will guide you if you chose to go out and do your own thing so to speak.

We are sailing with Scenic Tours doing the Jewels of Europe 15 days from Amsterdam to Budapest. We have three days Prior in Amsterdam and three Days Post in Budapest.

We set forth out of Houston on August the 29.

 

Hoping this may be of some help to you.

 

Warmest Wishes

Lisa and Gary

[hiccups]

Pre- and post-cruise extensions are just that. It's not necessary to book them along with the cruise.

[Hydrokitty]

My husband and I are thinking of a trip around Germany and the possibility of including a river cruise as part of our vacation. We have done several ocean cruises and enjoy them for a laid back way to travel. We are not organized excursion fans and prefer to explore on our own. I'm a bit confused but it seems that most of the lines I have researched include what would be called a pre and/or post cruise tour as part of the cruise. Can I book the cruise alone? Do we have to do the excursions in each port, or can we strike out on our own as we do on ocean cruises?

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Hi SuzCruise, welcome to CC!!

 

You have the same freedom on a river cruise as you would on an ocean cruise with respect to shore excursions. Most of them will be a walking tour which you are not required to take. Keep in mind that river boats generally dock in or near the port cities and it's vital that you are familiar with where the ship is docked in relation to where you want to go in say Passau so that you can find your way back to the ship before it's due to sail. Also, river cruises do not have the same freedom as ocean liners because if the water level of the river changes or there's a problem with a lock you may depart earlier or later than expected.

 

Pre and Post cruise excursions are ALWAYS optional and cost extra. Keep in mind that anything on a river cruise that costs extra is optional!!

 

Now that I've answered your questions, I'm going to offer some advice....Shore Excursions: usually included in the tour and can range from a walking tour of an hour to a half or full day trip to someplace nearby, like the organ concert in Passau. While it's great to go out and about on your own and certainly permitted....you risk losing a lot of information about the history of the port and tips regarding restaurants and shopping. Optional Excursions: virtually always cost extra but usually include a bus ride to a place of interest that could be an hour to 90 minutes drive, admission and tour to a castle with a guide, like Schoenbrun Palace in Vienna and a meal in a restaurant. We have always found the optional tours to be worth the money.

 

Pre and post trip excursions are always extra because they are mini-add on trips to the river cruise and while we've taken many of them and never been disappointed, it is a function of how much time you can be away and how much money you want to spend.

 

In many ways river cruising is more laid back than ocean cruising but you also do not have the many options for dining or recreation or entertainment. For instance: river cruise meals are served in one dining room with open seating; most river boats do not have pools and many of them do not have full balconies because of the lock size and entertainment is generally a local choir, small combo or dance troupe that comes on board after dinner and leaves around 10 p.m. I'm not trying to put you off river cruising, I've been on 6 of them and have 2 more scheduled for this spring and summer, but all of us here on CC want you to be well aware of the differences and will all tell you Viva le difference!!! :D

Edited March 16, 2015 by Hydrokitty

[CPT Trips]

If you do not want to take a week out of your schedule for a cruise, an alternative that you might want to consider is to stick mostly to land and do day trips on the scenic sections of the river such as the middle Rhein in the Koblenz area as well as the Danube Gorge excursions out of Kelheim visiting Weltenburg Abbey and Liberation Hall.

[notamermaid]

Hello Suzcruise,

 

pre- and post-cruise extensions are a great way for a lot of people from outside of Europe to make the most of their precious holidays, i.e. some people prefer to spend more than just the cruise days to make the long flight "worthwhile". Those packages are normally not offered to - say - people from the UK. There it might just be an overnight stay in a hotel if you are travelling by coach from your hometown to your river cruise. Essentially - as you like to explore on your own - you can do similar by let's say fly to Berlin, spend two nights there and then take the train to Nuremberg to start a Danube or Main cruise. You could fly to London and take the high speed trains to Amsterdam or Cologne (very few cruises start or end in Cologne).

 

You might like to have a look at companies that offer river cruises shorter than seven nights.

 

Or as CPT Trips has pointed out, several local companies offer day trips. In touristy areas like on the Danube or in the Rhine gorge most of those companies have audio commentaries in English.

 

Day trips (or shorter round trips) are also available at river sections and on smaller rivers that large cruise ships have very little or no access to. In my area these are the Neckar, the Saar and the Lahn. And of course there is the upper section of the Moselle that river cruisers never get to see.

 

Many, many possibilities. :) Happy to answer more detailed questions!

 

Have fun planning.

 

notamermaid

[cruisecriticmember]

Hi SuzCruise, welcome to CC!!

 

You have the same freedom on a river cruise as you would on an ocean cruise with respect to shore excursions. Most of them will be a walking tour which you are not required to take. Keep in mind that river boats generally dock in or near the port cities and it's vital that you are familiar with where the ship is docked in relation to where you want to go in say Passau so that you can find your way back to the ship before it's due to sail. Also, river cruises do not have the same freedom as ocean liners because if the water level of the river changes or there's a problem with a lock you may depart earlier or later than expected.

 

Pre and Post cruise excursions are ALWAYS optional and cost extra. Keep in mind that anything on a river cruise that costs extra is optional!!

 

Now that I've answered your questions, I'm going to offer some advice....Shore Excursions: usually included in the tour and can range from a walking tour of an hour to a half or full day trip to someplace nearby, like the organ concert in Passau. While it's great to go out and about on your own and certainly permitted....you risk losing a lot of information about the history of the port and tips regarding restaurants and shopping. Optional Excursions: virtually always cost extra but usually include a bus ride to a place of interest that could be an hour to 90 minutes drive, admission and tour to a castle with a guide, like Schoenbrun Palace in Vienna and a meal in a restaurant. We have always found the optional tours to be worth the money.

 

Pre and post trip excursions are always extra because they are mini-add on trips to the river cruise and while we've taken many of them and never been disappointed, it is a function of how much time you can be away and how much money you want to spend.

 

In many ways river cruising is more laid back than ocean cruising but you also do not have the many options for dining or recreation or entertainment. For instance: river cruise meals are served in one dining room with open seating; most river boats do not have pools and many of them do not have full balconies because of the lock size and entertainment is generally a local choir, small combo or dance troupe that comes on board after dinner and leaves around 10 p.m. I'm not trying to put you off river cruising, I've been on 6 of them and have 2 more scheduled for this spring and summer, but all of us here on CC want you to be well aware of the differences and will all tell you Viva le difference!!! :D

 

Great response to the OP. Question: have you found that the cost of the cruise line pre- or postcruise extensions have been worth the cost. To me them seem very expensive compared to DIY. Of course they do make it easy since they take care of all the arrangements and transfers. What other advantages have you found if any? Thanks in advance.

[pontac]

To me them seem very expensive compared to DIY. Of course they do make it easy since they take care of all the arrangements and transfers. What other advantages have you found if any? Thanks in advance.

 

 

I've not taken any, though the booking agent at Viking suggested them, but check how far they are from the start/end point. For our Bodeaux trip the extension starts in Paris, then you're coached to the Loire via Tours then finally to Bordeaux, a journey of 375 miles or so, so quite a time on a bus, though the journey is broken with overnight stops.

 

If you've flown long haul and it's your only opportunity and you don't mind coach trips..

 

The big advantage though, is that Viking take responsibilty to get you to the boat for the start, and if the boat has changed its mooring place they'll know

[SuzCruise]

Thanks so much for all the quick responses. I think I misused a term which muddied the waters a bit. Pre and post cruise were my terms based on past ocean cruise experience. The cruises I was questioning were calling themselves 13 night cruises while only 7 nights were aboard the ship. It seems this is just either poor marketing or poor website design from one line (Ama) and based on your comments I am confident that we could do just the cruise portion if we wish. We don't mind doing a two week cruise as part of our vacation, but are not interested in doing a group tour land portion. But I have found other lines which advertise exactly what we are looking for without any land portion, so there is no need to go that route anyway.

 

Since you have all been so helpful, I'd like to get some more advice. I know cruise line is a very subjective and personal opinion, but... We are both 45, active, foodies who love to travel. We like to do things on our own and enjoy the adventure and occasional misadventure of foreign public transportation. We also enjoy striking out on the road in a rent car in a country where we just guess what those road signs mean, though our number one rule is the first words from your mouth must always be in the local language. But we also enjoy luxury cruising. Most of our experience has been on Regent, though the included (and there for paid for) excursions we don't use have us rethinking that. Our last cruise was Silversea and while we loved most of the experience, the food was not good or interesting enough for us to repeat that brand. The number one thing we enjoy about cruising is waking up each day in a new spot to explore. Sometimes we enjoy getting ourselves from one point to another via car, train or plane, but other times we want to sit back and leave it to the captain while we have a cocktail and a nice dinner. We aren't into shows, though we will visit the casino occasionally and do enjoy having a drink over music in the lounge and have been known to get into bingo and trivia while afloat.

 

So, what do you suggest? From the posts I have read here as well as the information in the sticky, I assume Uniworld and Scenic might be good choices for us. Any others we should look into?

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

[Hydrokitty]

Great response to the OP. Question: have you found that the cost of the cruise line pre- or postcruise extensions have been worth the cost. To me them seem very expensive compared to DIY. Of course they do make it easy since they take care of all the arrangements and transfers. What other advantages have you found if any? Thanks in advance.

 

Good Question!!! I've taken trip extensions to Brussels, Jordan, Kiev and Prague and thoroughly enjoyed them all. I probably could do it myself for less but the perks to me are that I don't have to worry about arranging transportation to the ship (we usually take pre-trip because by the time cruise is over DH is ready to go home) and if something out of my control happens and we're late the ship will either wait for us or the bus I'm on will take me to the first port; I don't have to find my own way from the airport to ground transportation to my hotel, all the while toting my suitcase, and deal with foreign currency and language after flying all night long; I know with absolute certainty that my hotel room will be ready and will be comfortable; I know with absolute certainty that at least the first night I'm in a new place I'll have an organized dinner at a restaurant and a free breakfast before I set out to find a restaurant I like; I will have an English speaking guide who will make all travel arrangements, buy my admission tickets and tell me all about where I'm going and why it's important; and as a bonus perk I'll embark on the river cruise knowing at least several people that I've connected with on the excursions. In all honesty, there's no right or wrong answer to your question...you choose what works best for you, I'm a lot older than I used to be and have walking issues, so to me it's important to NOT have to drag my suitcase or walk around looking for a taxi, bus or train. But if none of my reasons bother you, then book it yourself. The important thing is that you have a good time!

[ewizabeff]

In my experience, most lines will include itineraries that have a land portion and others that don't. Even when the land portion is included, you can book a cruise-only fare.

 

My husband and I are somewhat similar to you (although about a decade younger) and we really enjoyed our Uniworld cruise on the Danube. We chose to take part in most of the excursions because they were led by knowledgeable, interesting guides and included a lot of history. We almost always had time to explore on our own later in the morning, or even all afternoon and sometimes after dinner. The cruise manager was very supportive of us going off on our own, as long as we were back in time for sailing! The food was superb (we've eaten at Michelin star restaurants), and the informative lectures were also appreciated. Drinks in the lounge were always flowing, and either the house musician or a guest group/entertainer was aboard. There are more details about our experience on my blog (linked below), but we loved it so much we're booked on another Uniworld vacation this December.

[FuelScience]

So, what do you suggest? From the posts I have read here as well as the information in the sticky, I assume Uniworld and Scenic might be good choices for us. Any others we should look into?

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

We've only sailed Viking (3 times), but we'll be trying Vantage in August. Although they don't advertise as much and they don't use travel agents, I was impressed with the loyalty shown by Vantage travelers on this board. Also, we booked over a year in advance, and by paying in full about a year before the cruise we got a 10% discount.

 

If you look, I think you'll find that most of Vantage's itineraries have you on the ship most of the time with little or no hotel stay on the front or back end. We'll be doing the Rhine and Moselle, and we've arranged to fly into Amsterdam 2 days early for some sightseeing on our own before board the ship.

 

I think that you'll enjoy river cruising, and I don't think that you can go too far wrong with any of the big lines.

 

FuelScience

[papa B me]

Great response to the OP. Question: have you found that the cost of the cruise line pre- or postcruise extensions have been worth the cost. To me them seem very expensive compared to DIY. Of course they do make it easy since they take care of all the arrangements and transfers. What other advantages have you found if any? Thanks in advance.

 

We took the precruise extension with Uniworld this past July. It is definitely true you can do it cheaper on your own but we were really glad we booked the extension. Others have mentioned the transfers, local contact available the whole pre cruise with a cell phone to call if problems arose, great resource for local restaurants, things to do, etc.. But there was one benefit that made it worth the extra cost to us. There were about 10 couples who did the extension. We were able to get to know them all ahead of the cruise which made the cruise really enjoyable with sharing tables at dinner, hanging out in the lounge after dinner, etc...Although we met others once on the ship it wasn't the same due to the intensity of excursions, schedules etc.. as it was during the more laid back experience of the pre cruise extension. Just my opinion

[Hydrokitty]

We've only sailed Viking (3 times), but we'll be trying Vantage in August. Although they don't advertise as much and they don't use travel agents, I was impressed with the loyalty shown by Vantage travelers on this board. Also, we booked over a year in advance, and by paying in full about a year before the cruise we got a 10% discount.

 

If you look, I think you'll find that most of Vantage's itineraries have you on the ship most of the time with little or no hotel stay on the front or back end. We'll be doing the Rhine and Moselle, and we've arranged to fly into Amsterdam 2 days early for some sightseeing on our own before board the ship.

 

I think that you'll enjoy river cruising, and I don't think that you can go too far wrong with any of the big lines.

 

FuelScience

 

Hey FuelScience, we're doing Vantge Rhine & Moselle leaving NY on August 27 for Amsterdam. I know you're going early, but what day does your cruise start?

HK

[Hydrokitty]

We took the precruise extension with Uniworld this past July. It is definitely true you can do it cheaper on your own but we were really glad we booked the extension. Others have mentioned the transfers, local contact available the whole pre cruise with a cell phone to call if problems arose, great resource for local restaurants, things to do, etc.. But there was one benefit that made it worth the extra cost to us. There were about 10 couples who did the extension. We were able to get to know them all ahead of the cruise which made the cruise really enjoyable with sharing tables at dinner, hanging out in the lounge after dinner, etc...Although we met others once on the ship it wasn't the same due to the intensity of excursions, schedules etc.. as it was during the more laid back experience of the pre cruise extension. Just my opinion

 

Absolutely, when we were on Budapest to Black Sea we did pre-trip to Prague, there were about 30 of us and for some reason we all bonded like family when we boarded there were people who had been on the cruise from Amsterdam and knew those doing the full trip to Constanta, but it was so nice having friendly faces in the dining room and they actually kept us together for shore excursions since we obviously were such a good meld.

[DrivesLikeMario]

SuzCruise-We are similar in ages and are doing an Avalon river cruise this summer on one of their Suite Ships. The ship is the main attraction for me (other than the port stops) and the rave reviews about them have convinced me that's what we'll be happy with this time.

 

As far as tours go, we like to 'get the lead out' and see things on our own. I've researched our ports and have found other things we plan to do after included city tours. To name a few - one is a N**I prison tour (can't say that word I guess - the German soldiers during WWII) and another is a museum of Alsatian life in the 1800's. Both appeal to us due to family connections in those areas. Other river cruisers have told me to get the best out of our experience, we will want to do things like this.

 

I found it pays to read reviews. You'll see how much extra time people had and what they did. And, best of all, remember to just plop down at a nice café and absorb the ambiance. :)

Edited March 17, 2015 by DrivesLikeMario

[PA newbie]

From some of my research I might say to check CroisiEurope. They seem to have quite a few cruises that are rather short in duration. Their itinerary options seem to offer a nice variety of places where their ships.

[hiccups]

Thanks so much for all the quick responses. I think I misused a term which muddied the waters a bit. Pre and post cruise were my terms based on past ocean cruise experience. The cruises I was questioning were calling themselves 13 night cruises while only 7 nights were aboard the ship. It seems this is just either poor marketing or poor website design from one line (Ama) and based on your comments I am confident that we could do just the cruise portion if we wish. We don't mind doing a two week cruise as part of our vacation, but are not interested in doing a group tour land portion. But I have found other lines which advertise exactly what we are looking for without any land portion, so there is no need to go that route anyway. QUOTE]

 

I ran into this most frequently on AMA and Scenic, although I'm sure it happens on all lines, especially on particular cruises (Italy comes to mind). I just had to remember to click on the "cruise only" tab on AMA. I was looking at a Scenic tour brochure and it would note on certain days "passengers purchasing the cruise-only portion will join the tour today."

 

While I know we'll have time to explore on our own each day, I wouldn't be confident in having enough time to rent a car and go elsewhere, but that's because I'd be paranoid about missing the ship.

[pontac]

Thanks so much for all the quick responses. I think I misused a term which muddied the waters a bit. Pre and post cruise were my terms based on past ocean cruise experience. The cruises I was questioning were calling themselves 13 night cruises while only 7 nights were aboard the ship.

 

Of the 5 Viking cruises I've been on/am about to go on, only one didn't/doesn't have al nights on the boat. That was the Douro which started in Lisbon with 2 hotel nights in Lisbon before bussng to Porto on the Douro.

 

I would have preferred without the Lisbon nights but I assume this was because of dealing with long haul flights which go to Lisbon and their timings. which may have made connections with internal flights to Porto difficult. Just guessing, and as these two nights weren' optional I don't think one could have booked just boat nights, or have got a discount.

[CarlyDawwg's Ma]

SuzCruz:

 

You might like the Emerald Waterways, if you like luxury. They have all new ships that include a small swimming pool/movie theater, and offer al fresco dining. What is most appealing to me, that has caused me to exclude most other cruise lines, is that they have real balconies....not the french balcony or the kind where they have a couple of deck chairs in your room and roll down your window and call it a balcony.

 

If having a little bit of outdoor space of your own is important, think Emerald.

[Talisker92]

Pre- and post-cruise extensions are just that. It's not necessary to book them along with the cruise.

And if you are comfortable on your own, you can do the same thing for half the coast the cruise line charges.

We did exactly that in Amsterdam. Van Gogh Museum, canal boat rides, hotel, etc.

[alwalaska]

SuzCruz:

 

You might like the Emerald Waterways' date=' if you like luxury. They have all new ships that include a small swimming pool/movie theater, and offer al fresco dining. What is most appealing to me, that has caused me to exclude most other cruise lines, is that they have real balconies....not the french balcony or the kind where they have a couple of deck chairs in your room and roll down your window and call it a balcony.

 

If having a little bit of outdoor space of your own is important, think Emerald.[/quote']

We are looking at Emerald because they seem to have the most included options at a moderate price point. I am pretty sure that except for a few of the top suites, they do NOT have real balconies. They have what they call an inside/outside room where you push a button and the top half of the floor to ceiling window opens and makes it a half window - half opening similar to a balcony railing.

http://www.emeraldwaterways.com/our-ships/

 

I also like the idea that their oldest ship is from 2014 since they are a newer company.

[CarlyDawwg's Ma]

We are looking at Emerald because they seem to have the most included options at a moderate price point. I am pretty sure that except for a few of the top suites, they do NOT have real balconies. They have what they call an inside/outside room where you push a button and the top half of the floor to ceiling window opens and makes it a half window - half opening similar to a balcony railing.

http://www.emeraldwaterways.com/our-ships/

 

.

 

You're absolutely right, Alwalaska! It's the higher end rooms that have the real balconies. I stand corrected! We've booked a cruise for Sept. 2016 in one of the owners suites. I agree that it seems like you get more for your money on this cruise line, especially if you're in one of the suites. And I find the fact that their ships are new, is definitely appealing. Their top suite, which is two separate rooms (bedroom/living room), compares, price-wise, with the third/fourth category down on Viking (which also has balconies), but Viking's is a single, regular room and is roughly 80-100 sqft smaller. This ability to have a separate living room, was important for us in that DH likes to read late into the night, whereas I prefer a solid 8-9 hrs of sleep! They also include 4 pieces of laundry per day, which, given we're extending prior and post cruise, is handy. Not to mention a full, re-stocked daily, mini-bar.

 

I'm anxious to read some of the reviews from those cruising right now on Emerald. As a new-ish line, there's limited reporting on it. I'm hopeful that by the time we cruise, any bugs that exist will be worked out.

[alwalaska]

Carly dawn's Ma,

 

Where are you going? We aren't going until 2017, so I would love to hear all about your cruise when you get back. I would love to see pictures too. :)

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Forums mobile app

[CarlyDawwg's Ma]

Carly dawn's Ma,

 

Where are you going? We aren't going until 2017, so I would love to hear all about your cruise when you get back. I would love to see pictures too. :)

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Forums mobile app

 

 

We're doing the Amsterdam to Basel itinerary. I'm happy to report back on how it went, with pictures included. Unfortunately though, its not for another 18 months...:((. Oy...